Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

Business Strategy

Are the ongoing layoffs in games indicative of a wider issue in the games industry?

Cover image for Are the ongoing layoffs in games indicative of a wider issue in the games industry?

Karol Severin

6 Oct 2023

games forecasts

The layoffs wildfire that struck the games industry at the start of 2023 does not seem to be stopping - the most recent being Epic Games last week. Firstly, on a personal level, it has been really sad and upsetting to see all these people being laid off in 2023 – especially when the reasons behind...

min read

Epic blames layoffs on low creator margins — what does that mean for the rest of entertainment?

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Tatiana Cirisano

4 Oct 2023

Content Creators

Increasingly, engaging with entertainment involves some form of creation — be it turning your life into a Wes Anderson film , making songs with Grimes’ vocals , or learning the choreography to your new favourite music video .

min read

Spotify’s audiobooks move is another brick in the audio wall

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Mark Mulligan

4 Oct 2023

Streaming has come a long way since its days as a pure music service for super fans. Spotify’s announcement that it is making 15 monthly audiobook hours available to premium subscribers is simply the latest step in a journey that has seen streaming become the 21stcentury’s take on radio.

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Misaligned incentives
The cost of a broken business

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Tatiana Cirisano

September 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...

Regulatory decisions around AI will shape the future of digital ecosystems

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Hanna Kahlert

27 Sep 2023

Looking back, the Francis Haugen testimony spelled a turning point for social platforms. It represents a moment where they, and tech more generally, went from being able to ‘build fast and break things’ with no one really paying attention, to an environment where not only users were watching clo...

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Why investing in IRL entertainment is so important for Disney’s streaming future

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Tim Mulligan

26 Sep 2023

It appears that investors are losing confidence in Disney as the transition from linear TV to streaming TV moves into its final chapter. Last week, Disney saw its stock price fall after announcing that it was doubling its capital expenditures investmentin its parks, experiences, and products segment...

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Streaming’s problems will not be fixed by royalties alone

Cover image for Streaming’s problems will not be fixed by royalties alone

Mark Mulligan

15 Sep 2023

Streaming Music

Music streaming

Streaming Royalties

UMG and Deezer’s artist-centric royalty proposal got the amount of attention both parties probably wanted , if not necessarily the type of attention they were after. However, the intent was to kick start an industry debate, and that objective was clearly achieved.

min read

Unity’s pricing is a symptom, not the cause of tougher times ahead for the games industry

Cover image for Unity’s pricing is a symptom, not the cause of tougher times ahead for the games industry

Karol Severin

14 Sep 2023

game developers

Earlier this week, Unity announced that from 2024 it will start charging developers for the number of downloads / installs of their games. Developers unsurprisingly threw their proverbial toys out of the pram following the news.

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Niche is the way forward: DSP’s need function, not features

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Hanna Kahlert

14 Sep 2023

It has never been easier to become a music creator. But, it has arguably never been harder to remain one as a full-time career. There are a whole host of reasons behind this, not least of which is a streaming economy that has upended the role of music in the daily lives of audiences, and a host of c...

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Cannibalisation is inevitable for YouTube as the attention economy bites

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Ben Woods

13 Sep 2023

When YouTube launched Shorts in 2021, the social video platform was knowingly risking de-stabilising its core business. The rationale behind launching a short-form video offer was that the risk of not doing so could mean haemorrhaging thousands, if not millions, of viewers to TikTok.

min read

As Sam Ryder cuts to the chase, the question is do all artists become indie?

Cover image for As Sam Ryder cuts to the chase, the question is do all artists become indie?

Keith Jopling

7 Sep 2023

Creator economy

Like everyone, I have a basket of core artists I am a dedicated fan of. But there is a wider group of artists I follow and am always intrigued about, both musically and in terms of their career trajectory.

min read

How to make artist centric artist centric

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Mark Mulligan

6 Sep 2023

Streaming Royalties

Music streaming

Music Royalties

Deezer and UMG announced a major (in both senses of the word) shake up of streaming music royalties. This is arguably the biggest streaming market development in years, as it will set the tone for market-wide change.

min read

Artist subscriptions are the superfan opportunity

Cover image for Artist subscriptions are the superfan opportunity

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

August 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.

Misaligned incentives make the music business a zero-sum game

Cover image for Misaligned incentives make the music business a zero-sum game

Tatiana Cirisano

17 Aug 2023

streaming services

“Pop Stars Aren’t Popping Like They Used To”, Billboard ’s Elias Leight writes in a recent article, in which record label executives stress over the struggle to break new artists. The article (or at least, the headline) stirred up a storm on Twitter — ahem, X — last week, where many user...

min read

Alex Cooper’s new podcast network questions her future at Spotify and fuels competition for creators

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Annie Langston

16 Aug 2023

Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper has launched her own podcast network. A subsidiary of Trending , the media company Cooper launched earlier this year, The Unwell Network is targeting Gen Z audiences. In addition to producing both scripted and unscripted podcasts, the network will also explore live eve...

min read

For Sony's games division, add-on content is the one to watch

Cover image for For Sony's games division, add-on content is the one to watch

Karol Severin

16 Aug 2023

in-game monetisation

Sony reported its Q1 FY2023 results last week. The Gaming & Network Services (G&NS) segment was up 27.8% on last year. At the same time, however, operating income was down 6.83%. This segment had been selling more while operating slightly less profitably.

min read

The FAST advantage
Build sustainable consumer models

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Tim Mulligan and Ben Woods

August 2023

Streaming

Amazon

Netflix

Inflation and retention pressures are combining to make free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) an appealing go-to-market strategy for video distributors.FAST is still underperforming significantly in engagement terms when compared to its video rivals, but there are promising signs.

Music’s podcast potential
Focus on branding over discovery

Cover image for Music’s podcast potential

Annie Langston

August 2023

Labels

Streaming

Artists

In this hyper-fragmented entertainment consumption space, artists and labels must use every tool available to break out above the noise. Artists must diversify their content to not only promote their music, but to develop their personal brand. Podcasts are an effective vessel to target niche audiences and build a brand, both within and outside of m...

Why streaming and AI disruption is unlikely to have a Hollywood ending

Cover image for Why streaming and AI disruption is unlikely to have a Hollywood ending

Tim Mulligan

8 Aug 2023

With the writers’ strike nearing 100 days long, there is still no end in sight to the first industrial dispute of the streaming era. Both the studios and screenwriters met last Friday and failed to reach a workable compromise.

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DAZN bets on sports streaming future being driven by fandom

Cover image for DAZN bets on sports streaming future being driven by fandom

Ben Woods

3 Aug 2023

The streaming-TV industry has an engagement question to answer. Of late, the dominant services have been preoccupied with soothing investor concerns over the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on subscriptions.

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