Searching For The Next Big Sound, Not By Going to a Bar, But Geeking Out Over Data

A press shot for Jungle who are a 'big thing'

It usually takes hours of obsessive scrolling online, years spent drinking flat beer in toilet venues, and lots of conversations with people that take music very seriously to find the next big unknown artist - and even then, the chance of finding a Yung Lean or Mapei is very slim.

The music analytics company Next Big Sound are attempting to save people from watching yet another support band play a Neutral Milk Hotel cover by delving into the metrics that lead to success. Building upon Hype Machine’s strategy of finding the most blogged band, the company takes in data - from places like Spotify and YouTube - and throws it all together to show the blog-thirsty demand for the artist. It seems like a good step forward - Next Big Sound are working closely with the Billboard Chart to provide them with information and charts.

I chatted to Liv Buli, Next Big Sound's resident data journalist about how the site works and whether there's a future for data in music.

You Need To Hear This: How would you describe Next Big Sound?

Liv: Next Big Sound is a music analytics company that tracks activity for hundreds of thousands of artists, from the buskers on the corner, to the Justin Biebers of the world. The company gathers social, sales, and streaming data into one place. Sources range from Facebook and Twitter, to Wikipedia and artist websites, to Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes. To put this information into context, event data such as concerts, release dates, television appearances and press mentions are incorporated, as well as the demographic data of the fans that helps artists become more acquainted with their fan base.

Why do you think there is a need to track artists this way?

The relationship between fans and artists has changed drastically in the last decade. Not only do fans expect to be able to consume music at any time, but fans expect to be able to engage with an artist through social media at any time. This results in a hefty amount of online activity, and an equally large amount of data surrounding this activity. When harnessed and analysed, this data can be very valuable, in helping the artist, managers and labels make more informed decisions. Everything from – 'which television show should I pitch my artist to', to whether the the best next step is a live-stream event, a free download, or a live twitter interview.

What is your role within the company?

I am the resident data journalist at Next Big Sound. Given that we work in fairly unchartered territories, the idea is that I will write articles and other content that helps to inform people about how to use the data. I write stories about artists and how they are making a mark online, trends in the overall industry, and analyses around events that help put this into context. I regularly write for several publications beyond our in-house blog, including Forbes and Billboard Magazine, and also supply data and analysis to external reporters and outlets covering both the publishing and entertainment industry.

In layman's terms, what does it involve?

Basically, I work all day in an office full of engineers trying to make sense of data, write stories about how interesting that data can be, and why some artists are better than others at utilising data.

Would you say analysing raw data is a new trend within music?

Absolutely. Next Big Sound has been around for about five years now, and it has been an upward climb in terms of the adoption curve. But as the use of data becomes more and more ubiquitous, and data research becomes more integral in all facets of the industry from A&R to radio promo, we find that we are in a position to help the music industry understand and use data to their advantage.

How have people responded within the music industry?

There are always skeptics when you introduce a new approach, but overall we find that many are excited learn how this is useful and what they can learn from the data. At this point, the most innovative and successful in the industry are those that understand how to balance the use of analytical insights and traditional intuition and musicality. A good ear is pivotal, but the data can tell you where to look for the right sound.

Do you feel that outside analytics should play more of a role in music charts?

We now supply two charts to Billboard each week - The Social 50, tracking the biggest artists online, and the Next Big Sound chart, which charts the fastest growing artists online, statistically predicted to achieve success. We also supply data for the new Artist 100 chart, as well as the Emerging artists chart.

How many music plays does Next Big Sound track a day?

We have tracked more than 700 billion online plays since the beginning of 2014.

That’s huge. So you feel that the site will become a self fulfilling prophecy for buzzbands?

Well, the company is simply tracking online activity. While I am sure the Next Big Sound chart has a positive impact for bands that feature in terms of added attention, our research shows that other events such as television appearances, live-streams, iTunes singles of the week etc. definitely have a bigger impact on artist growth. Generally we find that artist popularity follows the rule of proportionate growth, meaning that the bigger an artist's following is, the more new fans an artist will gain.

Who is the Next Big Sound according to the company?

As always, we have our eyes on a bunch of talent. Among those we highly recommend are Hozier, Odesza, Jetta, Mapei, Lemaitre, and Meghan Trainor.

Follow Dan on Twitter: @KeenDang