Research Guides: Music Industry: Finding Data

Finding Data

Data on the music industry can be difficult to find or prohibitively expensive to access. These are some resources that available to you that can give you concrete insight into the music business. Don't forget that data can also be found in scholarly and popular articles in journals and industry magazines.

Databases

Music ID This link opens in a new window
Data and reports on the music industry.
A growing repository of historical and current data from Billboard, Official Chart Company, GfK Entertainment and many more reporting agencies from over 30 countries around the world. The arc of sales is presented in Relative Pitch Graphs™ which tell the story of the impact of music on society and cultures by tracking changes in taste, business models, and the consumption of the arts by different population demographics. Using a very wide range of research questions the Relative Pitch Graphs™ can deliver valuable new insights for interpretation and discussion by scholars.
Hit Songs Deconstructed This link opens in a new window
Searchable database for hit songwriting analysis and trends.
Provides up-to-date data and analysis on the current state of the mainstream music scene at the compositional level by tracking the compositional characteristics and production techniques in the songs that land in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
IBISWorld Global Industry Research This link opens in a new window
Collection of comprehensive business reports analyzing America's 700+ industries.
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive suite of authoritative financial information on company financials, descriptions, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors.
ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journal and news articles on business and economics topics.
Full-text articles covering business and economic conditions, corporate strategies, management techniques, as well as competitive and product information. Its international coverage gives researchers a complete picture of companies and business trends around the world. The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times are also part of this database. Historical Wall Street Journal coverage is a separate database providing image coverage from 1889-1993.
Business Market Research Collection This link opens in a new window
Profiles of companies, industries, and executives.
Featuring profiles of more than 40,000 companies, 600 industries, and 225,000 key executives, Hoover's Company Records provides easy access to the most thorough and up-to-date business information available. This comprehensive database gives users the whole picture, including company overviews and histories, officers and board members, competitors, products and operations, auditors, rankings, related industry information, and historical financials.

Chart Data

RIAA Gold & Platinum
This website provides historical sales data for best-selling albums
Billboard Charts
This website charts the best-selling singles and albums in different genres

Other Sources and Reports

IFPI Reports
IFPI represents the recording industry and releases yearly reports. The full reports are behind a paywall, but the summaries are freely accessible and provide some valuable data about the industry as a whole.
Movies & Entertainment Industry Profile: Global
An industry report for the global movies and entertainment industry is presented from publisher Barnes Reports, with topics including market value, market segmentation, and business forecasts for the industry.
Movies & Entertainment Industry Profile: United States
A resource of information on key vertical markets. This industry profile identifies market size, competitive landscape and provides forecast data of market performance.
Music Business Association: Music Industry Analysis
A collection of news stories about the music industry, often providing data
Music Business Association: Research
Annual surveys of music sales, as well statistical profiles of music consumers, retailers, and other players in the merchandising of recorded music.
Music Business World
Established in 2015, MBW provides news, interviews, insight and jobs to the worldwide music industry.
The Music Coalition (Annenberg Inclusion Initiative)
The vision of The Music Coalition is to create diversity and inclusion in the music industry. The Coalition releases reports on the status of inclusion in the music industry.
Nielsen Insights
"Nielsen is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide." This includes information on the music and entertainment industries
Recording Industry Association of America: Research and Data
Statistical summaries on U.S. and worldwide record sales, and consumers of recorded music, marketing reports, and consumer trends.