Ever wondered if you could do more with your radio airplay data than collect your artists’ royalties? Well, it’s true! Radio airplay can be a valuable ally when planning events and concerts for your artists for example. Let’s take a closer look at Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia tour to better understand how her radio airplay information could have been key for her label and manager to decide where to take her on tour.
Before diving in, here is a quick overview of the 10 songs we considered for our analysis. Also, the timeframe of the radio airplay numbers provided is always January 1st 2020 - December 31st 2021 (unless mentioned otherwise).
First and foremost, checking which countries play your artists’ songs most on the radio is a reliable indicator in knowing where their fans are - thus where to plan concerts.
In Dua Lipa’s case, of the Top 20 countries which played her songs the most on the radio, from January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2021, she scheduled events in 19 of them throughout 2022 for her Future Nostalgia tour.
The simple fact that Dua Lipa is performing in 19 of those 20 countries is proof that radio airplay provides accurate insights into where to plan tours and gigs for your artists. There is a strong link between both, and there’s no denying it!
The fact of knowing in which countries to plan concerts for your artists is just the first step. Indeed, with WARM’s radio airplay data, you can drill down and locate specifically in which cities you should book gigs.
For example, the Top 5 German cities that played Dua Lipa’s songs on the radio - between January 1st 2020 and December 31st 2021 - were Berlin (159,638 plays), Hamburg (54,302 plays), Kiel (50,595 plays), Munich (49,748 plays), and Potsdam (49,431 plays).
Knowing this, it would make sense for her label and team to include concerts in as many of these five cities of Germany as possible for her Future Nostalgia tour in 2022. It so happens that they did: Dua Lipa is scheduled to perform in Hamburg on May 9th 2022, in Berlin on May 10th 2022, and in Munich on May 22nd 2022!
Radio airplay data also gives you insights into how much a specific city requires an artist’s attention. Indeed, in some cases, the demand is so high that it can be worthy for your artist to perform twice in the same city.
In Dua Lipa’s case for example, in the Netherlands, the cities of Amsterdam and Hilversum (a close suburb in the south of Amsterdam) represented 27.4% (49,711 airplays) of the total 181,735 radio plays her songs got throughout the country. So it made sense for Dua Lipa’s team to plan two concerts in Amsterdam during her Future Nostalgia tour in 2022.
The same happened for her in Argentina. Buenos Aires represented 33% (23,863 plays) of her total airplay (72,414 plays) throughout the country so her team and label made sure to schedule two Future Nostalgia tour dates in Buenos Aires.
Radio airplay data can also be of value to you and your artists in knowing when to schedule events. Indeed, an opportunity is worthy only if it has not expired yet. Luckily for you, at WARM we provide you real-time radio airplay data. You can spot trends live, make the most of radio airplay spikes, and build on a song’s momentum in real-time.
What does this look like graphically? Well, let’s take a look at Dua Lipa’s airplay in Greece for instance.
In 2020, she experienced a spike in radio airplay in Athens on June 16th. Organising an event in Athens during the following weeks would have been a great way to build on Dua Lipa’s localised momentum.
In 2021, a similar spike in Dua Lipa’s radio airplay took place on March 15th, in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. The impressive increase in airplay would have been another green flag and opportunity for Dua Lipa’s label and team to schedule an impromptu concert for her fans in Thessaloniki.
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Radio airplay data is accurate and resourceful. Events are just one of the many ways you can make the most of it to expand your business and help your artists’ grow (inter)nationally - our analysis of Ed Sheeran's tours led us to the same conclusion! Also, we actually wrote an article about the other benefits you can get from using WARM’s data - check it out here, and let us know what you think!
