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Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy, audio and social.

Could YouTube be a new home for TV talent?

Hannah Walker

23 Sep 2026

Product Strategy YouTube Creators

The power dynamic between media personalities and media distributors is shifting – a change that has picked up pace over the last few years. Traditional media companies are cautiously opening their doors to creator talent, recognising them for the lucrative opportunity that they represent.

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Threads versus X: Algorithmic USP and the benefits of a cross-platform offering

Hanna Kahlert

22 Sep 2026

Business Strategy Social media Creators

In a September interview with Sources , Mark Zuckerberg dropped the finding that Threads is as big – or at least closing in on – X, the platform it was designed to compete with. The platforms’ respective monthly active user reported numbers are 550 million for X, as of May 2026, and 500 millio...

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Podcasting success: Inside Goalhanger’s The Rest is Fest

Laura Fisher

18 Sep 2026

Fandom Cultural trends Podcasts

MIDiA Research has previously documented the phenomena that is live podcasting. We’re all aware a podcast can fill an auditorium. What hasn’t yet been tested is where the pull comes from (the format, the host, or the producer?) because until now, most live podcast events have tested only one for...

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The creator investor: a compelling alternative to the creator product line

Hannah Walker

17 Sep 2026

Business Strategy Product Strategy Creators

The most successful creators are not just creative storytellers – they’re commercially minded entrepreneurs. The most sophisticated operators in this field recognise that launching their own product lines can be a lucrative and reliable revenue stream.

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Seoul traders: How Korean labels are building beyond the song

Leon Farrell

17 Sep 2026

Fandom Business Strategy Streaming

On a Sunday in August 2025, I approached the O2 Forum Kentish Town to see an act I had heard plenty about. On this warm August afternoon, the main attraction was flamboyant, distinctive, petite in size and, by all accounts, electric.

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The road to 2033: The fan economy surges ahead

Olivia Jones

10 Sep 2026

Clients only

Business Strategy Spotify Streaming

This client-only series takes a deeper look at the key themes shaping MIDiA’s 2026–2033 global music forecasts report and what they mean for the future of the music business. Expanded rights have become one of the music industry’s biggest growth stories, with label revenue from participation i...

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Meta agrees to new user protections that will shape the course of the social marketplace

Hanna Kahlert

9 Sep 2026

Cultural trends YouTube TikTok

Meta has settled a landmark court case in the US over the negative impacts of social media on teens and adolescents. Without admitting culpability, the outcome is that they will owe an $18 billion agreed payment over 10 years, and develop and implement a host of new protective measures for younger u...

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The analogue revival: Why Gen Z consumers are going back to older tech

Hanna Kahlert

4 Sep 2026

Clients only

Audience Insight Cultural trends Gen Z

“Nostalgia” as a trend isn’t new. However, there is more to the popularity of analogue than simply a backwards-looking aesthetic preference. Convenience, habit, and quality of experience are major drivers of use.

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The cost of complexity in serving superfans

Kriss Thakrar

3 Sep 2026

Fandom Music Music fandom

With music consumption now widespread, affordable, and accessible, music fandom has become less about consuming and more about spending as a demonstration of superfandom. As a result, scarce experiences that were once widely affordable and generated high emotional return through community and identi...

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Why music's next discovery engine might be radio

Laura Fisher

2 Sep 2026

Streaming Radio Discovery

Music has spent the last decade optimising for infinite choice . Streaming libraries expanded without limit, shuffling became ever more personalised, and feeds manoeuvred themselves into narrower loops.

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The road to 2033: Streaming’s shifting balance of power

Tatiana Cirisano

27 Aug 2026

Clients only

Business Strategy Streaming Music streaming

This client-only series takes a deeper look at the key themes shaping MIDiA’s 2026–2033 global music forecasts report , and what they mean for the future of the music business. Global music streaming subscription revenue grew 14.

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How Meta’s biggest legal battle yet could redefine social media

Hanna Kahlert

26 Aug 2026

Business Strategy Social media Social

Meta may soon be forced to change its platforms, which will hold consequences for social media’s future. As of August 2026, a coalition of 29 US states is going to court with Meta in California, alleging a breach of several consumer protection statutes.

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Music as a cultural infrastructure business

Kriss Thakrar

20 Aug 2026

Business Strategy Cultural trends Artists

Suno is introducing deliberate friction to pump the brakes on the AI-powered superabundance it helped create. By implementing download caps (per Variety ), the company is putting guardrails around how much music users can output.

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Do watermarks spell the end of AI content proliferation?

Hanna Kahlert

19 Aug 2026

Business Strategy AI AI content

AI companies are now required to make model outputs detectable as AI-generated under Article 50 of the EU AI Act – or, in other words, watermarked. The major AI companies have all signed the additional voluntary Code of Practice .

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Are music fans ditching digital or embracing it? Both – welcome to the "cultural multiverse"

Olivia Jones

13 Aug 2026

Clients only

Fandom Music Superfans

The analogue revival is not a novel concept – MIDiA first explored the idea that consumers are embracing analogue or ‘old’ technology in response to digital fatigue in 2024’s analogue revival report .

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MIDiA Research 2026–2033 global music forecasts | A diversifying market

Perry Gresham

13 Aug 2026

Business Strategy Streaming Subscriptions

This blog post was co-authored by MIDiA's Head of Data, Perry Gresham , and Vice President of Music Strategy, Tatiana Cirisano . It’s now mid-summer, which can only mean one thing at MIDiA: our annual global music forecasts have arrived.

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Disney+ partners with TikTok: Can streaming stay relevant in the short-form era?

Hanna Kahlert

12 Aug 2026

Business Strategy TikTok Social media

In a shift from its traditionally close-fisted stance to IP, Disney has announced a partnership program with TikTok that will bring creator-made, short-form content to Disney+. This comes on the heels of Disney+’s Verts feed in March 2026 and an agreement earlier in the year to license over 200 ch...

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Beyond the briefing room: What Andy Burnham's How to Fail booking tells platforms about podcast fragmentation

Laura Fisher

11 Aug 2026

Clients only

Marketing Strategy Podcasts Engagement

UK podcast listening is remarkably fragmented by taste: sport, comedy, true crime, news – and that fragmentation is precisely the opportunity. There isn't just one podcast audience to court ; there are several, each with its own tone, trust dynamics, and level of political engagement.

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Why have we yet to hear an AI-generated hit?

Tatiana Cirisano

6 Aug 2026

Cultural trends Streaming Artists

The biggest fears AI stokes are most often rooted in displacement. Generative AI music models are trained on vast quantities of existing music and capable of producing songs that are catchy, enjoyable, and even beautiful.

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“Seems like AI slop”: Is LinkedIn leading the shift towards authentic content?

Hanna Kahlert

6 Aug 2026

Product Strategy Social media Social

Since ChatGPT first launched in November of 2022, AI-generated and augmented content has flooded social platforms. Initially lauded as a new tool to superpower creators and marketers alike, AI has instead exacerbated a pre-existing problem: an overwhelming amount of content that has left everyone st...

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