Blog: niche is the new mainstream

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.

Did Charli XCX go mainstream, or did the mainstream just go niche?

Tatiana Cirisano

13 Jun 2024

fragmented fandom

Consumer behaviour

Charli XCX

“ I’m famous, but not quite ,” Charli XCX sings on ‘I might say something stupid’, a moment of honest insecurity amidst the brash club anthems that make up her new album Brat . It is a familiar...

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The crumbling of music media is a disaster for the music industry

Tatiana Cirisano

22 Jan 2024

music fandom

music journalism

Record labels

As a former music journalist, I can say that layoffs are somewhat to be expected when you work in media. Nobody gets into this industry looking for stability. But the past 12 months have felt especially...

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Why the Stanley tumbler may be half full

Tatiana Cirisano

16 Jan 2024

music industry

Social media

TikTok

If you were not familiar with the Stanley cup a month ago, you likely are now. Over the holiday season, the 40-ounce tumbler rocketed from being a relatively niche item favourited by moms to the Gen Z...

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Despite its hyper-futurism, 2023 was a return to the past

Tatiana Cirisano

21 Dec 2023

Social media

Music creators

fragmentation

From politics to tech to entertainment, the past few years can best be described as unprecedented. In 2023, daily life felt especially futuristic and surreal, with artificial intelligence dominating the...

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Is the quality of games going down?

Perry Gresham

24 Feb 2023

trueachievements

xbox

gamer behavior

“Things aren’t like they used to be”, a common refrain of anyone over the age of about 25, is a sentiment especially prevalent amongst gamers today. Is this blind nostalgia, or have games really...

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Elden Ring’s early success shows that traditional gaming experiences are still relevant

Perry Gresham

24 Mar 2022

Gaming

niche is the new mainstream

elden ring

From Software’s hardcore action role-playing game (ARPG), Elden Ring, has outperformed even the most optimistic predictions, resulting in the biggest game launch in recent history (excluding yearly titans...

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Netflix Bewitches the Internet

Tim Mulligan

9 Jan 2020

Andrzej Sapkowski

fanbases

fantasy

Netflix, the current subscription video on demand (SVOD) global leader, has topped Wikipedia searches for the second week of 2020 with its new fantasy scripted drama original, The Witcher . The show...

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Abbey Road 50 Years On: The Two Worlds of Music Listening

Mark Mulligan

7 Oct 2019

abbey road

artist audiences

artist fanbases

Half a century after it first after it first topped the charts, the Beatles’ Abbey Road is back at the summit of the UK charts. With the anniversary editions retailing for between $20 and $100, the impact...

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Niche is the New Mainstream

Mark Mulligan

17 May 2019

artist campaigns

artist marketing

digital marketing

Fandom is fragmenting. Streaming personalization and falling radio audiences are combining to rewrite the music marketing rulebook, ushering in a whole new marketing paradigm. Hits used to be cultural...

min read