Mark Mulligan

Labels are going to become more like VCs than they probably want to be

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

30 Jul 2021

When you are in the midst of change it can be hard to actually see it. Right now, the music business is undergoing a consumption paradigm shift that is changing the culture and business of music. Streaming…

Addressable creator markets
An opportunity with many layers

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Report by Mark Mulligan

29 Jul 2021

£3,000.00

The music creator tools space is undergoing a change that is simultaneously renaissance and transformation. The creator culture boom has driven an unprecedented degree of investment and investor interest.…

Spotify and music listening 10 years from now

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

23 Jul 2021

July marks ten years since Spotify’s US launch. Although the tendency among some is to consider this ‘year zero’ for streaming (thus ignoring everything that had happened in prior years both within…

Music consumer survey Q1 2021
YouTube extends its reach

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Report by Mark Mulligan

20 Jul 2021

£3,000.00

The data in this report is taken from MIDiA’s Q1 2021 consumer survey. The full data from this survey and all the preceding quarterly surveys are available, along with data visualisation tools and…

Global music subscriber market shares Q1 2021

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

9 Jul 2021

The music industry’s growing obsession with declining ARPU will continue to colour the outlook for the global streaming market in revenue terms, but the positive driver of this equation is the rapid…

Emerging markets may be about to change the superstar business

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

2 Jul 2021

The traditional recorded music business was all about selling units, which naturally meant that the most important markets were not the most populous but the wealthiest. Throughout the late 20th century…

MIDiA Research 2021 – 2028 global music forecasts
ARPU growth finally delivers

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Report by Mark Mulligan

30 Jun 2021

This report presents the key figures, trends and drivers of MIDiA’s music forecast model. The figures presented in this report are both retail and label trade values and are in billions of US dollars…

How Bandcamp could really fix the music business

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

25 Jun 2021

“A thought: has streaming become the place to address consumers and the likes of Bandcamp the places to engage fans? i.e., fans and fandom inherently matter less on streaming because it/they are a minority.” …

The paradox of small

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

18 Jun 2021

When the history books are written about our current times, the rise of creator culture will likely go down as one of the most impactful paradigm shifts. It is a dynamic that extends far beyond music,…

We’re Hiring (again)

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

11 Jun 2021

The pandemic rewrote the rules of digital entertainment, creating new opportunities and threats at an unprecedented rate while also intensifying competition for consumer attention. Never before has the…

The productisation of music rights

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

4 Jun 2021

News that New York-based Pershing Square Tontine Holdings is planning to acquire 10% of UMG is the latest in a wave of financial transactions in the music rights space. Alongside this, Believe’s impending…

Music and podcasts are competing for the same time

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

28 May 2021

The pandemic changed media consumption. Consumers acquired an extra 12% of entertainment time and though everything was up, some categories grew much faster than others. One of the biggest gainers…

Spotify Q1 2021 earnings
Shifting headwinds

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Report by Mark Mulligan

27 May 2021

£3,000.00

The first quarter of the year is usually a slow one for Spotify, but Q1 2021 saw a few metrics slowing more than in previous years. There were lots of solid performance metrics in Spotify’s results…

Live streamed concert demand
Ready for prime time

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Report by Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Kriss Thakrar

21 May 2021

£3,000.00

Virtual concerts went from zero to a hundred at an unprecedented rate during the pandemic-shaped 2020, and the momentum carried through to 2021. But if lockdown years are like dog years, then so too…

Hi-Res audio: It’s all about a maturing market

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

21 May 2021

Apple and Amazon made a splash this week by integrating Hi-Res Dolby Atmos audio into the basic tiers of their streaming services . The timing, i.e. just after Spotify started increasing prices, is –…

Podcast audiences
Competing for attention

Report by Mark Mulligan

20 May 2021

£3,000.00

2020 was a big year for podcasts, with increased investment, M&A activity and industry moves. Audiences grew too, but still lag behind in hype and expectation, and a portion of this growth has come…

Growth drivers – what comes after streaming

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

7 May 2021

The pandemic-defined 2020 was an outlier year across digital entertainment, with the extra 12% of time consumers spent with entertainment boosting everything, including music. One of the effects was…

Spotify pushes prices up, but do not expect dramatic effects

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

27 Apr 2021

Spotify finally announced a significant price increase, raising prices in the UK and some of Europe, with the US set to follow suit. The increases affect Family, Duo and Student plans. The fact that streaming…

Creator culture
The song becomes the feed

Report by Mark Mulligan and Kriss Thakrar

26 Apr 2021

£3,000.00

The creator tools marketplace is creating a revolution in the culture and business of music. The third decade of the millennium represents the opening of a new chapter for the music business, with the…

Rebalancing the Song Economy

Report by Mark Mulligan and Keith Jopling

16 Apr 2021

Free Report

Introduction – Rebalancing the song economy After half a decade of streaming-driven growth the global music business hit a speed bump in the shape of the COVID-19 pandemic. Live music stopped in an instant,…