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Nielsen named as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in Music

1 minute read | February 2019

We’re proud to announce that Nielsen has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019, earning No. 10 in the Music category.

The award honors Nielsen Gracenote, the world’s leading entertainment data and technology company powering the top music and TV services, consumer electronics manufacturers, automakers and media companies on the planet.

Among the several advancements Nielsen Gracenote achieved in 2018, the team released a breakthrough music descriptor system that classifies songs by their unique styles. Leveraging advanced machine learning technology, Gracenote Sonic Style enables the categorization of millions of songs by 450 distinct “style profiles,” rather than simply categorizing artists by broad genres like Rock, Hip Hop or Jazz. This innovation allows streaming music services to curate and deliver more perfectly personalized playlists to listeners.

“Music search and discovery should be frictionless, ensuring fans can easily find and connect with new artists and songs to love, as well as rediscover old favorites,” said Graham McKenna, SVP of Product Marketing, Nielsen Gracenote. “Hyper detailed music metadata is the secret ingredient behind music personalization. It enables streaming services to better understand the true essence of music and deliver fresher, stickier playlists to keep fans engaged.”

We’re thrilled to be honored in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March-April 2019), now available online, as well as via iTunes and on newsstands next week.

Find out more about Nielsen Gracenote, and learn more about how Nielsen is innovating every day.