TikTok US is here: can Oracle run a social platform?

Hanna Kahlert

27 Jan 2026

Product Strategy

TikTok

Social media

The uncertain future of US TikTok has been pending for so long that updates have started to feel like ‘crying wolf’. But now, at last, a deal has been reached. Changes to the platform should be minor (although technical issues reported by CMU have raised alarm bells), but there could be a bigger...

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The audio drama renaissance: The curious case of Sherlock & Co.

Laura Fisher

14 Nov 2025

Product Strategy

Podcasts

Entertainment

The audio drama, a format once consigned to history, is enjoying a remarkable revival. At its epicentre is a compelling case study in modern audience engagement: Goalhanger’s Sherlock & Co . a narrative podcast now approaching one million monthly downloads.

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The music industry remains divided on generative AI. Where will that leave us?

Olivia Jones

27 Oct 2025

Product Strategy

Music

Music creators

The past year has seen music industry discourse around generative AI shift from disruption to strategy. Yet the strategies being employed vary widely, and there is no one “industry perspective” on how to approach it.

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The State of the Video Creator Economy
The road to one billion creators

Ben Woods and Mark Qi

October 2025

Creators

Content

advertising

The video creator economy is entering a new stage of its development. Time spent creating content has plateaued, and key drivers behind the pandemic’s content creation boom are weakening. Growth now depends on AI tools to bring more first-time creators into the funnel and alleviate pain points blocking video creator progression.

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The winning formula for Grand Theft Auto VI: Games pricing strategy

Brandon Sutton

9 Oct 2025

Product Strategy

Fandom

Gaming

A highly anticipated piece of media, Grand Theft Auto VI has garnered widespread attention . However, many details of the game remain a mystery – including the price of the base game. Previous speculation has suggested the game could be priced at $100.

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Video game music’s untapped potential: More than background sound

Brandon Sutton

25 Sep 2025

Music

Gaming

Games

From chiptune melodies to full orchestral pieces, video games have featured memorable music that enriches and elevates gameplay for decades. Much like film scores, these tracks have long been an essential part of the gaming experience.

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20:25 vision: Meta Connect looks to the post-smartphone future

Hanna Kahlert

23 Sep 2025

Product Strategy

Social

Meta

Meta Connect 2025 (September 17-18) went all out on glasses and AI, outlining an idealistic future –although brought down to earth throughout by bugs and “WIFI troubles” (per TechCrunch ). To align with the public announcements of upgrades, pricing, and new features, Meta has also been pushing...

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The ‘proof of work’ premium in the age of AI

Ben Woods

18 Sep 2025

Product Strategy

Video

Creators

AI is presenting an existential threat to the video creator hardware market . Key to the disruption is the ability of AI video generators to enable creators to bypass cameras within the video creation workflow.

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AI AI, Cap’n: Shifting headwinds to the promised land of tech innovation

Hanna Kahlert

11 Sep 2025

Product Strategy

Content

Social

In any industry, the simple bits tend to be the most stable. For every ice cream, there’s the company that makes the sticks; for every book publisher, there’s the company selling the paper. By the same logic, in the midst of the AI boom, Nvidia – which manufactures chips that make the technolo...

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Karra, bifurcation, and YouTube’s gain

Mark Mulligan

8 Sep 2025

Product Strategy

Streaming

Music

A couple of weeks ago, electronic music artist Karra posted a video on YouTube about why she took her album down from streaming (one that she spent $100,000 making). She is now going to focus her efforts on YouTube (“an incredible platform for [her] artistry”), as well as selling content to musi...

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From niche to mainstream: How video games adaptations are taking over movies and television

Brandon Sutton

3 Sep 2025

Product Strategy

Entertainment

Games

Today’s most successful movies and television shows are video game adaptations. For those who remember the media landscape of the 1980s and 1990s, this represents a marked shift in the entertainment industry.

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The case for flexibility: What the Switch 2’s success signals for other handhelds

Brandon Sutton

20 Aug 2025

Product Strategy

PlayStation

Gaming

When Nintendo announced the Switch 2 would release this year, it had big shoes to fill. Its predecessor has become one of the best-selling consoles in history; surpassed only by the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS in total sales.

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Some artists are leaving Spotify (again). Here’s what’s different now

Tatiana Cirisano

7 Aug 2025

Product Strategy

Spotify

Streaming

Over the past few weeks, a growing list of indie bands have decided to leave Spotify, the most prominent being Deerhoof and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (a partial list has been compiled by Fader ).

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What is the value of a stream in 2025?

Olivia Jones

31 Jul 2025

Product Strategy

Streaming

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.

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Why Drake’s ‘Which One’ single is not a TikTok-first track

Hanna Kahlert

29 Jul 2025

Music

Content

Social

Drake’s new single ‘Which One’, featuring Central Cee dropped on July 25, 2025 –not abnormal. Less normal: he launched it with no warning halfway through a 41-minute episode of Iceman , a YouTube series he is streaming in advance of his album of the same name.

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The future of creator apps
Fuelling engagement with fandom

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.

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Online game ownership in the digital age – do we really own what we play?

Brandon Sutton

24 Jul 2025

Product Strategy

Games

Gaming

Over the past decade, digital sales have become the primary way gamers purchase video games. With this shift comes a series of growing pains that often puts gamers at odds with publishers. One particularly contentious issue is digital ownership and consumer rights; topics gaining renewed attention t...

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The ghost of the 2000s lingers over the catalogue acquisition market

Kriss Thakrar

23 Jun 2025

Product Strategy

investment

music catalogue

Sign up here for MIDiA’s Masterclass webinar on catalogue investment, this Thursday June 26, 2025, with Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano. In the second quarter of 2025, a range of catalogue acquisition deals have broken the typical mould: Sony acquired Hipgnosis Songs Group from Recognition Musi...

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Grok meets Telegram: Why is AI being shoehorned into messaging platforms?

Hanna Kahlert

5 Jun 2025

Product Strategy

Messaging apps

Social

In an unusual twist, on May 28, 2025, xAI agreed to pay Telegram $300 million in cash to be integrated into the messaging platform (per Reuters ). It is not every day you see a feature paying its platform to be combined into its existing service, but, Elon Musk is not often one for the traditional p...

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AI prompting is an art form that will reshape creation

Ben Woods

1 May 2025

Product Strategy

creator tools

AI

Key takeaways from this blog: Generative AI is reshaping creative workflows, with MIDiA’s research highlighting how AI-only video production is already achievable The next creative divide will be defined by prompting skill level: those who can expertly translate vision into AI prompts will be ahea...

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