Reports: Music

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 The state of music AI

The state of music AI
The consumer opportunity lies in modification, not generation

Tatiana Cirisano and Hanna Kahlert

27 Jun 2024

Consumer behaviour music industry Music publishing

MIDiA previously predicted that generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) would accelerate music’s “Instagram moment”, where consumers could create and remix music as easily and often as they post photos and videos on social media. However, just because everyone can do these things does not mean everyone will want to.

Cover image for Sustainability from chaos

Sustainability from chaos
How today’s artists find sustainable success in a turbulent music industry

Mark Mulligan, Keith Jopling, Hanna Kahlert, Tatiana Cirisano, Sophia Oleksiyenko, Fernanda Balzaretti and Ula Kalkyte

10 Jun 2024

Free Report

Audience Insight

Success in the modern music industry has been transformed by the streaming era. Previous markers and methods, such as national charts and radio plays, have been replaced by streaming playlists and social platforms. Yet, while executives can look at high-level metrics across their portfolios, individual artists struggle with the increasingly persona...

Cover image for MIDiA Research 2024-2031 global music forecasts

MIDiA Research 2024-2031 global music forecasts
Rise of the Global South

Mark Mulligan, Tatiana Cirisano and Perry Gresham

23 May 2024

Business Strategy

The 2024 edition of MIDiA’s global music forecast captures a market at a crossroads. With limited streaming user growth remaining in the West, revenue growth will be fuelled by price rises and ARPU increases, as well as expansion in emerging markets, albeit at lower ARPU.

Cover image for State of the music video economy

State of the music video economy
Balancing act

Tatiana Cirisano and Fernanda Balzaretti

30 Apr 2024

Consumer behaviour music industry Music publishing

The rise of short-form video, and the resulting shift in value from music videos to music in videos, have upended the music video space. This report unpacks the growth of short-form, the resulting decline in YouTube weekly active user penetration, and the impact on both artist marketing and advertising revenue.

Cover image for Bifurcation theory

Bifurcation theory
How today’s music business will become two

Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano

18 Apr 2024

Business Strategy

The music business is bifurcating, with streaming emerging as the place for mainstream music and lean-back consumption, and social as the spiritual home of fandom and the creator economy. In this report we will explore how today’s music business challenges are setting in motion a new, bifurcated business.

Cover image for Recorded music market 2023

Recorded music market 2023
Back to life

Mark Mulligan

18 Mar 2024

Business Strategy

After a slower 2022, the global recorded music market returned to strong growth in 2023. It was, however, also the first year that the artists direct segment lost market share, with changes to the streaming ecosystem already beginning to take effect. This report presents recorded music market revenues by format as well as market shares for key labe...

Cover image for BE THE CHANGE

BE THE CHANGE
Gender equity in music

Hanna Kahlert, Tatiana Cirisano, Sophia Oleksiyenko, Ashleigh Millar, Samuel Griffin and Kazia Rothwell

8 Mar 2024

Free Report

Business Strategy Audience Insight

In many ways, women ruled the music industry in 2023. Women swept the 2024 Grammy Awards, winning all the “big four” categories. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé completed record-breaking tours and, according to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, the share of women artists on Billboard’s US Hot 100 year-end chart reached a 12-year high of 35%.

Cover image for Superstars and their superfans

Superstars and their superfans
Turning point

Tatiana Cirisano

8 Feb 2024

Audience Insight

Key data and insights included in this report: Consumer awareness, listenership, and fandom rates of music stars including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, Drake, Billie Eilish, Post Malone, The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, and Bad Bunny Analysis of these artists’ super fans by proportion of total fans, age and propensity to buy merc...

Cover image for Music subscriber market shares Q3 2023

Music subscriber market shares Q3 2023
New momentum

Mark Mulligan

30 Jan 2024

Business Strategy

This report presents MIDiA’s music subscriber market shares report and various MIDiA consumer surveys. All music subscriber data in this report refers to third quarters of each respective year. Numbers are always in millions, unless otherwise stated.

