Digital Music Downloads
Our first report of 2005 deals with prospects for music download services to the PC and the mobile handset.
Recent reports
The engagement play: Streamers and studios tracker H2 2025
28 August 2025Revenue growth in mature markets is now price-driven and therefore lumpier. While the US leans on bundling, European scale requires wholesale distribution with pay-TV incumbents. Fledgling streamer to streamer/PSB deals are more of a distribution nudge than a step towards the US model.
Profit momentum is real but fragile: H2 content/sports ramps will test margins; the Versant/Discovery Global carve-outs are about protecting multiples while ring-fencing legacy decline.
Engagement is the key battleground: live sport is increasingly important although streamers remain reticent on rights spending. While sport boosts acquisition and ad reach, ROI hinges on price discipline and shoulder programming. Europe remains a tougher nut to crack.
Tech trends Q2 2025: Terminal velocity
12 August 2025Tech companies are approaching terminal velocity on capex, which will surpass a $500 billion annual run-rate in early 2026. Apple is out of position on AI; CEO Tim Cook has signalled a willingness to consider M&A yet also faces acute political strain in the US
Despite revenues surpassing $2 trillion in 2025, tech is in a fragile transition as most cloud growth is still not driven by gen AI—tariffs, uneven compute build-out and US economic impacts may deliver a bumpy landing in quarters ahead
European tech sovereignty is a mounting political issue, as the continent fights the White House on its regulatory red lines. The financial and cultural impacts of Europe’s lack of tech champions remain intractable
Disney Q3 2025: Looking to invigorate engagement
7 August 2025Disney’s streaming business continues to grow meaningfully, now outpacing the somewhat predictable decline of its linear operation. Studios is always a highwire act, but it is currently the source of most of Disney’s uncertainty.
With subscription numbers quite flat and engagement likely subdued, in the US Disney is hoping that product improvements and sport will invigorate the relationship that users have with its services.
In the UK, the Disney+ and ITVX content swap arrangement is off to a slow start.