Niche is mainstream How scenes, niche aggregators, and creators will reshape entertainment
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20,000 foot view: As niche officially becomes mainstream, the entertainment industry faces a delicate balance. Audiences are losing interest in broad, mainstream propositions, but hyper-personalised niches are inherently difficult to scale and monetise while retaining what made them special to fans in the first place. As a result, social platforms currently benefit the most from niche, taking the role of “niche aggregators”. Yet, they too will need to adapt to fill audiences’ needs for community and creators’ needs for monetisation. Therefore, the biggest long-term opportunity is for companies that can support mid-tier, cross-entertainment scenes and their communities.
Key data and insights included in this report:
- Insight on how community and shared interests drive fandom in both the niche and the mainstream
- Consumer data on how fans groups interact with their broader fanbases, segmented by groups such as fans of big artists, fans of smaller creators, IRL fans, and social media followers
- Analysis of the major drivers behind fan engagement
- Breakdown of consumer behaviours when discovering new music
- Top methods of how fans discover new music, such as: YouTube, radio, music streaming services such as Spotify, and social media
- Recommendations on how social platforms can be used to build fanbases and benefit from niches
All survey data is based on the MIDiA Research Q1 2023 Consumer Survey fielded in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, Mexico, and India and the MIDiA Research Q4 2023 Consumer survey fielded in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, and Brazil. Data includes breakdowns by age, gender, types of fan engagement, consumer streaming behaviours, and music discovery behaviour.
- Number of words: 3719
- Number of pages: 17
- Number of infographics: 3
Figure 1: The keys to unlocking fandom
Figure 2: The role of niche aggregators
Figure 3: The resulting middle will be a mix of community-level curation and engagement
Implications
Companies and brands mentioned: AOL, BTS Army, Billie Eilish, Bridgerton, Discord, Facebook, fanfiction.net, For You page, Imagine Dragons, James Blake, League of Legends, MTV, Marvel, Meta, Pottermore, Rocky Horror Picture Show, ‘Running Up That Hill’, Snapchat, Spotify, Stranger Things, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, TikTok, WhatsApp, X, and YouTube