What is Hit Potential?
Our Hit Potential Algorithm uses AI to assess how likely your music is to achieve commercial success. Knowing your score is a great and reliable way to get a quick idea of where your music stands in today’s market.
Here are two previous studies we did using the technology:
Study 1: Known Commercially Successful Vs Unreleased Music
Study 2: Predicting Song Performance
Application
By applying this technology to songs in pre-production, it is possible to generate a second-by-second analysis of a track. This readout allows a data-driven creative process to take place. The objective guidance of this AI-driven tool can guide an experienced producer or songwriter to make small or large changes based on their intuition.
We selected the highest-scoring Mondo 2021 showcase artist submissions to receive this granular readout, to demonstrate how artists may use the Hit Potential Algorithm to shape their musical decisions.
In general, we will be looking at sections of these songs where the Hit Potential score is greatly elevated or depressed persistently. Sections with sudden spikes or dips in score may also be considered.
Chiamami, by LaHasna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Jw6sJlVfU
The first song is Chiamami, by LaHasna.
The song "gets going" rhythmically at 24s, before which the music is considerably lower-energy. If this song were on an album, this may not be particularly significant.
However, it may have a detrimental effect on playlist performance, especially if the playlists are energy/tempo based. People with short attention spans or who desire the immediate gratification of a beat may skip ahead.
Between 60-71s (1m-1m11s), the score drops momentarily, correlating with the beat being removed. However, the large spike in score immediately afterward at 76s (1m16s) may indicate that the drop in this section is purely an effective arranging device, rather than something that requires correction.
At 100-108s (1m40s-1m48s), a new element introduced that correlates with increased score is a left-panned synth countermelody. This synth countermelody reappears at 168s (2m48s) in the same context, causing the song to momentarily peak at a score of 100, which is extremely unusual.
Overall, an excellent score of 75. The primary recommendation from this analysis would be to either have the beat or bass be present at some level from 0-24s, or to remove that initial section and replace it with a vocal pickup into 24s. Shortening it may also be a possibility.
Welcome Home, by Alis Vibe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOxAkHiMwkI
The second song we analyzed was Welcome Home, by Alis Vibe.
At 5 seconds or so, the song gets off to a very strong start. Eliminating the first 4 seconds and starting with the vocal pickup instead may grab listeners sooner in a playlist/discovery scenario.
At about 14 seconds, the drop in score seems to coincide with use of the bVI chord. Every time it appears in the song, the score drops somewhat. From 27-34 or so seconds, that same bVI chord occurs, in addition to a V7 chord with a sustained and exposed 7th in the melody - this is very strong-sounding as it draws attention to the tritone relationship between the 3rd of the chord and the 7th. This too, is an uncommon harmonic decision for today's commercial hits.
The "welcome home" hook does fairly well in the more energetic parts of the song (from 95 seconds onwards) - peaking at 111s (1m41s) and 162s (2m42s).
A great build starts at 145s (2m25s) using rhythmic elements from the main hook, rising consistently in score to a peak of 87 at 162s (2m42s) - such drops/builds are great arrangement devices for re-introducing a sense of increasing energy to an arrangement and building to a finish. Girl Like Me (Shakira/Black Eyed Peas) is a great example of this.
Overall, from a musical analysis perspective, the harmonic choices in this music place it in a 90s/early 2000s zone, suggesting some potential for chord progression modernization.
However, this might also strongly detract from the identity of the song and the artist - considering that the production is high quality and that the overall score is a healthy 74, this choice would be informed purely by the artist's desire to sound more or less commercial.
CRXWYN, by Temia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYB7qHmcLHM
CRXWYN is similar to Chiamami in the sense that the beat only comes in strongly at 28s. However, the rap vocals establish a strong rhythmic presence from the 14 second mark, which begins a highly effective build into the next section, which peaks at a score of 89.
Between 66-92s (1m6s-1m32s), there is a generally lower score due to the lower presence of bass and drums. However, in the context of the rhythmic parts of the song, which are all fairly high-scoring, this may be seen as an effective arranging technique to introduce energetic variations to the track that make the rhytmic parts of the song more impactful by contrast.
Between 134s-156s (2m13s-2m36s), the score is generally lower, with the lowest parts generally correlated with a lower presence of bass and drums, similar to the section at 66s.
Between 126-132s (2m6s-2m12s), there is a sustained increase in score, but I am not currently able to hear a reason for this. Keeping in mind that the AI determines its assessment of a piece of music based on 1500 discrete machine-derived characteristics, it is not surprising that there may occasionally be moments like this where answers are not necessarily forthcoming.
It is important to remember that, in the end, it is the human being writing the music that should take these scores as a guide only, and make changes or keep things the same based on their own experience and taste
Conclusion
It has been a pleasure to analyze 3 great and musically diverse pieces of music with a combination of machine and human expertise. We hope that this method of analysis may open artists up to fun new ways of thinking about music as we move into a data-driven and technology-driven era for the music industry!
