Do I Need To Register Both Album And Track Soundscan

Charts matter in music and you might be wondering what is SoundScan?

They're quantifiable ways of measuring the success of your creative efforts, and SoundScan is one of the most important music tracking charts on the block.

It's run by the Nielsen Corporation and is a name you'll demand to remember when working in the music business concern.

This guide volition swoop deep into what SoundScan is and how it fuels the music industry.

Past the fourth dimension you're done, you lot'll be intimately familiar with everything y'all demand to know well-nigh SoundScan. Allow's get started.

What Is SoundScan?

Nielsen is a global marketing research house founded in 1923 and 1 of the virtually respected sources of data. Its information analytics and measurements are trusted across industries and geographic borders, and its revenues make this century-quondam visitor a component of the S&P 500.

If you've ever heard the term "market share," it was coined by the visitor's founder Arthur C. Nielsen. That's how foundational this company truly is. It regularly tracks ratings and sales for Tv set, internet, mobile devices, radio, and more than.

These datasets are routinely cited by the earth's leading media outlets and analysts, and SoundScan is its specific platform for tracking music sales.

SoundScan was created in May 1991 by Mike Shalett and Mike Fine and was released for albums every Sunday and singles every Mon. It has since grown into the largest music sales source, fueling the Billboard charts and more, although it's not used to outcome RIAA sales certification plaques. Modern SoundScan numbers are released to subscribers every Wednesday and are crucial to providing an creative person'due south chart clout and revenue.

Access to the raw information is a subscription-based service whose clients include everyone from indie and major labels to distribution companies, artists, managers, booking agents, promoters, venue owners, streaming services, ecommerce, and more.

The only requirement is the product requires a UPC or ISRC to track sales, and registration is a simple online procedure you can access here . If yous don't annals your music releases with SoundScan, your sales figures don't count. Basically, you lot don't exist in this industry.

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How Does SoundScan Piece of work?

Music tin can be purchased in a diversity of platforms, such as a concrete compact disc or vinyl, digital downloads, or music videos on DVD or Blu-Ray. This sales data is tracked across both brick-and-mortar stores (like Best Buy and Walmart) and ecommerce similar iTunes and Amazon, along with ticketing companies and venues.

One matter SoundScan doesn't track is streams. Nielsen Connect is a separate subscription service that tracks those numbers, although SoundScan is still powering the sales charts in Connect and has historical records that predate information technology. These are necessary for deeper research purposes.

These metrics are used to determine music trends and notice out who'due south hot or not in the moment, frequently leading to buzz gathering around first-week sales and the Billboard Top 100 overall or in any given niche. The raw information is likewise intellectual property owned by Nielsen and requires individual subscriptions for access. The information is heavily protected with military machine-grade security and zero-tolerance information sharing policies.

At its root, tracking each sale is done through the Universal Production Code (UPC) and International Standard Recording Lawmaking (ISRC). This is why information technology's crucial to register for these codes prior to registering with SoundScan, which is usually provided past your digital music benefactor. This leads to why all of this is so important.

Benefits/Importance for Artists

Subscribing to SoundScan is typically limited to those with a business need, such as music publishers, booking and promotion agents, management firms, and radio promoters. Near people will not need the actual detailed sales figures and tin just rely on the Billboard charts. All the same, these rankings are constantly buzzed about among media/analysts and become part of an artist's promotion.

For case, offset week sales numbers are usually a barometer for how an artist will sell, and that'southward why they're and then heavily reported on across the media. This leaves an of import question of whether to sign up or not.

Should I Sign Up for Nielsen SoundScan?

With how important it is, you absolutely demand to register every single song and anthology you release. Information technology's mandatory to fifty-fifty become part of the conversation, especially for indie artists. It should be a part of your process, along with registering for a UPC and ISRC.

Notwithstanding, you don't necessarily need to subscribe to the SoundScan sales figures unless you take a business purpose. In brusk, it's neat to exist part of the data, but you don't always need to exist part of the audition. If you're able to wait, you can see the general results through Billboard and other secondary sources.

There's a fee associated with the subscription that's based on your business. Prices aren't published anywhere, and you need to contact Nielsen directly to talk over getting set up. Their reps will get y'all prepare with an account. Each private volition get a login (fifty-fifty within the same company), and sharing these logins can get your account suspended, and then do and then with caution.

Still, whether you subscribe or not, it's admittedly vital to never skip over registering every musical work with SoundScan. Information technology's a complimentary process and the only mode anyone will know how much yous sold. If your indie characterization is going to exist taken seriously, information technology needs to be registered with SoundScan.

How to Get Started with Nielsen SoundScan

Source: https://musicwithflavor.com/what-is-soundscan/

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