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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.

Cultural moments of audio, from Amazon and Wondery to Spotify Wrapped

Hanna Kahlert

7 Dec 2020

As MIDiA has discussed often in the past , we are moving from a music-only audio space to one of broader audio. Driving this are podcasts, which have become the primary new format drawing upon latent demand following the decline of radio.

4 min read

Cover image for Cultural moments of audio, from Amazon and Wondery to Spotify Wrapped

DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

Alistair Taylor

3 Dec 2020

DAZN SVOD subscription video on demand

DAZN’s global roll out is finally here , following an announcement to launch worldwide (including the UK) back in March. The pandemic-enforced postponement and cancellation of live sports scuppered its original plans to coincide its launch with Canelo Alvarez’s world title fight in May.

5 min read

Cover image for DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

Why Condé Nast believes Netflix is the new Vogue and Vanity Fair

Tim Mulligan

2 Dec 2020

Netflix Condé Nast Vogue

The digital revolution has not been kind on the print magazine industry. In the pre-digital world media power resided on access to coverage on the front pages of style and culture arbiters such as Vogue and Vanity Fair.

3 min read

Cover image for Why Condé Nast believes Netflix is the new Vogue and Vanity Fair

Netflix brings chess back to the mainstream with Queen’s Gambit power move

Hanna Kahlert

30 Nov 2020

Media and Marketing

When Netflix aired its chess-themed TV series The Queen’s Gambit on October 23rd, the choice of topic seemed a quizzically niche one. Chess has not seen mainstream enthusiasm since Cold-War-era face-offs between Russia and the West, with a match between US prodigy Bobby Fischer and formidable Sovi...

4 min read

Cover image for Netflix brings chess back to the mainstream with Queen’s Gambit power move

Pandemic boom fuels creator tools growth

Dara Jegede

30 Nov 2020

Music

- A new generation of artists is engendering a new creative paradigm, where production is far more central to the creative process and artists are able to make and release high-quality music more quickly than ever - SAAS-based creator tools are becoming the new ‘top of funnel’ for the music indu...

4 min read

Cover image for Pandemic boom fuels creator tools growth

Creator tools: The music industry’s new top of funnel

Mark Mulligan

30 Nov 2020

For most of 2020, MIDiA has been working on a major piece of work around the fast-growing creator tools space. The themes we had already started working on became rocket propelled with the onset of the pandemic, with an unprecedented volume of artists starting to engage with music production tools, ...

5 min read

Cover image for Creator tools: The music industry’s new top of funnel

Time to move beyond the song economy

Mark Mulligan

27 Nov 2020

Music

The UK parliament is currently running an inquiry into the streaming music economy, having called for evidence from across the music business. Earlier this week were the first verbal submissions, from a number of UK artists including Tom Gray (Gomez), Guy Garvey (Elbow), Ed O’Brien (Radiohead) and...

7 min read

Cover image for Time to move beyond the song economy

The curious growth in the streaming power of factual

Tim Mulligan

25 Nov 2020

Back in August, CuriosityStream, a subscription video service specialising in factual content, announced a merger agreement with Software Acquisition Group, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

3 min read

Cover image for The curious growth in the streaming power of factual

Social media propositions are competing by homogenising?

Hanna Kahlert

24 Nov 2020

Media and Marketing

‘Tis the season for new social media layouts, it seems. Recently, Instagram has introduced a new layout featuring a combined Reels/Stories tab and a shopping tab; Twitter has rolled out its own form of stories, called “Fleets” (get it? Because they’re fleeting?) and Snapchat has, directly in...

4 min read

Cover image for Social media propositions are competing by homogenising?

Snapchat buys Voisey to enter the music market

Mark Mulligan

20 Nov 2020

Snapchat parent company Snap Inc is reported to have acquired music collaboration tool Voisey . Voisey is a relatively new start-up, having raised its first major round mid-2019 and launching later the same year .

