Blog: Music Industry - Page 10

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.

Equitable remuneration, artist income and unintended consequences

Mark Mulligan

29 Jan 2021

Streaming economy streaming inquiry equitable remuneration

The UK Parliament’s inquiry on the economics of streaming appears to be building a case for equitable remuneration (ER). There are many iterations of what ER can mean, but a simplified description of what is in play here is: a share of streaming revenue being paid directly by the DSPs to an entity...

Cover image for Equitable remuneration, artist income and unintended consequences

Women making music

Hanna Kahlert

28 Jan 2021

Music Women diversity

Even taking into account the impact of the pandemic, it has never been a better time for independent creators in the music business. The various 2020 lockdowns may have prevented artists from earning vital touring income and disrupted release and promotion cycles, but for many it also pushed new cre...

Cover image for Women making music

Virtual concerts: A new video format

Mark Mulligan

8 Jan 2021

The global pandemic thrust the live music sector into chaos, with global revenues falling by 75% in 2020 compared to one year previously. The music industry was rocked by first-order impacts (no concerts, no fan engagement) and second-order impacts (many artists realising that streaming did not add ...

Cover image for Virtual concerts: A new video format

What measures an artist's success in today's music industry?

Keith Jopling

23 Dec 2020

Strategy Media Streaming Music

It’s that time of year again for lists. Endless top albums and song rankings that can be a bonus for a music artist to be included on. A placement on an influential list (which ones those are is more of a debate these days, but let’s say Pitchfork for example, or Rolling Stone, or perhaps Fader ...

Cover image for What measures an artist's success in today's music industry?

Global independent label survey

Mark Mulligan

14 Dec 2020

Music

MIDiA Research is conducting a major study of independent label revenue in order to create a definitive review of the independent sector’s contribution to the global music market. MIDiA conducted this work for a number of years on behalf of the Worldwide Independent Network and is now independentl...

Cover image for Global independent label survey

Pandemic boom fuels creator tools growth

Dara Jegede

30 Nov 2020

Music

- A new generation of artists is engendering a new creative paradigm, where production is far more central to the creative process and artists are able to make and release high-quality music more quickly than ever - SAAS-based creator tools are becoming the new ‘top of funnel’ for the music indu...

Cover image for Pandemic boom fuels creator tools growth

Time to move beyond the song economy

Mark Mulligan

27 Nov 2020

Music

The UK parliament is currently running an inquiry into the streaming music economy, having called for evidence from across the music business. Earlier this week were the first verbal submissions, from a number of UK artists including Tom Gray (Gomez), Guy Garvey (Elbow), Ed O’Brien (Radiohead) and...

Cover image for Time to move beyond the song economy

YouTube at two billion: Still much more music opportunity to be had

Mark Mulligan

17 Nov 2020

Music

YouTube just announced its milestone of reaching two billion music users on the platform . YouTube has long been the largest music service on the planet, and it has just extended that lead. In 2019, its official total user number was two billion.

Cover image for YouTube at two billion: Still much more music opportunity to be had

Are rights holders missing the point with Twitch?

Mark Mulligan

13 Nov 2020

Twitch has apologised to its users for the growing volume of rights holder takedown notices for music used in Twitch videos . Twitch is in an awkward transitionary phase with music rights holders, not dissimilar to where YouTube was when it was acquired by Google.

Cover image for Are rights holders missing the point with Twitch?

Live streaming centre stage for 2021

Keith Jopling

2 Nov 2020

live streaming live music Live music industry

The longer the pandemic continues, the harder it gets for the live music business (and other cultural sectors built around live performance) to sustain hope of a ‘return to normal’. I hate saying it, but there it is.

Cover image for Live streaming centre stage for 2021

Spotify Q3 2020: What price growth?

Mark Mulligan

29 Oct 2020

Spotify reported another strong quarter in Q3 2020, with subscriber growth up 27% year-on-year (YoY) and ad-supported user growth up 21%. Spotify continues to set the pace for the global streaming market and has demonstrated that streaming has proven resilient to lockdown.

Cover image for Spotify Q3 2020: What price growth?

How YouTube can be a music industry growth driver

Mark Mulligan

23 Oct 2020

In the coming weeks MIDiA will be presenting the third edition of its biannual YouTube music report, State of the YouTube Music Economy 3.0: End of the Beginning. This is a major report that presents the definitive traits of the YouTube music economy, including revenues, royalty payments, streams, s...

Cover image for How YouTube can be a music industry growth driver

Live streaming and the role of music artist empowerment in the digital era

Hanna Kahlert

19 Oct 2020

Music streaming live streaming coronavirus

As the coronavirus lockdowns have forced venues to close and people indoors, artists have been unevenly impacted across the music industry. While many bigger studios were forced to cease operations, and some artists unable to release or record music – often relying on previous recordings they coul...

Cover image for Live streaming and the role of music artist empowerment in the digital era

HomePod Mini: Apple’s pandemic-era product

Mark Mulligan

15 Oct 2020

Music

Apple’s Tuesday product announcement showcased its 5G iPhones, but also included the launch of the new $99 HomePod Mini. Though it might have looked like a supporting act for the launch, its strategic importance should not be underestimated – especially in the context of how Apple competes with ...

Cover image for HomePod Mini: Apple’s pandemic-era product

Why Rishi Sunak is both wrong and right

Mark Mulligan

8 Oct 2020

Music

Earlier this week the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunaksuggested that creatives such as musicians who had seen income dry up during COVID-19 should consider retraining for the new ‘opportunities’ the lockdown economy is generating.

Cover image for Why Rishi Sunak is both wrong and right

Why the struggle of small venues will affect the entire music industry

Mark Mulligan

11 Sep 2020

Prior to the dislocation caused by the pandemic, live music operated with a structure that gave artists a clear sense of where they were in their careers and where they could aim for next. Small clubs represented the starting point, before moving up a ladder of venue sizes to theatres, arenas and st...

Cover image for Why the struggle of small venues will affect the entire music industry

Where did Disney and Live Nation’s missing $10 billion go?

Mark Mulligan

4 Sep 2020

In both economic and pandemic terms, we are in a relatively quiet period compared to the first half of the year. COVID-19 is at much lower levels in most countries and there are multiple sectors, such as housing and auto, that are reporting booms.

Cover image for Where did Disney and Live Nation’s missing $10 billion go?

Who will own the virtual concert space?

Mark Mulligan

28 Aug 2020

2020 will go down as a rough year for many artists, largely because of the income they lost when live ground to a halt. Unfortunately, the live music sector is still going to be disrupted in 2021 and it may take even longer for the sector to return to ‘normal’.

Cover image for Who will own the virtual concert space?

The Song Economy Part 3 – creating in the song economy

Keith Jopling

13 Aug 2020

Music Strategy Spotify

In ‘ The Song Economy is just getting started ’ I looked at how major catalogue songs such as Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, Toto’s Africa and Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You had all spent many years accumulating streams (audio and video), radio plays and ultimately for...

Cover image for The Song Economy Part 3 – creating in the song economy

Streaming’s remuneration model cannot be ‘fixed’

Mark Mulligan

12 Aug 2020

Music Streaming remuneration

The #brokenrecord debate continues to build momentum and new models such as user-centric are getting increased attention, including at governmental level in the UK. But as Mat Dryhurst correctly observes , there is a risk of the market falling into streaming fatalism; that the obsession with trying ...

Cover image for Streaming’s remuneration model cannot be ‘fixed’

© 2025 MIDiA Research Ltd. All Rights Reserved.