First look at the new RockDex

As of today, the only details on the next version of RockDex have only been teased at by founder Jimmy Winter in the description he submitted in April for Cornstalks Demo Night: RockDex presents a high-level view of your artists’ online buzz and a comprehensive picture of growth and scale. Dig into actual conversations and…

As of today, the only details on the next version of RockDex have only been teased at by founder Jimmy Winter in the description he submitted in April for Cornstalks Demo Night:

RockDex presents a high-level view of your artists’ online buzz and a comprehensive picture of growth and scale. Dig into actual conversations and understand what drives exposure and fans’ behavior instead of making blind assumptions from numbers without context.

Yet, an understanding of what or even how the new version of the music analytics application set to do this remained unclear. Well, at least until now.

For the past six weeks, RockDex has integrated its primary users – record labels, managers, publicists and artists – into the beta version in three waves to what Winter said has been great feedback. Before its public release next month, Winter gave us the first look at what to expect. “It’s super easy,” Winter said. “Everything is more automated.”

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Old RockDex

Prior to the redesign, RockDex focused primarily on data collection. Now the emphasis is on translating the numbers into visuals that are interactive for the user. Screenshot of Doomtree on the current rockdex.com.

New RockDex

The dashboard for Doomtree on the latest version of RockDex with updated data visualization. Screenshot courtesy of Winter.

Winter said the refurbished RockDex includes three significant changes:

  1. Custom reports
  2. Goals
  3. Content

1. Custom Reports

The finesse of the biggest change to RockDex, the custom report, proved to be exactly how he claimed. For each artist, users choose what sources – such as Facebook fan acquisitions or YouTube plays – to include in each report, add comments and easily share the form as a working document. Prior to this report feature, Winter said his users took screenshots of datasets and shared the findings via email or PowerPoints.

Here’s an example of a custom report:

The custom report of Doomtree on the latest version of RockDex. Screenshot courtesy of Winter.

2. Goal Setting

Goal setting is another feature new to the application that integrates with the custom reports. This feature has been created to track goals across any medium, primarily focusing on increasing fans, followers and listeners. Winter said that through this user interaction, clients can gauge the effectiveness of their campaigns and the return on their media efforts.

3. Content

“This new design reveals more than the numbers,” Winter said. “We’re helping clients put in less work and we’re giving more usable data back.”

Changes to its content display are the final addition to the new RockDex suite, and though it is a minute detail to the application it serves powerful utility. Collecting all the available links and providing figures for each one respectively helps to narrow the spectrum of traffic and discussion. These direct links can be incorporated into the custom reports for further tracking on each specific website, tweet, blog post, etc.

“We keep all that content in one area with data on number of shares, plays and comments for all of them,” Winter said. “[It] really helps our users surface the good stuff people are sharing.”

Here’s a preview of the content feature:

The breakdown of each individual link generating traffic for Doomtree, organized by most recent finding.

What’s Next?

I pushed my luck to see what else RockDex had waiting on the turntable and Winter told me not to be surprised if the application starts sliding away from the beats and discovering other industries in the near future. As for details on the new direction for the social data application, he kept me hanging. In the meantime, keep a listen for the new industry RockDex is set to enter in the months ahead and stay tuned for the newest version of the current site to officially go live next month. 

For more information on the roots of RockDex, see our previous post: “RockDex now open for business, subscriptions start at $23 per month.”

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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