Big Data has become a term that we hear a lot these days. We are all trying to tap into our own data and find ways to turn it into useful information. That's where Data Scientists and Data Journalists come in. They are the ones that interpret the information and then turn that information into insightful information that we can all understand.

There are some great tools out there available to the general public. With some great companies helping make sense of it all, a few of which are focused on the music industry. They help turn relevant data into gold mines of information that can help advance your career and build your brand.

I have been a big fan of Next Big Sound and personally reaped the benefits of their product, as have my clients. In combination with other tools, it has given us creative marketing ideas, a new perspective on how and where to release music, the types of venues to focus on, concepts for custom merch designs that appeal to a specific demographic, and even the type of outside the box partnerships we have developed.

Liv Buli has been successfully turning the raw data into insightful articles that make even the least tech savvy person find an interest in big data. As she puts it, she uses data to decipher the business of music.

Liv has traveled all over the world talking about what she does – from Brisbane, to Chile, to NYU classrooms. She has been invited to speak and participate in panels at SXSW, CMJ, Music Biz, Future of Music Policy Summit, SF Music Tech, BigSound, ByLarm and more. Lately, she has been giving thought as to how to visualize data in simple, elegant ways to build better stories. As she says "...the best data journalism strikes a balance between finding (data science), showing (data visualization), and telling (journalism) a story."

I enjoyed this conversation and as always learned something from it. I hope you do too!

This episode was edited by Andy Warren of www.applesandchocolate.com

Aaron Bethune

Music Specialist. Author. Manager. Creative Collaborator. Speaker.

http://www.playitloudmusic.com