What is BDS Radio & What does it do?
BDS – Broadcast Data Systems (also known as Nielsen BDS), is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections.
BDS radio captures in excess of 100 million song detections annually on more than 1,600 radio stations, satellite radio and cable music channels in over 140 markets in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and 30 Canadian markets.
When you register your songs for tracking at BDS radio, you ensure that all airplay is tracked correctly. This data is then used to build the industry-standard radio airplay music charts at Billboard, Airplay Monitor, and Canadian Music Network magazines.
This service also feeds into the Billboard Charts alongside SoundScan and that’s why it is important to make sure both are set up.
How does this help you, the artist?
The daily reports generated by BDS radio are accessed and reviewed by a variety of industry partners and important insiders. That includes radio executives, record company executives, publishers, promoters, retailers, artist managers, and many more.
They look at these reports to see where music is trending, are there emerging artists? What are some of the radio hot spots for an artist? For an artist, it gives them the ability to see the markets they are buzzing in and those that they are not so that they can service them.BDS also has complimentary weekly format charts for airplay that can be found here: https://bdsradio.com