Mark Mulligan | MIDiA Research

AI is reshaping the music creator economy, and that change will reshape the music business

Mark Mulligan

3 Feb 2025

MIDiA is pleased to announce the release of not one but two new music creator economy reports. These are our latest " State of the music creator economy "and " Music creator tools forecasts "reports. These...

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The unflattening of music

Mark Mulligan

30 Jan 2025

Cultural trends

Spotify

TikTok

[This post builds on two other recent MIDiA posts: Background music and What got you here ] At the half way point of the decade it is a good time to reflect on how the business of music is reshaping the...

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MIDiA Research 2025–2031 music creator tools forecasts
AI comes to town

Cover image for MIDiA Research 2025–2031 music creator tools forecasts

Mark Mulligan

January 2025

subscribers

AI

Business Strategy

This music creator tools forecasts report acts as a companion piece to MIDiA’s report “State of music creator economy: AI’s growing reach ” . This report provides analysis, market sizing, and forecasts...

State of the music creator economy
AI’s growing reach

Cover image for State of the music creator economy

Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano

January 2025

Innovation

Creators

revenue

Still recovering from post-pandemic aftershocks, the music creator economy now faces unprecedented disruption from generative AI. More people are creating than ever before (both as creators and consumers)...

What got you here won’t get you there: how Spotify built a new business

Mark Mulligan

17 Jan 2025

Business Strategy

Spotify

Streaming

Since its inception, Spotify has been, and continues to be, the streaming music market’s lightning rod. This is due to its continued ability to maintain leading market share and the fact it is the only...

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Anti-algorithm, anti-perfection - the rise of a music counter-culture

Mark Mulligan

20 Dec 2024

SoundCloud

scenes

Music

Today’s music landscape is one defined by abundance and immediacy. In today’s chronically-online world, everything is over-ground, immediately. Scenes have to work really hard to be underground and...

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Q3 2024 music metrics
Maturation effect

Mark Mulligan

December 2024

Business Strategy

This report presents MIDiA consumer data for key music consumer behaviours and company financials for Q3 2024.Consumer data covered includes, streaming app usage, music behaviour and streaming activities....

MIDiA's 2025 predictions webinar slides
It's social's stage now

Cover image for MIDiA's 2025 predictions webinar slides

Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Tatiana Cirisano, Ben Woods, Rutger Rosenborg, Rhys Elliott and Olivia Jones

December 2024

Free Report

Spotify

YouTube

Twitch

MIDiA's expert analysts dive into our 2025 predictions for the music, social, video, audio, and games industries – and explain why we believe "it's social's stage now".

MIDiA’s 2025 predictions
It’s social’s stage now

Cover image for MIDiA’s 2025 predictions

Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin, Hanna Kahlert, Tatiana Cirisano, Ben Woods, Rutger Rosenborg, Rhys Elliott and Olivia Jones

December 2024

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

The creator economy reshaped entertainment in the first half of the 2020s and social wasthe big winner, now positioned at the centre of the entertainment economy. In 2025 wewill see the second-order effects...

It’s social’s stage now: MIDiA’s 2025 predictions webinar

Mark Mulligan

28 Nov 2024

predictions

2025 predictions

tech trends

One of my favourite parts of the MIDiA year is creating the MIDiA predictions report and webinar. It is always a true team effort, with our team of analysts spending weeks brainstorming ideas, proposing...

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Hold or twist? The music industry’s innovation dilemma

Mark Mulligan

20 Nov 2024

Innovation

Streaming

streaming growth

As Clayton Christensen identified in The Innovator’s Dilemma, there are two types of innovation: sustaining innovation and disruptive innovation. Sustaining innovation is what companies do to enhance...

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State of the independent music economy
Fragmentation and consolidation

Cover image for State of the independent music economy

Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano

October 2024

Business Strategy

This report presents the results of MIDiA’s annual independent label and distributor survey, as well as the most comprehensive market sizing of the non-major label sector ever conducted. Built on revenue...

State of the independent music economy: Fragmentation AND consolidation

Mark Mulligan

31 Oct 2024

market shares

label market shares

independent labels

MIDiA is excited to announce our latest report “ State of the independent music economy: Fragmentation AND consolidation”. It represents the most extensive piece of research we have ever done. Through...

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Beyond the obvious: Building future-focused strategy

Mark Mulligan

11 Oct 2024

Strategy

Business Strategy

Innovation

Business strategy has long been demarcated across sustaining and disruptive innovation. In the digital realm, the latter has had the upper hand, but now, as digital enters a slower growth phase, sustaining...

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Music creator economy: recalibration

Mark Mulligan

26 Sep 2024

Music creators

Creator Economy

music creator tools

The music creator economy has been long in the making but was thrust into the wider music industry’s limelight with the Covid lockdowns triggering a surge in new creators. As with any bubble, many creator...

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Music creator survey
Recalibration

Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano

September 2024

Audience Insight

The music creator economy has been slowly developing but was thrust into the spotlight by a surge of new creators during the Covid lockdowns. As with any bubble, it eventually burst; many creator tools...

Q2 2024 music metrics
Bifurcation is here

Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano

September 2024

Business Strategy

This report presents MIDiA consumer data for key music consumer behaviours and company financials for Q2 2024. Consumer data covered includes, streaming app usage, music behaviour, and streaming activities....

Q2 2024 music market metrics: bifurcation is here

Mark Mulligan

19 Sep 2024

Music streaming

Streaming

Bifurcation

There are so many music industry metrics and financial results flying around these days that it can be difficult to keep up with them all. Don’t worry, we’ve got you. MIDiA has just published the first...

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Music publishing forecasts: strong growth and more to come

Mark Mulligan

15 Aug 2024

music publishing

songwriters

publishing forecasts

Following hot on the heels of our future of songwriting report , MIDiA is pleased to announce the release of our latest music publishing forecasts report . Here are some highlights. Thus far, the 2020s...

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MIDiA Research 2024-2031 global music publishing forecasts
Managed change

Cover image for MIDiA Research 2024-2031 global music publishing forecasts

Mark Mulligan

July 2024

Business Strategy

Thus far, the 2020s has been a good decade for the music publishing industry. Revenues have continued to grow, streaming royalty rates have improved – spurred by favourable royalty rates board rulings...