Hanna Kahlert
@kahlerthanna.bsky.social
music, media, & all things consumer insights || analyst @ MIDiA Research 🎶📊💡
Trying to piece together what culture looks like in 2025, and it's an unexpected journey. In short: it looks a lot different for marketers looking for colour pallets, and another for audiences living in the thick of it...
Full blog here: www.midiaresearch.com/blog/the-lif...
Full blog here: www.midiaresearch.com/blog/the-lif...
The life of a cultural narrative: Where are 2025’s iconic moments?
Eras are defined by their moments. The 2000’s saw low-rise jeans, a neon palette, and pop star drama. The 2010’s had barn weddings and ‘Gangnam Style’. With time comes the benefit of hindsight, and cl...
www.midiaresearch.com
August 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Trying to piece together what culture looks like in 2025, and it's an unexpected journey. In short: it looks a lot different for marketers looking for colour pallets, and another for audiences living in the thick of it...
Full blog here: www.midiaresearch.com/blog/the-lif...
Full blog here: www.midiaresearch.com/blog/the-lif...
Every time someone posts on LI about "oh AI will just make the best humans stand out!" i remember this guy from Race Across the World who they run into in India and they ask why he doesn't automate his farm work and he goes:
"Machines kill labour. People need jobs." (icon)
"Machines kill labour. People need jobs." (icon)
July 29, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Every time someone posts on LI about "oh AI will just make the best humans stand out!" i remember this guy from Race Across the World who they run into in India and they ask why he doesn't automate his farm work and he goes:
"Machines kill labour. People need jobs." (icon)
"Machines kill labour. People need jobs." (icon)
Every few months Drake goes out of his way to do something weird and a bit obscure, and I end up down the rabbit hole trying to puzzle out whether it matters and, if so, what it means www.bbc.com/news/article...
Which One: Drake and Central Cee's drop new song
Drake and Central Cee team up again on a new track, with a promo filmed around Manchester.
www.bbc.com
July 29, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Every few months Drake goes out of his way to do something weird and a bit obscure, and I end up down the rabbit hole trying to puzzle out whether it matters and, if so, what it means www.bbc.com/news/article...
Consumers *like* ease and convenience. But it's the chase; the mystery; the time spent in anticipatory speculation, desperately craving the next episode or song or clue, that makes us really *care*
Sometimes building fandom requires the opposite of "innovating"
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/buildin...
Sometimes building fandom requires the opposite of "innovating"
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/buildin...
Building fandom is about the journey, not the destination
“Superfans” remain the headline topic for the entertainment industries , in music and beyond. They are the biggest cheerleaders amongst their peers, the most engaged on social media and streaming, and...
www.midiaresearch.com
July 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Consumers *like* ease and convenience. But it's the chase; the mystery; the time spent in anticipatory speculation, desperately craving the next episode or song or clue, that makes us really *care*
Sometimes building fandom requires the opposite of "innovating"
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/buildin...
Sometimes building fandom requires the opposite of "innovating"
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/buildin...
"If creators, and the industries around them, want a long-term future, they should not take this change in perception lightly. Yesterday it was OpenAI denigrating the value of paying creators; today it is Budweiser." Who will it be tomorrow? www.midiaresearch.com/blog/budweis...
Budweiser’s royalty loophole ad: How AI and social have changed the value of creators
Advertising is a critical component of the entertainment industries. It supports free tiers of video streaming, forms the backbone of social platform revenues, and contributes significantly to the mus...
www.midiaresearch.com
June 25, 2025 at 3:33 PM
"If creators, and the industries around them, want a long-term future, they should not take this change in perception lightly. Yesterday it was OpenAI denigrating the value of paying creators; today it is Budweiser." Who will it be tomorrow? www.midiaresearch.com/blog/budweis...
Despite the naysayers, live music is thriving – if you know where to find it. And increasingly it's rooted in places that are far more gate-kept than TikTok
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/live-is...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/live-is...
Live isn’t dead, it just needs a WhatsApp group: why gatekeeping is due for a comeback
The live scene is, allegedly, in an uphill battle. Festivals face cancellations, travel costs are rising, and grassroots venues are struggling. Success stories like the ‘Eras’ tour and the Oasis reuni...
www.midiaresearch.com
June 12, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Despite the naysayers, live music is thriving – if you know where to find it. And increasingly it's rooted in places that are far more gate-kept than TikTok
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/live-is...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/live-is...
