Blog: live

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.

The dos and don’ts of community: What digital entertainment can learn from the live sector

Hanna Kahlert

18 Mar 2026

Social media has fundamentally changed – and the consequences matter whether you’re a consumer, a content creator, a regulator, or a marketer. Here’s why: 1. Social platforms are now passive entertainment Content creation remains a niche activity, and simply posting for friends has become less...

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Global recorded music revenues up 5.9% in H1 2025

Mark Mulligan

29 Sep 2025

Marketing Strategy Streaming Music

MIDiA is excited to announce our first ever mid-year recorded music model. Clients can access the data here , which is published as part of our H1 2025 music industry metrics report, containing more than 40 pages of market metrics, company financials, and consumer data.

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More than a lineup: The importance of bold curation

Laura Fisher

14 Aug 2025

Business Strategy Music Artists

Have you noticed how many festival lineups this summer feature the same handful of artists? I have, and, crucially, fans are noticing it too. Where festival billings once offered a window into a distinctive scene, today’s lineups are merging into a wave of homogenised big-name experiences.

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Live isn’t dead, it just needs a WhatsApp group: why gatekeeping is due for a comeback

Hanna Kahlert

12 Jun 2025

Cultural trends TikTok Social media

The live scene is, allegedly, in an uphill battle. Festivals face cancellations, travel costs are rising, and grassroots venues are struggling. Success stories like the ‘Eras’ tour and the Oasis reunion boosted year-on-year stats within the industry, but is this a sign of long-term growth or mer...

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Cutting through the clutter: why an analogue revival is inevitable

Hanna Kahlert

9 May 2024

AI Digital analogue

The jury is very much still out on generative AI and its copyright obligations. Yet the Pandora’s box of AI-generated content has already been opened, and there is no going back. For a world which has become almost entirely reliant on digital content– be it song mp3s or job applications – the ...

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The live versus streaming demographic paradox

Hanna Kahlert

5 Jan 2021

Artists demographic insight

As we begin 2021 with a vaccine on the near horizon, live venue businesses are holding on with whitening knuckles through the intermediate stricter lockdowns. However, the world has changed much in the year since the first social distancing measures were put in place – and navigating the future wi...

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Artists are Learning How it Feels to be a Songwriter

Mark Mulligan

8 Jun 2020

artist income Artists broken record

The ‘broken record’ streaming debate that continues to rage on is a natural consequence of the instantaneous collapse of live music revenue following lockdown. As soon as it was clear that live was going to be gone for some time , MIDiA predicted that the artist backlash against streaming royalt...

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The Future of Live

Mark Mulligan

20 May 2020

Fortnite Games live

The almost total cessation of live music has sent shockwaves throughout the wider music industry. Though live companies are clearly at the epicentre, labels and streaming services are the in the blast radius too as the gaping hole left in most artists’ income is causing them to question their othe...

Do Not Assume We Have Arrived At Our Destination

Mark Mulligan

15 Jun 2017

artist income Artists Drake

Forbes has released its annual Celebrity 100, its list of the top earning media stars. The healthy share of music artists hints at the continued ability to build highly successful music careers. The presence of younger, streaming era artists like Drake and the Weeknd goes further, hinting at how str...

Amazon Prime Live Events, More Than Just Gigs For Olds

Mark Mulligan

9 May 2017

Amazon Amazon Prime Amazon Prime Live Events

Amazon today announced ‘Amazon Prime Live Events’, a series of smaller capacity gigs by largely heritage acts made available exclusively to Amazon Prime members in the UK. The first wave of artists include Blondie, Alison Moyet and Texas.