Luminate tracks four categories of music consumption, called Activity Types: Streams, Product Sales, Song Sales and Airplay. We segment or “break out” some activities into subcategories (on-demand or programmed streaming, physical or digital sales, etc), called Breakout Views.
Activity Type and Breakout View are core components of most CONNECT data displays. For specifics on how to apply these settings in-platform, see Data Controls.
Streaming activity comprises all music streaming, from all major providers, in over 200 countries.
We receive streaming information directly from DSPs. Streams must come from logged-in users and last at least 30 seconds to be tracked. We cap eligible daily streams per song per user at 50; if someone streams a recording 300 times in one day, only the first 50 plays may be reported.
We break out streams by:
Commercial Model
Ad-Supported streams come from DSPs that offer free subscriptions with ad breaks.
Premium streams come from paid, ad-free DSP subscriptions.
Service Type
On-Demand streaming allows users to choose their own music from a streaming provider.
Programmed streaming providers push curated content to users (e.g. Pandora, the SiriusXM app).
Interactive streams are on-demand audio streams from interactive platforms that allow users to choose their own music and engage with songs (e.g. Fortnite).
See details: Interactive streamingInteractive streams occur within virtual environments (games) where user engagement with the song is part of the experience. Qualifying events and actions are known as musical gameplay experiences. These include competitive rhythm games and in-game scenarios that permit simulation of singing, dancing or playing. When a user selects a track for a musical gameplay experience, that action = one Interactive stream.
Interactive streams can be ad-supported or premium depending on whether the player purchased the track.Unlike traditional on-demand audio streaming services, Interactive providers:
Carry a limited selection of songs
Don’t offer full-length albums to stream
Allow users to participate in or engage with music in-game
Ex. Competitive rhythm games
Ex. Musical gameplay experiences such as Fortnite Festival and Music Moments
Ex. RPGs that permit simulation of singing, dancing or playing along with a track
Audio streams represent the majority of music streaming.
Video streams are counted as part of total consumption for a song.
Creation Category
Official streams come from a valid artist or provider channel. CONNECT includes both Official and UGC content (both types) in streaming totals.
Song UGC comes from an unofficial source, but includes the entire song and associated metadata.
Non-song UGC does not fall into the above categories (i.e. uses a partial or altered track, does not include metadata, is not from an official source).
Creation Category filtersBy default, CONNECT shows combined streaming activity for all creation categories: Official, Song UGC and Non-Song UGC. We do not break out UGC and non-UGC content.
Some account types and features allow optional Creation Category filtering. Open Data Controls and go to Activity Options>Creation Category to include or exclude UGC content on Dashboards.Not all users can filter by Creation Category. If you have questions about UGC/non-UGC filtering permissions, talk to your Luminate account representative.UGC and chart eligibilityOnly Official streams are eligible for Billboard charts. No UGC content is included in Billboard chart weighting.Certain Luminate (non-Billboard) charts may include Song UGC and/or Non-Song UGC.
We track digital and physical retail of albums, EPs, singles and other products in the U.S. and Canada. Each product is identified by a barcode/ICPN; our retail data providers report all sales by ICPN.
We break out sales by:
Distribution Channel
Digital distribution refers to digital album or other product purchases (separate from individual Song Sales).
Physical distribution refers to physical products: CDs, vinyl, cassettes, etc.
Purchase Method
Online purchases can come from online-only or physical/mass market retailers.
Storefront purchases are made in person at brick-and-mortar stores.
Store Strata
Our term defining retail categories.
E-Commerce is made up of online retailers with no (or negligible) physical presence, e.g. Amazon and Music Direct.
Mass Market comprises large chain stores that sell a variety of products both online and in-store, e.g. Target and Walmart.
Independent* stores are physical retail locations focused on album product inventory, like small music chains and record stores, that control their own stock, pricing and store policies.
Direct to Consumer (D2C) purchases are made directly from artists and music labels, not through another retail entity. D2C retailers include Bandcamp, Fame House, etc.
Venue sales cover products sold at touring venues where artists perform. Venue sales data comes to us through atVenu.
Non-Traditional retailers focus on other product categories (not music) but may sell album products: pharmacies, Urban Outfitters, Cracker Barrel.
*Independent retail modelingWe apply a modeling methodology to physical sales data from independent U.S. retail stores. Not all independent stores report sales to Luminate or our partner StreetPulse; the independent retail model is designed to account for missing data from non-reporting stores. It affects U.S. sales reporting only.
Release Type**
A Release is often a single, EP or album, but not always.
Single refers to a release of 1-3 tracks (often just one).
EP or Extended Play releases are longer than a Single and shorter than an Album. An EP can have no more than 6 tracks.
Album releases are full-length albums, usually purchased in vinyl, CD or digital format.
Playlist releases are digital-only playlists sold through official artist, label or retailer channels.
Video releases can be in digital or physical format.
Unknown means no Release Type has been specified.
Product Format**
Physical (or digital) form of the product sold. One product = one ICPN = one format.
Cassette tapes can contain singles, EPs or albums.
Vinyl refers to physical vinyl EP (extended play) or LP (long play) records. Includes 12" (standard LP) and 7" disc sizes.
CD releases can contain singles, EPs or albums.
Digital refers to a digital download of a single, EP, album or playlist.
DVD releases can contain EPs, albums, or video content.
MxCD designates a multitrack CD single, sometimes called a maxi-single or maxi CD.
Laser refers to the Laserdisc format for video content.
VHS tapes can contain Video Singles or Video Albums.
Unknown means no Product Format has been specified.
**Release Type and Product Format optionsFormat options are dependent on release type (ex. albums can be released in vinyl format, but videos cannot). Release Type and Product Format are included as filters on some pages and report types.
When it comes to equivalents and chart formulas, we weight all physical product categories equally.
Song sale activity includes all digital song purchases from providers that offer digital downloads (e.g. Apple Music). Song sales are reported worldwide; we include data from over 200 countries.
CONNECT presents song sales as total figures only, with no breakouts.
Airplay describes song performance on terrestrial and satellite radio in the U.S. and Canada.
Airplay Spins
Spins (sometimes called detects or detections) represent the number of times a song was played on the radio. One spin is one play of a song on one station.
Airplay Audience
Airplay Audience is the number of people that heard a song, on any station, within your selected time frame. Audience is determined by station reach and time of day: a spin at midnight in Santa Fe is not the same as a spin at rush hour in Los Angeles.
Station
A radio station is a licensed audio broadcaster identified by a callsign. Stations can be terrestrial (AM/FM), digital or satellite (XM). Most stations are associated with one or more radio formats.
Format
Format describes the type of programming on a radio station. In CONNECT, format filters are comparable to genre filters. But format isn’t only a genre designation. Radio formats are often based on a combination of genre, release age and intended audience.
Common formats include variations on categories like:
Adult Contemporary
Regional
Top 40 / Hits
Alternative [Genre]
Classic [Genre]
Mainstream [Genre]
Glossary: Acronyms, key terms and definitions
Data Controls: Activity Types, Breakout Views and filters
Methodology FAQs: Formulas, data sources, and eligibility criteria
Format panels: Airplay formats and station lists