How Music Charts

Our guest today is Fabrice Sergent, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Bandsintown, where they “believe that live music is one of the last ‘tribal experiences’ which creates happiness and understanding in the world. Their mission is to help artists build a sustainable future through virtual live streams, music releases, merchandise and traditional live events promotion. With a reach of 250 million Monthly Active music fans globally, over 67m registered concert goers and 550k touring artists registered to the platform, Bandsintown offers powerful, scalable and targeted digital marketing solutions to engage with music enthusiasts.” According to his LinkedIn profile, Sergent is “an entrepreneur driven by passion, having led hyper growth digital media enterprises in the U.S. and in Europe with extensive experience in the music industry, digital consumer marketing, brand building, business development, and mergers & acquisitions. He co-founded and led two start-ups to $100m+ revenues, starting his journey by founding Club-Internet, with the support of Lagardere/Hachette in 1995. Club-Internet was one of the very first Internet Service Provider (similar to AOL in the US) launched in France and later became one of the largest [Internet Service Providers] before it was purchased by Deutsche Telecom’s T-Online in 2000 for 1.2 billion Euro.” Today, we’ll look back on his road to music, what Bandsintown is up to nowadays, and what the future holds in store for live music. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

Our guest today is Ian Urbina, the director of The Outlaw Ocean Project. The project is a non-profit journalism organization based in Washington, D.C., that produces investigative stories about human rights, environment, and labor concerns on the open seas. Urbina won a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News and a George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting. Several of his stories have been adapted into major feature films, and his reporting for a New York Times Magazine article called The Secret Life Of Passwords was nominated for an Emmy Award. He has degrees in history and cultural anthropology from Georgetown University and the University of Chicago, respectively. Before joining The New York Times for roughly 17 years as a staff reporter, he was a Fulbright Fellow in Cuba, and he also wrote about the Middle East and Africa for various outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Harper’s, and Vanity Fair. On this episode, we talk to Urbina about the Outlaw Ocean Music Project, an offshoot of The Outlaw Ocean Project that's "[a]imed at people who might not otherwise have encountered this reporting." According to the project's website, "[T]he music renders stories more viscerally, and delivers them to the public through different channels. The music project’s goal is to raise awareness and stoke a sense of urgency about the human rights, labor, and environmental abuses that occur at sea.” If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

Our guest today is Marc Brown, Founder of Byta, a music sharing app that lets artists, studios, and managers share, collaborate on, and promote secure music files before uploading them to streaming services. Marc is currently based in Stockholm, Sweden, though he is originally from Canada and spent many years in London working in A&R and artist promotion. On this episode, we discuss how he came to found Byta, what sets the app apart from DropBox and Soundcloud, and what this might mean for the future of Hi-Fi audio and NFTs. Check out Byta here. To attend a free Byta symposium that explores "how the music ecosystem will evolve and adapt to the developing digital landscape," register here. Byta recently published a white paper on the state of music sharing, which you can check out here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

Before starting Chartmetric, Sung worked on Sales Cloud as the Principal Product Manager at Oracle Corporation. Prior to that, he was the first employee/engineer at the publicly-traded gaming company Gamevil (which has a Market Cap of $400MM), where he initiated mobile game development and eventually positioned the company as a leading mobile game developer. Sung graduated with a bachelor’s degree of electrical engineering and computer science from Seoul National University, and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He enjoys posting ideas on his blog (http://sungmooncho.com), which has attracted more than 5 million views and is considered as one of the leading tech blogs in Korea. Sung has invested in 10 startups in New York, Silicon Valley, and Seoul (http://angel.co/sung-cho). If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

Russ Tannen is President of DICE, a UK- and now NYC-based mobile ticketing, live streaming, and live music recommendation platform that partners directly with venues, labels, and promoters to bring upfront pricing to live music fans (no fees are added at checkout, so the price you see at first is the price you get). Before rising through the ranks at DICE, Russ spent many years as an artist manager at Deadly Management during — and after — his time as an Events Manager at Vice Media. Before that, Russ studied Photography at the University for the Creative Arts in the UK. Read 20 things we've learned about Music Live Streaming by DICE Founder & CEO Phil Hutcheon. Check out DICE here, and download the app on your phone. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

The Arab nations have rarely been viewed as important markets by the global music industry. And artists from the region have only ever achieved modest international success. Until 20 years ago, exactly the same could be said of countless other countries. Today, markets like Latin America and South Korea produce global superstars with astonishing regularity. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

Our guest today is Milana Lewis, Co-Founder and CEO of Stem, a platform making it easier for artists, managers, labels and brands to distribute music, manage contracts, share data, split royalties, and stay independent. After six years working in talent agencies, spending the majority of that time as a Digital Media Agent with United Talent Agency, Milana started Stem in 2015 with the goal of simplifying how musicians and their teams pay collaborators. At the start of 2020, Stem announced Scale, a $100 million cash advance program aimed at giving artists a way to access alternative funding with fewer restrictions than a label typically imposes. This year, Inc. featured Milana on their Female Founders 100 list. Check out Stem here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

