Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

Fandom

Streaming is missing cultural moments, and superstars know it

Cover image for Streaming is missing cultural moments, and superstars know it

Kriss Thakrar

11 Oct 2023

In the modern music industry, a near constant supply of music is expected to succeed on streaming platforms . Drake is one of the best examples of this: since 2015 he has released an album every year, in addition to two collaborative albums, adding up to 200 tracks.

min read

BlackPink, superfans and the video game threat to social video and streaming TV

Cover image for BlackPink, superfans and the video game threat to social video and streaming TV

Ben Woods

1 Sep 2023

Being an entertainment fan in the modern era can be a disjointed experience. Take Star Wars . A fan of the long-standing sci-fi franchise must invest significant amounts of time and money across multiple entertainment platforms if they are to truly indulge in their fandom.

min read

A new era of ‘fan-made’ music is about to begin

Cover image for A new era of ‘fan-made’ music is about to begin

Kriss Thakrar

30 Aug 2023

Since MIDiA’s comments on TikTok’s music production ambitions more than two years ago, a lot has changed. Consumers have become bolder and more engaged in playing an active role in their music consumption.

min read

The state and future of music fandom
Unleashing fan creativity

Cover image for The state and future of music fandom

Tatiana Cirisano

August 2023

Spotify

YouTube

SoundCloud

Streaming is buckling under the weight of new music being released every day, listenership is fragmenting, and artificial intelligence is poised to intensify these challenges. The music industry’s next era of growth lies in monetising fandom, not consumption.

Don’t be fooled by the streams that it’s got, it’s still hip hop from the block

Cover image for Don’t be fooled by the streams that it’s got, it’s still hip hop from the block

Kriss Thakrar

15 Aug 2023

Over its 50 years, hip hop has gone from a block party in the Bronx to a conquering global culture. It now accounts for almost a quarter of Spotify streams , with three-quarters of users listening to hip hop this year.

min read

Superfans may not be super enough

Cover image for Superfans may not be super enough

Mark Mulligan

4 Aug 2023

monetizing fandom

There has been a lot of talk recently of music superfans and how they may be the shining light of the industry’s future. Little surprise, given how record labels are trying to establish superfans as the next growth driver for an investor community that is growing increasingly concerned about slowing streaming growth and looming threats, such as AI.

min read

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.

min read

BBC Radio 1’s Giant DJ Hunt shows what radio does right

Cover image for BBC Radio 1’s Giant DJ Hunt shows what radio does right

Annie Langston

26 Jul 2023

What would happen if one of the biggest radio stations in the world shut down? BBC Radio 1 turned off midday last Friday because Radio 1 host Greg James failed Radio 1’s Giant DJ Hunt. In this scavenger hunt, James had one week to find all the missing radio DJs that were hidden in various locations across England and Europe before the Friday deadline.

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How live music will change in the next decade

Cover image for How live music will change in the next decade

Tatiana Cirisano

20 Jul 2023

The pandemic sent shock waves through the live music industry — a historic, catastrophic disruption to a decades-old business. But just because touring is back, does not mean that we are in the clear.

min read

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

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

Ben Woods

12 Apr 2023

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.

min read

Sports broadcasting is ripe for disruption…and creators know it

Cover image for Sports broadcasting is ripe for disruption…and creators know it

Ben Woods

4 Apr 2023

The former Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique made a surprising claim last month (March 2023). To promote his Twitch football channel, the Kings League, the retired centre back unfurled a giant banner in the Catalonian capital that read: “The thought of us filling up Camp Nou really scares them”.

min read

Why AI music may make fandom even more important

Cover image for Why AI music may make fandom even more important

Tatiana Cirisano

22 Mar 2023

artificial intelligence

fragmented fandom

Artificial intelligence (AI) was as hot a topic as ever at last week’s SXSW conference, where debate swirled around how human artists will compete with AI-generated music. As more parts of music-making involve AI assistance, this distinction between “AI” and “human” music may soon become as irrelevant as music created on a laptop versus recorded in a studio.

min read

Hybrid live streaming provides new opportunities to build authentic global fanbases

Cover image for Hybrid live streaming provides new opportunities to build authentic global fanbases

Srishti Das

22 Mar 2023

hybrid live streaming

July 2022 saw Boiler Room’s hands in one of the most iconic dance music / pop culture crossovers that led to the era of “Fred againia”. Fred again..’s Boiler Room set has (so far) garnered 16 million views on YouTube, helping to introduce his music to a wider audience, generating significant buzz on social media.

min read

Spotify’s vertical feed could change music discovery, but not for the reason you think

Cover image for Spotify’s vertical feed could change music discovery, but not for the reason you think

Tatiana Cirisano

9 Mar 2023

Music streaming

Just a few years ago, Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist was a harbinger for culture. But a lot has changed. Artists want (and need) to build deeper relationships with fans, and gen Z consumers want more active content experiences.

min read

The industry’s narrative is not always the same as the artist's narrative: Redefining success for independent artists

Cover image for The industry’s narrative is not always the same as the artist's narrative: Redefining success for independent artists

Keith Jopling

6 Mar 2023

Creator economy

Last weekend, there was a fascinating quote from Maseo of hip hop legends De La Soul in the UK Guardian: “On our second album, we learned the importance of controlling the narrative. I learned early on that a hit record can hurt your entire body of work if you let the industry control your narrative”.

min read

The way AI isn’t used will have a bigger impact on music than how it is used

Cover image for The way AI isn’t used will have a bigger impact on music than how it is used

Kriss Thakrar

2 Mar 2023

artificial intelligence

One of the most immediate disruptions of ChatGPT has been in the SEO world. Writing content for Google rankings can be a largely formulaic process of finding and incorporating the right keywords. With the right inputs, ChatGPT can create, draft and edit SEO-friendly content at a scale that humans are not capable of.

min read

Is the quality of games going down?

Cover image for Is the quality of games going down?

Perry Gresham

24 Feb 2023

trueachievements

“Things aren’t like they used to be”, a common refrain of anyone over the age of about 25, is a sentiment especially prevalent amongst gamers today. Is this blind nostalgia, or have games really gotten worse? To investigate this, I looked into user rating data from TrueAchievements.

min read

Peak talent is here for streaming TV

Cover image for Peak talent is here for streaming TV

Tim Mulligan

2 Feb 2023

streaming TV talent

Last week, MIDiA covered the HBO phenomenon The Last of Us . Following in the footsteps of other successful games crossovers such as the Netflix Original The Witcher , The Last of Us is HBOs’ pitch at creating a high-profile scripted drama to bring gamers to its direct-to-consumer service (D2C) HBO Max.

min read

Kill the campaign
Music marketing needs branding, not direct response

Cover image for Kill the campaign

Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano

February 2023

Streaming

Spotify

Marketing

The debate over a new streaming royalties regime is capturing attention, but economics will not fix the underlying paradigm shifts that are the true cause for streaming’s problems: there is not enough money to go around for the ballooning amount of music on streaming services, and passive consumption is the new norm.

The metaverse transition: Fortnite

Cover image for The metaverse transition: Fortnite

Samuel Griffin

19 Jan 2023

The metaverse transition: Fortnite Unreal Engine has been at the bleeding edge of digital development since its release, being fundamental to the development of household titles such as The Witcher , Fortnite , Disney’s The Mandalorian, and HBO’s Westworld.

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