Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

Fandom

MIDiA’s 2025 independent label survey

Cover image for MIDiA’s 2025 independent label survey

Mark Mulligan

28 Aug 2025

Business Strategy

It’s that time of year again, MIDiA’s independent label and distributor survey is now live and waiting for your contributions! Click here to take the survey. The annual survey is an opportunity for the global independent community to have its voice heard – and this year is one of the most impo...

min read

Why WEBTOON’s short-form video drive is a lesson in format flexibility

Cover image for Why WEBTOON’s short-form video drive is a lesson in format flexibility

Ben Woods

22 Aug 2025

Business Strategy

In June 2025, MIDiA made a call that WEBTOON , the vertical scrolling digital comic app, could pose a greater challenge to anime’s leading subscription streaming service, Crunchyroll. The conclusion was made based on the potential for WEBTOON to deliver a more compelling in-app offer around video.

min read

The unflattening of streaming

Cover image for The unflattening of streaming

Mark Mulligan

21 Aug 2025

Business Strategy

This post builds on our January 2025 post ‘The unflattening of music’ which itself built on two previous pieces (you can find links to both in that post). Industries arrive at pivot points when an accumulation of fissures coalesce into one big crack.

min read

What traditional media can learn from sports fandom’s bifurcation moment

Cover image for What traditional media can learn from sports fandom’s bifurcation moment

Ben Woods

15 Aug 2025

Too often, fans are categorised as one amorphous group. They can be lumped together regardless of their age, purchasing power, community engagement, or entertainment consumption behaviours. Fans are a diverse group and always have been.

min read

Social as the home of online scenes
Going beyond viral moments

Cover image for Social as the home of online scenes

Hanna Kahlert

August 2025

Creators

Creators

France

In a fragmented digital environment, scenes are becoming important tools for connecting with and mobilising fans. Social platforms can be useful for finding, understanding, and engaging with scenes. However, not all social moments are created equal. This report reveals how social is only part of the bigger picture, and dives deep to show that the c...

Fandom as a multi-layered experience

Cover image for Fandom as a multi-layered experience

Laura Fisher

6 Aug 2025

In today’s hyper-connected digital landscape, fandom is often misunderstood as a static identity, a label adopted after buying a concert ticket or streaming an album. This passive view misses the essence of what makes fandom so compelling.

min read

Mainstream meets Fandom: How entertainment and creators can thrive together

Cover image for Mainstream meets Fandom: How entertainment and creators can thrive together

Ben Woods

5 Aug 2025

Creator economy

Fandom is evolving into a more powerful force within entertainment. The value gap between what entertainment IP holders produce and what fans can create is narrowing fast. This has implications for audience engagement.

min read

What is the value of a stream in 2025?

Cover image for What is the value of a stream in 2025?

Olivia Jones

31 Jul 2025

Product Strategy

Streaming Music

More parties than ever are becoming frustrated with streaming. For evenmany successful artists, streaming is a minority income stream, as fandom-related endeavours like live performances, merchandise, and brand deals prove to be more lucrative.

min read

More than hype: Why gamers cannot wait for GTA VI

Cover image for More than hype: Why gamers cannot wait for GTA VI

Brandon Sutton

30 Jul 2025

Critically acclaimed, financially dominant, and still hyper-relevant more than a decade after its last release, the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series sits at the summit of the video game industry. Given this sustained success, it is no surprise that anticipation is high for the next instalment in the se...

min read

The future of creator apps
Fuelling engagement with fandom

Cover image for The future of creator apps

Ben Woods

July 2025

Creators

Spotify

Artists

The AI boom has unleashed a wave of creator tools, but some are struggling to make the transition from interesting and experimental to compulsive and essential. Fandom offers a solution by tying creation to a consumer’s personal passion, appetite for community engagement and a desire to have a stake in the entertainment they love.

