Reggae and dancehall artists who are releasing music this year, along with their labels, are set to benefit from a new agreement between Luminate, the data provider for Billboard charts, and music retailers to register data for the sales of CDs, vinyl, and cassettes in Luminate’s existing physical sales data collection.
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Reggae and dancehall artists, along with their labels, will benefit from a new agreement between Luminate, the data provider for Billboard charts, and music retailers to track sales of CDs, vinyl, and cassettes.
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Billboard’s move to expand its coverage of direct U.S. independent music retail data effective April 24.
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Luminate, in collaboration with various music industry organizations, will gather independent physical music sales data from StreetPulse, enhancing the quality and accuracy of sales metrics.
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The rebranding of Billboard’s Tastemaker Albums chart to Indie Store Album Sales highlights top-selling titles at indie stores in the United States.
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The partnership reflects the industry’s commitment to accurately representing the strength and growth of physical retail in the music industry, supported by stakeholders such as artists, labels, Luminate, and independent retailers.
According to Billboard, the move which comes just in time for the release of several reggae and dancehall albums is aimed at broadening its coverage of direct U.S. independent music retail data, effective Wednesday (April 24).
In collaboration with the Coalition of Independent Music Stores, Alliance of Independent Media Stores, Department of Record Stores (collectively known as Record Store Day), and the Music Business Association, Luminate will now gather independent physical music sales data from StreetPulse, a music industry data provider receiving daily sales metrics from retailers.
To reflect the significance of music sales in indie retail, Billboard has rebranded its Tastemaker Albums chart to Indie Store Album Sales, showcasing top-selling titles at indie stores in the United States.
This development follows Luminate’s decision last year to retire its weighted data modeling for measuring physical sales in the indie retail sector, aiming to enhance the quality and accuracy of its sales metrics. Many reggae and dancehall fans still consumed music via Vinyls and CDs. Last year Sister Carol called for reggae artist to put their music on Vinyls.
The RIAA 2023 year-end report stated that, Revenues from vinyl records grew 10% to $1.4 billion – the seventeenth consecutive year of growth – and accounted for 71% of physical format revenues. For the second time since 1987, vinyl albums outsold CDs in units (43 million vs 37 million), even as revenues from CDs also show growth, up 11% to $537 million in 2023.
The vast majority of reggae and dancehall artists releasing music operate independently, with notable signed acts gearing up for album releases this year. Among them, Shenseea is set to unveil her second solo endeavor titled “Never Gets Late Here,” in partnership with Interscope. The album is available for pre-order on CDS
Additionally, Skillibeng’s forthcoming album, anticipated to hit shelves before August, is slated for release under RCA Records, as revealed by sources closely involved in the projects.
A Jamaican female artist has not made the Billboard 200 albums chart since Tessanne Chin’s album “Count On My Love” debuted on the Billboard 200™ at 41 on July 19, 2014, staying on the chart for 2 weeks.
Diana King’s “Tougher Than Love” released via Columbia Records in 1995 peaked at 176.
The Billboard 200™ is the week’s most popular albums in the US as compiled by Luminate, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums).
Portia Sabin, president of the Music Business Association, while not calling out any specific genre this move will help, expressed gratitude to all parties involved for addressing the issue and reaching a resolution.
“I’d like to thank the coalitions, the retail stores, and Luminate for taking this issue seriously and working together to reach a deal,” said Portia Sabin.
“Sometimes it takes a pinch to bring people together, and the industry response to the unweighting of physical data was perhaps necessary to highlight the importance of that data to our industry,” Sabin added. “I’d also like to thank so many people at the labels, distributors, and even individual artists for speaking out and helping us to reach an agreement, because whenever our industry comes together to achieve a common goal it is inspiring for our future.”
Andrea Paschal of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores hailed the partnership as a landmark moment for the independent music retail industry. “This new partnership is the most significant development in the independent music retail industry since the creation of Record Store Day,” Paschal said, adding,“Our goal has always been to ensure comprehensive physical sales reporting, and bringing in data from StreetPulse, which collects actual sales from more U.S. indie retailers than ever before, will ensure that every purchase is cataloged and counted correctly.”
Chris Muratore, Luminate’s director of partnerships, emphasized the company’s commitment to providing reliable data to the industry, aligning with its mission and values. “Luminate is always working towards the goal of providing quality and accurate data to the industry,”
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Record Store Day ambassador in 2019, praised the initiative, highlighting the importance of supporting community record stores.“We truly love …the [independent] shops. They’ve always meant the world to us. When it gets to this time when you can help out the community and the community record stores, it’s a no brainer.”
Pearl Jam, in a collective statement, expressed their honor in contributing to the cause, ensuring independent record stores have a significant presence.
Hannah Carlen, marketing director at Secretly Group, stressed the importance of comprehensive sales figures for all stakeholders, including artists, labels, Luminate, and independent retailers.
The partnership signifies a significant step forward in accurately reflecting the strength and growth of physical retail in the music industry.
