Menu
When Bob Dylan penned The Times They Are A-Changin’ in 1964, he wasn’t singing about the fast-moving pace of technology, but the song’s enduring lyric “you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone” couldn’t be more applicable to the transformation happening in the radio and audio streaming landscape.
Among the tools available to help navigate this extraordinary period of change is revolutionary new research technology that analyzes data and makes music recommendations to help gain an edge on competitors.
Momentum Music Research is built on an advanced cloud-based platform developed by renowned UK-based music research consultant Stephen Ryan. With more than three decades of experience working with some of Europe’s biggest radio broadcasters, his own need for dependable music research led him to develop the platform. That experience has also afforded him the ability to spot fissures in the marketplace.
Explosive at-home listening is driving longer time spent listing (TSL). At the same time, top line audience is eroding with endless audio choices.
“The net effect of all of this is that the songs you play either burn faster or don’t deliver the appeal that you imagine,” explains Ryan. “It’s absolutely critical that you know what’s happening with those songs in real-time and make decisions accordingly. Of course, the elephant in the room is that music is ubiquitous – everybody’s got it. So, every selection you play had better be the perfect one for your audience and brand, or you’ll be doomed to follow rather than lead.”
With the ongoing worldwide pandemic, Ryan says auditorium music testing is officially a thing of the past.
“The notion of gathering humans together in a large space to conduct research just seems like a foreign concept now,” said Ryan. “Momentum Music Research puts all the research in the cloud which delivers a silver lining for you. You can field P1 or blind studies easily and eager music listeners can complete the surveys where they want, when they want, across any device or platform.”
No downloads. No plug-ins. No research degree required.
Gauging listener preferences on music and other online content is really the easy part. It’s how the research data and song recommendations get delivered – instantly – that truly elevates the game. Ryan has spent the better part of a decade evolving the survey software to the point where it can make data-based recommendations without human interpretation (read: expensive and time-consuming consultant’s report!)
The uber-intelligent algorithm eliminates outlier data bias, delivering reliable and robust samples every time. Each song is assigned a Pop Score revealing its true rating and potential, highlighting the winners and losers instantly. Our proprietary algorithm ranks the hits in maximum sort order ensuring the right songs are in the right categories and every music choice you make is a considered one.
“Imagine having your own hit detective evaluate the data for each song, then sit with you as you make song rotation decisions and knock out killer schedules? That’s a game changer,” said Ryan.
We believe music research shouldn’t be difficult, time consuming, or out of reach for most radio stations.
Momentum Music Research provides a personal mentor, with research and programming experience, to guide any station through set-up and help them get the most out of their music testing strategy.
“Because Momentum is also a marketing agency, you can also rely on our marketing and media pros to implement and manage your research program for you, so your team can focus on all the things they do best,” said Ryan. “We can handle it all – from survey and email set-up to social media, blind study recruitment and surveys, music hooks, and more.”