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Independent label survey
Playing the volume game

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

16 Jan 2024

Audience Insight

This report presents data from the 2023 MIDiA Research Independent Record Label survey The survey was fielded across three months in H1 2023, closing in May2023, with a sample size of 142 Topics covered in the survey include revenue by source, concerns...

Cover image for Music and AI

Music and AI
Beyond the hype cycle

Tatiana Cirisano

19 Dec 2023

AI Business Strategy

As with any emerging technology, recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have set in motion a flurry of excitement and investment, as well as fear and litigation. In this environment, it is crucial to parse what is hype and what is reality.

Cover image for State of the music creator economy

State of the music creator economy
The consumer era

Mark Mulligan

12 Dec 2023

Product Strategy

The pandemic triggered a surge in the music creator economy, which brought with it an influx of external interest and investment. 2022 saw growth moderate, but the long-term outlook is not only strong, it will also be supercharged by the consumerization of creation.

Cover image for Music x Climate

Music x Climate

Hanna Kahlert

7 Dec 2023

Free Report

Audience Insight

As 2023 draws to a close, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place for the 28th year, it is an important time for the music industry to reflect on our impact on the environment and how we can do better. This could take a variety of forms.

Cover image for Music industry earnings H1 2023

Music industry earnings H1 2023
Dawn of the post-streaming era

Tatiana Cirisano

21 Nov 2023

Business Strategy

The post-pandemic revenue bump is settling and challenges, including the cost-of-living crisis and a Russo-Ukrainian war, continue to complicate the global economic climate. This report considers the impact of these factors, and others, in analysing the revenues of leading music companies across recorded music, publishing, live, and streaming for t...

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Solid progress
German music consumer user profile

Mark Mulligan

31 Oct 2023

Audience Insight

This report presents MIDiA consumer data for key music behaviours of German consumers All data is for Germany except when ‘all country average’ is referred to. This is the weighted average of all countries surveyed Data covered includes streaming and social app usage, and key audio formats (radio, streaming, podcasts).

Cover image for Misaligned incentives

Misaligned incentives
The cost of a broken business

Tatiana Cirisano

29 Sep 2023

Business Strategy

Many of the music industry’s current woes can be traced back to misaligned incentives. Current streaming economics push record labels, streaming services, and artists in conflicting directions: Labels chase viral songs to grow market share, streaming services are motivated to lower the cost of licensing music, and artists must venture outside the...

Cover image for Latent potential

Latent potential
Japan music consumer user profile

Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano

19 Sep 2023

Music streaming Audience Insight

This report presents MIDiA consumer data for key music behaviours of Japan’s consumers. The data covered includes streaming app usage, social app usage, key audio formats (radio, streaming, and podcasts), fandom / identity, and artist content. All data is from our Q1 2023 survey, fielded in US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Sweden, France, Ge...

Cover image for Artist subscriptions are the superfan opportunity

Artist subscriptions are the superfan opportunity

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

30 Aug 2023

Business Strategy

Streaming is at a tipping point. Revenue growth slowed to 6.0% in 2022, labels want new royalty systems, consumption is commodified, TikTok is diluting cultural capital, creators are questioning effort ROI, and AI is here. Music rightsholders need their next growth driver.

Cover image for The state and future of music fandom

The state and future of music fandom
Unleashing fan creativity

Tatiana Cirisano

21 Aug 2023

Spotify YouTube SoundCloud

Streaming is buckling under the weight of new music being released every day, listenership is fragmenting, and artificial intelligence is poised to intensify these challenges. The music industry’s next era of growth lies in monetising fandom, not consumption.

Cover image for Return to live

Return to live
Post-pandemic music fans

Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

20 Jul 2023

Consumer behaviour live music Music creators

Today’s live music audience skews 45+, with rock concerts and theatres / concert halls dominating sales. Fandom is by far the strongest factor in purchasing tickets, eclipsing price, and location. So, despite challenges like inflation and scalping, most concertgoers plan to attend more or the same number of concerts going forward.

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