Download this report for later

Backlight's 2025 iconik media stats report

Published on
January 30, 2025

Backlight's 2025 iconik media stats report

No items found.
Published on
January 30, 2025
Contents
Share this post

Media-savvy audiences are consuming more content than ever, and companies of all sizes are working to keep pace. From record-breaking global events like the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to a paradigmatic shift in how audiences consume news, this surge in media consumption is reshaping how organizations produce and manage content.

To stay ahead, teams must not only create more media but also manage it efficiently. This is driving a growing need for solutions that streamline workflows, enable scalability, and empower teams to compete in a rapidly changing landscape.

Backlight’s annual iconik media stats report is uniquely positioned to provide insights into these trends. As a cloud-native product, iconik analyzes media across both on-premise and cloud storage, offering a comprehensive view of how organizations manage their content. This report stands out as the only publicly available resource about media management data, which has historically been difficult to access. 

While this report draws exclusively from iconik’s data, it offers a glimpse into broader trends shaping the media industry. These insights are intended to help anyone navigating the ongoing growth and evolution of media.

Here’s what we uncovered.

TL;DR:

  • Cloud migration: The trend toward cloud data storage is still growing as teams want their media to be remotely accessible. Iconik customers continue to store 30% of their data on-premise and 70% in the cloud.
  • Rapid data growth: Data is growing rapidly and needs to be managed. Iconik data has grown to 207.3 petabytes, + 36% YoY. Scalable cloud-native solutions support this rapid media growth.
  • Rising media demand: Demand for video and other rich media is increasing. Iconik manages 223.5 years of audio (+ 7% YoY) and 464.5 years of video (+ 41% YoY). Put that all together, and it’s the same as streaming non-stop since the Renaissance.

📊 Download the full report at the bottom of the page.

Welcome to Backlight’s 2025 iconik media stats report!

Since publishing the first edition of this report in 2020, the world of media and entertainment has changed in ways few had imagined possible. The continued rise of streaming platforms, a shift toward user-generated content, and new content formats that break the mold have all created challenges and opportunities for those who create and manage media. 

Over the last five years, iconik has evolved alongside these changes, consistently adding new features and capabilities to meet the shifting needs of our users. 

This year’s report, the fifth edition of media stats, provides a compelling snapshot of today’s media landscape and highlights media management's critical role in its success.

Since 2020, iconik has seen a remarkable 6,022% increase in the number of assets managed, bringing the total to over 587 million assets indexed and managed in iconik.

Our total data stored has seen a similarly staggering increase of 4,698%.

These figures show how quickly the industry is changing and highlight the importance of tools that grow with users, helping them adapt and succeed in a fast-moving world.

Before we discuss more of the stats we’ve uncovered this year, we’d like to provide a clearer picture of how this data is compiled. Below, we’ve answered some common questions about the report’s methodology.

Q: What assets are counted?

A: Only original assets added by customers are counted in the data — proxy and other files are excluded.

Q: Is an asset the same as a file?

A. No, not always. Assets like video, images, and audio files are containers that consist of at least two files. A single asset can include:

  • A container
  • An original file
  • Various formats of that file, e.g., proxy, mezzanine, etc.
  • Technical and user-defined metadata (both on the asset and time-based level)
  • ACLs (access control lists) and permissions
  • And other files

Q: How are industries defined?

A: Industries are defined by the GICS model with an additional layer of definition provided by Backlight.

Now, let's dive into the numbers!

Media management in action: trends and growth in 2024

Iconik isn’t just about storing media in the cloud — it’s about making it easy to access and manage, no matter where it’s stored. With its hybrid-cloud technology, iconik connects to cloud and on-premise storage, indexing media and adding metadata and proxy files to the cloud. This approach gives users a clear window into all their storage locations, making accessing and managing media from anywhere simple.

In 2024, users added 136.4 million assets to iconik, bringing the total to an impressive 587.8 million — a 67% increase over 2023.

This growth is further confirmation that the four guiding principles for iconik's development are still very relevant today:

  1. Data is migrating to the cloud and needs to be accessible.
  2. Data is growing rapidly and needs to be managed.
  3. Demand for video and other rich media is rising.
  4. More teams require remote access to media libraries.

Let’s jump into the top trends we’ve seen from our data.

Trend 1: Teams are creating diverse types of content

Iconik was created with video in mind, and while data reveals that video accounts for just 14% of the total assets managed on the platform, it accounts for 78% of the data. Other types consist of audio and images, reflecting the growing diversity in the types of media that companies create.

Give iconik a try

Schedule a personalized iconik demo with one of our experts and start your free trial today.

Download this report as a PDF

Take the MAM Diagnostic Quiz

Need better media management?
Get tailored results to see where your biggest wins with iconik would be.

Here’s a free book just for marketers

In this handbook for marketers, we explore the challenges facing marketing organizations and the new technology and workflows others have used to succeed and future-proof their media operations.

Free Resource

The Complete Checklist for Planning Great Digital Transformations

Inside, you’ll find:

A comprehensive 21-point checklist

Strategic planning questions

How to evaluate your digital readiness

How to unite your organization

How to choose the right technology

6 charts & diagrams to help you learn & strategize

All to help you take your organization into a new era!