Music Trigger Cities: Supercharging Music Marketing

Where music is discovered matters. Focus on music trigger cities can supercharge music marketing, according to a study from Chartmetric.

What is a Music Trigger City?

Imagine throwing a rock into a pond and watching the ripples expand outward.

“Trigger cities share many common characteristics including diverse music tastes (going beyond just the domestic repertoire), a high rate of music streaming adoption, and large, dense populations,” according to Chartmetric.

Which Music Trigger City matters most?

Emerging artists often build audiences in multiple trigger cities. But it’s primarily listeners in Latin America and Asia who usually propel careers. Then the sharing and re-sharing of content spreads the artist to more places where fans and A&R at labels take notice.

“Though breaking into these markets is challenging,” says Chartmetic, “the influence of fans outside Western markets is frequently underestimated.”

Chartmetric identified 30 Trigger Cities

Tier 1 – The most important Trigger Cities

• New York City
• Mexico City
• Lima, Peru
• Santiago, Chile
• Jakarta, Indonesia
• Sydney, Australia

Tier 2

• Sao Palo, Brazil
• Kuala Lampur, Malysia
• Singapore
• London
• Los Angeles

Tier 3

• Guadalajara, Mexico
• Chicago
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Tokyo
• Instanbul
• Melbourne, Australia
• Bandung, Indonesia
• Quezon City, Phillipines
• Guatemala City, Guatemala

Tier 4

• Mumbai, India
• Bengaluru, India
• Taipai
• Madrid
• Amsterdam
• Paris

Read the full Chartmetric report here.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.