Kriss is one of MIDiA’s consultants and regular music analysis contributors. His main areas of interest are creator tools, music sync and rights.

The future of music consumption is (re)creation

Kriss Thakrar

4 Apr 2022

Creator Economy

social music

creator tools

The music industry has grown at a record rate , led by streaming and boosted by an influx of an increasingly relevant revenue source: non-DSP streaming (via platforms such as TikTok and Twitch). This growth...

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Music catalogue acquisition
Picking apart the $5 billion competition for icons

Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

March 2022

Investment

Music Streaming

Music

A variety of economic factors and stock market volatility during the coronavirus pandemic helped establish music as an attractive asset class for institutional investors. With labels, publishers, institutional...

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Kilometre Music Group
How Kilometre Music Group is finding a niche in a competitive market

Case Study

Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

March 2022

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Music creators
Slicing the funnel

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

February 2022

YouTube

Soundcloud

tunecore

Streaming enabled the rise of the independent artist and then the rise of the music creator. The promise of the long tail finally appeared to be realised. But the pandemic’s disruption of live music...

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The past, present and future of the creator economy runs through Apple

Kriss Thakrar

11 Feb 2022

Apple

Creator Economy

Streaming

In previous posts, we have talked about the possibilities opening up for the next generation of creators . In particular, posts on fluid audio and social studios showed how music has the potential to become...

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Hybrid futures
MIDiA 2022 predictions

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Srishti Das, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

January 2022

Free Report

social media

Business Strategy

MIDiA Research Predictions

MIDiA analysts dive into our 2022 predictions, and why we believe it will be ' the year of the creator '. Watch the webinar here ....

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2022 MIDiA predictions
The year of the creator

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Srishti Das, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

December 2021

creators

Apple

Spotify

In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, brands, marketing, games, and sports in 2022 and beyond....

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Growth from Transparency
Reframing the value of music through creator rights

Mark Mulligan, Keith Jopling, Srishti Das and Kriss Thakrar

November 2021

Free Report

Streaming

Music

Business Strategy

The music industry has been through an unprecedented period of change over the past five years.Innovations in live streaming, games, user-generated content (UGC), digital art, and trading of rights represent...

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Can music rights expand to drive the new music creator economy?

Kriss Thakrar

11 Nov 2021

rights acquisition

music publishing

music catalogue M+A

The investment that is pouring into music rights has exploded in recent years, hitting $10 billion at the time of writing and set to increase much further. Many rights acquisitions deals have been based...

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Creator consolidation: Fender becomes the next creator tools major

Kriss Thakrar

2 Nov 2021

creator tools

music production

independent artists

When Francisco Partners brought together Native Instruments and Izotope, it created the first creator tool major . Now a second player has staked its claim: Fender has made one of the biggest creator tools...

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Why making memes with creator tools is the new music industry

Kriss Thakrar

25 Oct 2021

creator tools

user generated content

music production

The creator tools business has been one of the biggest winners of the pandemic, as people turned to music-making in record numbers. Second-hand gear marketplace, Reverb.com, provided some insight into...

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Beatport
A modern creator tools ecosystem

Case Study

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

September 2021

Music

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Fender
The journey from a vintage icon to a driver of modern music making

Case Study

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

September 2021

Music

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Creator hubs
Creator tools’ next growth driver

Mark Mulligan and Kriss Thakrar

September 2021

creators

Spotify

artists

The emerging competitive dynamic between insurgents and incumbents is the catalyst for an unprecedented period of innovation in the music creator tools space. However, because this dynamic is underpinned...

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Splice

Case Study

Mark Mulligan and Kriss Thakrar

September 2021

Music

Justin Bieber

AI

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Fluid audio is here, and music is about to meet its next mp3 moment

Kriss Thakrar

26 Aug 2021

creator tools

ugc

gen z

Kanye West has released the Donda Stem Player, a handheld remixing speaker that can interact with music, as a way to create a personalised experience with his new album. However, this is not just an interactive...

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Hip hop fandom is driving the music business' future in gaming, live streaming and beyond

Kriss Thakrar

17 Aug 2021

Fortnite

Fandom

gaming

The music industry is at a pivot point as new ways of interacting and monetising music arise with unprecedented speed. Kanye West’s Donda live stream generating $7 million in merch sales demonstrates...

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Why Spotify’s creator strategy needs to pay more attention to fans

Kriss Thakrar

10 Aug 2021

Spotify

Streaming

Fandom

Spotify’s shift towards becoming an audio platform encompasses a push to become a creator-first business, with a vision of 50 million creators supplying content to a billion users. However, the company’s...

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What is an artist in the age of creators?

Kriss Thakrar

26 Jul 2021

Strategy

Marketing

YouTube

MIDiA has previously explored what it means to be a superstar in today’s industry. Here we go deeper into the fundamental of what it is to be an artist. YouTuber, boxer and rapper KSI achieved his first...

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From creator tools to commercial tools

Kriss Thakrar

1 Jul 2021

creator tools

live streaming

Twitch

Creator tools are taking an evolutionary step toward commercially empowering creators. Live streaming tool Happs’ recent $4.7 million investment is a relatively small yet significant bet that the future...

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