iTunesRegistry
A little while back, I came across an interesting website called iTunesRegistry.com. How it works is pretty simple: You create a free account, upload your automatically generated iTunes XML file, and the website provides all kinds of statistical analyses on your data. It generates a profile which you can share publicly if you so choose; here is mine.
It’s not perfect; occasionally it mistakes a song for one of similar length. For example, despite what this says, I don’t have any Hank Williams songs in my collection and couldn’t pick his voice out of a lineup.
But the analyses it does provide are fascinating. For example, while iTunes can tell you your most played 25 tracks, it can combine playcounts from tracks on a project to tell you your most played project. My top 10 most played albums (over the last 2 or 3 years):
- Look No Further - Perrys (I already knew this was my most played project, but didn’t know the rest)
- Once Upon a Cross - Mark Trammell Trio
- Timeless Treasured Hymns 2 - Liberty
- Sings Albert E. Brumley Classics - Cathedral Quartet
- God is Faithful - Collingsworth Family
- Sounds of Sunday - Dixie Echoes
- Snow - Von Trapp Children (I like Christmas music!)
- Old Time Gospel Songs Vol. 1 - Liberty Quartet
- Going On with the Song - Kingdom Heirs
- (tie) Hymns of the Ages - Greater Vision
- (tie) Light from Heaven - Lacey Family
It doesn’t just tell you the top 10–it lists all of your albums in order. Here’s my complete list.
It also goes beyond albums to tell you which artists are the most played. My top 10 over the last 2-3 years:
- Cathedral Quartet (2984 total song plays)
- Florida Boys (1487)
- Kingsmen (1307)
- Liberty Quartet (1124)
- Perrys (999)
- Greater Vision (992)
- Blue Ridge Quartet (986)
- Blackwood Brothers (966)
- Kingdom Heirs (875)
- Various Artists (808)
My complete list is here. This sort of thing provides all kinds of surprises; for example, I would have never guessed that I had played Liberty Quartet more than the Perrys, Legacy Five, Signature Sound, and several other groups I’ve been listening to as long as I’ve been listening to Southern Gospel. I’ve only been listening to Liberty for about 6-9 months now. I would also have never guessed that the Blue Ridge Quartet would rank higher on my list than the Mark Trammell Trio, Legacy Five, and the Happy Goodmans.
For those of you who play your music (or a good portion of it) via iTunes, I’d be fascinated to see your statistics. Perhaps you can post links to your profiles in the comments. The link to your publicly viewable profile looks like this: http://www.itunesregistry.com/home/danielmount, except you would insert your username.