UnitedMasters’ Head of Marketing David Melhado (mel-HEY-doh) is a New York City-based industry veteran who first cut his teeth in music marketing and management in the South, holding roles at Atlantic Records, iHeartRadio, StreamCut Media & RocNation. Connect With Dave on LinkedIn and check out UnitedMasters here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

On this episode, we chat with Aileen Crowley, former Vice President of Global Streaming Marketing at Universal Music Group. Before leaving the major label world in November 2020, Aileen devised data-driven streaming strategy for developing artists, working directly with artist management to translate streaming analytics, develop artist release strategies, and implement plans for audience growth. Prior to that, Aileen was the General Manager of DigSin, a subscription-based independent music label focused on singles, playlisting, and data, as well as being an artist manager—and that was after spending almost seven years at world-renowned consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Today, Aileen runs The Streaming Story, a website dedicated to contextualizing streaming success with the narrative surrounding that success. Since recording this interview, Aileen has teamed up with Lark42, a digital consultancy that solves hard problems in the music, data, blockchain, streaming and startup space. You can connect with Aileen on LinkedIn here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

Aqui Kumar, Jannick Steinke, Sebastian Gorki, and Valerian Dilger are music business students at the Popakademie in Germany. “Established in 2003, the Popakademie is a higher education institution for the music and creative industries and their pop cultural scenes. By focusing its study programmes on popular music, it offers an academic education that is unique in Germany's public university landscape.” In this context, the students are part of Popakademie’s SMIX.LAB. Founded in 2008 as an interface between the online world and the traditional music industry, SMIX.LAB sees itself as a center for the digital music business. It integrates digital knowledge and future-oriented research, investigating the modern possibilities of music marketing and other forward-thinking initiatives. The students themselves have industry experience at companies such as Live From Earth, Electric Feel, Amazon Music, and Ease Agency. Over the past few months, the Chartmetric team supported the students in their project to study how TikTok is influencing the German charts. Check out their exciting research on our blog: https://blog.chartmetric.com If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

Zael is a manager at YMU Group, a global talent management company with a roster that includes RAC, Kina, Ryan Caraveo, Ben Zaidi, and Oshi. Originally from Amherst, Massachusetts, Zael grew up around a lot of jazz, cows, and psychologists. After moving out to LA and building his own management company, Zael joined forces with YMU in late 2019 where he kicked things off by developing the marketing plan for RAC’s third studio album “BOY” before signing Kina and Ryan Caraveo in early 2020. Connect With Zael on LinkedIn and check out YMU Group here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

On this episode, we chat with Ami Patel, a writer for Water & Music and a passionate analyst of the international music scene. Ami is a music marketing strategist from Houston, Texas, with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Houston. She has a passion for artist development and the global music market and frequently shares her thoughts on current music trends and new music discoveries on her website. In June 2021, Patel penned a 3,600-word tome titled “Anatomy of a modern pop fanbase: How fans use data to build their own music marketing powerhouses,” which will be the main topic of today’s conversation with her. The K-Pop guide was rigorously researched and written by Patel and edited by Cherie Hu, who runs Water & Music, which is a membership-funded email newsletter, research hub, and community forum dedicated to unpacking the fine print of commercial, technological, and cultural change in the music industry. Patel was a recent participant in the first-ever Measure of Music music + data event in February 2021, and is joining us today from the great state of Texas. Note: Around 43 minutes in, Ami says, "1.93 million ticket buyers." The correct number is 1.33 million ticket buyers. You can connect with Ami on LinkedIn here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

On this episode, we chat with Tommaso Rocchi, a 2020 Master of Arts graduate of The Global Entertainment and Music Business program at Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain. As a former college radio Music Director at the University of Padua in northern Italy, Rocchi then moved on to Berklee to focus on copyright law, new business models, and data analytics. In September 2020, Rocchi penned a Chartmetric article entitled “How Data is Redefining the Role of A&R in the Music Industry Today,” based off of his research at Berklee. It focuses on where the field of A&R has gone in the digital era from its analog roots, and how data plays a significant role, but should never replace the human side of how professionals operate. Rocchi is currently a Project Manager for Data and Analytics at Netherlands-based classical music label PENTATONE. Connect with Tommaso: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Read "How Data is Redefining the Role of A&R in the Music Industry Today" here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

On this episode, we chat with Andrew Thompson, Editor and Founder of Components, a media and culture publication focused on data journalism. Originally from California, Andrew received a degree in Political Science and Government from Temple University before moving into journalism. Becoming increasingly interested in data and data science, Andrew eventually became the Data Editor and Audience Development Manager at design software startup Ceros and then the Editorial Director of video streaming search engine Flixed. After a couple of years in New York City, he moved back home to Philly, taking Components from a side project to his full-time endeavor. Since 2018, Components has been covered and/or cited in Mashable, Vice, and more than 70 academic papers, and we were lucky enough to feature some of his research on our blog in an article he wrote called “What Spotify Follower Ratio Tells Us About Artist Growth and Fan Engagement.” Read "What Spotify Follower Ratio Tells Us About Artist Growth and Fan Engagement" here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

