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Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

RIIZE: When listening to superfans goes too far

Olivia Jones

19 Dec 2024

Music Fandom SM Entertainment

Many record labels have spent 2024 trying to capitalise on the power of superfans , inspired by the global success of Korean entertainment companies. However, the recent scandal involving Seunghan, a member of the K-pop group RIIZE, and their label SM Entertainment, prompts questions about whether c...

4 min read

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Can AI creator tools live up to their hype in 2025?

Ben Woods

19 Dec 2024

Video Product Strategy

Generative AI dominated discussions about the entertainment industry’s future in 2024. Whether it is music, video, games, audio, or social, both the immediate and long-term impacts of this technological revolution have been hard to ignore.

4 min read

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Will audio have a seat at the creator economy table?

Rutger Rosenborg

18 Dec 2024

Amazon Music Spotify Podcasts

As 2024 comes to a close, it is worth reflecting on this year’s audio trends and where we expect things to head in 2025. Per our recent report, ‘ MIDiA’s 2025 predictions: It’s social’s stage now ’, social platforms will continue to take centre stage on the heels of the creator economy r...

3 min read

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A regulation-heavy year for social looms in 2025

Hanna Kahlert

17 Dec 2024

Social media Social Product Strategy

The UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has published guidelines around the Online Safety Act, warning that most social platforms are not adequately meeting standards. Sites that fail to comply can be faced with high fines and potential bans (per The Guardian ).

4 min read

Cover image for A regulation-heavy year for social looms in 2025

Netflix, Duolingo, and the art of engagement in a fiercely competitive attention economy

Ben Woods

13 Dec 2024

Netflix Duolingo Squid Game

Netflix is making sure everyone knows that Squid Game 2 is just around corner.The South Korean dystopian survival thriller has been subjected to a major global advertising splash ahead of the shows’ second season release on December 26, 2024.

3 min read

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Overanalysing our Spotify Wrapped: what MIDiA’s stats say about the industry

Tatiana Cirisano

12 Dec 2024

Spotify Wrapped Music Audience Insight

Last year, as Spotify’s annual Wrapped series hit the internet, MIDiA did what we do best: analyse, publishing a blog piece on what our own year-end data reflects about the state of music streaming and fandom.

6 min read

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Audio is incidental: Why Spotify wants to become a creator ecosystem

Rutger Rosenborg

11 Dec 2024

Spotify Spotify Wrapped Podcasts

First there were artists, and then there were podcasters. Now, there are artists, creators, and authors on Spotify. As we covered at the end of November, Spotify has officially renamed its Spotify for Podcasters hub to Spotify for Creators as the company looks to unlock the power of video in podcast...

3 min read

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Will the TikTok ban happen? What you need to know

Hanna Kahlert

10 Dec 2024

tiktok ban Donald Trump Social media

It has been a rollercoaster of a news year for TikTok since April, when President Biden signed a law that would ban the platform unless it found new owners. The January 19th deadline is approaching quickly, and the heat is up as of December 6th, when the Federal Appeals court upheld the ban.

4 min read

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Saving creators’ time is the beginning – not the end – of the AI revolution

Ben Woods

5 Dec 2024

Creator economy Video Product Strategy

Ask content creators about their pain points and they will tell you that time is their greatest challenge. Despite their passion for producing the best possible content, creators often find themselves bogged down by tasks that hinder their creativity.

3 min read

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Gamers spend more time on social video than games

Rhys Elliott

5 Dec 2024

Twitch YouTube Xbox

Game publishers have long used third-party video platforms such as Twitch and YouTube as springboards for game promotion. In return, Twitch and YouTube receive ad- and creator-driven revenues (like donations).

2 min read

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What happens to music when fan-made content eclipses the original IP?

Tatiana Cirisano

5 Dec 2024

Music Fandom Music fandom

Last week, MIDiA’s Ben Woods delivered a message to the entertainment industry: nurture fandom or risk losing control of your IP . For years, the way in which consumers engage with their favourite artists, movies, TV shows, and games has become ever more about participation.

