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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.

Blurred lines: UGC is bringing creators and users closer, and blurring promotion with consumption

Keith Jopling

21 Oct 2020

Video Music Games

Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 hit ‘Dreams’ is the latest ‘legacy hit’ to have also become the latest viral phenomenon, thanks to a skateboarder with a thirst for cranberry juice. In just one week, streams of the song had increased by eight million on Spotify.

5 min read

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Podcasts Q2 2020: Spotify takes an early lead

Mark Mulligan

20 Oct 2020

MIDiA has just published its latest Podcast report, P odcasts Q2 2020: Spotify Takes an Early Lead . In it we present data from MIDiA’s quarterly survey that presents a comprehensive view of podcast user behaviour, who podcast listeners are, how it stacks up against radio and music streaming liste...

4 min read

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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...

4 min read

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More consumers intend to buy PS5 than Xbox Series X, but both companies will be content with their trajectory

Karol Severin

16 Oct 2020

Xbox PlayStation games consoles

With both PS5 and Xbox Series X having sold out their pre-order stock, the winter holiday race is heating up. Following Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media, we wrote that the acquisition is unlikely to have a short-term impact on console sales, and rather play a larger role in the conversion ...

3 min read

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The Premier League going pay-per-view means a sucker-punch for sports fans

Alistair Taylor

15 Oct 2020

English Premier League EPL pay per view

English Premier League (EPL) clubs have agreed an ‘interim solution’ to allow fans to continue watching their teams live. EPL fixtures not selected for broadcast in October will be available to fans on a pay-per-view (PPV) basis.

3 min read

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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 ...

3 min read

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Disney puts its best digital foot forward for its 97th birthday

Tim Mulligan

13 Oct 2020

Video

The 11 months since Disney launched its direct-to-consumer (D2C) service Disney+ have been the most challenging and disruptive of its near century-long history. Founded 97 years ago on Friday (October 16th, 1923), Disney’s longevity is in part due to its embrace of technology and radical reorganis...

3 min read

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From blockbuster-breaker to niche premium experience – cinema gets a makeover

Hanna Kahlert

12 Oct 2020

cinema Video Cultural trends

Lockdown has been catastrophic for live entertainment, forcing the closure of venues from movie theatres to concert halls to local music stages. This has forced creators and venues alike to adapt their strategies to the new normal, finding any way to access and engage with the audiences they rely on.

4 min read

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Netflix provides a masterclass in weaponising TV show fandom with Ratched

Tim Mulligan

9 Oct 2020

Video

Back in February 2018, Netflix shocked the TV world by poaching showrunner Ryan Murphy away from pay-TV network Fox. Murphy’s $300 million five-year deal was one of the many disruptive fallout consequences of the Fox acquisition by Disney, which are still reverberating around the media world two y...

3 min read

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Spotify is pushing podcasts beyond adolescence

Keith Jopling

8 Oct 2020

Music

The correct move Spotify has made in podcasts is to recognise that an industry over a decade old is still in its infancy (well, at 16 years since the podcast’s ‘birth’ let’s call it adolescence).

5 min read

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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.

5 min read

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Developers versus distributors: The App and Play Stores see challenge on the horizon

Hanna Kahlert

7 Oct 2020

Apple Google app store

Six months ago, Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store were the unquestioned gateways between app developers and consumer devices. Today, the unshakeable foundations of the fortress walls are, well, shaken.

4 min read

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Film’s existential threat

Tim Mulligan

7 Oct 2020

Video

Cineworld, the world’s second largest cinema operator and the largest UK movie theatre chain, is temporarily closing its UK cinemas as a result of continuing delays in the release of big budget films.

3 min read

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GB News: An idea ahead of – or behind, its time?

Tim Mulligan

2 Oct 2020

The long unwinding of impartial news delivery in the UK continues apace with the imminent launch of GB News – the UK’s answer to Fox News. The Chairman of the new venture is Andrew Neil, who rose to prominence as an editor in Rupert Murdoch’s News International organisation as the editor of Th...

3 min read

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German Bundesliga faces 20% decline in value for its international rights

Alistair Taylor

1 Oct 2020

Bundesliga premier league EPL

German business publisher Sponsors has announced the German Football League (DFL) is facing a 20% decline in the total value of its overseas’ broadcast rights for the 2020/21 campaign. This is down from the €250 million ($292 million USD) that Bundesliga International (the league’s internation...

3 min read

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Independent artist creativity and innovation in the age of COVID-19

Mark Mulligan

30 Sep 2020

Music Independent artists indie artists

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the music industry upside down in many ways but among the direct artists community there have also been signs of resilience and creativity in the face of adversity. For these ‘unsigned’ artists, 2020 is both the best of times and the worst of times.

6 min read

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Microsoft’s Zenimax acquisition is about the future of Games Pass more than console sales

Karol Severin

30 Sep 2020

Games games consoles Zenimax

With the acquisition of ZeniMax Media, Microsoft is gaining an important content asset for its portfolio – Bethesda’s games. And while the timing of the announcement certainly won’t make Sony too happy as it is about to launch PS5, the key benefits of this acquisition are tied to the future of...

4 min read

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Big tech is on the spot as the lines between commercial and political begin to blur

Hanna Kahlert

28 Sep 2020

Media and Marketing

Two months ago, on July 30th, the CEOs of Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon testified before US congress in a hearing largely focusing on the implications of antitrust law in their business operations.

4 min read

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What Killing Eve tells us about anticipating future series demand

Tim Mulligan

25 Sep 2020

Video

One of the biggest challenges for show commissioners and the networks who distribute TV content is the challenge of anticipating future demand. Most of the existing data indicators available are lagging indicators providing info on what has already occurred, be it ratings, streams or social media en...

3 min read

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So, how can artists and songwriters can get paid?

Mark Mulligan

25 Sep 2020

COVID-19’s decimation of the live music business coupled with the coming collapse in performance revenues due to closed shops, restaurants, bars and clubs mean that many (though not all) artists and songwriters are left with gaping holes in their incomes.

5 min read

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