Blog: Global

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 and social.

Breaking the language barrier: AI’s next disruption in music

Adham Nazir

9 Apr 2026

American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once proclaimed that music is a universal language. Ironically, perhaps the only part of this universal language that isn’t universal is language itself. In the streaming era, it may seem easier than ever for musicians to reach listeners around the world, a...

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The 2026 Grammys and Bad Bunny’s cementation of the local language era

Laura Fisher

4 Feb 2026

Cultural trends Music Artists

The 68th Grammy Awards offered no shortage of significant moments, but perhaps none carried more cultural weight than when Bad Bunny’s seminal Debí Tirar Más Fotos made history. It’s crowning as Album of the Year – a first for a predominantly Spanish-language release – reflects a profound,...

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Saudi Arabia’s $55 billion EA acquisition: What it means for gaming and global investment

Brandon Sutton

16 Oct 2025

Video Entertainment Gaming

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will purchase Electronic Arts (EA), alongside private equity firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners – a move which sent shockwaves through both the gaming and investment worlds (via Electronic Arts ).

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IMS Business Report 2025

Mark Mulligan

23 Apr 2025

Spotify YouTube Facebook

Today I presented the 11th edition of the IMS Business Report at the ever-brilliant annual electronic music industry conference in Ibiza. And who doesn’t like a conference in Ibiza?! The full report is available via the IMS website.

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Chaos and uncertainty: Tariffs’ impact on gamers and the games market

Rhys Elliott

10 Apr 2025

Business Strategy Subscriptions Games

Tariff turmoil related to the US’ trade war is intensifying. Other countries have retaliated, and while Trump has eased tariffs in some countries, the situation is far from being resolved. The tariffs have major implications for the games market in the US.

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The unflattening of music

Mark Mulligan

30 Jan 2025

Cultural trends Spotify TikTok

[This post builds on two other recent MIDiA posts: Background music and What got you here ] At the half way point of the decade it is a good time to reflect on how the business of music is reshaping the culture of music – and where this is heading.

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Jersey club in Berlin | Behind the scenes and sounds of 2025

Kriss Thakrar

29 Jan 2025

Audience Insight Cultural trends TikTok

With one of the largest, most sonically-diverse catalogues of sounds and samples, Splice provides the music that makes the music for producers around the world. So trends in what users are searching for and downloading on Splice can tell us a lot about the sounds of the future.

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DeepSeek and Rednote signal the dawning era of APAC

Hanna Kahlert

29 Jan 2025

Business Strategy Netflix TikTok

The AI race is a tense one. Billions of dollars have been poured into the likes of OpenAI. Meanwhile, the US and UK governments, among others, have pledged to invest heavily in AI development, suggesting that they feel it is of critical importance to “win” the new space race.

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Sounds of 2025 | MIDiA and Splice name Pluggnb music’s fastest-growing genre

Tatiana Cirisano

22 Jan 2025

Audience Insight Cultural trends YouTube

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What got you here won’t get you there: how Spotify built a new business

Mark Mulligan

17 Jan 2025

Business Strategy Spotify Streaming

Since its inception, Spotify has been, and continues to be, the streaming music market’s lightning rod. This is due to its continued ability to maintain leading market share and the fact it is the only leading global DSP that is independent and therefore has to focus place more focus on commercial...

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BBC signals radio’s shift to the podcast market

Annie Langston

31 May 2023

BBC Podcasts Spotify

The BBC has traditionally stuck to public programming for its radio arm. However, BBC Radio is now shifting some of its programming to BBC Studios, meaning it can now be offered for global distribution on major podcast platforms, like Spotify.

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How podcast platforms are setting their sights on global expansion

Annie Langston

5 Oct 2022

Podcasts Spotify distribution

The growth of podcast audiences requires a global effort. And while the market is primarily dominated by mostly Western platforms, such as Spotify and Apple, there are opportunities for new players to compete in the digital audio market by tapping into international audiences.

DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

Alistair Taylor

3 Dec 2020

DAZN SVOD subscription video on demand

DAZN’s global roll out is finally here , following an announcement to launch worldwide (including the UK) back in March. The pandemic-enforced postponement and cancellation of live sports scuppered its original plans to coincide its launch with Canelo Alvarez’s world title fight in May.