Blog: Radio

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 ARIA Awards 2025: Why can’t we all just get along?

Cover image for The ARIA Awards 2025: Why can’t we all just get along?

Laura Fisher

20 May 2025

Cultural trends

As someone with both a professional and personal obsession with all things audio, since the ceremony on the 14th of May, my LinkedIn feed has been unsurprisingly saturated with content about the ARIAs.

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A case against video podcasting

Cover image for A case against video podcasting

Laura Fisher

16 Apr 2025

Product Strategy

Key takeaways from this blog: While video is at the forefront of entertainment, audio-only formats can be equally important for engagement Prioritising video-first podcasting risks dilution – favouring style, celebrity, and algorithms over knowledge and authenticity MIDiA argue that audio-only podcasting is not just viable, but vital: essential for meaningful, lasting connection, capable of combating consumers' growing screen fatigue Video is rapidly becoming podcasting’s default setting.

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Live and direct: lessons for streamers from the appeal of online radio

Cover image for Live and direct: lessons for streamers from the appeal of online radio

Laura Fisher

20 Mar 2025

Audience Insight

Key insights from this blog: Online radio has a growing audience, with further opportunity to capitalise on what is missing from music streaming We explore why online radio is gaining popularity – covering the elements of loyalty, dynamism, and humanity – and explain how this connects to MIDiA's theory of bifurcation across entertainment In an era defined by the proliferation of algorithmic playlists and on-demand streaming, online music radio has quietly carved itself a future-proofed space in the audio ecosystem.

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A model for a new music streaming industry

Cover image for A model for a new music streaming industry

Mark Mulligan

18 Mar 2025

Business Strategy

The music industry is approaching a pivot point. On the one hand, things look positive: we have UMG’s Streaming 2.0 , artist centric licensing, the impending launch of supremium and expanded rights revenue hitting $4.

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The unflattening of music

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Mark Mulligan

30 Jan 2025

Cultural trends

[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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Advertising remains podcasting’s best monetisation opportunity

Cover image for Advertising remains podcasting’s best monetisation opportunity

Rutger Rosenborg

4 Sep 2024

youtube podcasts

Despite the layoffs and budget cuts across the industry in 2023, MIDiA remained optimistic about podcasts . As our 2024-2030 podcast forecasts states, the growth rate will slow, but over the course of seven years, revenue will continue to climb from $4 billion to $10 billion and listeners will grow from almost 700 million to more than 1 billion worldwide.

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Consumers prefer to be alone with audio, but social opportunities abound

Cover image for Consumers prefer to be alone with audio, but social opportunities abound

Rutger Rosenborg

25 Jul 2024

Audience Insight

Gone are the days when families huddled in the living room to listen to a radio broadcast. Cars and mobile phones — the latter to a much larger extent — have enabled and encouraged solitary audio consumption.

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Audio advertising: What podcasts can learn from radio

Cover image for Audio advertising: What podcasts can learn from radio

Rutger Rosenborg

11 Jul 2024

Business Strategy

Radio has been the dominant audio format for a century — and arguably, it still is. According to MIDiA’s Q1 2024 Consumer Survey , 49% of respondents in all tracked markets (excluding China) say they listen to radio weekly.

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Tech’s failure to crack live audio could be radio’s opportunity

Cover image for Tech’s failure to crack live audio could be radio’s opportunity

Annie Langston

9 Oct 2023

Another live audio app bites the dust. A year after its launch, Amazon Amp is shutting down, being buried alongside Spotify Live and Clubhouse (at least in its original form). While Amp recruited major celebrities, like Nicki Minaj and Pusha T, to host shows, it was not immune to industry-wide layoffs that have hit other live audio divisions.

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Spotify’s ‘daylist’ is coming for radio… but radio still has some aces to play

Cover image for Spotify’s ‘daylist’ is coming for radio… but radio still has some aces to play

Annie Langston

20 Sep 2023

As streaming platforms evolve, radio audiences are steadily declining. Although podcasts and streaming have seemingly replaced radio, there are key differences between the formats. For instance, radio’s ability to program content throughout the day has always been a major pillar that stands out against on-demand content.

