Iconik Media Finds Video Consumes 64 Percent of Storage Needs for Media Assets

As media organizations race to scale production while managing rising infrastructure costs, new research shows that video continues to dominate storage demands across the industry. The 2026 Iconik Media Stats Report from Backlight reveals that video consumes 64% of storage needs for media assets, underscoring the growing pressure on cloud storage and media asset management systems.

Backlight, the company behind Iconik and Wildmoka, analyzed data from more than 903 million assets stored in Iconik’s internal database. The findings paint a picture of an industry producing more content than ever, even as production timelines shrink and storage costs climb amid surging demand from AI data centers.

While video files account for just 14% of total assets, they consume nearly two thirds of total storage capacity. The report highlights that asset type now plays a far greater role than sheer asset count when organizations plan cloud storage purchases. Audio assets, meanwhile, grew 45% year over year, reflecting increased demand for podcasts, voice overs, music libraries, and multilingual tracks.

Publishing formats are also shifting. Vertical publishing increased by 120%, signaling the growing importance of mobile first and social platforms. Although 16 by 9 landscape content still represents more than 90% of published clips, its share is gradually declining as vertical video gains ground.

The data shows rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in media workflows. In 2025 alone, AI features across Backlight’s product suite were used more than 11.4 million times to automate tasks and transform raw media into searchable, structured assets. Rather than replacing creative teams, AI is being positioned as a way to enhance operational efficiency and unlock value within large archives.

“When it comes to having AI in media asset management, technology has to go beyond just having search capabilities for videos, but rather create a deep understanding of the content you have,” said Kathleen Barrett, CEO of Backlight. “The ability to find and quickly collaborate on millions of assets instantaneously, despite precise demands and parameters, opens the door for more time and opportunities to find inspiration, create new types of storytelling, and innovate on assets.”

Since launching the report six years ago, Backlight has tracked a 9,306% increase in asset count, from 9.6 million to 903 million. Total storage expanded 6,943%, from 4.6 petabytes to 324 petabytes. Video duration grew 4,636%, while audio duration surged 8,122%.

The findings suggest that video consumes 64% of storage needs not simply because of higher production, but because organizations are building vast, data rich archives that demand smarter management. As AI adoption accelerates and content formats diversify, media companies will need more intelligent workflows to control costs, maintain accessibility, and ensure their growing libraries remain usable rather than dormant.