The future might be tabards, not space lasers: barcore raves point to a new underground that is the answer to the entertainment industry's cultural crisis.
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/culture...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/culture...
Culture always starts as grassroots: The rise of bardcore raves
The entertainment industry is facing a cultural crisis. Demands for more , faster to feed the algorithms are undermining longevity and impact. Songs fade quickly, while films fail to fill cinemas. If ...
www.midiaresearch.com
May 23, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The future might be tabards, not space lasers: barcore raves point to a new underground that is the answer to the entertainment industry's cultural crisis.
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/culture...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/culture...
"[AI] cannot reach toward the other and their otherness in order to affirm and nurture our own. And without that, there is no art – only the sterile echo of an absent maker serving vampiric billionaires consumed by a need for power in place of connection." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The trouble with AI art isn’t just lack of originality. It’s something far bigger | Eric Reinhart
When artwork is invented by a machine, it loses its most important power: to help people connect. In an already lonely era, that is particularly dangerous
www.theguardian.com
May 20, 2025 at 1:17 PM
"[AI] cannot reach toward the other and their otherness in order to affirm and nurture our own. And without that, there is no art – only the sterile echo of an absent maker serving vampiric billionaires consumed by a need for power in place of connection." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Uncertainty over time becomes a certainty. What Trump *can* tariff, and what companies will bend over backwards in the meantime to potentially avoid, are two very different things...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/what-ma...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/what-ma...
What “Make Hollywood Great Again” really means for entertainment
On Sunday, May 4th, President Trump announced his intent to put a “100 per cent Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands”. The administration has stated....
www.midiaresearch.com
May 9, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Uncertainty over time becomes a certainty. What Trump *can* tariff, and what companies will bend over backwards in the meantime to potentially avoid, are two very different things...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/what-ma...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/what-ma...
Generative AI is improving, and its use is increasing. Here's the problem: AI makes it *so* easy for fans to bring ideas to life, it itself cannot actually tell the difference between fan fiction and reality.
Take Pirates of the Caribbean Six... 🧵👇
Take Pirates of the Caribbean Six... 🧵👇
April 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Generative AI is improving, and its use is increasing. Here's the problem: AI makes it *so* easy for fans to bring ideas to life, it itself cannot actually tell the difference between fan fiction and reality.
Take Pirates of the Caribbean Six... 🧵👇
Take Pirates of the Caribbean Six... 🧵👇
Everyone in tech wants to get in on AI – especially social platforms, like X and Meta. So what does it mean when OpenAI decides it wants to get into social?? www.theverge.com/openai/64813...
OpenAI is building a social network
ChatGPT versus X?
www.theverge.com
April 24, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Everyone in tech wants to get in on AI – especially social platforms, like X and Meta. So what does it mean when OpenAI decides it wants to get into social?? www.theverge.com/openai/64813...
hyped to have joined the White Lotus bandwagon just in time for season 3; terrified of spoilers because I haven't finished it yet.
TV's really lost the art of the cultural moment... except HBO, which seems to just hand out banger after banger
TV's really lost the art of the cultural moment... except HBO, which seems to just hand out banger after banger
April 7, 2025 at 11:21 AM
hyped to have joined the White Lotus bandwagon just in time for season 3; terrified of spoilers because I haven't finished it yet.
TV's really lost the art of the cultural moment... except HBO, which seems to just hand out banger after banger
TV's really lost the art of the cultural moment... except HBO, which seems to just hand out banger after banger
Have you noticed TikTok seems a bit... dead, recently?
Ban or no ban, the vibes are off, and user attention is drifting elsewhere.
TikTok was the central hub of online culture, in a way no other app can really stand in for. So what happens now?
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/if-the-...
Ban or no ban, the vibes are off, and user attention is drifting elsewhere.
TikTok was the central hub of online culture, in a way no other app can really stand in for. So what happens now?
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/if-the-...
If the internet dies, where does all the attention go?
