What does it mean to 'fix streaming'?

Blog post by Keith Jopling

19 Apr 2021

streaming

Strategy

Music

When I wrote a blog for MIDIA in January 2020 I first coined the term the “ Song Economy ”. At the time I saw it as a good thing - a major growth driver for the music industry to increase the value...

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Why is D2C okay for HBO, but not Manchester United?

Blog post by Tim Mulligan

19 Apr 2021

streaming

The Super League

Video

A decade-long threat from Europe’s wealthiest football clubs to break away and form a league of its own has finally become a reality with the announcement of the formation of the Super League.AC Milan,...

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Is sci-fi about to have its Game of Thrones moment?

Blog post by Tim Mulligan

11 Feb 2021

streaming

Television

SVOD

We are only just into the second month of 2021, and already the TV engagement landscape environment is starting to transform into something distinctly different from 2020. The sci-fi genre, long seen as...

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Watch Together: BT Sport adapts to lockdown, offering synchronised group streaming

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

4 Feb 2021

BT

BT Sport

telco

The pandemic-enforced prohibition of fans in attendance at sporting events has weakened the viewing spectacle, forcing rights holders and operators to experiment with the viewing experience. The NHL pioneered...

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The live versus streaming demographic paradox

Blog post by Hanna Kahlert

5 Jan 2021

artists

demographic

insight

As we begin 2021 with a vaccine on the near horizon, live venue businesses are holding on with whitening knuckles through the intermediate stricter lockdowns. However, the world has changed much in the...

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The video streaming shift from sports to news

Blog post by Tim Mulligan

5 Nov 2020

news

Video

streaming

Yesterday the Sinclair Broadcast Group reported its Q3 2020 results . A 37% increase in consolidated revenues was undone by a $4.2 billion impairment on the local sports segment due to the COVID-19 disruption...

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Why DAZN is adapting to German consumer nuances with linear and digital bets

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

22 Oct 2020

AZN

sport-centric

SVOD

DAZN’s recently-established position as the ‘Netflix of sport’ has been a hard fought one, requiring extensive rights investment in order to carve out a compelling proposition. In the markets where...

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Streaming’s remuneration model cannot be ‘fixed’

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

12 Aug 2020

Music

streaming

remuneration

The #brokenrecord debate continues to build momentum and new models such as user-centric are getting increased attention, including at governmental level in the UK. But as Mat Dryhurst correctly observes...

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The MIDiA Research Podcast: Episode 1 – What Next for Tencent?

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

7 Aug 2020

Video

Music

Media & Marketing

We are excited to announce the first episode of the MIDiA Research podcast: What Next for Tencent? President Trump's executive orders concerning Bytedance and Tencent set the cat among the pigeons. In...

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We are at a turning point for social music

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

4 Aug 2020

Music

Snap

snapchat

In recent days we have seen three major developments that, collectively, are a potential pivot point for social music: 1. TikTok close to a US-entity buyout by Microsoft to avoid potential sanctions, following...

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DAZN’s belated UK launch: Can it avoid Eleven Sports’ 'mistake’?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

24 Jul 2020

Video

Sports

Media & Marketing

DAZN, the anointed ‘Netflix of Sport’, has announced plans to resume launching its services globally via a beta service covering boxing bouts In July and August, for users who have registered their...

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Why Spotify needs Russia

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

16 Jul 2020

Music

Spotify

Russia

Spotify’s delayed Russia launch finally happened this week . While it did not drive a stock price growth like the Josh Rogan deal did (the stock closed just 1 cent higher than the previous day’s close)...

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Time to stop playing the velocity game

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

3 Jul 2020

Music

streaming

music marketing

We all know that streaming has transformed consumption and business models alike, but this is not a ‘now-completed’ process. Instead it is one that continues to evolve at pace, and the dynamic of pace...

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Music Subscriber Market Shares Q1 2020

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

23 Jun 2020

streaming

music subscribers

music subscriber market shares

WWDC would have been a perfect opportunity for Apple to announce another streaming milestone for Apple Music. It didn’t but the good news is that MIDiA already have a figure for Apple Music, as part...

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Is streaming making it harder and more expensive for consumers to access video content?

Blog post by Tim Mulligan

19 Jun 2020

Video

streaming

Apple TV+

Back in 2007, Netflix made its famous pivot from being a subscription postal DVD rental provider to becoming an on-demand video streaming provider. Fast forward 13 years and the entire TV industry has...

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Artists are Learning How it Feels to be a Songwriter

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

8 Jun 2020

artist income

artists

broken record

The ‘broken record’ streaming debate that continues to rage on is a natural consequence of the instantaneous collapse of live music revenue following lockdown. As soon as it was clear that live was...

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The IFPI Confirms 2019 was the Independents' Year for Streaming

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

4 May 2020

independent labels

majors

record labels

UPDATE: this post has been updated to correct an erroneous data point. Previously it stated that independent market share was 41%. It has been corrected to 29% Recently I wrote about how a little-known...

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Spotify Q1 2020: Choppy Waters Ahead

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

29 Apr 2020

coronavirus

Covid-19

potify

Spotify’s first quarter earnings were a mixed bag, with a largely positive picture for Q1 but some warning signs for the remainder of the year: Subscribers:  Spotify’s Q1 earnings may not have...

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Independents Grew Fastest on Spotify in 2019, But There’s a Twist

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

28 Apr 2020

independent artists

independent labels

Major labels

Tomorrow (Wednesday 29 th April) Spotify announces its Q1 2020 results, at which point we will find out whether it had a COVID-bounce like Netflix did ( adding 15.8 million subscribers in Q1 ) or whether...

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The Battle Down Under

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

23 Apr 2020

#playerstogether

A-League

additive services

With COVID-19 exposing the vulnerability of pureplay sport streaming services , the importance of building out a robust and downturn-proof offering is fundamental to the viability of these currently additive...

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