Music blog by MIDiA Research

Blog: Music

How the DNA of a hit has changed over 20 years

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

13 Jul 2020

Recorded music has always evolved to fit the dominant format of the era, from three-minute songs to fit on 7-inch vinyl, through eight-song albums to fit on LPs, through to 16+ song albums to fill CDs.…

Time to stop playing the velocity game

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

3 Jul 2020

Music

streaming

music marketing

We all know that streaming has transformed consumption and business models alike, but this is not a ‘now-completed’ process. Instead it is one that continues to evolve at pace, and the dynamic of pace…

Just what is Tencent’s Endgame?

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

16 Jun 2020

tencent

Tencent Music

China

Tencent’s combined $200 million investment in WMG follows on the heels of its $3.6 billion joint investment in Universal Music. It is hardly Tencent’s first investments in music, having spent $6.2…

Music Streaming Needs a New Future

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

12 Jun 2020

Alibaba

China

fandom

While doing some research on the Chinese streaming market I came across this fantastic UX tear down of Xiami Music. I recommend you read it in full. The day before I found this – also must-read –article…

Artists are Learning How it Feels to be a Songwriter

Blog post by 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…

The Global Music Industry Will Decline in 2020

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

3 Jun 2020

live music decline

live music forecasts

music industry forecasts

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but the global music industry will decline in 2020. Although we are now nearing the post-lockdown era in many countries across the globe, we are only just at the…

The Music Industry’s Next Five Growth Drivers

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

22 May 2020

creator tools

fandom

fitness

The risk with trying to imagine what the future might look like is to simply think it is going to be a brighter, shinier version of today. At this precise moment in time, this has perhaps never been truer. …

The Future of Live

Blog post by 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…

Radio strategies 2020 & beyond

Blog post by Keith Jopling

18 May 2020

Music

This is part 2 of our blog on Radio’s future and focuses on strategies for radio networks. MIDiA’s full report “Radio Is Switched On Again / Strategies for 2020 and Beyond” is now available to…

Artists – Have Your Voice Heard

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

12 May 2020

Artist survey

artists

midia artist survey

MIDiA is fielding its third biannual Artist Survey. Our two surveys last year were very successful and got hundreds of artist responses. MIDiA’s artist surveys takes the pulse of the artist community…

What is the value of exposure when exposure is all there is?

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

6 May 2020

Covid-19

Music

There is an existential debate going on at the moment, around whether streaming is paying artists enough. It may feel like a rerun of old debates but it is catalysed by COVID-19 decimating artist income.…

The IFPI Confirms 2019 was the Independents' Year for Streaming

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

4 May 2020

independent labels

majors

record labels

UPDATE: this post has been updated to correct an erroneous data point. Previously it stated that independent market share was 41%. It has been corrected to 29% Recently I wrote about how a little-known…

Travis Scott has Only Scratched the Surface of Music Games Tie Ups

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

1 May 2020

artists

coronavirus

Covid-19

In February 2019 Marshmello caused ripples of almost tidal proportions across the music business when 10.7 million Fortnite fans watched him perform a ‘concert’ in the game. Then in April 2020 Travis…

Spotify Q1 2020: Choppy Waters Ahead

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

29 Apr 2020

coronavirus

Covid-19

potify

Spotify’s first quarter earnings were a mixed bag, with a largely positive picture for Q1 but some warning signs for the remainder of the year: Subscribers: Spotify’s Q1 earnings may not have…

Independents Grew Fastest on Spotify in 2019, But There’s a Twist

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

28 Apr 2020

independent artists

independent labels

Major labels

Tomorrow (Wednesday 29th April) Spotify announces its Q1 2020 results, at which point we will find out whether it had a COVID-bounce like Netflix did (adding 15.8 million subscribers in Q1) or whether…

Lockdown Listening and the Independent Artist

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

24 Apr 2020

coronavirus

coronavirus covid-19

Covid-19

After an initial lockdown lull, streaming levels are – on the surface – beginning to normalise. Underlying the macro-level normalisation, ‘lockdown listening’ is in fact resulting in dramatic shifts…

Now Is the Time to Engage, Not Convert

Blog post by Hanna Kahlert

17 Apr 2020

conversion

Covid-19

covid-19 dislocation

Before the COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdowns, there were already two key behavioural trends that have since been accelerated by the current phenomenon: a shift towards digital consumption, and an…

Streaming Services Are Going to Have to Change Their MO

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

17 Apr 2020

coronavirus

Covid-19

New music is the fuel in the streaming engine, creating a virtuous circle of increased label and artist output to meet DSP-stimulated user demand. Now though, with COVID-19 disrupting the production of…

Free COVID-19 Impact Webinar

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

9 Apr 2020

coronavirus impact

coronavirus research

coronavirus webinar

MIDiA Research is running a free-to-attend webinar on Wednesday, April 15th: COVID-19 Impact on Entertainment Demand and Behaviours. Regular readers will know that MIDiA has been publishing COVID-19…

Radio Is Switched On Again

Blog post by Keith Jopling

9 Apr 2020

Covid-19

Music

Radio is suddenly more vital - and by that I mean music radio. The human factor in radio programming and presentation has been clearly demonstrated in the weeks and months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic…

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