3 min read

Cover image for Snapchat buys Voisey to enter the music market

Why TikTok’s regulatory countdown has been extended yet again

Tim Mulligan

20 Nov 2020

Online video Media Video

One of the many knock-on effects of this month’s US Presidential election has been the temporary reprieve granted to social video app TikTok. The app is owned and operated by ByteDance, the Beijing-based Chinese tech company which has been propelled into the ranks of the leading tech majors follow...

3 min read

Cover image for Why TikTok’s regulatory countdown has been extended yet again

DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

Alistair Taylor

19 Nov 2020

DraftKings Sportsbook betting company

US-based sports betting company DraftKings’ stock value has grown 11% following a strong third-quarter performance in which its revenues increased 98% year on year (YoY) to reach $132.8 million, up from $67 million in Q3 2019.

4 min read

Cover image for DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

YouTube at two billion: Still much more music opportunity to be had

Mark Mulligan

17 Nov 2020

Music

YouTube just announced its milestone of reaching two billion music users on the platform . YouTube has long been the largest music service on the planet, and it has just extended that lead. In 2019, its official total user number was two billion.

3 min read

Cover image for YouTube at two billion: Still much more music opportunity to be had

Virtual Reality: The flying cars of the 21st century

Hanna Kahlert

16 Nov 2020

Virtual reality – or “VR” – has been described as a potentially media transforming technology for years now . Desperate trend seekers have long harked its “potential”, certain that this little-understood, sci-fi-esque innovation will feature heavily in our digital futures (although, as M...

4 min read

Cover image for Virtual Reality: The flying cars of the 21st century

Are rights holders missing the point with Twitch?

Mark Mulligan

13 Nov 2020

Twitch has apologised to its users for the growing volume of rights holder takedown notices for music used in Twitch videos . Twitch is in an awkward transitionary phase with music rights holders, not dissimilar to where YouTube was when it was acquired by Google.

5 min read

Cover image for Are rights holders missing the point with Twitch?

Post-pandemic programming webinar replay

Dara Jegede

12 Nov 2020

If you missed the Post-Pandemic Programming webinar on Tuesday, November 10, you can relive the discussions in the video below. To ensure you don't miss another MIDiA event, register here to stay in touch .

1 min read

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WWE Q3 Earnings – An innovative digital strategy helps WWE overcome COVID-19 disruption

Alistair Taylor

12 Nov 2020

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment covid

WWE’s Q3 2020 results provide a fascinating insight into how a live event-focused entertainment business has successfully navigated a global pandemic. In its financials for the quarter , WWE saw a 19% revenue increase year-on-year (YoY), with Q3 2020 revenue at $221.

5 min read

Cover image for WWE Q3 Earnings – An innovative digital strategy helps WWE overcome COVID-19 disruption

MIDiA expands academia support to gaming community through MetArena partnership

Dara Jegede

11 Nov 2020

Games

We are pleased to announce that the University of Kentucky is the first to benefit from a new partnership between MIDiA Research and MetArena, which will see students receive access to the MIDiA platform for 12 months, at no additional cost to the universities or students.

4 min read

Cover image for MIDiA expands academia support to gaming community through MetArena partnership

Catch up with MIDiA's post-pandemic programming podcast series

Dara Jegede

11 Nov 2020

Video Music Games

MIDiA has long said that podcasts are a rising force in the audio entertainment market – and we’ve put our efforts where our insights are, launching our first podcast series. Our episodes are now available to listen to on Spotify , Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music .

2 min read

Cover image for Catch up with MIDiA's post-pandemic programming podcast series

Why Take-Two Interactive does not need to adopt games subscriptions yet

Karol Severin

10 Nov 2020

take two interactive t2 games subscriptions

Take-Two Interactive (T2) reported quarterly results, with revenue dipping slightly, but profitability improving. On the call, T2 reiterated scepticism over the future of the games subscription models.

3 min read

Cover image for Why Take-Two Interactive does not need to adopt games subscriptions yet

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