About CONNECT: Platform overview and updates

About CONNECT: Platform overview and updates

CONNECT is a cloud-based application that compiles trillions of data points on artists, songs and musical releases to build the industry’s most comprehensive resource for music consumption data and analytics. On the front end, the CONNECT user interface presents performance metrics, metadata and data visualizations alongside a suite of powerful analytical tools.


Designed and implemented by Luminate, entertainment’s preeminent data and insights company, CONNECT has been engineered for the future of innovation in the music business.





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Our technology

CONNECT’s cloud-first infrastructure leverages best-in-class data lakehouse providers and modern data transformation techniques to present next-day consumption data.


The platform enables real-time ingestion of structured and unstructured data through asynchronous processes across standard and non-standard formats. We’re able to receive direct data shares from over 500 providers around the world, process it continually and make next-day consumption data available via UI. 


Meanwhile, CONNECT’s modular and scalable architecture enables rapid deployment and efficient maintenance as we develop and release new features. 


We also offer access to the redesigned Luminate Music API and Snowflake data sharing. Contact your Luminate representative for an API key and/or datashare access.






Latest updates

We’re continually building a better CONNECT. New releases and feature improvements are announced in our monthly Product Updates email. 


April 2026 
  1. Portfolios: Feature release. Create and manage custom groups of artists, albums and songs in any combination for ease of reference. Read more: Portfolios
  1. Provider metrics: Dashboard enhancement. Rights holders can now view provider-level data for claimed musical assets. The Activity by Provider pane breaks out streams, song sales and product sales by DSP or retailer. Filter provider(s) with Data Controls > Activity Options.
  1. New data providers: Data enhancement. CONNECT now tracks (music) video streams reported by Spotify and Amazon Music. Spotify video activity is available from Week 14 onward. Amazon video activity is available from Week 15 onward. 

March 2026 
  1. Official Billboard charts: New charts. CONNECT now publishes weekly Billboard album and song consumption charts — including the Billboard 200, Hot 100 and album sales charts — as well as Luminate Daily/Forecast charts for the building week. Read more: Charts
  1. Billboard Songs: Dashboard enhancement. On Song Dashboards, the Recordings grid now includes a Group By option to sort ISRCs by Billboard Song designation. Read more: Song Dashboards
  1. Dashboard KPI exports: Download any Dashboard as a formatted Excel file with topline metadata and KPIs for your selected time frame. 
  1. Compare To: New Time Frame menu options. On Dashboards, Compare To presents side-by-side data for Previous Period or Same Period Last Year. Also available in Settings. 
  1. Rights data on charts: Chart entries display Owners rather than Imprints by default. All chart exports include both Ownership and Distribution information. Charts can also be searched by owner. 
  1. Ranking Report filters: Owner/Distributor filtering is now available for all ranking types.

February 2026 

  1. Report Builder additions: Multiple improvements to Ranking, Trend and MRS Reports, including:

    1. Owner/Distributor filtering in Recording Ranking Reports

    2. Song ID included for each item in a Recording Ranking export

    3. Release Group ID included for each item in a Product Ranking export

    4. Search by station description when building an MRS Station Report

    5. Options to include or exclude Interactive Streams in all reports.

    1. % change KPIs: Improved data calculation. Dashboard KPIs now offer more accurate change metrics, including a day-to-day comparison between the current week in progress and the previous week.

    January 2026 
    1. Data Sources grid: Feature release. Open Data Sources from the sidebar menu to verify daily provider data deliveries or search providers by activity type, country and date of last delivery. Read more: Data Sources
    1. TME (Tencent) data: New global data provider. Worldwide aggregates now include streaming and song sales from Tencent Music Group. Read more: Methodology FAQ 
    1. New Settings: Feature enhancement. Users can now select sitewide defaults for Time Frame, Activity Type, genre database, grid layouts, Release Age spans and more. Read more: Settings






    Past updates

    2025 Q3-Q4
    December 2025 
    1. Equivalents in Ranking Report: Feature enhancement. Rank all entity types — Song, Recording, Release Group, Product and Artist — by Album or Stream Equivalent totals. In addition, all Ranking exports now list Equivalent metrics. 

    November 2025 
    1. Equivalents in Dashboard grids: Data visibility enhancement. Album and Stream Equivalent metrics are now visible (and exportable) in Dashboard panes: Activity Over Time, Discography, Releases & Songs, etc. 
    1. Stacked Grids: Feature enhancement. Dashboards now display Stacked Grids by default. Stacking options can be adjusted with Data Controls. 

    October 2025 
    1. Album and Stream Equivalents: New metrics. Dashboards now include Album Equivalent and Stream Equivalent KPIs. Read more: Dashboards, Equivalents
    1. Charts in Data Share/API: API and Data Share enhancements. Charts data is now accessible via Data Share and the Music API. Read more: Developer Hub  

    September 2025 
    1. Product Ranking Report: New report category. Rank top ICPNs (barcodes) by activity. Read more: Ranking Report
    1. Rights Holder filters: Feature enhancement. Recording Ranking Reports now offer the option to filter rankings by Owner and Distributor based on our musical rights data. 
    1. MRS Report updates: Feature enhancement. MRS Reports now offer ATD and YTD metrics. In the UI, MRS outputs can be sorted by Airplay Spins, Airplay Audience or market-level Streams. Read more: Metro Radio/Streaming
    1. Artist metadata: Data enhancement. Dashboards now list more External ID types, including new platform and database IDs for artists. 

    August 2025 
    1. Metro Radio/Streaming Reports: Feature release. Generate dynamic, scrollable Airplay Format, Station and Streaming Contrast rankings directly in the CONNECT interface. Read more: Metro Radio/Streaming
    1. Billboard Airplay charts: New charts. Official Billboard Airplay charts for all formats are now hosted in CONNECT. 

