Mark Mulligan

Mark Mulligan is a music analyst and the founder at MIDiA Research. He is a long-term tech analyst and a leading digital thinker with more than 20 years of experience, working with leading global music, entertainment, and tech companies. At MIDiA, Mark focuses on the streaming and creator economies, as well as music business trends and market metrics such as forecasts and market shares.

Cover image for MIDiA’s 2024 predictions report

MIDiA’s 2024 predictions report
The algorithm is not listening

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Kriss Thakrar, Ashleigh Millar, Tatiana Cirisano, Perry Gresham, Kazia Rothwell and Ben Woods

14 Dec 2023

Business Strategy

2023 was another year of change and disruption. 2024 will be even more defined by change than the years that preceded it. But much of this change will be defined by reaction more than action. The unintended consequences of years of innovation have resulted in environments where many consumers are getting further away from their wants and needs, not...

State of the music creator economy – The consumer era

Mark Mulligan

14 Dec 2023

Music creators Music creator tools Creator economy

MIDiA is excited to announce the publication of the latest edition of its annual ‘State of the music creator economy’ report. Based on months of research, MIDiA creator and consumer surveys, market sizes and forecasts, this report is the definitive assessment of the music creator tools industry.

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Cover image for State of the music creator economy

State of the music creator economy
The consumer era

Mark Mulligan

12 Dec 2023

Product Strategy

The pandemic triggered a surge in the music creator economy, which brought with it an influx of external interest and investment. 2022 saw growth moderate, but the long-term outlook is not only strong, it will also be supercharged by the consumerization of creation.

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Patchwork / Fortnite

Mark Mulligan and Kriss Thakrar

12 Dec 2023

Product Strategy

Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world and provides an immersive world for users to engage with and express themselves. In 2023, Fortnite has been releasing music creation tools within the game that present a new paradigm for music-making.

Spotify re-positions two-tier licensing (we are getting closer, and it can be even better)

Mark Mulligan

24 Nov 2023

Two tier licensing Streaming Royalties Streaming

Spotify released a blog post laying out how it wants the world to understand its new two-tier royalty system. The positioning is clear, leading with the statement that it will drive “an additional $1 billion toward[s] emerging and professional artists” and the PR push included several supporting...

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Why artist subscriptions are the perfect partner to two-tier licensing

Mark Mulligan

2 Nov 2023

Streaming Spotify Podcasts

With two-tier licensing now a thing , it is time to focus the discussion on how to add new components to the DSP ecosystem that will help long-tail artists continue to thrive in this brave new world. There are many positives that two-tier licensing will bring (helping mid-tier artist remuneration, a...

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Solid progress
German music consumer user profile

Mark Mulligan

31 Oct 2023

Audience Insight

This report presents MIDiA consumer data for key music behaviours of German consumers All data is for Germany except when ‘all country average’ is referred to. This is the weighted average of all countries surveyed Data covered includes streaming and social app usage, and key audio formats (radio, streaming, podcasts).

Two-tier licensing is about to become a reality

Mark Mulligan

24 Oct 2023

Streaming Spotify Streaming Royalties

With the dust still far from settled on the UMG / Deezer streaming royalty proposal, something even bigger is coming: Spotify is turning the concept into reality in Q1 2024. The behind-the-scenes conversations have been ongoing for some time, but the details were stated publicly on panels at last we...

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Music has become a ‘just-in-time’ economy

Mark Mulligan

16 Oct 2023

Just in time supply chains Music creators

The modern day economy is built upon ‘just-in-time’ supply chains. This framework has enabled the benefits of consumerism that we have come to enjoy, such as next day delivery, out of season foods on our shelves, and the digital devices we live our lives through.

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Spotify’s audiobooks move is another brick in the audio wall

Mark Mulligan

4 Oct 2023

Audiobooks Spotify Podcasts

Streaming has come a long way since its days as a pure music service for super fans. Spotify’s announcement that it is making 15 monthly audiobook hours available to premium subscribers is simply the latest step in a journey that has seen streaming become the 21stcentury’s take on radio.

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Latent potential
Japan music consumer user profile

Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano

19 Sep 2023

Music streaming Audience Insight

This report presents MIDiA consumer data for key music behaviours of Japan’s consumers. The data covered includes streaming app usage, social app usage, key audio formats (radio, streaming, and podcasts), fandom / identity, and artist content. All data is from our Q1 2023 survey, fielded in US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Sweden, France, Ge...

Streaming’s problems will not be fixed by royalties alone

Mark Mulligan

15 Sep 2023

Streaming Music Music streaming Streaming Royalties

UMG and Deezer’s artist-centric royalty proposal got the amount of attention both parties probably wanted , if not necessarily the type of attention they were after. However, the intent was to kick start an industry debate, and that objective was clearly achieved.

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How to make artist centric artist centric

Mark Mulligan

6 Sep 2023

Streaming Royalties Music streaming Music Royalties

Deezer and UMG announced a major (in both senses of the word) shake up of streaming music royalties. This is arguably the biggest streaming market development in years, as it will set the tone for market-wide change.

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AI, music rights, and known unknowns

Mark Mulligan

31 Aug 2023

AI Music AI artificial intelligence

The music industry is approaching a tipping point, with the building blocks of what will be the post-streaming era beginning to fall into place.The streaming era will make way for something new. Innovation, disruption, and change will define the coming years, with AI, fandom, and the creator economy...

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Artist subscriptions are the superfan opportunity

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

30 Aug 2023

Business Strategy

Streaming is at a tipping point. Revenue growth slowed to 6.0% in 2022, labels want new royalty systems, consumption is commodified, TikTok is diluting cultural capital, creators are questioning effort ROI, and AI is here. Music rightsholders need their next growth driver.

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Dance Cry Dance Break innovates subscriptions with artist storytelling

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

30 Aug 2023

Dance Cry Dance is a boutique record label that positions itself as ‘a young and growing record collective with an equitable profit-sharing model created for artists by artists’. In 2022, the label launched Dance Cry Dance Break , an ‘audio magazine’ featuring new music from independent artists alongside stories and essays inspired by their...

Superfans may not be super enough

Mark Mulligan

4 Aug 2023

Fandom monetizing fandom Superfans

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 slowi...

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Making sense of global music forecasts

Mark Mulligan

20 Jul 2023

music forecasts streaming music forecasts streamign music revenues

MIDiA has been building global music forecasts for nearly a decade now, and I personally have been building them for nearly two decades. Throughout those years there have been many calls for the numbers to be bigger and bolder.

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Cover image for MIDiA Research 2023-2030 global music forecasts

MIDiA Research 2023-2030 global music forecasts
Speed bump

Mark Mulligan

30 Jun 2023

Business Strategy

2022 was a tumultuous year for the global economy, with factors such as high rates of inflation, rising interest rates, a growing cost-of-living crisis, post-Covid supply chain issues, and the Russo-Ukrainian war causing economic dislocation.While the recorded music business was far less affected than many other industries, it was impacted, especia...

The music industry’s tipping point is Right Here, Right Now

Mark Mulligan

29 Jun 2023

AI virtual artists streaming remuneration

Streaming is buckling under its own weight. The economics and structure that served it well in its first decade are not the ones that will get it through the next ten years. You might say that streaming is going through its ‘start up to scale up’ phase.

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