Data

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says that “part “of the reason the streamer has long been tight-lipped about viewership data — even when it came to disclosing numbers to those creating the TV shows and films for the platform — is because of the talent’s own concerns about feeling “pretty trapped” by ratings and box office performance.

Source: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Defends Not Disclosing Streaming Numbers: Creators Felt ‘Trapped’ by Ratings, Box Office

As with previous DiMA reports, there are plenty of interesting stats, albeit tuned towards the positive impact of these DSPs. 78% of hip-hop streamers listen to music daily; they’re 25% more likely to use new features on streaming services than the average listener; and 75% are ‘lean-in’ listeners who like to pick their songs and create playlists.

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Source: Latest DiMA report explores streaming habits of hip-hop fans – Music Ally

Striking writers and actors are pressing a few common issues as they seek better contracts from the media companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. One big one: Both unions want more transparency about how many people are watching streaming series and movies and, along with that, a bigger share of streaming revenue via residuals or success-based metrics.

Source: Creators Once Dreaded the Pressure of Ratings, Now They’re Fighting for the Data

London-headquartered collection society PRS for Music has extended its Nexus program with an aim to link songwriter and composer information to music recordings before they are released. This ensures that royalties are quickly paid to rightsholders, the company said in a press release on Wednesday (September 6).

Source: PRS for Music expands ‘Nexus’ metadata program, with new initiative to link songwriter info to recordings prior to release

Apple is introducing several new features for podcast creators on its platform to rival Spotify’s dominance of a format Apple started. One of the biggest new features is the ability for creators to see subscription analytics in the Apple Podcasts Connect platform. Apple is also partnering with Linkfire to give creators a new way to generate smart links for landing pages.
Source: Apple Remembers It Started Podcasts—Introduces New Tools

The free data we generated by spending thousands of hours on Big Tech’s platforms has been appropriated and converted into training data for AI models. To add insult to injury, the corporations that carried out this appropriation are now pretending to be as concerned as we are about AI’s disruptive power, and are even theatrically begging us to regulate their industry as they rake in the profits.

Source: AI and the tyranny of the data commons

Many issues divide studios and streamers from the striking talent guilds, but one key sticking point involves how writers and actors should be fairly compensated for their work in streaming. And a major complication there is that streaming success remains such an impenetrable formula, influenced by resistance to provide clear data and hard-to-measure factors that cloud what constitutes a “hit.”

Source: Hollywood’s math problem: Getting paid for streaming ‘hits’ first means identifying them | CNN

Steven Soderbergh says that among all the issues facing Hollywood during dual actors and writers strikes, the one that “keeps me up at night” is data transparency — or the lack of it — from streaming platforms. In an interview with Defector, Soderbergh said that while using artificial intelligence in the creative process is a serious issue, he’s more concerned that media companies are hiding something, whether good or bad, with their lack of transparency.

Source: Steven Soderbergh: Streaming Data Transparency a Bigger Worry Than AI

New audience segments in the Spotify for Artists interface give artists and their team powerful insights into their audience to help them grow and deepen their relationship with fans. Data until now has been high-level, focusing on total streams, monthly listeners, and followers. But that data doesn’t differentiate fans from super fans. As our mid-year music industry report reveals, super fans drive 42% of engagement with new artists.

Source: Spotify for Artists Introduces New Audience Segmentation

At a recent London gathering of DDEX, one topic rose above all others: the role that DDEX could play around the grouping or ‘clustering’ of sound recordings. Despite the somewhat benign description, it is a genuinely interesting subject that leads to several related topics, including the role of
music recognition technology, the nascent International Standard Content Code (ISCC), and even touches on the other hot topic of fraudulent streams. 

Source: ‘Clustering reduces the risk of the wrong rights owners being paid and assists in making performer line-ups as complete and consistent as possible.’