Often, Dashboard controls are powerful enough to pull sales and streaming numbers without requiring you to run a separate Trend Report. 

Back to Dashboards 

Back to User Guide 

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Anatomy of a Dashboard 

CONNECT Dashboards have similar layouts, with a few differences among Artist, Song, Release Group and Recording/Product categories.

Example Artist Dashboard layout

1. Top menu bar

with data controls and view options

2. Overview and topline metadata 

3. KPIs 

4. Activity panes (Over Time, by Location)

5. Dashboard-specific details (Ex. Discography, Similar artists)

       Data has been partially redacted. 

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1. Top menu bar: Data controls and view options

All consumption figures displayed on a Dashboard are based on Time Frame, Location and Activity Type. Make sure they're set as you expect before analyzing Dashboard data. 

Time Frame usually defaults to Current Week (the week in progress). Use the dropdowns in the top menu bar to make changes.

Time Frame, Location and Markets

Use the Time Frame, Location and Markets dropdowns to change default settings. Open Data Controls from the icon to the right of Markets to set more precise parameters across the Dashboard.

Activity Type and Breakout View

Activity Type is a mandatory Dashboard setting. Dashboards highlight different data and metrics based on the selected activity.

Choosing Streams, Song Sales, Product Sales, Airplay Spins or Airplay Audience will change the emphasis of the entire Dashboard. (If you don't make a selection, the Dashboard will show metrics for the default activity, usually Streams).

Breakout View options can further segment your data. 

The above example sets Activity Type: Product Sales and Breakout View: Store Strata.

Refer to Activity Types for details on activities and breakouts.

 

At the top of every Dashboard, a fixed pane lists standard identifying information.

Click MORE DETAILS > to see all metadata, IDs and rights information.

Artist Details: Key metadata

Clicking MORE DETAILS opens additional tabs of information for each Dashboard entity. The leftmost DETAILS tab lists metadata related to artist, genre and format (if applicable).

External IDs: All identifiers

These are unique alphanumeric codes used by different providers and databases to identify and track artists, albums and songs. We also attach a Luminate ID to each musical entity. Use Luminate IDs or external IDs for precise searching or cross-referencing.

Read more: ISRC, ICPN, ISNI: External IDs and product codes

See an example: Release External IDs

Luminate IDs are in the leftmost DETAILS tab. All other ID types for an entity are listed under EXTERNAL IDS.

The next two rows summarize key performance indicators (KPIs): Equivalents, Streams, Song Sales, Product Sales, and Airplay activity.

ATD: Activity to Date totals

Most ATD data in CONNECT begins in Week 1 of 2014. 

The ATD numbers on a Dashboard are based on your date selection. If you choose a Time Frame in the past, ATD will reflect the total through the end of your date range, not necessarily through the current date. 

Use the Data Controls menu to add ATD rows to your Grids. 

Album and Stream Equivalents

CONNECT Dashboards now display Album or Stream Equivalent metrics for all entities. These are the base units that determine chart rankings, though exact formulas can differ between countries and charts. 

Album Equivalents are derived from weighted streams, song sales and product sales in the U.S. and Canada.

Stream Equivalents are derived from weighted streams and song sales in all other countries and worldwide. 

Read more: Equivalent weighting: Measuring music consumption

Why do Song and Artist Dashboards show Album Equivalents?

"Album Equivalent" is a standardized unit of measurement. The Album Equivalent ratio converts different activities into one metric that can be used for chart rankings. This ratio can be applied to everything in CONNECT: albums, songs, products, recordings and artists. 

On a Song or Recording Dashboard, the Album Equivalent figure indicates roughly how much of that song's activity translates to Album Equivalent units for charting purposes.*

On an Artist Dashboard, the Album Equivalent figure is an aggregate of converted activity for that artist's discography.

*Individual chart equivalent ratios may differ from the standard Album Equivalent conversion shown on Dashboards.

Additional exclusion rules can apply to Billboard charts irrespective of reported Album Equivalent activity. 

Why don't I see Album Equivalents, Product Sales or Airplay?

CONNECT only tracks Album Equivalents, Product Sales and Airplay data within the U.S. and Canada.

Charli XCX - Canada, Last 12 Weeks

If you set a Location outside the United States or Canada, Dashboard KPIs automatically update to display Stream Equivalent, Streams and Song Sales only.

Charli XCX - Worldwide, Last 12 Weeks

Graph or Grid View?

Dashboards can display graph or grid visualizations. Click at top right or change the view options in the Data Controls menu to see a Grid View (table) instead. Grids can be exported as CSV or Excel files. 

Go to Settings to change your default data displays from Graphs to Grids across the entire app. User Settings can be found in the main CONNECT menu.

