Using Graphing to Analyze Music Industry Data

How can graphing be used to analyze music industry data?

Know:

• The benefits of presenting data with a graph
• How graphs can be used to analyze music industry data
• How to plot data onto a graph
• The work of singer and recording artist, Whitney Houston
• Whitney Houston’s recorded music sales data

Mastery Objective:

• Students will be able to plot music industry data onto a graph and provide an analysis of the results by using Whitney Houston’s album sales as a case study.

In this lesson, students will plot music industry data on a graph and provide an analysis of the information. Using Whitney Houston’s recorded music sales history as a case study, students survey her sales data and then practice plotting the data onto a graph. Students then provide an analysis of the results.

There are numerous benchmarks of success in the music industry: concert ticket sales, press coverage, merchandise sales, social media followers, etc. Sales are a particularly important benchmark. They measure profitability and popularity-quantifiable data that can be easily analyzed.

Perhaps the most valued of all music industry sales benchmarks has been recorded music sales. Recorded music sales data is currently in a state of transformation due to the decline in physical product sales and the transition to streaming subscriptions. However, recorded music sales are still a powerful and popular indicator of success. A leader in recorded music sales has been Whitney Houston. 

Whitney Houston, the acclaimed singer and performer, has set records for her sales. In the United States, she is the first Black artist to achieve Diamond status (certification of over 10 million sales) for three albums. Houston’s third Diamond status was achieved several years after her death in 2012. Her total sales worldwide is estimated at over 150 million albums. Houston’s career lasted more than thirty years and spanned both the height of physical product sales and the industry upheaval from digital downloading and streaming. Her recorded music sales data is an excellent case study for analyzing this component of the music industry, and practicing plotting data on a graph.