On this episode, we talk to Adam Kanwal about the article he wrote for the Chartmetric blog entitled, How to Promote Your Music in Southeast Asian Trigger Cities. Kanwal is a Digital Marketing and Analytics Consultant, working with artists including Amorphous, Still Woozy, Remi Wolf, Suzuki Saint, and Miss Madeline to analyze TikTok and YouTube trajectories, building campaigns from the ground up. He’s formed partnerships with over one hundred influencers globally, and has also served as the Digital Marketing Specialist for Shifted Recording in New York City. He’s a 2021 graduate from Cornell University in New York, with a background in Human Development, and minoring in International Relations and Music. His primary interests are in creating psychologically smart, culturally relevant, and globally reverberating digital marketing campaigns for up-and-coming musical artists. Read How to Promote Your Music in Southeast Asian Trigger Cities here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

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. Lopez-Silvero is a 2021 Global Entertainment and Music Business Master of Arts candidate at the Berklee College of Music program in Valencia, Spain, and a 2020 Northwestern University graduate. She currently serves as the Head of Marketing and Branding at Disrupción Records, an independent, student-run record label based out of Berklee’s graduate campus. She has previously interned at Paradigm Talent Agency in their Chicago office, and a host of diverse companies including a New York-based creative digital agency (Swell Shark), branding company (Siegel+Gale), investment firm (Loeb Enterprises), and startup (Thnks). Read The Under 27 Club: Music and Mental Health in the Streaming Era here. If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.

On this episode, we talk to the Founder and Director of London-based firm Songular, Sam Lee. We discuss streaming playlist strategies to grow your audience, how TikTok may or may not be for every artist, and how music data may be important, but at the end of the day, it's better if #ArtistsBeArtists (Songular's hashtag) According to Songular’s website: “We amplify creative voices through forward-thinking digital services. Songular is an independent music company that empowers fearless artists through strategic streaming campaigns. Our approach is artist-first and data-driven: this means that our bespoke campaigns are shaped by the stories our artists have to tell, and we 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. Connect with Sam via LinkedIn or Songular's Instagram.

Francisco Toscano is back to discuss the final part of our series on The Rise of Regional Latin Music. Here, we will preview where he sees not only Mexican Corridos or Colombian Cumbia going, and how these and other forms of Latin American genres are mixing to create new music for today’s younger generations. Francisco is an A&R Researcher for a major label, based in and from the great city of Ciudad de México, and has a background in financial services. He holds an MBA from ESADE, located in Barcelona, Spain, and a Master’s in Music Business from New York University. You can connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter. Connect with Chartmetric at blog.chartmetric.com.

On this second episode in our Latin regional music series, we talk to A&R professional and expert in the Latin American music scene, Francisco Toscano, who released another English and Spanish version of an article on the Chartmetric blog entitled The Rise of Regional Latin Music, Part 2: Colombian Music Genres or El Ascenso Mundial de la Música Latinoamericana, Parte 2: Música Regional Colombiana. It is a white paper on four of the most popular Colombian genres being streamed today on all of your favorite DSPs. Read The Rise of Regional Latin Music, Part 2: Colombian Music Genres here: https://blog.chartmetric.com/regional-latin-music-colombian-music-genres/ Ver la versión en español aquí: https://blog.chartmetric.com/es-ascenso-mundial-musica-latinoamericana-musica-colombiana/ Francisco is an A&R Researcher for a major label, based in and from the great city of Ciudad de México, and has a background in financial services. He holds an MBA from ESADE, located in Barcelona, Spain, and a Master’s in Music Business from New York University. You can connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter. Connect with Chartmetric at blog.chartmetric.com.

On this episode, we speak with Dan Runcie, the Founder of the business/hip-hop/culture media company Trapital. Launching in early 2018, Trapital began as a subscription-based newsletter, but provides now features a podcast and a free weekly memo focusing on the business strategy of hip-hop, talking about topics like Beyoncé’s streaming strategy, how the hip-hop’s indie community has taken off and How Tyler, The Creator Built a Cult-Like Following. Trapital’s readers are music executives, media moguls and venture capitalists, with clientele like Translation CEO Steve Stoute and SoundCloud CEO Mike Weissman. Trapital also offers advisory and speaking services. Prior to running Trapital full-time, the San Francisco-based Runcie has a background in market analysis and business strategy, while also spending several years as a freelance writer for publications such as WIRED and Complex. He graduated Cum Laude in Marketing & Finance at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, and earned an MBA from the University of Michigan, a fantastic place to hang out in in the winter. Connect with Dan on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, but most importantly, sign up for the Trapital newsletter here! If you want more free insights, follow our podcast, our blog, and our socials. If you're an artist with a free Chartmetric account, sign up for the artist plan, made exclusively for you, here. If you're new to Chartmetric, follow the URL above after creating a free account here.