Top Music Charts: Chartmetric vs Viberate vs Soundcharts

Natalie Brooks

Oct 14, 2024

In the fast-paced world of the music industry, staying on top of the latest trends and understanding how music is consumed globally is crucial for artists, managers, and labels. Music charts provide valuable insights into these trends, allowing professionals to make data-driven decisions. This article compares the music chart features of three leading platforms: Chartmetric, Viberate, and Soundcharts, focusing on their ability to analyze and present music charts in 2024.

Pricing Overview

Before diving into the specific features, it’s essential to consider the pricing of each platform:

• Chartmetric: Requires a $140/month subscription to access complete charts. Without a subscription, users can only view today's charts.
• Viberate: Offers music charts for free without any subscription required, making it the most accessible option.
• Soundcharts: Allows viewing of more than 5 rows of charts with a subscription starting at $10/month.

Chartmetric: Comprehensive Yet Costly

Chartmetric stands out for its wide array of global and regional charts. It monitors charts across more than 15 music streaming and social media platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and TikTok. The platform's Global Digital Ranking is a proprietary feature that provides a unified artist ranking based on performance metrics from 16 different platforms.

Pros:

• Wide Coverage: Chartmetric offers extensive chart coverage, including streaming, social media, and radio airplay data, which is crucial for spotting top-line trends.
• TikTok Integration: The platform provides detailed TikTok charts, allowing users to see top tracks, users, and videos by country, offering insights into what's trending on this popular platform.
• Historical Data: Users can break down streaming charts by country and date, with data available as far back as 2016.

Cons:

• High Cost: At $140 per month, Chartmetric is the most expensive option, which might be prohibitive for smaller teams or independent artists.
• Limited Access Without Subscription: Non-subscribers can only view today's charts, limiting the platform’s utility for those unwilling to pay the high subscription fee.

Viberate: The Best Value for Comprehensive Charts

Viberate offers the most value in terms of music chart accessibility. With over 50 curated chart picks, Viberate covers a broad spectrum of music trends across genres and platforms without requiring a subscription. This platform features a variety of charts, such as the Top 100 Artists on Beatport, Most Watched Artists on YouTube, and Top 30 Festivals.

Pros:

• Free Access: Viberate offers all its charts for free, making it an excellent option for users who want comprehensive data without a subscription fee.
• Diverse Categories: The platform organizes charts by categories such as artist, country, festival, genre, and video, providing tailored insights across different segments of the music industry. Notably, Viberate is the only platform among the three that offers a festival category, which is invaluable for tracking trends in live music events.
• Specialized Focus: Viberate excels in niche charts, such as the 100 Most Shazamed Artists and 100 Most Watched Music Videos on YouTube, which can be particularly useful for tracking trends in specific genres or regions.

Cons:

• Limited Historical Data: While Viberate offers extensive charts, it lacks the deep historical data provided by Chartmetric, which could be a drawback for users who require long-term trend analysis.

Soundcharts: A Comprehensive But Niche Offering

Soundcharts provides a robust platform for monitoring over 25,000 song and album charts across 247 countries. It tracks performance across all major digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and TikTok. Soundcharts is particularly strong in offering a comprehensive view of an artist's performance across multiple platforms.

Pros:

• Global Coverage: Soundcharts offers unparalleled global coverage, with charts from 247 countries and all major digital platforms.
• Real-Time Data: The platform provides near real-time updates, allowing users to track the success of releases with daily refreshed data from 25,000+ charts.
• Detailed Artist Focus: Soundcharts excels in compiling detailed summaries of an artist's chart performance, making it easier to assess their success globally.

Cons:

• Limited Free Access: Users can only view up to 5 rows of data without a subscription, which could limit the platform's utility for those on a budget.
• Complexity: While the platform offers a wealth of data, it may be overwhelming for users who prefer a more straightforward, user-friendly interface.

Conclusion: Viberate Leads the Pack

When evaluating music chart platforms in 2024, Viberate emerges as the best option, especially for those who value comprehensive data without the cost. Its free access to a wide variety of charts across different genres, platforms, and regions makes it an invaluable tool for music professionals looking to stay ahead of the curve. While Chartmetric and Soundcharts offer powerful features, their high costs and limitations for non-subscribers make them less accessible options.

For those seeking extensive historical data and advanced analytics, Chartmetric may justify its higher price. However, for users who need a broad overview of global music trends without breaking the bank, Viberate is the clear winner. Soundcharts is also a strong contender for those who need detailed, real-time data across a global scale, but it comes at a cost that may not be justifiable for everyone.

In the end, the choice between these platforms will depend on your specific needs and budget, but for overall value and accessibility, Viberate takes the top spot in 2024.