How Music Charts Chartmetric: Music Analytics for the New Music Business

Water & Music writer and BTS ARMY member Ami Patel dives deep into the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that is BTS and BTS ARMY. Patel explains why ARMY is such a force and how the powerfully engaged fanbase uses data to hold the music industry to account.

While the proliferation of data is reshaping the role of A&R in the music industry today, what A&Rs look for in an artist hasn’t changed much. What an A&R looks for in an artist's data — and how they look for it — has.

We were lucky enough to feature some of Andrew Thompson's research on our blog in an article he wrote called “What Spotify Follower Ratio Tells Us About Artist Growth and Fan Engagement.” Learn more about his work with Components, the differences between the Bandcamp model and the Spotify model, and what Spotify follower ratio actually means on this episode.

On this episode, we chat with Digital Marketing and Analytics Consultant (Amorphous, Still Woozy, Remi Wolf, Suzuki Saint, and Miss Madeline) Adam Kanwal about promoting music with a global mindset and cultural sensitivity. Bringing emerging artists "from 0 to 50", especially in markets such as the Philippines and Indonesia, requires a whole new mindset, which he writes about in his Chartmetric blog article entitled, “How to Promote Your Music in Southeast Asian Trigger Cities.”

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, on this episode, we talk to Berklee's Camille Lopez-Silvero about the article she wrote for the Chartmetric blog entitled, “The Under 27 Club: Music and Mental Health in the Streaming Era.”

On this episode, we talk to the Founder and Director of London-based firm Songular, Sam Lee. According to Songular’s website: “Songular is an independent music company that empowers fearless artists through strategic streaming campaigns. [Their] approach is artist-first and data-driven: This means that [their] bespoke campaigns are shaped by the stories [their] artists have to tell, and [they] use data to link the strategy to the story.”

Songular’s roster includes Joji, Bakar, Young T & Bugsey, Zara Larsson, and Flume.

Previously, Lee has served as a Music Editor for Deezer, a Radio Plugger, and in his earliest days, a Broadcast Assistant for the BBC and regular contributor to British culture outlet, NME.