    July 2025 
    1. Report Scheduler: New feature. Schedule any Trend or Ranking Report to repeat automatically on a daily or weekly cadence for up to 90 days / 12 weeks. View and manage schedules from the Reports Manager. Read more: Report Builder: Schedule
    1. ATD / YTD in Trend: Feature enhancement. Trend Report exports can now include ATD and YTD values. Read more: Trend Report
    1. Interactive Streams in Analysis: Data enhancement. Interactive on-demand streaming activity can now be included in industry-wide Analysis aggregates. Read more: Activity Types: Streams
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    2025 Q1-Q2
    June 2025 
    1. Billboard Global Charts: New charts. The CONNECT platform now hosts official Billboard global charts, including the Billboard Global 200, Global 200 Excl. U.S. and country-level Hits of the World. Read more: Charts FAQ
    1. Airplay in Report Builder: Feature enhancement. Ranking Report and Trend Report both include Airplay activity options. 
    1. SiriusXM app data: New data provider. We are now tracking Programmed / Premium Streams via the SiriusXM audio streaming app. (Note that SiriusXM satellite radio is tracked separately, as Airplay). 
    1. API additions: The Search endpoint and Airplay ATD values are now accessible via API. Read more: Developer Hub

    May 2025 
    1. Recording Ranking Reports: Feature enhancement. Report Builder now supports Recordings as a Ranking Report type. Select Recording from the top row of tabs to generate a ranked list of ISRCs.
    1. ATD / YTD metrics: Dashboards now offer Activity to Date (ATD) and Year to Date (YTD) aggregates in Grid Views. Enable Aggregates and Comparisons (Data Controls) to see ATD and/or YTD rows in all grids. In addition, Ranking Report exports now include ATD/YTD columns by default.

    April 2025 
    1. Interactive Streams: New Service Type. In-game interactive streaming consumption is now available as a Streaming breakout. Read more: Activity Types
    1. Airplay Formats: Format data is now available for Airplay consumption. Dashboards now include Airplay Format panes and Format filtering options. Airplay Spins and Airplay Audience metrics have also been added to Report Builder and the Music API.
    1. Settings: New feature. Customize default location and Grid/Graph View settings across the platform. 

    March 2025 
    1. Airplay metrics: New Activity Type. Radio consumption data—as measured by Airplay Spins and Audience—is now viewable on CONNECT Dashboards. Analyze radio consumption and reach with data from over 3,200 stations and 280 markets across the U.S. and Canada. 
    1. New Ranking Report filters: Artist Ranking Reports can now be filtered by Release Type and Product Format. Also available via API.

    February 2025 
    1. Ranking Report depths: Rank up to 20,000 or 50,000 items at once with new depth options. Read more: Ranking Report
    1. Release Age filters: Specify Current, Catalog or Deep Catalog music in Ranking Reports and Analysis. Use the sliders to customize your own Release Age spans. Read more: Analysis, FAQ 
    1. New countries: Country-level consumption data is now available for some subscribers in 13 new countries across the Middle East and Africa. Read more: List of countries

    January 2025
    1. Calendar updates: We redesigned the Time Frame menu and calendar selection tool to be sleeker and easier to use. Read more: Data Controls 
    1. Stacked Grids: Add dynamic, hierarchical layers to Grid Views to see more detailed breakouts within your chosen parameters and categories. Read more: Data Controls 
    1. Trend Report filters: Release Type, Product Format and Compilation Type filters are now available. Read more: Trend Report
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    2024 Q3-Q4
    December 2024
    1. ISNI integration: New metadata category. Artist Dashboards now include searchable ISNI identifiers to disambiguate and confirm artist identities. Read more: External IDs 
    1. Full historical data for Canada: All sales and streaming data for the U.S. and Canada is now available from 2014 to present.
    1. New export format: Trend reports now export to Excel as well as CSV.

    November 2024
    1. Trend Report: New feature. Compile and export consumption data for up to 500 entities at once within custom parameters. Read more: Trend Report 
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    October 2024
    1. Ranking Report filters: Ranking Reports now include options to filter by store strata, country, market and genre in the Data Controls menu.
    1. Product Sales filters: More physical sales data and breakout views are now available within Activity Type:Product Sales. Use the Stacked Grid View for up to three levels of comparison at once. Read more: Data controls
    1. Historical data from 2014: Activity to Date now includes 10 full years of U.S. physical sales data (2014 to present) and eight years of U.S. market-level streaming data. For Canada, ATD includes physical sales data from 2016 and streaming data from 2019.
    1. Processing enhancements: Data processing has been improved; Ranking Reports are now faster to run.

    September 2024
    1. Ranking Report filters: The Report Builder now includes filters for Store Strata and Purchase Method. Additionally, you can refine genre filters to include Main Genre only. Read more: Report Builder
    1. Historical data from 2018: Activity to Date now includes historical consumption data dating back to 2018 (U.S. and Canada) or 2019 (Worldwide).
    1. Market-level API access: API users can now access market-level data for over 200 markets in the U.S. and Canada. Read more: Luminate Developer Hub

    August 2024
    1. Store Strata breakouts: Activity Type:Product Sales now offers a Breakout View:Store Strata option with stacked bar graph displays. Read more: Activity Types
    1. Market-level data: Activity by Location now offers market-level data for the U.S. and Canada. Read more: Dashboards
     





    More to know

    Migrating from Music Connect

    Reporting sales and streaming: Become a data provider

    Troubleshooting music registration and reporting


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