Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

Business Strategy

The problem with content

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Mark Mulligan

3 Feb 2026

Business Strategy

Everything these days is content – but the word is as problematic as the implication. ‘Content’ is defined by other . It is defined by filling something else, being part of something else. It is something that only exists within another context.

min read

From fans to superfans | What’s missing from the games industry

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Brandon Sutton

27 Jan 2026

Business Strategy

Audience Insight

The games industry is experiencing a moment of turbulence. A growing list of high-profile, high-budget titles, such as Mindseye and New World , have failed to meet commercial expectations. Increasingly, even investments in the hundreds of millions are no longer enough to guarantee a successful title.

min read

Music creator survey
Creation: Rise of the new breed

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Mark Mulligan

January 2026

Creators

Labels

Music creators

This report is the first of two analysing the results of MIDiA’s 2025 global music creator survey, n = 2,109. This report explores the creation side of the equation and is aimed primarily at creator tools and services companies. The second report focuses on the music creators’ careers and is aimed more at labels, distributor, publishers, CMOs, ...

Indie labels are trading quantity for quality as they let go of the “volume game”: MIDiA’s latest label survey

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Olivia Jones

22 Jan 2026

Business Strategy

In MIDiA’s third annual independent label and distributor survey, “less is more” is the name of the game. Drawing from a survey of 144 labels and distributors that self-identify as independent, MIDiA’s latest report explores how the indie sphere is adapting to the rapidly-changing industry l...

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TikTok’s PineDrama points to social media’s anti-social trajectory

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Hanna Kahlert

20 Jan 2026

Business Strategy

The surge of short-form drama apps has a new entry in the US and Brazil: TikTok. The social video app, which has overturned the digital entertainment economy over the past five years, has now launched a standalone app called PineDrama.

min read

Independent label and distributor survey
Less is more

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Olivia Jones and Tatiana Cirisano

January 2026

Streaming revenue

Independent labels

independents

Key data and insights: Longitudinal comparison of record label attitudes towards A&R, marketing, streaming, and AI Top distributors used by independent labels, domestically and overseas Average 2024 independent label and distributor revenue and distribution...

Is 2026 the year a western country finally bans a major social platform?

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Hanna Kahlert

14 Jan 2026

Business Strategy

Real change on social media has been incremental, with regulation far behind the innovation speed of companies themselves. However, it seems the current is shifting. In December 2025, Australia made the move to ban social media for under-16s.

min read

Splice x MIDiA Sounds of 2026
House on the rise

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Tatiana Cirisano, Olivia Jones, Kriss Thakrar, Samuel Griffin, Adham Nazir and Mark Qi

January 2026

Creators

Music fandom

edm

We zoom in on the trends and microtrends driven by the music industry’s biggest fans and most influential tastemakers: creators. Turn page after page of trends unfolding in real-time and see how Splice’s dataset is the barometer for the state of music today.

Why predictions matter – and MIDiA’s take on 2026

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Tatiana Cirisano

8 Jan 2026

Business Strategy

midia predictions

It’s never been easy to predict the future. It seems to have become even harder in the last few years. As technologies evolve faster than ever, so too does the consumer behaviour surrounding them – the most salient example, of course, being AI.

min read

K-pop’s global bifurcation: A genre at a crossroads

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Olivia Jones

22 Dec 2025

Business Strategy

Billboard recently released two new weekly charts tracking Korean music – Billboard Korea Hot 100 and Billboard Korea Global K-Songs . While the Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming and sales numbers within South Korea, the Global K-Songs chart focuses on global popularity, ranking the top songs...

min read

A year of change behind us, a new epoch ahead: Predicting 2026

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Hanna Kahlert

16 Dec 2025

Business Strategy

2025 is drawing to a close. Looking back through the year’s updates and events, it’s been a busy one. The major highlights: entertainment’s relationship with AI has changed dramatically, and there were a number of major mergers and acquisitions, including Netflix purchasing Warner Bros.

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MIDiA Research 2026 predictions
Change is the constant

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Hanna Kahlert, Tatiana Cirisano, Ben Woods, Brandon Sutton, Laura Fisher, Olivia Jones and Mark Mulligan

December 2025

Creators

apps

iPhone

Welcome to the 11th edition of MIDiA’s annual predictions report. The world has changed a lot since our inaugural 2016 edition. The core predictions in that report (video will eat the world, messaging apps will accelerate) are now foundational layers of today’s digital economy.

Ad-supported music market shares
Spotify ascending

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Mark Mulligan, Perry Gresham and Mark Qi

December 2025

Streaming

Music Subscriptions

free

Ad-supported streaming has always occupied a unique and slightly contentious place in the music industry ecosystem. On the one hand, ad-supported still represents an effective way to reach consumers at scale, creating a wider subscriber acquisition funnel.

Why audience ownership is the driving force behind creator IP expansions

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Ben Woods

10 Dec 2025

Business Strategy

Distribution is the tie that binds all creators together. Most successful creators use social media platforms as a springboard for turning their creative idea into a career. Social platforms have enabled creators to forge deep connections with audiences, while mastering the nuances of algorithmic di...

min read

NewJeans never die: What the year-long scandal means for K-pop’s global expansion

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Olivia Jones

4 Dec 2025

Business Strategy

The biggest scandal in modern K-pop turned one year old last Friday – and may have officially reached a resolution. To recap: on November 28, 2024, K-pop girl group NewJeans announced they were terminating their exclusive contract with ADOR, citing a breach of trust and failure to meet requests fo...

min read

The AI-social media dilemma: Can TikTok, Meta, and diVine curb low-quality content without hurting creators?

Cover image for The AI-social media dilemma: Can TikTok, Meta, and diVine curb low-quality content without hurting creators?

Ben Woods

3 Dec 2025

Business Strategy

Social platforms are grappling with a difficult balancing act. Generative AI can deliver a revolutionary engagement opportunity by turning even more consumers into creators. However, low-quality AI content also poses a threat to the user experience of social platforms.

min read

Creator wellbeing
Optimising time and battling burnout

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Ben Woods

November 2025

UGC

Business Strategy

lean back consumption

If the creator economy is to reach its growth potential, creator wellbeing must be prioritised. Growing and maintaining audiences is becoming more challenging, leading to unsustainable pressure for new and long-standing creators. Many creators are reducing the time they spend creating content.

ARC Raiders is disrupting the games industry: What developers can learn from its success

Cover image for ARC Raiders is disrupting the games industry: What developers can learn from its success

Brandon Sutton

27 Nov 2025

Business Strategy

ARC Raiders has quickly become one of 2025’s standout releases. Developed by Embark Studios, founded by former EA-owned studio DICE leaders, the game has quickly exceeded commercial and critical expectations for smaller developers.

min read

Cross-platform success
Using social platforms to build audience and fandom

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Hanna Kahlert

November 2025

Creators

merchandise

Discovery

The shifting social landscape leaves a lot to unpack, with parallel trends of consolidation and fragmentation. Social platforms are now largely about entertainment first and connecting with friends second. Many major platforms reinforce this dynamic by pushing a few-to-many distribution model.

Valve announces new Steam Hardware: What the launch means for gaming

Cover image for Valve announces new Steam Hardware: What the launch means for gaming

Brandon Sutton

21 Nov 2025

Business Strategy

In true Valve fashion, the company unveiled a surprise suite of new devices aimed at consumers last week – consisting of a PC-console hybrid, a new virtual reality headset, and a controller (via Valve ).

min read

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