Reports: Music

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.

Cover image for Addressable creator markets

Addressable creator markets
An opportunity with many layers

Mark Mulligan

29 Jul 2021

Apple Apple Artists

The music creator tools space is undergoing a change that is simultaneously renaissance and transformation. The creator culture boom has driven an unprecedented degree of investment and investor interest. However, because the music creator tools space is a collection of diverse products and services, an underlying challenge has been how to identify...

Cover image for Music consumer survey Q1 2021

Music consumer survey Q1 2021
YouTube extends its reach

Mark Mulligan

20 Jul 2021

Spotify YouTube Deezer

The data in this report is taken from MIDiA’s Q1 2021 consumer survey. The full data from this survey and all the preceding quarterly surveys are available, along with data visualisation tools and dynamic segmentation, on MIDiA Fuse. The countries covered in this report are US, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Brazil, South Korea.

Cover image for MIDiA Research 2021 – 2028 global music forecasts

MIDiA Research 2021 – 2028 global music forecasts
ARPU growth finally delivers

Mark Mulligan

30 Jun 2021

revenue Global Music

This report presents the key figures, trends and drivers of MIDiA’s music forecast model. The figures presented in this report are both retail and label trade values and are in billions of US dollars unless otherwise stated. An Excel file posted alongside this report provides complete country level data, including DSP market shares and a detailed...

Cover image for Spotify Q1 2021 earnings

Spotify Q1 2021 earnings
Shifting headwinds

Mark Mulligan

27 May 2021

Spotify YouTube Deezer

The first quarter of the year is usually a slow one for Spotify, but Q1 2021 saw a few metrics slowing more than in previous years. There were lots of solid performance metrics in Spotify’s results and a slew of new product announcements, but there were also signs of a coming slowdown driven in large part by wider industry headwinds.

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Live streamed concert demand
Ready for prime time

Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Kriss Thakrar

21 May 2021

Spotify Spotify live music

Virtual concerts went from zero to a hundred at an unprecedented rate during the pandemic-shaped 2020, and the momentum carried through to 2021. But if lockdown years are like dog years, then so too the evolution of the current virtual event marketplace has been concertinaed.

Cover image for Creator culture

Creator culture
The song becomes the feed

Mark Mulligan and Kriss Thakrar

26 Apr 2021

Creators Spotify Spotify

The creator tools marketplace is creating a revolution in the culture and business of music. The third decade of the millennium represents the opening of a new chapter for the music business, with the means of production and distribution fully democratised.

Cover image for Rebalancing the Song Economy

Rebalancing the Song Economy

Mark Mulligan and Keith Jopling

16 Apr 2021

Free Report

Music

Introduction – Rebalancing the song economy After half a decade of streaming-driven growth the global music business hit a speed bump in the shape of the COVID-19 pandemic. Live music stopped in an instant, radio boomed then dipped and physical sales plummeted as stores closed.

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Music & Gaming
A new way to play

Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Keith Jopling

13 Apr 2021

Free Report

In today’s music business, the consumer boom is rapidly leading to a creator bust. For the music industry to untangle itself from this dysfunctional loop, it needs to find new ways of monetizing fandom, not simply relying on consumption. Artists need new ways to connect and transact more productively with their immediate fan bases.

Cover image for BE THE CHANGE - Women Making Music

BE THE CHANGE - Women Making Music

Hanna Kahlert and Srishti Das

25 Mar 2021

Free Report

Creators Independent artists Strategy

The second iteration of this project is available to download here . Be The Change: Women Making Music Key insights Gendered expectations have skewed recognition and reward in the music industry: of 401 women creators around the world, 81% think that it is harder for female artists to get recognition than male artists Linked to this is the fact tha...

Cover image for Recorded music market 2020

Recorded music market 2020
Pandemic-era growth

Mark Mulligan

11 Mar 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 acceleration that suggests a strong 2021 lies ahead.

Cover image for Spotify Q4 2020 earnings

Spotify Q4 2020 earnings
ARPU pays the price for growth

Mark Mulligan

28 Feb 2021

Subscriptions Streaming Streaming Music

In 2020 Spotify accelerated the growth of its total user base, with emerging markets playing a key role. However, revenue increases became decoupled from user growth across all categories, resulting in ARPU deflation. Companies and brands mentioned in...