See an example: Activity Grid View

Click ... at top right to switch between Graph and Grid Views. All exports will download in grid format. 

Grids highlight and sort by your selected Activity Type. 

Expand grid columns using > to see breakouts.

 

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Activity Over Time

Toggle between Daily or Weekly Time Views at top right. 

     

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Activity by Location

See activity by country or at the market level.

Search for and add up to 6 locations from the left menu to create your own focused comparison.

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Activity by Location and Market*

If your location is set to the United States or Canada, toggle the Markets switch to see a market-level heat map.

U.S. Markets map

If your location is set to the United States or Canada, toggle the Markets switch to see a market-level heat map. 

Scroll the bar chart at bottom left to see all included markets. Hover over a bar to see details in a pop-up (see above).

Filter markets using Data Controls or the Markets dropdown. Note that market-level view options filter our some national providers, making market aggregate figures appear lower than the national total. 

Cross-border Airplay data

Dashboards can only aggregate data for one country at a time, which excludes cross-border Spins and Audience figures from Airplay totals.

However, Activity by Location displays the remaining consumption from “the other side”—the handful of stations physically located across the border that are still tracked with that country’s Airplay activity.

Note that the total at upper right reflects your selected country, not both countries.

Hover over the second country or switch to a Grid View to see the "extra" Airplay data.

*Not all subscriptions include market data. Ask your organization or contact Support for more information. 

*Not all subscriptions include market data. Ask your organization or contact Support for more information. 

See an example: Airplay Formats

If you set Activity Type to Airplay Spins or Airplay Audience, the Dashboard will include an Airplay Formats grid that sorts activity by radio format.

 

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Dashboard data exports

Click at the top right of any activity pane to export data with your view options and filters applied. 

What's included in a Dashboard export?

Activity data downloads in grid format as a CSV or Excel file. Exporting an activity pane will not include the entire Dashboard, just that grid. A Dashboard activity export won’t include graphs, maps or other visuals; to preserve imagery, take a screenshot.  

Any multi-tab activity pane, like Discography, will download as a multi-file .zip (CSV) or as an Excel file with multiple sheets.

Dashboard export file naming

Connect automatically generates file names for Dashboard exports. They include the Dashboard entity name (artist, release or song), name of the activity pane being exported, a Luminate ID and a unique timestamp. 

            Name/title_Activity type_Luminate ID_[timestamp]

Release Group and Song exports include the artist name. For example, an Excel download of Releases & Songs for Charli XCX’s Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat might look like:

Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat_CHARLI XCX_Releases & Songs_MRELG4A50905C49CF4E46998450857D9193D8_1728891755811.xlsx

 

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Dashboards FAQ 

How do I find a Dashboard?

Much of the CONNECT UI — What's Trending, Search results, Related Artists — visualizes musical entities using tiles or "cards." Click these to visit Dashboards.

You may also navigate between Dashboards by clicking hyperlinked text: from an artist to the musical group they were in, from a Release Group to a Song, from a Song to an ISRC (listed under Recordings), etc.

How do I share a Dashboard?

Copy the full URL of a Dashboard to share it with all settings and filters applied (provided you share with another logged-in user within your organization). The recipient will be able to open the link and see exactly what you're seeing. You may also share Dashboards via Luminate ID, though it won't preserve your date/location/activity selections.

How do I set all displays to Grid View by default? 

Open Settings from the main/sidebar menu and scroll to Dashboards > Visualization. Use the dropdown to switch your default view from Graph to Grid.

From now on, all Dashboards will show Grid Views by default, every time you log in, unless you change your settings again. 

Can I export Dashboard bar graphs, maps and pie charts?

No. You can only export Dashboard data in grid form. Exports can be in CSV or Excel format. (Feel free to generate your own charts from an export).

If desired, you may screenshot graphs and maps to save them. 

How do I export Dashboard grids?

Click … at the top right of any grid (Activity Over Time, Discography, etc.) to export the data in table format. 

Dashboard grids will download as CSV or Excel files with automatically generated filenames. 

Can I export an entire Dashboard at once? 

No. You can only export one grid (Activity Over Time, Activity By Location, etc.) at a time. 

Exported grids reflect your selected view options and filters. Be sure to check your Dashboard filters/data controls before exporting a grid; you may need to reset them between exports. 

We are exploring options to enable full-page Dashboard exports in the future. 

Can I print Dashboards? 

No. See above: you cannot export or print an entire Dashboard at once from the CONNECT UI. 

If you’d like to print Dashboard charts and grids with your filters and view options applied, you can print the page from your browser, take screenshots OR export grids one at a time.