WHY THIS?

Have you ever been browsing music and wondered “why exactly is this song trending?”

Have you ever been listening to the radio or looking through today’s hits and asking “what do all of these songs have in common?”

Genres and songs

Which features line up with popularity?

The most popular genres per year

Diameter of discs based on genre popularity. Speed of disc rotation corresponds to energy level of genre.

The rise and fall of genre popularity over time

1950

Select up to 5 genres (0 selected)

Frequent Words in Song Titles per Era

Word size = relative frequency in titles for this era · Disc size = sample size · Outer words = more common

Song Tempo Comparisons

The interactive formula

Predicting Popularity

Given a song's attributes, can you tell if it will be a hit?

Predicted vs. actual popularity of 500 randomly sampled songs

Control Panel:
Song Data (Hover over to see)
Song: --
Artist: --
Year: --
Predicted Popularity: --
Actual Popularity: --
Your formula:
Predicted Popularity ≈
   () × Danceability
+ () × Energy
+ () × Loudness
+ () × Speechiness
+ () × Acousticness
+ () × Instrumentalness
+ () × Liveness
+ () × Valence

Change your perspective

Two ways to see the same data.

Visualizations may change based on your choice.

Path A: The Artist

This is the formula to follow to maximize success. Aim for the sweet spot. Maximize reach.


Click to explore popular genres and song characteristics.

Path B: The Explorer

You know the formula. Now go off the beaten path. Discover avenues of music that are not conventionally popular.


Click to explore niche (less popular) genres and song characteristics.