4 min read

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Bundle up: Audible audiobooks join the Amazon Music catalogue

Rutger Rosenborg

4 Dec 2024

Spotify Amazon Amazon Music

As audio platforms continue to expand into industries beyond audio, new fronts in the platform wars are emerging. With Spotify now competing with YouTube for video, podcast, and music supremacy, the company’s foray into audiobooks has placed it in direct competition with Audible and, by extension,...

3 min read

Cover image for Bundle up: Audible audiobooks join the Amazon Music catalogue

What HYBE and UMG’s Q3 earnings tell us about superfans

Olivia Jones

3 Dec 2024

Music fandom HYBE Universal Music Group

“Superfan” has been this year’s buzzword in the music industry. From Universal Music Group (UMG) setting its superfan agenda at the start of the year to Warner Music Group announcing its plans for a superfan platform, much of the Western music industry has shifted its focus to monetising fando...

5 min read

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Australia bans social media for under-16s: the first domino towards a new digital world?

Hanna Kahlert

3 Dec 2024

regulation age restriction australia social media ban

Australia has just approved groundbreaking social media regulation that bans users under 16 from accessing platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, and X. This under-16 social media ban is the first of its kind that does not allow exceptions for existing users or those with parental permission.

5 min read

Cover image for Australia bans social media for under-16s: the first domino towards a new digital world?

A message to the entertainment industry: nurture fandom or risk losing control of your IP

Ben Woods

29 Nov 2024

Creator economy Games Video

What makes a fan in 2024? Is it how much they spend? How often they watch, listen or play? Is it how much they broadcast their fandom across social apps? Of course, the answer is all the above – and more.

4 min read

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It’s social’s stage now: MIDiA’s 2025 predictions webinar

Mark Mulligan

28 Nov 2024

predictions 2025 predictions tech trends

One of my favourite parts of the MIDiA year is creating the MIDiA predictions report and webinar. It is always a true team effort, with our team of analysts spending weeks brainstorming ideas, proposing predictions, stress testing those to within an inch of their lives, and then writing the report.

2 min read

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Why social media regulation could be a boost for the creator economy

Hanna Kahlert

26 Nov 2024

TikTok Social media platforms

TikTok’s future hangs in the balance, with its January deadline to find a new owner fast approaching beneath the oversight of a new, and unpredictable, US administration. President Trump originally tried to ban the app himself in 2020 by executive order, which failed.

4 min read

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Move over, console wars – the battle for AAA portable gaming is coming

Rhys Elliott

25 Nov 2024

Sony Xbox playstation 5

Seemingly every manufacturer in the games space is working on a portable machine. Now, Bloomberg sources claim that Sony has started early work on a portable that plays PS5 games. Microsoft’s head of gaming, Phil Spencer, has already confirmed that Xbox is working on its own portable (also per Blo...

4 min read

Cover image for Move over, console wars – the battle for AAA portable gaming is coming

What would happen if Sony bought Kadokawa?

Rhys Elliott

22 Nov 2024

Sony PlayStation kadokawa

Japanese media conglomerate Kadokawa recently confirmed that Sony sent it a letter of intent to acquire Kadokawa (increasing its current 2% stake). Kadokawa owns FromSoftware, the developer of Elden Ring , a 25-million-selling game that became a huge cultural moment in 2022.

6 min read

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Content creators are disrupting entertainment’s obsession with rights. What does it mean for music?

Tatiana Cirisano

21 Nov 2024

Music

Last week, Spotify announced a suite of new monetisation features for video creators. Yes, you read that right — Spotify has expanded not just beyond music, but also beyond audio itself. Although the video offerings are initially geared towards video podcasters, the company has rebranded its Spoti...

5 min read

Cover image for Content creators are disrupting entertainment’s obsession with rights. What does it mean for music?

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