Blog MIDiA’s ‘Decade of big ideas’ about the future of music
The music industry is evolving in two directions: one focused on hits and reach, the other on scenes, identity, and lasting fandom. We’re building tools to strengthen these parallels. Here’s what we learned and why it’s shaping our roadmap.
Last week in London, the StreamPush team sat in on MIDiA Research's “A Decade of Big Ideas”. After a packed few days of client meetings across King’s Cross and Shoreditch (Eurostar AMS to LDN), we needed to shut up, listen, and zoom out… a moment to take stock of where the music industry has been, and where it’s headed next, according to our peers.
What we heard confirmed a lot of what we’ve felt while building StreamPush: the rules are changing. Fast. And not ‘cos we’re geniuses, but because we built StreamPush around the evolving needs of our customers: artists and record labels.
It seems that streaming is growing up and branching out. We’re entering a new era. Not just a shift in platforms or formats, but in philosophy, in priorities, in how audiences engage and how value is created.
Here are a few of our takeaways:
The music industry is splitting into two
We’d never heard this term before, “bifurcation”, a dual-track future. It made sense. On one side, "business as usual": mass-market hits, mainstream campaigns, streaming growth. On the other: something less defined, more chaotic, but arguably more exciting. Niche scenes. Frictionless creation. New models of fandom and community that don’t fit neatly into the old frameworks. To us, it sounded like what startups go through.
At StreamPush, we’ve felt this tension. The rise of 24/7 music live streams, scene-based channels, and persistent fan engagement points isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s becoming a strategic necessity for rights holders who want to stay relevant in both worlds.
Hits are dominating less, and that's okay
Streaming used to be all about the charts. Now, algorithms are pushing audiences deeper into niches. The big, global hits still matter… but they matter differently. The idea that every campaign needs to be a massive viral first-week sales event is giving way to a more grounded model: ongoing connection.
That’s where continuous programming comes in. When we build always-on streams for catalogs, we’re not just filling air. We’re creating spaces where culture can show up on its own terms, again and again.
Scenes are the new Superstars
MIDiA Research's framing of “scenes”; tight communities united by values, hobbies, aesthetics, and sound, felt spot on… that is culture. Scenes aren’t just genres. They’re movements. AGAIN CULTURE. And fandom within a scene is often stronger than passive listenership at scale. Learn how Monstercat builds niche communities through 24/7 streams.
We’ve seen this reflected in how labels use StreamPush: curating different channels to speak to different scenes. The same catalog can power a deep house channel for one audience, and a chillout livestream for another. It’s not just about reach: it’s about relevance, and the C word, Culture.
Video is the Lingua Franca
Another big takeaway: “video isn’t optional”. It’s the language of the digital world. Fans express themselves through video. They discover through video. They connect through video.
That’s why we chose to build StreamPush around video-first platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Audio is the product (which is where we originally started, but that's a story for another time), but video is the experience. Together, they become something fans can feel part of.
Let the bots chase the numbers
According to recent data, “only 49% of global internet traffic in 2024 came from humans”. The rest were bots (both good and bad). In an industry that obsesses over metrics, this is a wake-up call.
If half your traffic isn’t real, what are you actually measuring?
This makes direct, community-driven engagement more important than ever. In the long run, the artists and rights holders who will win are those who build real-world connections, not those who chase hollow virality.
That’s why we emphasise persistent, owned channels. Where we help rights holders create engaging, monetizable ecosystems, not just numbers on a dashboard. Tools like mid-roll monetization, Campaigns, and active chat communities bridge the gap between reach and revenue, and more importantly, between artists and fans.
As Dean Wilson put it in a recent post: "Let the bots chase the numbers. You build the future." We couldn’t agree more.
Read the full post on LinkedIn
What’s needed is a layer between exposure and economics. Something persistent. Something up. Our clients often use StreamPush not only to be seen but also to create a reliable, monetizable surface for their catalogs, where they can design their own visuals, program their playlists, and include some hidden gems and B-sides (to gain awareness), as well as merchandise or festivals (extensions of the listening experience). All while listeners engage in chat-based campaigns, or simply chat.
A final thought
As builders, we often live in the product trenches; listening to clients, tweaking features, shipping updates. But this moment in London reminded us why we’re building in the first place.
The future of music will be chaotic, plural, and beautifully fragmented. Success won’t look like one massive hit; it’ll look like ten scenes, each with its own loyal communities.
At StreamPush, we’re proud to be part of that shift.
Not by chasing noise. But by helping our partners stay present, persistent, and in sync with the culture. Wherever it goes next.
Read our reflections from a week of label meetings in London.