Why legacy media should use creators as curators and content providers

Cover image for Why legacy media should use creators as curators and content providers

Ben Woods

23 Jul 2025

Business Strategy

Much of the traditional entertainment world is now working with creators. In fact, many of these companies have long-standing creator strategies when it comes to marketing. Whether it is a movie launch, a new TV series, video game, or album release, these businesses have a strong handle on which cre...

min read

Music consumer behaviour Q1 2025
Mixed signals

Cover image for Music consumer behaviour Q1 2025

Mark Mulligan

July 2025

Consumer behaviour

Streaming

France

This report presents MIDiA Research consumer data for music. Data covered includes weekly active users, streaming music behaviour, non-streaming behaviour, fandom activity, and audio consumption. All data is from MIDiA’s Q1 2025 survey, with data for US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Poland, Spain, Colombia, Japan, n = 9,023.

Building fandom is about the journey, not the destination

Cover image for Building fandom is about the journey, not the destination

Hanna Kahlert

15 Jul 2025

“Superfans” remain the headline topic for the entertainment industries , in music and beyond. They are the biggest cheerleaders amongst their peers, the most engaged on social media and streaming, and the highest spenders across the board.

min read

Why podcasts triumph in real-life settings: a lesson in scene alignment

Cover image for Why podcasts triumph in real-life settings: a lesson in scene alignment

Laura Fisher

10 Jul 2025

Podcasts are well and truly getting the in-real-life treatment. What began as a digitally native on-demand medium is now commanding physical spaces with remarkable success. This isn’t from the live recordings in and of themselves, but from mastering scene alignment .

min read

Why fandom’s ‘more is more’ era could backfire

Cover image for Why fandom’s ‘more is more’ era could backfire

Olivia Jones

9 Jul 2025

Marketing Strategy

‘Less is more’ has long been a pillar of entertainment marketing strategy, promoting the importance of quality over quantity. However, in the past decade, the new phrase has effectively become “more is more” as all forms of entertainment push to release as much content as possible, as often ...

min read

Streaming is both retail and radio – it shouldn’t be

Cover image for Streaming is both retail and radio – it shouldn’t be

Mark Mulligan

26 Jun 2025

Business Strategy

In a brutally simplified view of the past, the recorded music industry had two lanes: retail and radio. Piracy killed retail. Streaming killed piracy, then went on to, if not kill, then seriously maim radio.

min read

Apple, Stormzy, and the new Hollywood

Cover image for Apple, Stormzy, and the new Hollywood

Ben Woods

25 Jun 2025

Business Strategy

How do broadcasters and traditional filmmakers adapt to a YouTube world? It is a question that has hung over the video industry’s old guard for some time now. Yet, social video is nothing new; YouTube is 20 years old, and the creator economy is already worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

min read

International success for local language artists
A strategic playbook

Cover image for International success for local language artists

Laura Fisher

June 2025

UK

France

Spotify

The music industry is undergoing a paradigm shift. Success once required artists to fit the traditional industry model where anglicisation and relocation to traditional hubs like Los Angeles, New York, or London were prerequisites. Streaming platforms have democratised access, enabling artists to achieve international fame while remaining culturall...

Why HYBE expanding into China is a bigger deal than you think

Cover image for Why HYBE expanding into China is a bigger deal than you think

Olivia Jones

17 Jun 2025

Business Strategy

Music streaming

Korean and Chinese labels have been a hot topic in the news lately. First, HYBE sold its entire 9.38% stake in fellow South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment to Chinese music streaming giant Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) for approximately $177 million USD (per Music Business Worldwid...

min read

Live isn’t dead, it just needs a WhatsApp group: why gatekeeping is due for a comeback

Cover image for Live isn’t dead, it just needs a WhatsApp group: why gatekeeping is due for a comeback

Hanna Kahlert

12 Jun 2025

Cultural trends

The live scene is, allegedly, in an uphill battle. Festivals face cancellations, travel costs are rising, and grassroots venues are struggling. Success stories like the ‘Eras’ tour and the Oasis reunion boosted year-on-year stats within the industry, but is this a sign of long-term growth or mer...

min read

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
›

Showing 1 to 20 of 220 results.