Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

As Spotify layoffs continue, the next phase for podcasting is quality over quantity

Annie Langston

7 Jun 2023

In the past six months, many major platforms made cuts to their audio departments. Spotify has announced a new round of layoffs in its podcast division, eliminating 200 jobs from Gimlet and Parcast Studios.

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Apple’s Vision Pro is about a better today rather than a shinier tomorrow

Mark Mulligan

6 Jun 2023

Media and Marketing

Business Strategy

Apple’s long anticipated VR move finally saw daylight in the shape of Vision Pro . What is particularly interesting about the launch and its subsequent coverage is that the conversation is more about what Vision Pro enables rather than what it actually is.

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NetEase’s expansion to the West is in full swing

Karol Severin

2 Jun 2023

NetEase

acquisitions

expansion

Since the beginning of 2023, NetEase has been rapidly announcing new studios, averaging one per month. These have either been established internally, or acquired. - It acquired SkyBox Labs (Canadian games studio) in January - It announced Spliced in February (a global remote-first studio with office...

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Localisation needs to support paid sharing as the key revenue growth driver for Netflix

Tim Mulligan

2 Jun 2023

Netflix

Video

Business Strategy

Netflix finds itself at yet another inflection point as it rolls out its paid sharing plan in the US. With a saturated domestic market (32% of paid members in Q1 2023 were from North America), finding additional subscribers means pushing subscription dodgers onto the recently launched basic with ads...

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UMG, Endel, and the case for labels in the AI space

Tatiana Cirisano

1 Jun 2023

Universal Music Group

Warner Music Group

Record labels

The flood of new music created using artificial intelligence (AI) will further erode major label market share, and some label executives’ recent comments about the value of human-made music seem to put those fears in plain sight.

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US SVOD consumer podcast engagement
Audio is the new spinoff

Cover image for US SVOD consumer podcast engagement

Annie Langston

June 2023

Apple

Spotify

As consumer attention fragments across platforms and content types, it is increasingly important for both streaming subscription video services and podcast creators to maximise their content reach. For streaming subscription video on demand (SVOD) services, podcasts provide new opportunities to reach and retain audiences.

Data briefing
South Korea music market

Mark Mulligan

June 2023

Business Strategy

This report presents key music market metrics for South Korea. All data is domestic SouthKorean data unless otherwise stated below. The datasets leveraged for this report include: Music company financials and market shares. This data refers to revenue generated by South Korean companies and thus includes both domestic and international revenue MIDi...

Livestreaming strategy in a social-video world
Work with UGC, not against it

Cover image for Livestreaming strategy in a social-video world

Tatiana Cirisano

June 2023

live

Amazon Prime

gigs

Livestreamed concerts are establishing themselves as complementary experiences, rather than replacements for in-person gigs. A picture of the average livestreamer — older millennials who are entertainment super-consumers — is coming into focus. Now, as the rise of social video coincides with the return of in-person concerts and festivals, user-...

BBC signals radio’s shift to the podcast market

Annie Langston

31 May 2023

BBC

Podcasts

Spotify

The BBC has traditionally stuck to public programming for its radio arm. However, BBC Radio is now shifting some of its programming to BBC Studios, meaning it can now be offered for global distribution on major podcast platforms, like Spotify.

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Telly’s challenge to the smartphone opens a new front in the second screen wars

Ben Woods

24 May 2023

Smart TV

Telly

FAST

Rarely does a new product manage to redefine its market. In 2007, the launch of the iPhone caused a seismic shift when Apple transformed the mobile phone from a device for calls and texts to an entertainment hub with the computing power of a small laptop.

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

Annie Langston

24 May 2023

The New York Times

Podcasts

Exclusive

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,...

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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...

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 f...

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 o...