About this episode

Chris Dalla Riva discusses the intersection of data and music, exploring industry insights and authenticity in storytelling.

Chris Dalla Riva is a musician, data analyst, and the author of Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves. In this episode, he joins data storyteller Mike Cisneros to talk about musical myths, hidden industry incentives, chart data, and underappreciated hits, as well as the thorny questions about authenticity, categorization, and what it really means to tell an honest story with numbers. RELATED LINKS Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves | Chris Dalla Riva’s book Can’t Get Much Higher | Chris’s newsletter Audiomack | Music streaming service where Chris works on analytics and personalization Max Martin Knows How to Create a #1 Hit | Chris’s The Economist article on song intros Suno AI | Generative AI tool for music creation discussed in the authenticity segment Follow Chris at @cdallarivam SONGS AND ARTISTS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE “ Want Ads ” by Honey Cone “ House of the Rising Sun ” by The Animals “ Hey Jude ” by The Beatles “ Blinded by the Light ” (written by Bruce Springsteen, recorded by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) “ Dancing in the Dark ” by Bruce Springsteen “ When Doves Cry ” by…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Cisneros

Guest: Chris Dalla Riva

Keywords

• data analysis
• music industry
• chart data
• authenticity
• hit songs
• storytelling
• musical myths

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Audiomack, Suno AI

Books & works: Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves, Can’t Get Much Higher, Max Martin Knows How to Create a #1 Hit, Hey Jude, Blinded by the Light, Dancing in the Dark, When Doves Cry, Believe, Golden, Want Ads

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