Artist Summary: Get data for emerging artists

Artist Summary: Get data for emerging artists

No Artist Dashboard? No problem. Get combined data and analyze streaming activity for artists that aren’t mapped in CONNECT yet with Artist Summary.

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Essentially, Artist Summary uses display name matching to create ad hoc Dashboards based on recording metadata. It provides a useful snapshot of momentum and overall performance for smaller or newer artists that may have significant streaming activity.
 

From the CONNECT main menu, open Artist Discovery and choose Artist Summary.


 


Back to User Guide  

Search for an artist 

The Artist Discovery interface is similar to Report Builder: select or input required parameters, then retrieve data with those parameters applied.

Artist Discovery: A new suite of CONNECT tools
Right now, Artist Discovery opens on Artist Summary.  


We'll eventually release more tools for analyzing emerging or unmapped artists, including an Artist Finder search. These will be available in the top row of tabs. For now, however, Artist Summary is the only option. 
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Open Artist Discovery, then choose the ARTIST SUMMARY tab at top left to start building. Most fields are pre-filled with default selections. The only required input is Artist Name (yellow text, top left). 


Click the Artist Name field to open the SEARCH FOR ARTIST pop-up. Type the name of an artist or musical group, then click Done to search the CONNECT database for all recordings with a matching name in the "artist" field.



An Artist Summary search returns exact name matches only. Even a one-character difference can affect results. 
EXISTING ARTISTS: Potential Dashboard matches

If your name search is similar to the name of an artist that’s already mapped in CONNECT, i.e. one that has an Artist Dashboard, you’ll see an EXISTING ARTISTS pop-up with suggested results. Click any of these to open their Dashboard.



If you’re confident that the artist you want to see is not one of these options, click “No, use my own input” at bottom right to proceed with your search term instead. 
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Only Artist or Participating Artist?

To the right of Artist Name, the “performing as” field specifies Only Artist (default) or Participating Artist (alternate option). Click on it to make changes.



Only Artist describes artists (either solo artists or musical groups) that are the sole credited act on a recording. Participating Artist includes recordings with a matching name credited alongside one or more other artists, i.e. remixes, features, multi-artist collaborations, etc. 

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Build a Dashboard 

Once you’ve entered an artist name, you may change the other filters or keep default parameters for stream type, genre, location and date range. Click Build Dashboard to proceed. 



A completed Artist Summary retains your input information at the top. To adjust the data on the page, make changes to any field, then click Build Dashboard again to see those changes applied. 



Artist KPIs: Total Songs and Streams

Below the input fields, TOTAL SONGS and STREAMS show combined streaming activity for all recordings with a matching artist name credit. Total songs (top left) indicates how many songs are attached to that artist in CONNECT as well as how many have reported activity for your dates. Streams (top right) displays combined streaming activity within the time frame, with a Commercial Model breakout enabled by default. 



Total songs = Number of songs attributed to the artist as of today’s date. Does not change, even for past dates. 

Streaming = Number of songs with streaming activity in the selected date range. Can change based on date selection. 




Next, the Activity Over Time graph and grid show week-over-week streams for the selected date range. 






Songs: All linked Song Dashboards

At the bottom of an Artist Summary, the SONGS grid lists all songs attributed to the artist. Click any song to visit its Dashboard and see associated Recordings. 



The Songs grid displays up to 10 items, ordered by activity, and is not scrollable. Click VIEW ALL at bottom left for a full list.





Export Artist Summary 

Unlike a Ranking or Trend Report, an Artist Summary can't be saved or scheduled. Export the Artist Summary Dashboard to save data. Use the kebab dropdown menu at upper right to export as an Excel file.


Exports include an overview sheet (first tab) specifying the parameters applied.





Artist Summary FAQs 

Why are some artists unmapped in CONNECT?

We track data and create Dashboards for all musical recordings and products with reported activity, even if they can’t be attributed to an artist in our system yet. But we have a higher threshold for generating Artist Dashboards to prevent duplicate or “junk” artists from populating based on bad metadata. 


Can I request an official Dashboard for an artist?
Yes. Submit an Artist Registration Form. Be sure to include all required metadata and at least one ISRC.

I didn’t get the expected results/any results for my artist name search. Why not? 
Unlike other keyword searches in CONNECT, Artist Discovery searches only return exact matches. Even a one-character difference (like “é” vs. “e”) can affect search results. 

Are artist name searches case sensitive? 
No. 


Can I save an Artist Summary in my account to check later?

Not at this time. Export an Artist Summary to save your data. If you want to revisit your analysis later, search for the same artist again, then use the same parameters to generate a Dashboard.


Why can’t I set a longer date range? 

Artist Summary permits a maximum range of 26 weeks. This prevents performance issues and ensures that results will display quickly. To see or compare other weeks, export the data to save it, then edit the date range and click Build Dashboard again to apply your changes.


Can I switch to daily breakouts instead of weekly? 

Not at this time. 


Can I add more than one artist? / Can I compare artists? 

No. Artist Summary only generates a Dashboard for one name at a time. 


Can I search for multiple name variations and add them to one Artist Summary?

No. See above. To create an analysis that includes multiple name variations or collaborations for an unmapped artist, build a separate Artist Summary for each one, then export them to combine the data. Be sure to apply the same parameters each time.  


Will you include Product Sales? 

Not at this time. Artist Summary is designed to efficiently compile data for artists that do not have preexisting Artist Dashboards, most of whom are streaming-first or streaming-dominant with few product sales. We will continue to evaluate the need for more activity metrics. 


Will you include Airplay? 

Not at this time. See above. Compared to streaming, (radio) Airplay is not usually a strong signal for emerging artists. 


Will you include Song Sales?

Not at this time, though we may consider it for future updates. 


Will you include a full Discography / list of albums for the artist? 

Not at this time. Artist Summaries are based on streaming activity, with no product sales (physical or digital) included. 


Why is the artist on a linked Song mapped to a different Dashboard? 
Name matching and other metadata errors can cause linkage errors on Song or Recording Dashboards for unmapped artists. Register the artist or submit a Data Correction to help resolve the issue.  


Can I add songs that should be attached to my artist? 

Not at this time. 


How do I see artist imprint and/or rights holder information?

Imprints and ownership/distribution rights only apply to recordings and products, not artists. Go to individual songs, recordings and/or releases to see imprints and rights holders.