Reports: Business Strategy

Browse all of our reports, featuring our analysts' expert insights and analysis of audience segmentation, emerging trends and technologies, value chains, market shares, predictions and more – backed by our proprietary survey data and bespoke models & forecasts. Become a subscriber to get new ones every month, or just pick one to get started.

Cover image for Video Consumer Snapshot Q3 2021

Video Consumer Snapshot Q3 2021
US, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil

Tim Mulligan

22 Dec 2021

Online video SVOD SVOD subscriptions

This slide deck presents consumer demand for video subscription services and streaming consumption, with detail for streaming services and video consumption preferences The data is pulled from MIDiA’s Q3 2021 Consumer Survey fielded in the US, UK, Australia,...

Cover image for 2022 MIDiA predictions

2022 MIDiA predictions
The year of the creator

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Srishti Das, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

16 Dec 2021

Creators Apple Spotify

In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, brands, marketing, games, and sports in 2022 and beyond. Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Adele,...

Cover image for Consolidation and retention

Consolidation and retention
How D2C is now driving video M&A strategy

Tim Mulligan

30 Nov 2021

Apple Amazon Streaming video

The D2C big bang moment of 2019/2020 opened up a new offensive front for media majors as they competed with the communications and tech majors for streaming audience market share, which was previously lost to the SVOD insurgents. Pureplay media players responded via defensive consolidation and / or selling themselves to more motivated competitors.

Cover image for Spotify Q3 2021 earnings

Spotify Q3 2021 earnings
Premium matures as advertising accelerates

Mark Mulligan

30 Nov 2021

Spotify Business Strategy

Spotify is in a transition phase. Monthly active user (MAU) growth bounced back, but user growth is in a mid-term slowdown phase while the business begins its transition to emerging markets and ad-based audio – with the latter showing more signs of movement than the former.

Cover image for Growth from transparency

Growth from transparency
Reframing the value of music through creator rights

Mark Mulligan, Keith Jopling, Srishti Das and Kriss Thakrar

12 Nov 2021

Free Report

Creators Streaming Business Strategy

The music industry has been through an unprecedented period of change over the past five years.Innovations in live streaming, games, user-generated content (UGC), digital art, and trading of rights represent welcome new opportunities for music creators - opportunities that will require creators to adapt in order to take full advantage.

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Independent label market shares
Up on all counts

Mark Mulligan

28 Oct 2021

Spotify Record labels Independent labels

This report presents record label market share that is measured not just by label reported revenues, but also by separating the revenues of independent labels that are distributed by major label groups, in order to give a more precise view of how the independent sector is performing.

Cover image for Beyond broadcast

Beyond broadcast
How digital natives will reboot sports content monetisation

Srishti Das

28 Oct 2021

YouTube Amazon Instagram

Global broadcast deals are being renegotiated in the context of expiring rights, evolving digitally native, younger audience engagement and increased competition for attention. With only 6% of 16-19-year-olds watching live sport across OTT platforms and linear TV, Gen Z is slowly finding new ways to engage with sports through social media highlight...

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Smart home
Smart devices are winning the battle for the future of TV

Tim Mulligan

30 Sep 2021

smart tvs VOD net neutrality

The unbundling of TV consumption is catalysing the smart home, with media streamers and smart TVs driving adoption and engagement. The smart home entertainment ecosystem will expand due to smart devices (smart TVs and smart speakers), as they are building on traditional consumption habits and engagement of key segments to act as smart home ecosyste...

Cover image for Spotify Q2 2021 earnings

Spotify Q2 2021 earnings
Slowdown arrives

Mark Mulligan

11 Aug 2021

Streaming Music Subscriptions Spotify

The growth headwinds that appeared in Q1 2021 manifested in a pronounced user growth slowdown in Q2, with ad-supported users hit hardest. Spotify has been through lean growth periods before, but what is different this time is that streaming’s new players are growing at pace.

Cover image for Unlocking mainstream AVOD

Unlocking mainstream AVOD
The silver streamer catalyst

Tim Mulligan

31 Jul 2021

Subscriptions Streaming Amazon

Ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) has been championed as the free-to-access equivalent of subscription video on demand (SVOD). However, for AVOD to become the digital successor to free-to-view TV it needs to break out of its current niche user base.

