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Blog: playlists

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.

A case for ownership

Mark Mulligan

27 Aug 2026

Clients only

Letter from the MD Streaming Fandom Creators

In the old world, media often lived in physical formats and, by inference, had a sense of permanence. Consumers built collections of CDs, DVDs, games discs, and books. Digital replaced ownership with access, proclaiming to be a wholly good thing.

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What it takes to make a music streaming subscriber switch services

Tatiana Cirisano

30 Jul 2026

Clients only

Business Strategy Spotify Streaming

For years, choosing a music streaming service was perhaps less of a decision than an accident. At least in Western markets, the major DSPs have offered similar catalogue, feature sets, and user interfaces, giving consumers little reason to choose one over another.

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Why dedicated fans are trading infinite choice for trusted curation

Laura Fisher

16 Jul 2026

Audience Insight Streaming Radio

The story of digital music has been one of expanding choice. Streaming's initial proposition was for the crate-diggers – a way of bringing the passion of music discovery into the digital age. However, the number of passive listeners on DSPs quickly outnumbered dedicated fans and the model optimise...

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The music industry’s boiling frog moment

Mark Mulligan

12 Feb 2026

Business Strategy Streaming Social media

Throw a frog in a pot of boiling water and it will instantly jump out, terrified (and very hot). But put it in a pot of cool water and slowly increase the heat to boiling and it will stay there until it dies.

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AI in radio: How to use AI and retain humanity

Laura Fisher

1 Oct 2025

Business Strategy Radio Entertainment

Every entertainment industry is wrestling with the rise of AI, and the radio business is no exception. After a period where many hoped AI would be a flash in the pan phenomenon, a shift in realisation has occurred.

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85% of Rocket League players do NOT count electronic music as a favourite music genre – own goal or opportunity?

Rhys Elliott

28 Mar 2025

Business Strategy Music Fandom

Key takeaways from this blog: Only 15% of Rocket League players list EDM as a top genre, per MIDiA data, despite its dominance in the game Players are twice as likely than average to prefer EDM, often due to in-game exposure (per MIDiA interviews) Psyonix should diversify its soundtrack, as explored...

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Background music is a short-term win for DSPs – but it could be a long-term problem

Olivia Jones

23 Jan 2025

Business Strategy Spotify Streaming

Note: Following the publication of this piece, Spotify released a statement regarding Pelly's article, which is reproduced in full at the bottom of this page. In this month’s issue of Harper’s Magazine , Liz Pelly published “ The Ghosts in the Machine ”.

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As Spotify corners audiobooks, Audible eyes functional audio

Rutger Rosenborg

22 Mar 2024

Audiobooks Podcasts Spotify

Over the course of 30 years, Audible’s catalogue has grown to include more than 470,000 audiobooks, at least according to their own ads . In less than a year, Spotify’s catalogue has grown to include more than 200,000 audiobooks, which is already 42.

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Will 2024 be the year of podcast unbundling?

Rutger Rosenborg

21 Dec 2023

Podcasts spotify podcasts Spotify

Before Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix disrupted music and video, bundled consumption helped drive profitability. From albums to TV networks, consumer preferences were largely dictated by the bundle, allowing record labels and television providers to leverage the fact that consumers would pay a lot fo...

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How YouTube’s format fluidity is ushering in a new era for entertainment

Annie Langston

29 Mar 2023

YouTube Podcasts videos

As part of its official podcast rollout, YouTube has launched new podcast features and metrics in its YouTube Studio, although these features do not appear to be available for audio podcasts on YouTube Music.

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Spotify’s vertical feed could change music discovery, but not for the reason you think

Tatiana Cirisano

9 Mar 2023

Music streaming Spotify SoundCloud

Just a few years ago, Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist was a harbinger for culture. But a lot has changed. Artists want (and need) to build deeper relationships with fans, and gen Z consumers want more active content experiences.

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Spotify shines RADAR spotlight on podcast creators

Annie Langston

6 Jul 2022

Discovery Podcasts RADAR

Discoverability remains a core challenge for podcast creators in the audio market. We previously discussed the responsibility of audience platforms to amplify independent voices, with editorial spaces increasingly dominated by exclusives and celebrity titles.

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Time to stop playing the velocity game

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 is the pivotal variable.

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The Music Industry’s Next Five Growth Drivers

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.

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Playlist malfeasance will create a streaming crisis

Mark Mulligan

9 May 2019

Artists Labels playlists

Streaming economics are facing a potential crisis. The problem does not lie in the market itself; after all, in Q1 2019 streaming revenue became more than half of the recorded music business and Spotify hit 100 million subscribers.

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Spotify, the decline of playlists, and the rise of podcasts

Mark Mulligan

11 Apr 2019

curated playlists music marketing Music marketing strategy

The following is a small excerpt from MIDiA’s third edition of its landmark State of the Streaming Nation report. Most things that Spotify does are scrutinised and cross-examined within an inch of their lives, with vested interests trying to second guess what may be the intended or unintended cons...

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Quick take: Spotify’s throwback hub and the future of the album

Zach Fuller

4 Apr 2019

Music streaming playlists Spotify

Throwback Thursday, one of Spotify’s most popular features, has been expanded into a new Throwback hub. Launching initially with 30 playlists and described by Austin Daboh, Head of Music Culture & Editorial at Spotify, as being “ a permanent home for our main nostalgia brand ”, the announc...

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10 trends that will reshape the music industry

Mark Mulligan

3 Apr 2019

labels as a services Latin America music business trends

The IFPI has reported that global recorded music revenues have hit $19.1billion, which means that MIDiA’sownestimates were within 1.6% of the actual results . This revenue growth story is strong and sustained but the market itself is undergoing dramatic change.

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What’s next for playlist innovation?

Keith Jopling

4 Mar 2019

playlisting playlists product innovation

In this era of access to all music and everything about it, I do enjoy reading artist interviews, and pay attention to artists’ views on the modern music industry. What caught me recently were Mark Ronson’s remarks on songwriting in the age of the playlist in The Guardian: “Everything has to b...

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Do playlists make the power law in music even more extreme?

Zach Fuller

31 May 2018

Apple Music Music Charts Music streaming

Music has always been a superstar economy. Data going back to the 50s shows that, like many other areas of life and business, a disproportionate amount of the results come from a small number of factors.

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