Record Store Day, The Music Business Association and Luminate Announce New Partnership Regarding Physical Music Sales Data Across Independent Retail Sector In The U.S.
Luminate Now Receiving Independent Sales Data from StreetPulse
Billboard Rebranding “Tastemaker Albums” Chart To Better Recognize Impact of Independent Store Sales
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 24, 2024 – Today, Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS), Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), and Department of Record Stores (DORS), who work together as Record Store Day, The Music Business Association, and Luminate, the entertainment industry’s most trusted data provider, announced a new partnership for physical music sales reporting across the independent retail sector in the U.S. The new partnership, which took effect on April 19, 2024, sees Luminate collecting independent physical music sales, inclusive of CDs, vinyls and cassettes, from StreetPulse, a music industry data provider that receives daily sales metrics directly from stores. The data from StreetPulse will be incorporated into the physical sales data that Luminate is already collecting directly from other retailers. The news comes following the retirement of Luminate’s previous weighted data science model at the start of 2024, in an effort to further increase the quality and accuracy of the sales metrics it reports from the independent retail sector. The new agreement and inclusion of data provided by StreetPulse will continue to drive that mission forward, allowing Luminate to report more direct U.S independent music retail data than ever before.
In conjunction with today’s news, Billboard, which receives streaming, sales and airplay data from Luminate to fuel its iconic music charts, announced the rebrand of its Tastemaker Albums Chart to Indie Store Album Sales, which reflects weekly top-selling titles across independent stores in the U.S.
“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 Music Business Association President, 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. 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.”
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who served as the Record Store Day 2019 Ambassadors, stated, “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.” Upon hearing the news that indie retail and Luminate had reached an agreement, Pearl Jam’s official statement was: “For nearly as long as we’ve been a band, there’d been a system that worked. We’re just honored to play a part… so that our beloved record stores can again have a real seat at the table.”
“This new partnership is the most significant development in the independent music retail industry since the creation of Record Store Day,” said Andrea Paschal of CIMS. “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.”
“Luminate is always working towards the goal of providing quality and accurate data to the industry,” said Chris Muratore, Director of Partnerships at Luminate. “We always strive to be a good partner to those across the many sectors of the music and entertainment industries, and we are happy to announce this new partnership in alignment with that mission and our values.”
“Comprehensive sales figures are crucial for everyone: for artists and their label partners, for Luminate to provide accurate marketplace reporting, and for independent retailers who rightly own and control their data and the subsequent insights,” said Secretly Group marketing director Hannah Carlen. “Physical retail remains strong and growing, and this deal will ensure that reality is reflected in sales and total consumption figures.”
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About The Music Business Association
The Music Business Association is a not-for-profit membership organization that advances, promotes, and invests in the future of the music business by providing a trusted forum where ideas and cooperation flourish. Through events, education, and engagement, the Association brings together the full breadth of the industry for unparalleled access to networking, resources, and thought leadership.
About Record Store Day
Record Store Day, the organization, managed by the Department of Record Stores in partnership with the Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) promotes independent record stores year-round with events, special releases and other fun things. Record Store Day, the day, is the global celebration of the culture of the record store. The 17th annual Record Store Day took place on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
About Luminate
Luminate is the preeminent entertainment data and insights company, unleashing access to the most essential, objective, and trustworthy information across music, film and television, with data compiled from hundreds of verified sources. Today, the company maintains its more than 30-year legacy of accurate storytelling by powering the iconic Billboard music charts, while also acting as the premiere database for the television and film industries. Working closely with record labels, artists, studios, production companies, networks, tech companies, and more, Luminate offers the most valued source of comprehensive, independent, and foundational entertainment data that drives industry forward. Luminate is an independently operated company and a subsidiary of PME TopCo., a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge.
Media Contacts
The Music Business Association
Nicole Hennessey, VP, Music Business Association — nicole.hennessey@musicbiz.org
Laurie Jakobsen, Jaybird Communications — laurie@jaybirdcom.com
Luminate
Jimmy Harney, Luminate – jharney@luminatedata.com
