AWAL Reports from MIDiA Research

Artists direct
Focus on passion, not professionalism

Tatiana Cirisano

May 2023

All eyes of the music business are on artists direct, the fastest-growing segment of the industry. But the 6.4 million artists in this segment are far from a unified group, and have varied aspirations,...

Artists direct
Focus on passion, not professionalism

Tatiana Cirisano

May 2023

Spotify

SoundCloud

All eyes of the music business are on artists direct, the fastest-growing segment of the industry. But the 6.4 million artists in this segment are far from a unified group, and have varied aspirations,...

Recorded music market 2022
Reality bites

Cover image for Recorded music market 2022

Mark Mulligan

March 2023

TuneCore

Music streaming

Kobalt

Following a spectacular year of growth in 2021, global recorded music revenue growth slowed significantly in 2022, due to the combined impact of global economic headwinds and growth slowdown in mature...

Music creators
Slicing the funnel

Mark Mulligan, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

February 2022

YouTube

SoundCloud

TuneCore

Streaming enabled the rise of the independent artist and then the rise of the music creator. The promise of the long tail finally appeared to be realised. But the pandemic’s disruption of live music...

2022 MIDiA predictions
The year of the creator

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Srishti Das, Kriss Thakrar and Tatiana Cirisano

December 2021

Creators

Apple

Spotify

In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, brands, marketing, games, and sports in 2022 and beyond....

Independent label market shares
Up on all counts

Cover image for Independent label market shares

Mark Mulligan

October 2021

Spotify

Record labels

independent labels

This report presents record label market share that is measured not just by label reported revenues, but also by separating the revenues of independent labels that are distributed by major label groups,...

Music creator tools forecast
Moving towards a hybrid future

Cover image for Music creator tools forecast

Mark Mulligan

September 2021

Creators

Apple

Spotify

Once upon a time, music software and hardware were distinct market segments, but now they are increasingly fusing into a network of hybrid creator tools ecosystems. Standalone hardware still has a vibrant...

Recorded music market 2020
Pandemic-era growth

Cover image for Recorded music market 2020

Mark Mulligan

March 2021

Streaming

Streaming Music

Recorded music

The global pandemic turned the music industry upside down. While live was decimated throughout 2020, after an initial downturn, the recorded music market returned to growth and finished the year with an...

Recorded music market 2020
Pandemic-era growth

Mark Mulligan

March 2021

Streaming

Streaming Music

Recorded music

The global pandemic turned the music industry upside down. While live was decimated throughout 2020, after an initial downturn, the recorded music market returned to growth and finished the year with an...

Music Subscriber Market Shares 4.0
Subscriptions Decouple from Revenue

Cover image for Music Subscriber Market Shares 4.0

Mark Mulligan

September 2020

Subscriptions

Streaming

Music Subscriptions

This report presents key figures from MIDiA’s global music subscriber market shares model. The full dataset is published alongside this report with quarterly data from Q4 2015 to Q1 2020 and annual label...

Independent Artist Survey
Aspirations That Will Reshape an Industry

Cover image for Independent Artist Survey

Mark Mulligan

January 2020

Artists

DIY

independent artists

This report presents the findings of MIDiA’s 2019 independent artist survey. Companies and brands mentioned in this report: AWAL, BMG Music Rights, CD Baby, Kobalt, Tunecore, Amuse...

Music Publishing
A Full-Stack Revolution

Mark Mulligan

October 2019

Spotify

Music publishing

Pandora

Tencent’s bid for 10% of Universal Music Group has set a new high-water mark for what risks becoming an overheated music rights mergers and acquisitions (M&A) sector. However, investment appetite remains...

Independent Artists
The Music Industry Rewritten

Mark Mulligan

July 2019

Creators

Labels

rhapsody

The rise of independent artists is one of the most important changes to happen to the modern recorded music business. While traditional label models still dominate, ever more artists are pursuing non-traditional...

Making and Marketing an Artist
Streaming Rewrites the Rules, Again

Cover image for Making and Marketing an Artist

Mark Mulligan

April 2018

Labels

Streaming

Streaming Music

Marketing is one of the core competencies of record labels. The rise of the internet and social media transformed label marketing strategies. Now streaming is turning everything upside down again. The...

Reports: AWAL