The music industry has always been oriented towards gut feelings when it comes to deciding which songs and artists would work with the fans. As the capability of data analytics evolved, the industry began to make use of a huge amount of information to guide serious decisions about production, marketing, and distribution. Data today assumes a major role in informing what songs get produced, how the artists are marketed, and what methods of distribution will really work.
The influence of data has been strongly felt in A&R and even in the production process of the songs themselves. The record labels are utilizing analytics to trace musical characteristics linked to listener engagement and commercial success. Such a case is when analysts, while analyzing Spotify data for millions of songs streamed, came across the fact that songs between 120–150 beats per minute tend to become the most popular. Equipped with such insights, for example, labels are able to provide fact-based input to producers and songwriters.
Data also has a large say in marketing decisions. Artists and management alike are able to glean highly specific fan demographics, geographies, musical tastes, and more without having to rely on rough estimates from the streaming data analysis. Pop star Charlie Puth’s team used data to learn that a huge part of his fan base is in Southeast Asia. Then, they dove deeper into targeting and planned marketing campaigns and tours in the area to keep those fans more fully engaged.
The rise of streaming has also changed the way in which music gets distributed. Whereas in the past, record labels focused most of their distribution efforts on brick-and-mortar retailers, they now use analytics to identify optimal ways to stream.
Some artists themselves are using the data to make some strategic decisions about the distribution of music. Rather than doing a traditional timed release, they drop songs only at very selective times when internal data showed spikes in searches, Shazams, and streams of previous singles. This scattershot approach keeps fans engaged for months.
This has also inspired fresh, data-driven distribution channels. On TikTok, “data-driven record deals” use analytics to uncover those viral songs that stand a good chance of leveraging hitherto untapped audience demand.
As how people consume music continue to change faster than ever, record labels, artists, and platforms alike find their competitive advantage in data. Though gut feelings will always play a role in “A&R”-ing hits, the intuitive marriage with cold, hard streaming statistics gives the industry unprecedented precision in decisions that shape both blue-chip stars and viral breakthrough talents.
