Chartmetric Artist Score

At Chartmetric our goal is to simplify data into easy to understand insights, and the artist score is a great example. Think of the score as a point system for an artist’s career. Take Adele for instance. As you can see above, during her hiatus her artist score was trending sideways (just above 200k). However the release of her album “30” in November of 2021 sparked a comeback, rocketing her score to over 500k. The takeaway: success in the musical marketplace leads to a better score.

So how do we calculate the score? Without giving away our secret sauce, the artist score is a weighted average of all metrics that are important to an artist’s success. It captures performance across 16 social and streaming platforms, including Spotify, Youtube, Apple Music, Deezer, Soundcloud, Instagram, Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, Pandora, Amazon Music, TikTok and Twitch. Each metric falls into one of two camps:

Fanbase

Fanbase metrics relate to how successful an artist is at...well building their fanbase! These type of metrics are cumulative with a longer time horizon, and include subscribers, followers and playlists across the major streaming and social platforms. There is a reason why artists thank their fans at an awards show: without them they would be back to square 1!

Engagement

Engagement metrics capture how well an artist interacts with her fanbase. Consistent song releases, social media posts and events will drive up engagement metrics like listens, views and comments. Radio silence...not so much! Due to the nature of engagement these metrics focus on recency, usually on a monthly or weekly basis.

And voila! Engagement + fanbase = artist score, and neatly packages their performance into one simple metric. “But how do I use this?” you may ask. Easy, although it depends on who you are. For instance, an artist might monitor their score to see how they can improve their momentum. An A&R rep would look at the trajectory of an artist’s score to find up and coming acts to sign. And a marketer could use score as proof of an artist’s success as they hustle and flow.

No matter the use case, it all boils down to our original point: that the score is simply a point system for an artist’s career.