Inaugural TuneCore Accelerator Report released

The TuneCore Accelerator programme offers four tailored development plans for artists at different career stages. The ‘Start’ plan targets the early stage, enabling artists to find their initial listeners. The ‘Amplify’ plan focuses on the emerging stage, building artist discovery and listener engagement for tracks with 1 000 to 9 999 streams per year. In the ‘Break’ plan, the goal is to level up artists and accelerate fan exposure for tracks with 10 000 to 99 999 streams per year. The ‘Maximise’ plan, designed for the top stage, optimises the catalogue of artists with significant audience reach (100K to 1 million+ streams per year).

“TuneCore Accelerator was created in direct response to self-releasing artists’ growing need for a better way to find and develop their audiences, especially in the early phases of their careers,” TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson said. “The programme has already helped tens of thousands of artists find new listeners, with one in eight artists advancing to a higher development segment in the first quarter since its launch.”

Key findings from the report reveal that over 8 000 independent artists have enrolled in TuneCore Accelerator marketing programmes across multiple DSPs. In the first quarter following the programme’s launch, nearly 10 000 artists experienced a remarkable average increase of 143% in their streams. Specifically, the ‘Start’ segment exhibited substantial growth, with 5 600 artists advancing to a higher tier, driven by an impressive average 561% increase in streams.

All plans contributed to enhanced artist discoverability, notably in the hip hop and Latin genres, which saw over 660 million and 590 million additional streams, respectively, in the first quarter. Country and Latin genres demonstrated the highest total streaming growth, each boasting an overall growth rate above 30% quarter over quarter.

The US exhibited a growth rate exceeding 16% in total streams over the previous quarter, while Brazil, LATAM (excluding Brazil), and India emerged as the fastest-growing regions outside of the US. Atlanta-based R&B/soul and gospel artist Avery Sunshine, for instance, with over a decade of music released through TuneCore, experienced a nearly 25% increase in streams, accumulating almost half a million more streams between June and September 2023 for tracks included in the TuneCore Accelerator programme, while Latin music artist Carlos Carreira witnessed a 36% increase in streams during the first quarter after the launch, totalling over 380 000 additional streams.

“TuneCore has been an instrumental partner in my musical journey,” Avery Sunshine said. “Their platform not only simplifies the distribution process but also empowers me as an artist by offering valuable insights and allowing me to have control over my career. I’m grateful for how they’ve supported my music and, through TuneCore Accelerator, have helped me reach audiences I never thought possible.”

Carreira added: “TuneCore Accelerator has been a great ally in reaching listeners that I would not have been able to connect with otherwise. TuneCore has given me the tools I need in order to promote my music and discover more fans, allowing me to realise the power that songs have in people’s lives, become an important part of their stories, and perhaps add to the soundtrack of their lives.”

Meanwhile, TuneCore says it aims to expand the accelerator, aligning with its ambition to become a comprehensive technology-based artist development platform offering more resources for independent artists.

The full TuneCore Accelerator Report is available here.