Blog: Social

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 new soft power and its hidden rules

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Mark Mulligan

15 May 2025

Business Strategy

Throughout the 20th century, particularly the second half, many Western countries – such as the US, UK, and France – increased their global influence through the use of cultural soft power. This was...

min read

There is no Pirates of the Caribbean 6: How long is the internet going to work?

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Hanna Kahlert

29 Apr 2025

Cultural trends

Generative AI is improving, and its use is increasing. AI tools have rapidly accelerated , and, as a result, AI is now widely used to generate lesson plans, find recipe measurements, and draft lists of...

min read

What does it mean for OpenAI to go social?

Cover image for What does it mean for OpenAI to go social?

Hanna Kahlert

24 Apr 2025

Business Strategy

Key takeaways from this blog: Tech giants are doubling down on AI, with social seemingly the next frontier for innovation OpenAI may be flipping the script: not adding AI to a social platform, but building...

min read

If the internet dies, where does all the attention go?

Cover image for If the internet dies, where does all the attention go?

Hanna Kahlert

2 Apr 2025

Cultural trends

Key takeaways from this blog: Social platforms dominate culture, but a vibe shift toward offline experiences is emerging as users crave more intentional, less addictive engagement (as explored in MIDiA's'...

min read

Welcome to the brand new MIDiA

Mark Mulligan

2 Apr 2025

Business Strategy

Today we are proud to announce the next iteration of MIDiA Research. 2024 marked MIDiA’s tenth year, and in the preceding decade we broke brave new ground for entertainment business analysis. We introduced...

min read

Why ads in DMs are not the solution Instagram wants them to be

Cover image for Why ads in DMs are not the solution Instagram wants them to be

Hanna Kahlert

18 Mar 2025

Audience Insight

Key insights from this blog: Instagram's direct messaging features have become a core component of the platform; MIDiA data highlights that the majority of social media users log in to the platform to...

min read

Why social is a double-edged sword for streaming TV

Cover image for Why social is a double-edged sword for streaming TV

Ben Woods

7 Mar 2025

Business Strategy

TV shows, movies, and social creator content are lane hopping in search of engagement. It is common practice now for SVOD services to distribute one or several episodes for free on YouTube and TikTok in...

min read

YouTube is winning emerging markets by being social – and format-flexible

Cover image for YouTube is winning emerging markets by being social – and format-flexible

Hanna Kahlert

5 Mar 2025

Audience Insight

Cultural trends

In English-speaking markets (and much of Europe), entertainment consumption is split across a large number of digital platforms, segmented largely by content format, rights access, and legacy uptake. It...

min read

Social came for music streaming’s lunch – now is the time for streaming to bite back

Cover image for Social came for music streaming’s lunch – now is the time for streaming to bite back

Tatiana Cirisano

27 Feb 2025

Audience Insight

In the battle of music streaming versus social, the major (at least Western) music streaming services have never fully committed to implementing social features. Spotify has come the closest: an early...

min read

Instagram Edits: the CapCut clone targeting TikTok’s turmoil

Cover image for Instagram Edits: the CapCut clone targeting TikTok’s turmoil

Ben Woods

22 Jan 2025

Product Strategy

As TikTok grappled with its blackout on Sunday, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri took the opportunity to up the ante with one of his biggest rivals. Targeting TikTok’s 170 million US users, Mosseri revealed...

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Ban or no ban, what comes next for TikTok creators?

Cover image for Ban or no ban, what comes next for TikTok creators?

Hanna Kahlert

22 Jan 2025

Marketing Strategy

The TikTok ban saga continues. The official date of the ban saw the app go dark in the US and Canada, replaced by a notice that the law had come into effect. However, only a few hours later, the app came...

min read

Meta pushes for “free speech” as TikTok falls short: a dramatic cultural shift for social

Cover image for Meta pushes for “free speech” as TikTok falls short: a dramatic cultural shift for social

Hanna Kahlert

15 Jan 2025

Business Strategy

The news cycle leaves no room to draw breath as strategic pivots and Supreme Court hearings come thick and fast. Changes are afoot – and they paint a very different picture of the digital landscape of...

min read

How a US TikTok ban could accelerate the rise of the Global South

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Tatiana Cirisano

9 Jan 2025

Amid a flurry of year-end lists released last month, TikTok published a ranking of the platform’s most popular songs. While US music executives have been busy considering how a potential TikTok ban could...

min read

Musk calls UK government ‘tyrannical’ and TikTok could leave the US: is global culture going regional again?

Cover image for Musk calls UK government ‘tyrannical’ and TikTok could leave the US: is global culture going regional again?

Hanna Kahlert

7 Jan 2025

A swath of elections in 2024 have paved the way for regulatory changes in the social media sphere, with talk of bans and restrictions meeting the governmental meddling of CEOs like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg....

min read

A regulation-heavy year for social looms in 2025

Cover image for A regulation-heavy year for social looms in 2025

Hanna Kahlert

17 Dec 2024

Product Strategy

The UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has published guidelines around the Online Safety Act, warning that most social platforms are not adequately meeting standards. Sites that fail to comply can...

min read

Will the TikTok ban happen? What you need to know

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Hanna Kahlert

10 Dec 2024

It has been a rollercoaster of a news year for TikTok since April, when President Biden signed a law that would ban the platform unless it found new owners. The January 19th deadline is approaching quickly,...

min read

Australia bans social media for under-16s: the first domino towards a new digital world?

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Hanna Kahlert

3 Dec 2024

age restriction

australia social media ban

Australia has just approved groundbreaking social media regulation that bans users under 16 from accessing platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, and X. This under-16 social media ban is the first...

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Why social media regulation could be a boost for the creator economy

Cover image for Why social media regulation could be a boost for the creator economy

Hanna Kahlert

26 Nov 2024

TikTok’s future hangs in the balance, with its January deadline to find a new owner fast approaching beneath the oversight of a new, and unpredictable, US administration. President Trump originally tried...

min read

Are consumers ready for TikTok’s AI acceleration?

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Ben Woods

21 Nov 2024

The AI revolution sweeping the entertainment industry will rage on in 2025. In recent weeks, TikTok owner ByteDance has provided a deeper look into how AI will impact social platforms . Through a series...

min read

The BlueSky migration: How cultural shifts can disrupt even the most established social media platforms

Cover image for The BlueSky migration: How cultural shifts can disrupt even the most established social media platforms

Hanna Kahlert

19 Nov 2024

Twitter clones have proliferated since Elon Musk first bought and renamed the platform to X in 2022. Despite a lot of buzz around platforms like Mastodon and BlueSky, none have seemed to capture a significant...

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