Cover image for MIDiA Research 2021 – 2028 global music forecasts

MIDiA Research 2021 – 2028 global music forecasts
ARPU growth finally delivers

Mark Mulligan

30 Jun 2021

revenue Global Music

This report presents the key figures, trends and drivers of MIDiA’s music forecast model. The figures presented in this report are both retail and label trade values and are in billions of US dollars unless otherwise stated. An Excel file posted alongside this report provides complete country level data, including DSP market shares and a detailed...

Cover image for Monetising Fandom

Monetising Fandom
Unlocking growth beyond games

Karol Severin

23 Apr 2021

Free Report

digital content Games cross-entertainment strategy

Beyond gaming to cross-entertainment partnerships webinar slides - 22-04-2021

Cover image for Getting serious about esports

Getting serious about esports
Identifying off-season digital engagement opportunities for sports

Alistair Taylor

31 Mar 2021

Yahoo esports Fox

COVID-19 has expedited the need for rights holders and teams to generate digital engagement beyond the pure play live broadcast. Games and esports became big attention economy winners during the early stages of the pandemic and first lockdown. Rights holders desperate to maintain connectivity with fans looked to esports to drive engagement and main...

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Recorded music market 2020
Pandemic-era growth

Mark Mulligan

11 Mar 2021

Streaming Streaming Music Recorded music

The global pandemic turned the music industry upside down. While live was decimated throughout 2020, after an initial downturn, the recorded music market returned to growth and finished the year with an acceleration that suggests a strong 2021 lies ahead.

Cover image for Spotify Q4 2020 earnings

Spotify Q4 2020 earnings
ARPU pays the price for growth

Mark Mulligan

28 Feb 2021

Subscriptions Streaming Streaming Music

In 2020 Spotify accelerated the growth of its total user base, with emerging markets playing a key role. However, revenue increases became decoupled from user growth across all categories, resulting in ARPU deflation. Companies and brands mentioned in...

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Sports audiences
The Gen Z opportunity

Alistair Taylor

8 Feb 2021

Apple Apple Spotify

Digital natives are more likely to consume non-live sports than older, traditional sports fans, which presents rights holders and broadcasters with untapped potential for monetisation by harnessing and actioning this insight. While the most valuable sports audience currently remains among pay-TV subscribers, planning for meaningful non-broadcast re...

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The Great Reaggregation
Lockdown, Demand and Consolidation

Tim Mulligan

29 Jan 2021

Amazon Amazon Apple TV

COVID-19 removed the constraints imposed by peak attention, leading to a surge in home-based entertainment consumption and streaming adoption. Fortuitous timing, enforced home working and the end of the commute, tied in with the need to entertain home-bound children, has greatly accelerated direct-to-consumer (D2C) adoption.

Cover image for Music and Games Partnership Strategy

Music and Games Partnership Strategy
Beyond the Comfort Zone

Karol Severin

29 Jan 2021

Apple Spotify Spotify

Music companies are flocking to explore partnerships with games companies. Seeking a foothold in a fast-growing market, music companies are often looking for easy wins that fit traditional licensing models that monetise consumption. These however, typically do not align with the games industry’s spend-centric worldview.

Cover image for The Roaring Sporting 20s

The Roaring Sporting 20s
India Leads the Way in Innovation and Engagement

Tim Mulligan, Alistair Taylor and Srishti Das

18 Jan 2021

Disney Disney vodafone

Touted as the home of the next billion online consumers, India’s rapid adoption of digital media services has been driven by the explosion in smartphone adoption over the last few years. While per capita smartphone penetration still significantly lags behind developed markets, India’s 1.

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Broken Windows
How Streaming Is Redefining the Movie Proposition

Tim Mulligan

21 Dec 2020

Amazon Netflix Disney

COVID-19 significantly reduced theatrical movie releases and has necessitated a shift to streaming premiers for studios, especially those with recently launched direct-to-consumer services. While Disney has stated that it will return to theatrical releases in May 21, rival Warner Media has boldly decided to jump feet-first into combined same-day th...

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