Audio Audit October 3, 2008 2:50 AM Subscribe
How accurate exactly is the Play Counter in Music?
I see a lot of tracks, my own and others, where the play count just doesn't seem right. I know that sometimes my own plays don't end up counting if for example I don't listen to it all the way through. What counts as a unique listen, and does it have any known flaws? Punch 'Em In The Dick aside (11,353 and counting!), it seems other popular tracks have a really low amount of plays.. is Music just really THAT ignored?
I see a lot of tracks, my own and others, where the play count just doesn't seem right. I know that sometimes my own plays don't end up counting if for example I don't listen to it all the way through. What counts as a unique listen, and does it have any known flaws? Punch 'Em In The Dick aside (11,353 and counting!), it seems other popular tracks have a really low amount of plays.. is Music just really THAT ignored?
I suck the mp3s down via RSS and listen in iTunes; I doubt those are counted.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 4:41 AM on October 3, 2008
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 4:41 AM on October 3, 2008
I download tracks and listen to them off my desktop, which does not count either.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 5:25 AM on October 3, 2008
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 5:25 AM on October 3, 2008
People don't use the player as much as RSS, is my suspicion and the counter only counts people that use the inline player.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:15 AM on October 3, 2008
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:15 AM on October 3, 2008
6. Of course, that's just shorthand for the actual figure of 60,000. I'm told that once it reaches 600,000 plays it'll register as 60 on the counter.
Yes, surveys say the college radio approach to listeners is generally agreed to be the best way to estimate audience online.
Here's pb from the original thread back in January:
If there's no count for a track, a play hasn't been recorded yet. A play is counted when someone listens for at least 60 seconds, and the play is stopped in a way that we can track. For example, listening to a single track all the way through, or tracking forward on a playlist will do the trick. Closing your browser window or clicking pause will not do the trick. So it's not perfect, but it should give some indication folks are listening.
I also seem to remember jessamyn mentioning that her plays aren't ever counted (and she listens to every track) because she uses RSS and iTunes (or something like that) instead of music.metafilter.com.
posted by carsonb at 6:15 AM on October 3, 2008
Yes, surveys say the college radio approach to listeners is generally agreed to be the best way to estimate audience online.
Here's pb from the original thread back in January:
If there's no count for a track, a play hasn't been recorded yet. A play is counted when someone listens for at least 60 seconds, and the play is stopped in a way that we can track. For example, listening to a single track all the way through, or tracking forward on a playlist will do the trick. Closing your browser window or clicking pause will not do the trick. So it's not perfect, but it should give some indication folks are listening.
I also seem to remember jessamyn mentioning that her plays aren't ever counted (and she listens to every track) because she uses RSS and iTunes (or something like that) instead of music.metafilter.com.
posted by carsonb at 6:15 AM on October 3, 2008
If I correctly remember what pb ended up making work, we've got it set to count (a) plays via the flash player that (b) go for more than a minute into the song (c) per user.
So folks who listen via rss or the download widget don't count; songs that are sufficiently short never or at least rarely reach the threshold; and one logged-in user who loves a song so much that they listen to it a thousand times still only counts as one play.
But, aside from that, yeah, Music is not a huge traffic entity, regardless.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:17 AM on October 3, 2008
So folks who listen via rss or the download widget don't count; songs that are sufficiently short never or at least rarely reach the threshold; and one logged-in user who loves a song so much that they listen to it a thousand times still only counts as one play.
But, aside from that, yeah, Music is not a huge traffic entity, regardless.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:17 AM on October 3, 2008
It is exactly accurate and precisely precise. It can also get the stains out of your LARP costumes, you goddamned nerd.
posted by Mister_A at 7:18 AM on October 3, 2008
posted by Mister_A at 7:18 AM on October 3, 2008
It's eerily accurate. It knew my weight to within a pound, told me exactly when my girlfriend would be home last night, and it's 23 for 25 in our celebrity dead pool.
posted by Eideteker at 8:49 AM on October 3, 2008
posted by Eideteker at 8:49 AM on October 3, 2008
Gavin MacLeod is still alive!
OK, I'll take care of it.
This settles our old score, Eideteker.
posted by Mister_A at 10:09 AM on October 3, 2008
OK, I'll take care of it.
This settles our old score, Eideteker.
posted by Mister_A at 10:09 AM on October 3, 2008
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This dropping of zeros is built in to the system, to keep us musicians from getting a swelled head.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:33 AM on October 3, 2008 [1 favorite]