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Bauer and Audible: Radio and podcasts CAN work together

Cover image for Bauer and Audible: Radio and podcasts CAN work together

Annie Langston

9 Aug 2023

Although podcasts are sometimes considered radio’s replacement, there are key differences between the formats – such as on demand versus live – that serve distinct audiences. In Bauer’s new partnership with Audible, presenters Fleur East (Hits Radio) and Tyler West (KISS Radio) will discuss their top podcasts and audiobooks during their Monday programs, and invite fellow hosts to share their favourite titles.

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Spotify is radio’s middleman to podcasts – but will this guarantee new listeners?

Cover image for Spotify is radio’s middleman to podcasts – but will this guarantee new listeners?

Annie Langston

19 Apr 2023

Although radio set the stage for podcasts, its transition into the digital space has been challenging. Now, Spotify is simplifying this process. With its 2021 acquisition of podcast tech company Whooshkaa, Spotify is rolling out its “broadcast-to-podcast” technology, which allows broadcasters to turn their live broadcast into an on-demand podcast — further taking the live out of audio .

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Music streaming’s looming generational blind spot

Cover image for Music streaming’s looming generational blind spot

Tatiana Cirisano

6 Apr 2023

Music streaming

Music streaming platforms have clamoured to attract Gen Z, with good reason. The cool, new kids out-stream everyone and are pioneering new ways to engage with music, yet they are spending more time on TikTok than streaming services might like.

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Streaming is becoming more like radio — what now?

Cover image for Streaming is becoming more like radio — what now?

Tatiana Cirisano

2 Mar 2023

Music streaming

Last week, both YouTube Music and Spotify launched new, radio-like features. Spotify introduced an AI-powered voice DJ, which will talk to users about why songs are included in personalised mixes. Meanwhile, YouTube Music is giving users more ways to customise streaming radio stations — they can now choose up to 30 artists, and specify things like genre, artist frequency, and the balance of chosen artists versus new recommendations.

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How radio broadcasters can become key players in the podcast market chessboard

Cover image for How radio broadcasters can become key players in the podcast market chessboard

Annie Langston

8 Feb 2023

Last week, Spotify announced an exclusive podcast deal with journalist Louis Theroux , one of BBC’s most notable personalities. Theroux is the latest radio talent to make the move to podcasting, which has become radio’s younger, cooler sibling.

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Podcasts wrapped 2022: Top shows put Apple and Spotify’s strategies on display

Cover image for Podcasts wrapped 2022: Top shows put Apple and Spotify’s strategies on display

Annie Langston

14 Dec 2022

This year podcasts also received the “wrapped” treatment that has been given to music. Both Spotify and Apple released their top shows of 2022, inadvertently highlighting their different podcasting strategies.

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Key takeaways for podcasting from SiriusXM and Spotify’s earnings

Cover image for Key takeaways for podcasting from SiriusXM and Spotify’s earnings

Annie Langston

4 Aug 2022

Two audio giants with investments in podcasting — Spotify and SiriusXM — published their second quarter earnings for the year. SiriusXM saw marginal year-over-year growth in revenue – around 4% – although it was still able to increase its paid subscribers by 23,000 users, bringing its total subscribers to 34 million.

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O’Brien purchase targets millennials, but what about the rest?

Cover image for O’Brien purchase targets millennials, but what about the rest?

Annie Langston

9 Jun 2022

The audio battle started with major network acquisitions, such as Amazon’s purchase of Wondery and Spotify’s acquisitions of Gimlet , The Ringer and Paracast . Now, SiriusXM is stepping into the ring with its purchase of Conan O’Brien’s network Team Coco.

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MIDiA Research launches audio vertical

Cover image for MIDiA Research launches audio vertical

Annie Langston

10 May 2022

The pandemic brought a new focus on the power of audio content, and it has established a baseline for this industry to build upon. With continued investment from the likes of Spotify and Amazon, along with social media platforms experimenting in live audio, there is a new focus on not only offering audio content but catering to audio creators.

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SiriusXM’s podcast partnership sets new precedent for the audio market

Cover image for SiriusXM’s podcast partnership sets new precedent for the audio market

Annie Langston

7 Apr 2022

At the kick-off of the audio battle, some of the largest tech platforms – most notably Spotify and Amazon – entered the ring by purchasing various podcast networks. These pre-emptive moves aimed to excel their position in this developing market, and in Spotify’s case, have helped them become the leader in the digital audio space.

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