Consumers no longer need to leave their social feeds. Instead, they can now get new music, film clips, pop culture, and news updates all on their favoured apps. Social has become the be-all, end-all o...
www.midiaresearch.com
April 2, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Have you noticed TikTok seems a bit... dead, recently?
Ban or no ban, the vibes are off, and user attention is drifting elsewhere.
TikTok was the central hub of online culture, in a way no other app can really stand in for. So what happens now?
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/if-the-...
Ban or no ban, the vibes are off, and user attention is drifting elsewhere.
TikTok was the central hub of online culture, in a way no other app can really stand in for. So what happens now?
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/if-the-...
OpenAI saying they value creativity, crying when DeepSeek comes out, and then launching an update with Studio Gibli's work is just... priceless.
It's play nice for the press and the courtroom, but when the doors are closed they build a resounding middle finger to creators youtu.be/4OiMOHRDs14?...
It's play nice for the press and the courtroom, but when the doors are closed they build a resounding middle finger to creators youtu.be/4OiMOHRDs14?...
Princess Mononoke - Official Trailer
YouTube video by Crunchyroll Store Australia
youtu.be
March 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
OpenAI saying they value creativity, crying when DeepSeek comes out, and then launching an update with Studio Gibli's work is just... priceless.
It's play nice for the press and the courtroom, but when the doors are closed they build a resounding middle finger to creators youtu.be/4OiMOHRDs14?...
It's play nice for the press and the courtroom, but when the doors are closed they build a resounding middle finger to creators youtu.be/4OiMOHRDs14?...
There are loads of new features coming to Instagram's DMs, from Broadcast Channels (brands, rejoice) to themed chat backgrounds (the rest of us, rejoice). Why are they doing this, and what does it mean? 👇🧵
March 19, 2025 at 1:04 PM
There are loads of new features coming to Instagram's DMs, from Broadcast Channels (brands, rejoice) to themed chat backgrounds (the rest of us, rejoice). Why are they doing this, and what does it mean? 👇🧵
It feels an odd time to celebrate International Women's Day, with Zuckerberg saying too much "female energy" has "neutered" business, and Trump's administration is doing away with diversity policies.
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/meritoc...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/meritoc...
Meritocracy only works if the door is open in the first place: International Women’s Day in 2025
This weekend saw the celebration of International Women’s Day. Cue the LinkedIn posts about female CEOs, and celebration of awards ceremonies dominated by female pop stars, reflecting their gains –...
www.midiaresearch.com
March 11, 2025 at 5:40 PM
It feels an odd time to celebrate International Women's Day, with Zuckerberg saying too much "female energy" has "neutered" business, and Trump's administration is doing away with diversity policies.
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/meritoc...
www.midiaresearch.com/blog/meritoc...
Digital entertainment in the west is a complicated patchwork of rights, platforms, formats, features, and devices. Legacy strategies clash with tech insurgents, and meanwhile audiences are at attention saturation. (1/2)
March 6, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Digital entertainment in the west is a complicated patchwork of rights, platforms, formats, features, and devices. Legacy strategies clash with tech insurgents, and meanwhile audiences are at attention saturation. (1/2)
Study sponsored by TikTok says that TikTok is the best way to do music. *surprised pikachu face*
There IS definitely something to this... but it's not the full picture. 🧠🧵 (1/)
newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok...
There IS definitely something to this... but it's not the full picture. 🧠🧵 (1/)
newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok...
TikTok and Luminate release the latest Music Impact Report - Newsroom | TikTok
Luminate's Music Impact Report concludes that 'TikTok is a key driver of music discovery, monetization and chart success' 84% of songs that entered the Billboard Global 200 in 2024 went viral on TikTo...
newsroom.tiktok.com
March 5, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Study sponsored by TikTok says that TikTok is the best way to do music. *surprised pikachu face*
There IS definitely something to this... but it's not the full picture. 🧠🧵 (1/)
newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok...
There IS definitely something to this... but it's not the full picture. 🧠🧵 (1/)
newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok...
On Monday, Chinese start-up DeepSeek delivered a consumer-facing GenAI model that
1. Works better than ChatGPT
2. Costs a fraction of the price
and 3. Is open-source, causing OpenAI (and others) to publicly crash out over intellectual property.
(Not lost: the irony.) 👇 (1/?)
