attention economy blog by MIDiA Research

Blog: attention economy

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the digital entertainment world. Check out the latest from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage - games, video, music, audio, social, or critical developments.

What Drake got wrong — and right — with 100 Gigs

Cover image for What Drake got wrong — and right — with 100 Gigs

Tatiana Cirisano

15 Aug 2024

fragmented fandom

bifurcation theory

On August 6th , with no prior announcement, Drake unloaded 100 gigabytes’ worth of content, including songs and video clips, to a personal website and directed fans there via his Instagram burner account....

min read

The case for shorter games

Cover image for The case for shorter games

Karol Severin

11 Jul 2024

attention economy

Following the post-pandemic slowdown of global games revenue growth, cost-cutting measures are now in full force. However, games continue to grow in scope and length, with budgets often exceeding hundreds...

min read

The state of the attention economy: why don’t fan-first platforms work?

Cover image for The state of the attention economy: why don’t fan-first platforms work?

Hanna Kahlert

5 Jun 2024

The music industry is increasingly looking to fan-first solutions to drive its next era of growth (and solve artists’ financial woes), with all eyes towards the Taylor Swift model of fan frenzy. At the...

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We need ‘real’ artists for the return to reality

Cover image for We need ‘real’ artists for the return to reality

Kriss Thakrar

1 May 2024

The big theme of MIDiA’s 2024 predictions is that ‘ the algorithm is not listening ’. A third of the way into the year, we are seeing more and more evidence that this is the case. The past few years...

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Like Netflix, music needs a ‘second screen’ strategy

Cover image for Like Netflix, music needs a ‘second screen’ strategy

Tatiana Cirisano

4 Jan 2024

Music Streaming

The attention economy is more competitive than ever, with all entertainment types increasingly competing with each other for the same finite time. This has led to new levels of multitasking, like listening...

min read

Clutter versus curation: The cure to entertainment’s attention saturation woes

Cover image for Clutter versus curation: The cure to entertainment’s attention saturation woes

Hanna Kahlert

18 Aug 2023

digital saturatoin

attention economy

Across digital content –be that music, TV, social video, or just photos on Instagram – algorithms favour a “more is more” approach. More content, more often, means better visibility, better discovery,...

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Misaligned incentives make the music business a zero-sum game

Cover image for Misaligned incentives make the music business a zero-sum game

Tatiana Cirisano

17 Aug 2023

streaming services

“Pop Stars Aren’t Popping Like They Used To”, Billboard ’s Elias Leight writes in a recent article, in which record label executives stress over the struggle to break new artists. The article (or...

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Live services: Is the success of the few clouding the strategic judgement of the many?

Cover image for Live services: Is the success of the few clouding the strategic judgement of the many?

Perry Gresham

19 May 2023

microtransactions

EA are heavily committed to the live service model, with their earnings release for financial year ending March 2023 putting their share of games revenues from full game purchases at just 26%, meaning...

min read

Spotify’s vertical feed could change music discovery, but not for the reason you think

Cover image for Spotify’s vertical feed could change music discovery, but not for the reason you think

Tatiana Cirisano

9 Mar 2023

Music Streaming

Just a few years ago, Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist was a harbinger for culture. But a lot has changed. Artists want (and need) to build deeper relationships with fans, and gen Z consumers want more...

min read

Artificial 'intelligence' is the new smartphone (for better and for worse)

Cover image for Artificial 'intelligence' is the new smartphone (for better and for worse)

Hanna Kahlert

11 Jan 2023

Media and Marketing

Long have we awaited the coming of the next new smartphone moment . 2022 saw some false starts: the metaverse, NFTs, VR (again). All have lingered in the shadows of their own potential, with no real momentum...

min read

The YouTube advantage: How social video platforms could seize the podcast market

Cover image for The YouTube advantage: How social video platforms could seize the podcast market

Annie Langston

7 Dec 2022

After launching a podcasts page for US users in August, YouTube is debuting its first official trends podcast . Like & Describe: The Official YouTube Trends Podcast is hosted by Matpat , a long-time...

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Welcome to the era of attention inflation

Cover image for Welcome to the era of attention inflation

Perry Gresham

2 Sep 2022

attention inflation

attention recession

The covid pandemic and associated lockdown dynamic allowed entertainment consumption to reach new heights amongst a temporary surplus of free time. However, after restrictions eased, consumers found the...

min read

If the future of entertainment is niche, how does the Meta approach fit in?

Cover image for If the future of entertainment is niche, how does the Meta approach fit in?

Hanna Kahlert

3 Aug 2022

The last week has undoubtedly been a hectic one for the developers of Instagram, which recently began trialling a TikTok-esque, video-first focus on its app to some users. The update was not well received,...

min read

The attention recession meets the economic recession

Cover image for The attention recession meets the economic recession

Mark Mulligan

22 Jul 2022

attention recession

We are living in uncertain times. The cost-of-living crisis is hitting consumers’ pockets, driven by rising fuel and food prices. The effects of the pandemic are still present, the global economy may...

min read

Twitter versus Musk will decide the future of social

Cover image for Twitter versus Musk will decide the future of social

Hanna Kahlert

14 Jul 2022

In a turn of events, Elon Musk has backed out of his dramatic, very public proposal to buy Twitter. It is a broken courtship characterised by bad-faith public exchanges , on-platform polls, and plot twists....

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The future of entertainment innovation lies in exclusive experiences, not content

Cover image for The future of entertainment innovation lies in exclusive experiences, not content

Hanna Kahlert

15 Jun 2022

Media and Marketing

In the age before digital engagement went mainstream, entertainment had clear access channels and multiple price points. Video was able to rely on movie tickets, (expensive) TV sets, and the individual...

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The Attention Recession: How inflation and the pandemic are reshaping entertainment

Cover image for The Attention Recession: How inflation and the pandemic are reshaping entertainment

Mark Mulligan

25 May 2022

attention recession

attention economy

Media and Marketing

Netflix and Meta were the canaries in the proverbial mine for the attention recession and it is looking increasingly likely that difficult times lie ahead. If the attention crunch was not enough on its...

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The Covid entertainment boom is over

Cover image for The Covid entertainment boom is over

Hanna Kahlert

27 Apr 2022

Two years of pandemic-driven lockdown restrictions turned out to be a golden era for digital entertainment. With 12% of extra available free time allocated to various entertainment propositions, and additional...

min read

Forget peak Netflix, this is the attention recession

Cover image for Forget peak Netflix, this is the attention recession

Mark Mulligan

20 Apr 2022

peak attention economy

attention economy

Forget peak Netflix, this is the attention recession Netflix’s Q1 2022 results caused a stir, with subscriber numbers down by 0.2 million from one quarter earlier. Some are calling this ‘peak Netflix’,...

min read

Why entertainment could reach new levels of fragmentation in 2022

Cover image for Why entertainment could reach new levels of fragmentation in 2022

Hanna Kahlert

6 Apr 2022

Since the direct-to-consumer (D2C) ‘big bang moment’ of video in 2019, entertainment propositions have been multiplying rapidly across all entertainment genres. This is about to become critical as...

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