Reunites Billboard and Nielsen Music After Decade Apart to Create Only Independent Global Provider of Comprehensive Data and Analytics for the Music Industry

Beverly Hills, Calif. – Dec. 18, 2019 – Leading global media company Valence Media, which operates dick clark productions, Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter Media Group, MRC Film, MRC Television and MRC Non-Fiction, today announced the establishment of its MRC Data division with the acquisition of Nielsen Music. The acquisition reunites the industry’s leading music consumption platform with the preeminent Billboard charts, after a near-decade long separation, to create the most comprehensive global provider of data and analytics to the music industry and consumers, servicing all digital service providers (DSPs), labels, airplay, and music retailers. MRC Data will be led by current Billboard-The Hollywood Reporter Media Group President Deanna Brown.

Valence Media welcomes the data-driven products and team who share a passion and commitment to the music industry. The products, which collectively capture and represent the most robust dataset related to music sales, performance, artist activity, and consumer engagement are composed of:

• Music Connect: An award-winning, comprehensive measurement and analytics platform and API that provides music streaming, airplay and sales data for artists, albums and songs.
• Broadcast Data Systems: The single resource for streaming, sales and airplay data at national and local market levels in the U.S. and Canada.
• Music 360: Comprehensive music research and insights reports that provide a clear view of consumer trends impacting the industry.

“By bringing Nielsen Music Products and Billboard back together, we’re answering the request from the music industry for a more coordinated, powerful, agile and global suite of independent measurement products,” said Brown. “The new MRC Data division will leverage our scale and global, multimedia perspective to operate as a true accelerant for our music business colleagues and stakeholders.”

“Nielsen Music and Billboard have long partnered to offer a complete picture of music performance and artist activity for the largest, and most important, music markets in the world,” said Nielsen Global Media Chief Product and Technology Officer Karthik Rao. “We’re confident MRC Data will lead the next wave of growth in a business that is evolving faster than Drake drops hits.”

For more than 25 years, Nielsen Music has delivered consumption insights—from streaming and digital downloads to physical purchases—to fuel the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200, Billboard Artist 100 and many other top genre and airplay charts. The two businesses were part of the same company until a decade ago. MRC Data will continue to leverage longstanding relationships with the DSPs while investing in technological upgrades and reevaluating proprietary methodologies to deliver the most accurate consumption data. The teams will continue to follow best practices and security standards to ensure data integrity for clients, including a clear separation between the data and editorial teams.

Earlier this year, Billboard announced plans to launch The Global 100, the first authoritative chart ranking the world’s top songs. The Global 100, set to launch in 2020, will deliver worldwide streaming and digital sales numbers from top DSPs for an unprecedented, holistic view of the top songs and artists across the globe as well as the new ability to benchmark against competition.

The new division will create new and scaled opportunities across Valence Media’s unrivaled global music portfolio, which includes Billboard, the world’s most reputable music media brand, and dick clark productions, the biggest and most influential portfolio of televised events in music.  dcp music shows include “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “American Music Awards” and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” which collectively reach 71 million unique viewers L+7^* every year. Together the companies create must-attend in-real-life events and experiences throughout the year, which gather music’s top artists and industry heavyweights, including summits and high profile weeks like Latin Fest+, Billboard Music Week, and Billboard’s annual Power 100 and Women in Music.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

*Source:  Nielsen, Total U.S., Composite, P2+L+7 day, 06/01/2018-06/02/2019, Reach for schedules (6+minutes), Unified Sample for Reach