Industry Analysis: Music industry pulse
Industry Analysis aggregates music consumption data at the industry level for a broader view of streaming and sales performance. Use it to see big-picture trends or evaluate combined location, genre and provider data.
Navigation
Open Analysis and choose Industry.
Select Trends, Genres, Markets or Providers
Analysis opens on the TRENDS tab, which highlights combined weekly activity for your selected location and time frame. Switch to GENRES, MARKETS or PROVIDERS using the row of tabs at top left.
Analysis KPIs
Every Analysis tab leads with KPI highlights at the top of the page: Album or Stream Equivalent, Streams and Song Sales. A fourth KPI, Product Sales, is available in the U.S. and Canada.
These are combined totals for your date range. Set a Breakout View to see splits for some categories. If you make a selection for Time Frame > Compare To, the KPI panes will also display a % increase or decrease.
Album and Stream Equivalents
Album Equivalents represent the weighted streams, physical sales and digital purchases that equal a single album sale (1 unit) on the Billboard and Luminate charts. CONNECT displays Album Equivalents for the U.S. and Canada only.
Stream Equivalents treat 1 premium stream as the base unit of consumption; they’re applied worldwide and in countries for which we don’t track product sales data.
Equivalents allow us to convert and compare differently measured units. They help create a standard measure of music performance across a multi-format, multichannel landscape.
TRENDS
The Trends tab aggregates combined consumption by week. Below the KPI panes, Total Activity displays week-by-week trends for the entire industry in your selected location.
Mouse over a segment on the bar chart to see exact figures or highlight a chart area to zoom in. Click Reset zoom to go back.
Weekly data, refreshed daily
CONNECT data is refreshed every day, but Industry Analysis aggregates data at the weekly level.
We break out industry-level activity by chart week only, with no daily time view option.
GENRES
The Genres tab sorts industry-wide consumption by genre.
Filter the genres you want to include by clicking the field to the right of the tabs; this opens the Genre pop-up menu.
Billboard and Luminate genres
Billboard and Luminate genre classifications are slightly different. Billboard genres match the Billboard chart categories.
Luminate genres are updated more often and include more subgenres for greater precision.
Read more: About Genre: How Luminate classifies music
Billboard and Luminate genres
Billboard and Luminate genre classifications are slightly different. Billboard genres match the Billboard chart categories.
Luminate genres are updated more often and include more subgenres for greater precision.
Read more: About Genre: How Luminate classifies music
MARKETS
CONNECT tracks over 200 markets in the U.S. and over 70 in Canada. Market-level data is available for some subscribers (if Markets aren’t available for your account or location, the MARKETS tab won’t appear).
Market area designations cover all of the U.S. and Canada. Every zip code is assigned to a market. Markets are labeled based on the nearest metro.Market selection menuClick "United States / Canada Market," then select as many markets as you want to include.
Search for markets by typing a few letters into the search bar.
Once you've selected markets to include, Total Activity appears as a list of markets sorted by consumption.
Market selection menu
Click "United States / Canada Market," then select as many markets as you want to include.
Search for markets by typing a few letters into the search bar.
Once you've selected markets to include, Total Activity appears as a list of markets sorted by consumption.
Zoom in on a chart area
The Total Activity: Markets graph can get crowded. Some market names may look condensed or not appear.
Highlight a chart area to zoom in and expand market labels. Click Reset zoom to go back.
PROVIDERS
Providers comprise streaming DSPs as well as digital and physical retailers. Provider-level activity is not available for every account type.
Scroll down to see provider totals in grid form.
Provider names have been redacted.
Set Time Frame and Location
Use the top menu dropdowns to change Time Frame, Location and Markets. These settings apply across all Analysis tabs.
Time Frame
The Analysis Time Frame menu contains different options than you’ll find elsewhere in CONNECT. Click Time Frame in the top menu bar to open the calendar tool.
Dynamic Dates
Because Analysis is designed to provide market-wide aggregate data, it defaults to Last 12 Weeks.
Open the Time Frame dropdown to choose Last Week, Year to Date, Last Quarter, Last 4 Quarters, Last Calendar Year, or a custom (weekly) date range.
Why can't I select my own dates?
Date ranges can be customized to the week, but not the day. You can select a range of Weeks 1-36 for the current year, but not a range of 1/1-9/4.
The shortest allowable timespan within Analysis is one week.
Compare Time Frames
Compare To a previous time frame to see side-by-side data in Total Activity. Select Previous Period to see data for your selected period and an equal amount of time immediately preceding it.
Choose Same Period Last Year to compare the same date range from the preceding year. This option generates double bar graphs where applicable.
Location / Markets
Change the location from the United States to a different country to see KPIs at the country level. Set Location:Worldwide to see combined international data.
Data Controls: All view options and filters
Open Data Controls to add more filters and detail.
Activity Options
Select or fine-tune the activities and breakouts that will be reflected in your industry-wide aggregate.
Market Analysis Options
Apply optional filters to narrow your industry-level analysis or see additional breakouts.
Release Type and Format
Include or exclude release categories and product formats.
Genre
Choose the Billboard or Luminate genre database, then check the boxes to filter by genre.
Release Age
Filter by Release Age to see data on Current, Catalog or Deep Catalog music. Use the sliders to change these ranges. Release Age filters can help you assess the state of new music consumption compared to older releases—or vice versa.
Note that Release Age is relative. Release Age spans extend backward from your selected date range, not from today’s date—unless today’s date is part of your selection. If you set Time Frame to a period two years ago, music released that year will be classified as Current, not Catalog.
Grid Options
Use Stacked Grids for more precise activity breakouts within Streams and Product Sales. (Song Sales and Equivalents don't offer stacked grid views).
Select Basic or Stacked, check or uncheck categories, and drag to change stacking hierarchy.
For Product Sales, you must choose between Store Detail or Product Detail (Basic) or pick up to three categories (Stacked).
Grid view options apply to Total Activity grids at the bottom of the page. Stacked grid views create hierarchical, nested layers for activity types and breakouts. Scroll left to right to see expanded stacks.
Click ... at top right to export a Total Activity grid with stacking options applied.
When you’ve finished making selections, hit APPLY CHANGES at bottom to see your options applied throughout Analysis. RESET SETTINGS to clear all filters and start over.
Customize and export Analysis grids
At the bottom of every Analysis tab or activity view, consumption data is viewable in grid format.
Click JUMP TO GRID (top right) or scroll down.
Grid customization options
Click each column header to sort the entire grid by the data in that column. Open Columns on the far left to filter and customize the data presented in your grid. Open Data Controls (see above) to create and edit Stacked Grids.
Click to export a grid view in CSV or Excel format.
Analysis export file names and formatting
CONNECT automatically generates file names for Analysis exports. They include (as applicable) the location, analysis type, activity breakout and a unique individual timestamp.
Country_Market_Time frame_Analysis type_Activity type_[timestamp]
For example, a CSV export of U.S. Album Equivalent combined activity over the last 12 weeks, compared with the same period last year (SPLY), might look like this:
US_SPLY_PROVIDER_ALL_ACTIVITY_1728113122598.csv
The exported grid also includes a top header row describing the analysis in more detail.
More to know
Methodology 101: How Luminate collects, models and measures music data
Equivalent weighting: Measuring music consumption
About Genres: How Luminate classifies music
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