Question about streams and ULs - which is better? the act with more number of streams? or the act with more number ULs?

A is better cuz 300k ULs is big difference and 10M streams is not.

This hypothetical scenario doesn't really happen. Usually if stream numbers are high then UL are also quite high. Do you have real examples?

If the stream numbers are high then it is a successful song. You can have many fans but if the song you put out isn't good then even your popularity can't save the song. I can't imagine fans will force themselves to listen to music they hate. Music is meant to be listened to so if people keep listening to the song it is successful imo.

Quote from annejunie

So, at the end of a day, no. of ULs matter more? (unique listeners shows more organic measure?) And Bc no. of streams can be inflated?

If you are talking about Melon then yes cuz they don't filter streams, so you can just put the song on the loop 24/7 and it will gain streams. You need to take into consideration if it's title track or b-side.

Quote from glitglpwm

This hypothetical scenario doesn't really happen. Usually if stream numbers are high then UL are also quite high. Do you have real examples?

If the stream numbers are high then it is a successful song. You can have many fans but if the song you put out isn't good then even your popularity can't save the song. I can't imagine fans will force themselves to listen to music they hate. Music is meant to be listened to so if people keep listening to the song it is successful imo.

Korean charts are filled with bg songs with super high streams and low ul's comparatively if looking at unfiltered streams on melon/genie etc.

A song that is 3 minutes long, and streamed 24/7 by just 1000 users is over 3 million streams in a week.

Gaon streams, that are no longer public, would be the better stat to look at, as those are filtered per user and 24h/period, but they are still affected by fandom streaming as well, if too a lesser extent.

depends on how much money that 10M streams are generating. Even if its fandom streaming...its still generating money right? lol

300k more people could have listened to it but what if they only listened to it once and never again? idk

it depends in your scenario obviously A is better cause the difference is streams is very less when compared to ULs

Now if the streams for A were like 50M it meant many ppl did listen to the song but didn't like it enough to listen to it again or stream it again. Happens with big and famous groups where ppl checkout the release but don't comeback cause they didn't like it.

We can use and put much importance on only ULs.

having a high uls number but a low streaming one mean people checked your song which means you're popular with the gp but they didn't like the song

having a low uls number but a high streaming one means you're song is a fandom driven

this is how i see it

Ok there are lots of scenarios here

1. Having low ULs but lots of streams mean it’s fandom driven

2. Having high ULs but very low streams mean you are quite popular as an act, but either your song wasn’t quite loved by the gp or you don’t have a fandom

3. Having high ULs and high streams mean the song is very popular with the gp and they loved it a lot to keep on streaming. It can also mean you have a decent fanbase

4. Having high ULs and very high streams mean you are god tier. You have everything from the gp interest to a big fandom too. The song was a big hit. You are basically in your era. Just a few active acts currently fall under this category but for examples I’ll list IU, Paul Kim, BTS and maybe twice.

Streams generate true revenue

ULs does not

But morons here are gonna answer ULs because... reasons

Unique listeners is how most Korean charts are ranked, so they are considered more important.

technically more streams means more revenue, but in reality more ULs could mean you have more exposure and that could result in even more revenue not streams-related

Quote from im-random

having a high uls number but a low streaming one mean people checked your song which means you're popular with the gp but they didn't like the song

having a low uls number but a high streaming one means you're song is a fandom driven

this is how i see it

But maybe it's not that A has low streaming numbers, maybe is just that they are just significantly less compared to B's, whose stream could possibly be fandom driven

Uls are more legit

I always felt like more ults and less streams means people may try out the artist's song bc they're famous, but may not like the song enough to put it on repeat.

Quote from Icaro_Ribeiro

Streams generate true revenue

ULs does not

But morons here are gonna answer ULs because... reasons

If asking about popularity of certain songs on charts and artists popularity in general, digital revenue in itself doesnt say much. As an artist, would you rather have one person streaming your song a million times, or one million streaming your song one time? What would open more doors for other types of incomes? (media, tours, cfs etc)

In south korea, there are a few artists that make relatively good money on digitals, especially if they have writing/composing credits. They can live comfortably on it for sure even if maybe not becoming millionares. These live by GP and UL's, not hardcore fandoms and mass streaming

Then you have the typical idol groups, even if they have a huge hit the revenue when it reaches any individual member is miniscule (better if they have song credits). For idol groups in general, the money lies in dedicated fandoms, physical, merchandise tours etc, which dwarfs any digital revenue for them.

Then you have artists/idols in the absolute top tier, topping the charts everytime, millions of streams and downloads etc...but that money is such a small part of their income it barely registers(there are exceptions). For them UL's and public exposure is much more important because that is what brings high paying cf's deals, tv shows, dramas etc.

Quote from Kreatin

If asking about popularity of certain songs on charts and artists popularity in general, digital revenue in itself doesnt say much. As an artist, would you rather have one person streaming your song a million times, or one million streaming your song one time? What would open more doors for other types of incomes? (media, tours, cfs etc)

Is this a personal question? Or an question about the industry? If it's a personal question I can answer personally:

As artist I would say neither digital metric matters for me (other metrics like touring would be much more important) unless digital was my only source of income, in this case, streams because well, it's where income is