Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

The New York Times audio app is a bet on podcast exclusivity — here is why it might work

Annie Langston

24 May 2023

Last week, The New York Times (NYT) debuted their official audio app, NYT Audio . NYT produces many popular podcasts, including The Daily and This American Life , utilising multiple streaming platforms to grow their audiences.

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Live services: Is the success of the few clouding the strategic judgement of the many?

Perry Gresham

19 May 2023

live services

EA

microtransactions

EA are heavily committed to the live service model, with their earnings release for financial year ending March 2023 putting their share of games revenues from full game purchases at just 26%, meaning that 74% came from live services and other revenue sources.

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Social content platforms are set to compete with everything in entertainment

Hanna Kahlert

17 May 2023

Social

Twitter

TikTok

Or at least, they will try to. TikTok is already a hub of creativity and consumption to match the changing preferences of a digital-native (and increasingly mobile-first) generation who have spent much of their entertainment lives in an environment of attention saturation.

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Are streaming TV services poised to become pay TV channels in all but name?

Ben Woods

16 May 2023

Netflix

Disney+

Amazon Prime Video

The streaming TV landscape is changing rapidly. Leading entertainment industry executives are questioning every aspect of the subscription video on-demand (SVOD) model in pursuit of sustainable profits.

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Amazon bringing physical product shopping into games is a prime example of monetising fandom

Karol Severin

12 May 2023

Amazon

in-game monetisation

e-commerce

Earlier this week, Amazon announced an initiative called Amazon Anywhere . It enables mobile games to offer consumers the ability to purchase physical products (e.g., toys and merchandise) directly inside the game.

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The global dance music industry grew by 34% in 2022

Mark Mulligan

11 May 2023

IMS

dance music

electronic music

Last week I was at the International Music Summit in Ibiza, the annual music industry business event. This year MIDiA compiled the annual IMS Music Business Report and I presented the findings at the opening of the event.

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Why the creator tools and services market is bigger than you think (and it is not AI)

Tatiana Cirisano

10 May 2023

Music creators

creator tools

Creator economy

One of the biggest stories of the past few years is the rise of self-releasing artists, who number 6.4 million in 2022, a 16.8% growth from 2021. Everyone wants a piece of that growth, which is part of the reason why distributors like Stem and TuneCore increasingly offer much more than distribution, major record labels are opening (or acquiring) their own label service operations, and there is a growing roster of what Music Business Worldwide has termed “inside-out majors” , like the recently-launched Gamma.

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Artists direct
Focus on passion, not professionalism

Tatiana Cirisano

May 2023

Spotify

SoundCloud

All eyes of the music business are on artists direct, the fastest-growing segment of the industry. But the 6.4 million artists in this segment are far from a unified group, and have varied aspirations, challenges, and needs. MIDiA’s 2023 creator survey reflects that the two largest sub-segments of artists direct are those who seek full-time music careers; and those who are passionate about music, but not seeking a full-time career.

Pre-empting video piracy in the streaming TV era

Tim Mulligan

May 2023

Netflix

Business Strategy

Video piracy had been downgraded as a significant disruptive risk in the era of subscription video on demand (SVOD) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST). While peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing piracy is a declining niche activity at 7% penetration, streaming piracy is has slightly increased to 10% as the cost-of living crisis and recessionary fears increase the use case for piracy among digital entertainment consumers.

AI and the future of music
The future is already here

Cover image for AI and the future of music

Mark Mulligan, Hanna Kahlert and Tatiana Cirisano

May 2023

Spotify

SoundCloud

Netflix

Unlike most new technology hype cycles, the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) has on the world is already surpassing expectations. Within the music industry, AI will largely be an enabler and accelerant of already-existing trends and market shifts: the growth of self-releasing artists, the consumerisation of music-making, and the resulting oversaturation and hyper-fragmentation of the market.

CMA blocking Microsoft from acquiring Activision raises more questions than answers

Karol Severin

27 Apr 2023

Microsoft

m&a

Activision

UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) just announced that it “ prevented Microsoft’s proposed purchase of Activision over concerns the deal would alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market, leading to reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers over the years to come .

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Quick take: Can Rovio give Sega wings in mobile and live services?

Karol Severin

20 Apr 2023

acquisition

rovio

sega

Sega is acquiring Rovio, and from my perspective, this deal makes sense for both sides. We are experiencing another step in the games industry’s wider consolidation journey, as cross-platform (i.e., mobile, pc, console, TV, etc.

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Community and influencers are poised to lead a video monetisation revolution

Ben Woods

18 Apr 2023

DAZN

Twitch

Recurly

Streaming TV and social video services are enduring a bout of uncertainty from high inflation and sluggish economic growth. Traditional monetisation strategies that have underpinned these platforms are now being sorely tested by the economic tumult.

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Why Max is the one to watch in 2023

Tim Mulligan

13 Apr 2023

Warner Bros. Discovery

Max

HBO Max

Investors attending Warner Bros. Discovery’s Streaming Product Press Event yesterday were reminded of the history underpinning D2C disruptor HBO Max as it was rebranded Max. The narrative for the rebrand was clear: trust us to get this right as we have been doing this successfully for a very long time.

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Netflix’s risk averse strategy is right for the retention age

Ben Woods

12 Apr 2023

streaming tv

Netflix

Stranger Things

Netflix is known for its fearless approach to financing new movies and shows. And yet the recent flurry of press coverage suggests the streaming TV service behind Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now taking a more conservative approach to commissioning.

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The music industry obsesses over artist performance statistics – where are label performance statistics?

Keith Jopling

10 Apr 2023

Streaming Music

music industry

Music

One of the watchwords in labels recently has been a focus on the ‘value proposition’ for artists, and it is easy to see why. In the streaming and social age, where independent self-releasing artists can get their music out into the world without a label, why should they sign to one at all? Up until even recently it was clear, for both majors and for indies.

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The great monetisation reset

Tim Mulligan

6 Apr 2023

NBCUniversal

Kerv Interactive

Twitch

2023 is shaping up to be an inflection point for video. The initial wave of streaming disruption is maturing and recalibrating to reflect a new period of adjustment to the new normal of slowing subscriber growth and increasingly constrained consumer spending.

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Podcasts and music streaming
Mirrored growth

Cover image for Podcasts and music streaming

Annie Langston

April 2023

Apple

iTunes

The economic recession, and related layoffs at major podcasting divisions, have some questioning the future of the format. However, podcasts are following a similar trajectory as music did in its transition to streaming and have reached critical mass — 26% consumer penetration — faster than music streaming subscriptions did.

MIDiA webinar: Surviving and thriving in the new era of streaming TV and social video

Ben Woods

30 Mar 2023

Social media

streaming tv

monetisation

After a prolonged period of unbridled growth, streaming TV and social video platforms have been confronted by multiple challenges in 2023. Subscription growth is slowing and consumer attention is peaking.

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Four themes that affect you, no matter what kind of games company you are

Karol Severin

23 Mar 2023

distribution

Gamers

cost-of-living

Even without the disruptive events of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the cost-of-living crisis, navigating the constantly evolving business dynamics in the games industry has never been easy.

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