compare to genre norm

Against 36 comparable pop singles this track indexes 112 on replay intent but 88 on the intro. The intro tune-out is twice the genre average; the chorus sits in the top decile.

why did they tune out?

They were blunt about the opening: “Just get to the song.” “The talking threw me.” Most stayed for the chorus: 64% said they’d save it to a playlist.

which track should lead?

Track 2 leads on replay intent (+3.1) and playlist adds. Track 7 polarises: +3.8 with superfans, −0.6 with playlist listeners.

Welcome to your plan.

“We have twelve tracks and room for one single. We need to know which one people actually come back to.”

see how we test audio

step 01

choose your tested audience

pop loyalists

playlist listeners

superfans

We recruit the listeners your music is made for.

Multiple panels field at once without duplicate respondents.

Don’t worry about bad respondents. We catch that in real time, so every reaction is a real one.

26M

vetted respondents

30+

countries fielded

duplicate respondents

24/7

quality detection

debut single

single test

3 tracks

900 respondents

step 02

kickoff

Get from kickoff to fielding in as quick as 24 hours.

Pick the lead single from three finished tracks.

goal 01

Find the moment listeners tune out.

goal 02

Know which audience to launch the album to.

goal 03

A request form quicker than email auto-prices your study and books the kickoff call.

step 03

fielding

Fielded where your listeners actually listen.

We field until every quota is hit, on the phone or laptop each listener really uses.

track 2 · listen and reactdrm · watermarked

listener 4471 · mobile · earbuds1:42 / 3:28

the porch light’s on, but nobody’s homeand I keep the radio low so I can hear you go

step 04

results

Your listeners react live on the Sentiment Dial. We’ll tell you why.

Every reaction and every tune-out lands on the part of the track it happened in, so you know which bars to keep and which to cut.

audience:

tune-outs:

annotations:

pop loyalists 18-24playlist listeners 25-35tune-outs

Tune-outs cluster in the spoken intro. Listeners want the song, not the setup. Rec. cutting the first eight bars for the single.researcher · music

The hook lands at 0:48 and holds through the second chorus across both groups. Lead the radio edit with it.researcher · music

spoken introverse 1prechorusverse 2prechorusbridgechorusoutro

0:000:481:322:122:563:28

section	sentiment	tuned out
spoken intro0:00	-0.4	14%
verse 10:12	+0.1	1%
chorus0:48	+0.8	0%
verse 21:12	+0.1	1%
bridge2:12	-0.1	6%
final chorus2:36	+0.8	0%

illustrative example · the lane under the timeline is the track’s own structure

step 05

reporting

Let’s get deliverables to your stakeholders.

We don’t dump data. We tell stories.

Pilotly’s media sector experts across nine markets turn your data into a report in your stakeholders’ language.

All benchmarked against genre norms, in your custom format, delivered in days.

Talk to your study in plain language.

and ask it anything

where do people tune out?

In the spoken intro, before the first verse. 14% tune out in the first twelve seconds; those who stay rate the track 1.6 points higher.

don’t leave just yet

come to the Pilotly side

We support media & entertainment in several ways.

Music testing

use case

Trailer & marketing testing

use case

Concept testing

use case

Virtual focus groups

methodology

Brand lift studies

methodology

Simulated environments

use case

Ready when your mix is.

Book a demo and we’ll walk this exact study through, from kickoff to the story your stakeholders hear.

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