Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

Social media is the vessel to amplify the open podcasting ecosystem

Annie Langston

1 Sep 2022

Live audio sparked in lockdowns and blurred the lines between social media and podcasts. Although Clubhouse kickstarted this craze, its success post lockdown has lagged , and other major platforms are now crowding the space.

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Apple connects the dots

Tatiana Cirisano

31 Aug 2022

music business

Music streaming

Apple Music

We are entering the era of the end-to-end music company. Companies are increasingly striving to capture more parts of the value chain by building end-to-end ecosystems that serve creators at all levels along every step, from music creation to distribution to marketing and beyond.

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Why retention is revolutionary

Tim Mulligan

31 Aug 2022

Online video

retention

d2c strategy

MIDiA Research identified last week, following yet another big streaming release, that one of the key challenges confronting the streaming video landscape in the streaming TV era is maintaining engagement.

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This is not a blip

Mark Mulligan

26 Aug 2022

attention recession

recession

recession impact

When change happens it often takes the perspective of looking back years, or even decades, later to appreciate just how meaningful that change was. Other times, it happens so fast that it can be difficult to appreciate its magnitude because people become desensitised to the perpetual torrent of bad news.

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Apple’s latest podcasting moves poke holes in Spotify’s strategy

Annie Langston

24 Aug 2022

Apple

Podcasts

Spotify

Apple has been quieter than its other podcast competitors in the past, but it is continuing to develop its audio offerings. Apple’s most noteworthy attempt to expand its platform thus far was introducing podcast subscriptions to entice creators and compete against Spotify’s offerings.

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How House of the Dragon is feeding into streaming‘s new reality

Tim Mulligan

24 Aug 2022

House of the Dragon

Warner Bros. Discovery

Game of Thrones

This Sunday saw the premiere of House of the Dragon , HBO’s latest instalment of the Game of Thrones story world. Set as a prequel to the global hit fantasy series, House of the Dragon is positioned as an HBO Max exclusive in all its current markets.

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Podcast monetisation and remuneration
Balancing creator and platform needs

Cover image for Podcast monetisation and remuneration

Annie Langston

August 2022

Creators

Apple

Spotify

Audio platforms traditionally monetise through advertising and, to a lesser degree, listener subscriptions. However, with the rise of the creator economy and more creators entering the podcast space, platforms must bulk up their offerings for creator monetisation as well.

PlayStation and Xbox exchange PR blows amid the Activision deal approval process

Karol Severin

19 Aug 2022

PlayStation

Xbox

Activision

Sony and Xbox exchanged PR salvos last week as Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision came under regulatory scrutiny in Brazil. Within it, companies got an opportunity to comment on the impacts of the acquisition.

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Podcast discovery is getting a TikTok facelift

Annie Langston

18 Aug 2022

TikTok

Podcasts

Spotify

Podcast discoverability continues to be a core challenge for audience platforms, audio creators, and listeners. With the rise of the creator economy, more voices are entering the space, which increases the amount of noise creators must break through to be noticed.

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Disney’s latest results means the media major is now at an inflection point

Tim Mulligan

16 Aug 2022

Hybrid SVOD

Ad-support Subscriptions

SVOD

Last week’s Q3 22 (calendar Q2 22) earnings represented a high point in Disney’s transition to streaming juggernaut. With its number of global direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscribers now higher than Netflix, the media major is way ahead of its April 2019 pre-Disney+ launch commitment of achieving 60-90 million Disney+ subscribers by FY 2024.

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Netflix versus AMC – a tale of two fandoms

Tim Mulligan

11 Aug 2022

Bridgerton

lean through

lean in

The last two weeks have witnessed two contrasting approaches toward the increasingly fragmented world of show fandom. First of all, it was revealed that Netflix has taken legal action against Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear and their company Barlow & Bear.

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What pay-for-play podcasting says about the creator economy

Annie Langston

11 Aug 2022

Podcasts

pay for play

Guestio

Podcasters are operating in the grey area of payola, as creators are charging guests to be featured without disclosing it to their listeners, according to a new Bloomberg expose. Apparently, this practice is most popular among podcasts in the business, wellness, and cryptocurrency areas.

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Key takeaways for podcasting from SiriusXM and Spotify’s earnings

Annie Langston

4 Aug 2022

Spotify

SiriusXM

earnings

Two audio giants with investments in podcasting — Spotify and SiriusXM — published their second quarter earnings for the year. SiriusXM saw marginal year-over-year growth in revenue – around 4% – although it was still able to increase its paid subscribers by 23,000 users, bringing its total subscribers to 34 million.

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TikTok Music: Here is what it would mean for you

Kriss Thakrar

2 Aug 2022

TikTok

Music streaming

creator tools

TikTok has filed a US trademark for TikTok Music , building speculation on whether the platform is gearing up to launch a streaming service. It already has the tools at its disposal with Resso, its streaming service for emerging markets.

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The video attention reboot
How video is being impacted by the attention recession

Cover image for The video attention reboot

Tim Mulligan and Hanna Kahlert

July 2022

Creators

Netflix

roku

With the attention recession in full swing following the lockdown boom, video isalready feeling the pinch as evidenced by Netflix’s declining subscriber count.The mainstreaming of subscription video on demand (SVOD) pulled TV into the digital entertainment sphere, placing it at risk of further disruption from the attentionrecession.

Podcasts are creating a new era of news

Annie Langston

28 Jul 2022

Podcasts

News

listeners

Podcasts are becoming a brand extension for every level of public figure, even those who have been shut out or disgraced elsewhere. After being fired from their network positions for allegedly violating journalistic ethics, two former news anchors — Chris Cuomo and Keith Olbermann — are each starting their own news podcasts.

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Audio creators
The new creative frontier

Annie Langston

July 2022

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

While exclusive content deals with celebrity names signposted the audio strategy of many of the market’s big players, audience platforms are already recognising the growing importance of independent audio creators as the market develops and expands.

Music sync market forecast
Production libraries raise the pitch

Cover image for Music sync market forecast

Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

July 2022

YouTube

SoundCloud

Netflix

Amid fragmenting fandom and the attention recession, sync is more important than ever as a tool for both revenue generation and marketing. There are also dozens of emerging use cases for sync, from creator content to fitness platforms and virtual spaces in the evolving metaverse.

Winter is coming, and Amazon is ready: why the multi-service major is raising its prices

Hanna Kahlert

27 Jul 2022

cost-of-living crisis

oil

Attention

Subscription fatigue is already threatening the Covid-driven entertainment boom as post-pandemic behaviours compete for time, money, and attention with the digital subscriptions that thrived under lockdown measures.

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The attention recession meets the economic recession

Mark Mulligan

22 Jul 2022

attention recession

recession

cost-of-living crisis

We are living in uncertain times. The cost-of-living crisis is hitting consumers’ pockets, driven by rising fuel and food prices. The effects of the pandemic are still present, the global economy may be entering a recession, and the geo-political landscape is being increasingly shaped by conflict.

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Business Strategy