1. Works better than ChatGPT
2. Costs a fraction of the price
and 3. Is open-source, causing OpenAI (and others) to publicly crash out over intellectual property.
(Not lost: the irony.) 👇 (1/?)
January 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
On Monday, Chinese start-up DeepSeek delivered a consumer-facing GenAI model that
1. Works better than ChatGPT
2. Costs a fraction of the price
and 3. Is open-source, causing OpenAI (and others) to publicly crash out over intellectual property.
(Not lost: the irony.) 👇 (1/?)
1. Works better than ChatGPT
2. Costs a fraction of the price
and 3. Is open-source, causing OpenAI (and others) to publicly crash out over intellectual property.
(Not lost: the irony.) 👇 (1/?)
I would argue it is too soon to see the impacts. These announcements were followed immediately by Trump's inauguration and a hailstorm of executive orders. People are still on Meta, because they still rely on it for news, and there's a *lot* of that right now. As things normalise, this could change.
Meta's recent policy changes, including cutting fact-checking and diversity programs, haven't decreased platform engagement.
The calls for a Meta boycott don't seem to be having much of an impact, data shows
Meta's recent policy changes, including cutting fact-checking and diversity programs, haven't decreased platform engagement.
www.businessinsider.com
January 24, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I would argue it is too soon to see the impacts. These announcements were followed immediately by Trump's inauguration and a hailstorm of executive orders. People are still on Meta, because they still rely on it for news, and there's a *lot* of that right now. As things normalise, this could change.
TikTok is banned! Now it’s not banned! But it could still be banned!
The rollercoaster is exhausting. So I took a step back and a deep breath and laid out the options 👇 (1/)
The rollercoaster is exhausting. So I took a step back and a deep breath and laid out the options 👇 (1/)
January 22, 2025 at 5:43 PM
TikTok is banned! Now it’s not banned! But it could still be banned!
The rollercoaster is exhausting. So I took a step back and a deep breath and laid out the options 👇 (1/)
The rollercoaster is exhausting. So I took a step back and a deep breath and laid out the options 👇 (1/)
"Business, not politics."
A CEO has all but bought entry to the White House and just did two nazi salutes during inauguration.
Another – in one of the most male-dominated industries – has said business isn't "masculine" enough, and has gotten rid of content controls*.
Business IS politics.
A CEO has all but bought entry to the White House and just did two nazi salutes during inauguration.
Another – in one of the most male-dominated industries – has said business isn't "masculine" enough, and has gotten rid of content controls*.
Business IS politics.
January 21, 2025 at 3:43 PM
"Business, not politics."
A CEO has all but bought entry to the White House and just did two nazi salutes during inauguration.
Another – in one of the most male-dominated industries – has said business isn't "masculine" enough, and has gotten rid of content controls*.
Business IS politics.
A CEO has all but bought entry to the White House and just did two nazi salutes during inauguration.
Another – in one of the most male-dominated industries – has said business isn't "masculine" enough, and has gotten rid of content controls*.
Business IS politics.
the creators have left for YouTube. The audiences have found a new Chinese app with worse security concerns and stricter content guidelines. Everyone's braced for TikTok to end. They can't just *extend the deadline NOW*. Have they no sense of narrative pacing???
www.theverge.com/2025/1/14/24...
www.theverge.com/2025/1/14/24...
TikTok could get a 270 day extension to make a deal
It’s a last ditch effort before the January 19th deadline.
www.theverge.com
January 15, 2025 at 7:25 AM
the creators have left for YouTube. The audiences have found a new Chinese app with worse security concerns and stricter content guidelines. Everyone's braced for TikTok to end. They can't just *extend the deadline NOW*. Have they no sense of narrative pacing???
www.theverge.com/2025/1/14/24...
www.theverge.com/2025/1/14/24...
i swear the speed and stress of covering this news cycle is bad for my neural pathways
Can Elon Musk do for TikTok what he did for Twitter (kill it)??? www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
January 14, 2025 at 1:00 PM
i swear the speed and stress of covering this news cycle is bad for my neural pathways
Weeee're back to #ESNS25 this year! Check out the @midiaresearch.bsky.social lineup 👇
January 14, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Weeee're back to #ESNS25 this year! Check out the @midiaresearch.bsky.social lineup 👇