Chartmetric’s data analytics highlights the importance of ‘trigger cities’ for launching new music. A new single catching the ear of listeners in these cities could create global ripples of impact—especially for new artists. Let’s take a peek at how the phenomenon differs across the world.
The global music economy has become so interconnected that artists can focus on hyper-local areas thanks to data provided by Chartmetric, part of an ongoing partnership with DMN. Chartmetric can identify these ‘trigger cities’—which it defines as influential music markets where users latch onto songs early and trigger streaming algorithms to give them global momentum. Each city is unique due to its population, level of streaming and social media adoption, and aptitude for sharing music their friend’s enjoy that can impact the strength of each trigger city.
Some of the hottest trigger cities for the music economy are located in Latin America and Asia—mostly due to how users in these regions interact on social media. Many cities located in these regions are megacities, which boast a population of well over ten million people and a population density of around 2,000 people per square kilometer. There are around 45 megacities in the world, with more than half of them based in China and India. Other countries with more than one megacity include Brazil, Japan, Pakistan, and the United States.
Trigger cities in Latin America and Asia are pivotal for global music exposure. These regions exhibit strong social sharing behaviors and tend to have younger populations—which contrasts heavily with Western markets that tend to be more reserved and saturated. Latin America hosts the most trigger cities due to their large, interconnected population and high levels of music streaming and social media activity. Mexico City, Mexico and Santiago, Chile have the highest user base of monthly Spotify users—making them fertile ground for new artists.
Southeast Asia also remains a strong region for trigger cities, as the population tends to have a voracious appetite for both Western music and hyper-local artists. Countries like Indonesia and the Philippines have a low average median age (31.5 years for Indonesia, 25.7 years for the Philippines) and a population that is digitally native.
Cities in the United States and Western Europe tend to be less influential as trigger cities due to different online sharing behaviors. Despite this, large cities like New York and London have large diaspora populations that contribute to the spread of global music. Perhaps surprising is the growth of Australian cities like Melbourne and Sydney as trigger cities for musicians. They are the largest growing trigger cities of those in Chartmetric’s study, heavily influenced by the growing Southeast Asian diaspora and high urbanization.
So how can musicians, marketers, and A&R reps take advantage of these insights into trigger cities? There are a few strategies to help new artists break out by targeting specific locations—let’s take a look.
For new artists, focusing on high-engagement social media markets can be an excellent strategy. From influencer partnerships, localized ads, and campaigns on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube—creating content that resonates with the cultural and musical preferences of the region can accelerate an artists’ growth. These strategies include campaigns utilizing local languages, collaborating with regional artists, or tapping into popular local trends.
Industry execs can also work with streaming platforms to get songs featured in regional playlists that are popular in trigger cities—especially those in Latin America and Southeast Asia. An appearance on these playlists can trigger algorithmic promotion and organic sharing. Getting listed on user-generated playlists and those created by independent local curators is also an opportunity to engage with algorithmic promotion and organic sharing among a local population. Dedicating some efforts to local terrestrial radio stations in trigger cities is another approach.
Any artist looking to break through in a trigger city should consider collaborations with local artists, producers, or influencers to create music or remixes that cater to these regions. Not only does it enhance the music’s appeal to those markets, but fans take pride in hearing a homegrown artist or producer working with an artist from somewhere else—especially when the collaboration feels fresh. Collaborating with local brands in popular trigger cities is another way to foster a feeling of warmth towards a new artist while leveraging the brand’s existing customer base.
Chartmetric’s data analytics platform makes it easy to monitor these streaming trends in multiple trigger cities across the globe. Artists and their marketing teams can quickly identify trends, which cities are showing the most organic growth, and hone their marketing strategy to focus their efforts on these regions.