Cover image for Music Product Strategy Re-boot

Music Product Strategy Re-boot
Time to Monetise Fandom, Not Access

Mark Mulligan

25 Jan 2021

Innovation Spotify Spotify

As streaming reaches maturity in many of the largest music markets and middle-tier artists struggle to make ends meet with the live music hiatus, the time has come for a music product strategy re-boot – for a bold, new wave of music products that look to build beyond streaming, delivering increased income for both rights holders and creators.

Cover image for Virtual Concerts

Virtual Concerts
A New Video Format

Mark Mulligan

22 Dec 2020

YouTube Amazon Facebook

The global pandemic thrust the live music sector into chaos, with global revenues falling by 75% in 2020 compared to one year previously. The music industry was rocked by first-order impacts (no concerts, no fan engagement) and second-order impacts (many artists realising that streaming did not add up without live income alongside it).

Cover image for Spotify Q3 2020 Earnings

Spotify Q3 2020 Earnings
The Shift to Free

Mark Mulligan

27 Nov 2020

Subscriptions Streaming Streaming Music

With three quarters of 2020 gone, Spotify has prospered during the most challenging of times, with consistent growth across most metrics. Q3 2020 saw a slight deviation from the script though, with ad-supported in the driving seat, especially in emerging markets.

Cover image for Creator Tools

Creator Tools
The Music Industry’s New Top of Funnel

Mark Mulligan

13 Nov 2020

Creators Apple Apple

Music production has traditionally been, at best, an adjacent industry to the recording business, and at worst simply a cost centre. That is now all changing. COVID-19’s disruption catalysed the already-rapid shift towards affordable production tools and the rise of a new generation of online platforms that are reimagining music production as SAA...

Cover image for Post-Pandemic Programming Webinar Presentation

Post-Pandemic Programming Webinar Presentation

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor, Keith Jopling and Hanna Kahlert

11 Nov 2020

Free Report

Video Music Games

After a period of disruption to the global entertainment landscape, many businesses have found a way to adapt to the new normal, but the recession and prospect of further pandemic peaks have created an unprecedented outlook for entertainment companies.

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State of the YouTube Music Economy 3.0
End of the Beginning

Mark Mulligan

30 Oct 2020

Spotify YouTube YouTube

This is the third bi-annual report of its kind, providing the most comprehensive view available of the YouTube music economy. It presents data for revenues, royalty payments, streams, subscribers, user behaviour and user demographics. We explore success factors, cultural trends, monetisation frameworks and contextualise music’s performance agains...

Cover image for The Rising Power of UGC

The Rising Power of UGC

Mark Mulligan and Keith Jopling

26 Oct 2020

user-generated content

About this report Audible Magic has commissioned MIDiA to produce a White Paper on the rising power of UGC and the untapped opportunity to monetise the growth in UGC consumer behaviours and new platforms. We will examine the growth of new platforms, use cases and ‘music and content put to purpose’.

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Independent Artists
Pathfinding Through a Pandemic

Mark Mulligan and Keith Jopling

30 Sep 2020

Free Report

artist income Independent artists Music streaming

2019 was yet another stand-out year for independent artists, with revenues, streams and market shares all growing strongly. Then, along came COVID-19 and the world turned upside down. However, in lockdown many independent artists found new opportunities and the ability to innovate and create.

Cover image for MIDiA Research Artist Survey Q2 2020

MIDiA Research Artist Survey Q2 2020

Mark Mulligan and Keith Jopling

18 Sep 2020

Independent artists charts music artists

This deck presents findings from MIDiA's Q2 2020 survey of music artists, assessing the impact on their careers in the wake of the coronavirus. It consists of 13 charts / graphs / table slides. The full report will be available in October 2020....

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