Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

Disney’s IP bank is its ultimate superpower which it needs to double down on investing in hybrid IRL success

Tim Mulligan

4 Apr 2024

Disney’s annual shareholder meeting has confirmed that its management team, led by streaming and IP visionary Bob Iger, remains firmly in control of the media major’s destiny by thwarting Nelson Peltz’s push to acquire a board seat.

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Take-Two acquires Gearbox as cross entertainment synergies ramp up

Karol Severin

28 Mar 2024

take two interactive

gearbox

embracer

We have barely made it to the end of the first calendar quarter of 2024 and MIDiA’s prediction about a $100 million+ acquisition in the games industry has panned out. Take-Two Interactive (Take-Two) is acquiring The Gearbox Entertainment Company from Embracer for $460 million, paid with common sto...

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AI could enable a golden age of audio piracy

Rutger Rosenborg

28 Mar 2024

Audiobooks

Podcasts

Spotify

Everyone knows the story: In the early 2000s, peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing platforms like Napster, Kazaa, and LimeWire helped digital music piracy proliferate, ultimately decimating recorded music revenue for years.

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MIDiA Research 2024–2030 global podcast forecasts
Road to a $10 billion business

Cover image for MIDiA Research 2024–2030 global podcast forecasts

Mark Qi and Rutger Rosenborg

March 2024

Business Strategy

The temporary digital consumption boom of the pandemic gave way to an inflationary landscape fuelled by global supply chain issues and geopolitical crises. While inflation levelled out in 2023, the residual effects of post-pandemic economics continued to reverberate throughout media and tech.

Virtual influencers
The opportunity for brands and creative agencies

Ben Woods

March 2024

Business Strategy

Creator economy

Brands and creative agencies can claim a larger slice of the creative economy as adoption of virtual influencer content accelerates. Cheaper to run, with higher productivity rates and more monetisation options, virtual influencers provide an opportunity for brands to secure a greater return on their marketing investment.

Why Prime Video's Mr Beast gamble can fuel Amazon's advertising business

Ben Woods

25 Mar 2024

mr beast

YouTube

Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video has embarked on a big bet that could reshape the relationship between streaming TV and content creators. Long rumoured, the deal between YouTube superstar Mr Beast and Prime Video was made official on Tuesday (March 19th, 2024) with some headline grabbing details.

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As Spotify corners audiobooks, Audible eyes functional audio

Rutger Rosenborg

22 Mar 2024

Audiobooks

Podcasts

Spotify

Over the course of 30 years, Audible’s catalogue has grown to include more than 470,000 audiobooks, at least according to their own ads . In less than a year, Spotify’s catalogue has grown to include more than 200,000 audiobooks, which is already 42.

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Recorded music market 2023
Back to life

Cover image for Recorded music market 2023

Mark Mulligan

March 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...

Global recorded music revenues grew by 9.8% in 2023

Mark Mulligan

18 Mar 2024

recorded music 2023

recorded music revenues

music revenues

Growth is back! After a slower 2022, global recorded music revenues grew by 9.8% in 2023 to reach $35.1 billion, compared to 7.1% in 2022, which means that the market is now more than double (124.5%) the size it was in 2015.

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MIDiA independent label and distributor survey

Mark Mulligan

14 Mar 2024

Independent labels

market shares

Record labels

MIDiA is fielding its annual independent label and distributor survey . This is the chance for the independent sector to have its voice heard. Given all of the changes that are taking place in the streaming economy, there has perhaps never been a more important time for this.

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BarbenHeimer needs to usher in media fusion to fully revitalise cinema

Tim Mulligan

13 Mar 2024

BarbenHeimer

oppenheimer

Barbie

In many ways the 96th Academy Awards was positioned as the critical confirmation of last year’s double blockbuster performances of Oppenheimer and Barbie . Collectively, these titles generated $2.4 billion at the box office in 2023 and were heralded as announcing the return of cinema to the heart ...

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BE THE CHANGE
Gender equity in music

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

March 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%.

New audiobook pricing gives Spotify the best of both worlds

Rutger Rosenborg

6 Mar 2024

Audiobooks

Spotify

Audible

In late 2023, Spotify slowly started rolling out audiobooks to Premium subscribers in select markets . In contrast with Spotify’s unlimited supply of music, Premium subscribers were allotted 15 hours (roughly two audiobook equivalents, according to Spotify) of audiobook listening per month.

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Is BritBox International the missing commercial streaming catalyst for the BBC?

Tim Mulligan

4 Mar 2024

BritBox

Video

Business Strategy

Last Friday, ITV announced the sale of its entire 50% interest subscription video on demand (SVOD) service to its partner and fellow shareholder, BBC Studios (the commercial arm of the BBC). BritBox was Launched in in 2017 as a joint venture between BBC Studios and ITV.

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TikTok highlights the importance of publishing — and lack of songwriter services

Tatiana Cirisano

29 Feb 2024

Social media

TikTok

songwriters

It is no news flash that the music business has a reputation for undervaluing songwriters. Despite being arguably the most important part of the song, the shift to streaming has been even more disastrous for songwriters’ remuneration than artists.

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Paramount is on the right track but does it have enough time?

Tim Mulligan

29 Feb 2024

Paramount+

Parammount+

Pluto TV

Yesterday, Paramount announced its full year 2023 financial results. The numbers were stark, with revenues down 2% to $29.7 billion and an operating loss of $451 million. The stock price declined at the end of the day by 1.

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Quick take: The games industry health check

Karol Severin

27 Feb 2024

games forecasts

games revenue

Games industry

In recent weeks and months, a growing number of people have been asking: “What is going on with the games industry?”, “Is the games industry doomed now?”, “Is it done growing?”, “If neither a new Switch or GTA 6 are getting released this year, is the games industry going to have a weak...

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What indie book publishers can gain from audiobooks

Rutger Rosenborg

22 Feb 2024

Audiobooks

Music streaming

music industry

In the music industry, three major labels generate the lion’s share of revenue: Universal, Sony, and Warner. In the book publishing industry, the “big five” publishers dominate: Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins.

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Audio substitute threat
Measuring consumer time allocation

Rutger Rosenborg

February 2024

Streaming

cannibalization

Radio

All forms of entertainment compete not only for the same time, but increasingly for the same digital real estate. As audio streaming platforms move towards all-in-one access to multiple formats, both platforms and content providers must understand the threats of substitution and cannibalisation from within.

Social is the new streaming… but the cracks are already showing

Hanna Kahlert

22 Feb 2024

Streaming

Social

Music

When streaming first overtook music, it did so by force. Audiences quickly latched on to the freedoms of digital life and the accessibility of music on the internet. Piracy was on the rise and downloading music via Napster and LimeWire became a shared memory for millennials.

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