Reports: Freemium

Browse all of our reports, featuring our analysts' expert insights and analysis of audience segmentation, emerging trends and technologies, value chains, market shares, predictions and more – backed by our proprietary survey data and bespoke models & forecasts. Become a subscriber to get new ones every month, or just pick one to get started.

The FAST advantage
Build sustainable consumer models

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Tim Mulligan and Ben Woods

August 2023

Streaming

Amazon

Netflix

Inflation and retention pressures are combining to make free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) an appealing go-to-market strategy for video distributors.FAST is still underperforming significantly in engagement...

Digital Consumer Ad Profiles
Targeting Music and Video Streamers

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Georgia Meyer

January 2019

Spotify

Radio

YouTube

Digital music and video consumers navigate an increasingly nuanced landscape of content formats, from paywalled to ad-supported to social. Levels of engagement with new social formats vary considerably...

Pandora
Mapping Its Place in the US Streaming Market

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Mark Mulligan

September 2018

Streaming

Streaming Music

Apple

Pandora is the granddaddy of streaming music, clocking 10 million active users before Spotify had even gone into public beta. It remains the most widely used audio streaming service in the US, but is no...

State of the YouTube Music Economy 2.0
A Turning Point for All Parties

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Mark Mulligan

August 2018

Streaming

Streaming Music

Spotify

This report is now into its second edition, updating the most comprehensive YouTube music dataset ever compiled in order to present all sides of the argument in an objective and impartial manner. The report...

Paid News
Legacy Titles and New Media Compete For Share Of Digital Voice

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Zach Fuller

June 2017

Apple

Amazon

Google

In an economy based on attention, the monetisation of news in 2017 balances declining advertising revenues against a push towards building subscribers. Emerging business models and shifts in consumer behaviour...

State Of Freemium Games Q1 2017
A Comprehensive Assessment Of Freemium Game Dynamics In The Top 100 Grossing Charts

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Karol Severin

April 2017

Apple

Freemium

google play

The sheer importance and popularity of freemium games in the app economy is evident across the globe as they capture the lion’s share of both the top 100 grossing overall charts, as well as gaming charts...

Q4: 2016 Streaming Music Market Update
Competition Is Hotting Up

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Mark Mulligan

April 2017

Streaming

Spotify

YouTube

2015 was the year in which streaming music came of age but 2016 was the year when it hit the long anticipated milestone of 100 million subscribers, transforming the global recorded music business. 2016...

Paid Content Consumer Deep Dive
The Emergence Of A Sophisticated Audience

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Zach Fuller

November 2016

Subscriptions

Streaming

Online video

In the old world, there were clear demarcations between media types, bordered with proprietary media and playback devices. However, different entertainment forms now exist in more interdependent ecosystems...

The Death of the Monthly Active User
Redefining User Metrics For The App Era

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Zach Fuller

November 2016

Subscriptions

Paid Content

Freemium

The Monthly Active User (MAU) metric is the default measure of digital services but its usefulness is lessening. While it offered desktop-era services a better alternative to page views, its use for mobile...

Spotify User Profile
An Increasingly Mainstream Yet Digitally Sophisticated Audience

Mark Mulligan

November 2016

Subscriptions

Streaming

Spotify

Spotify is the poster child of streaming music, having done more than any other company to grow the segment and to prove the freemium business model at scale. It has built an active user base that outshines...

Soundcloud User Profile
Male Dominated Music Sophisticates

Mark Mulligan

November 2016

Streaming

Streaming Music

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is in many respects the odd one out in the audio streaming landscape. While the market is dominated by major label orientated subscription services like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Napster,...

State Of The YouTube Music Economy
Growing Tensions As Worldviews Collide

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Mark Mulligan

July 2016

Streaming

Streaming Music

YouTube

YouTube is the music platform of choice for Millennials and Gen Z and is by far the most widely used streaming service on the planet. But YouTube and music rights holders have never been the closest of...

Streaming Music Discovery
When The Journey Becomes The Destination

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Mark Mulligan

July 2015

Streaming

free

Discovery

When YouTube first starting rising to prominence streaming music was still in its infancy. Thus even though royalty payments were far form setting the world alight, there was a clear case for YouTube views...

Mobile App Economy Forecast 2015-2020
The Emergence Of A Mature Market

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Karol Severin

June 2015

arpu

average revenue per user

mobile apps

The global app economy is maturing. This transformation will bring a multitude of headline-worthy power shifts in the next five years. At the top, the share of global revenue will shift significantly between...

Mobile App Payments
Fishing For Whales And Minnows

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Karol Severin

June 2015

Freemium

app economy

in app purchase

78% of mobile app revenue is concentrated in 26% of app buyers with the majority of that revenue driven by in-app purchases. These ‘whales’ are the beating heart of the mobile app economy but their...

The Mobile App Funnel
Benchmarking The Mobile App Customer Lifecycle

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Karol Severin and Martyn Davies

May 2015

Freemium

subscription trials

user acquisition

App companies lose users and revenue right across the user acquisition and retention process. Thus as the global app market grows the amount of lost revenue accelerates also. MIDiA’s app funnel analysis...

Fighting Free With Free
How YouTube Usurped BitTorrent

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Mark Mulligan

April 2015

Streaming

free

free Streaming

Ever since Napster raised its head in 1999 the music industry has been fighting a rear guard action against free. BitTorrent picked up Napster’s baton and ran with it, begetting music industry’s cartoon...