AI-powered A&R dashboard · est. 2007

The shortlist, before the signing war.

Our AI agents scout local TikTok feeds 24/7. Chad filters the strongest finds by hand. You get the artists worth hearing, with daily data, before anyone else is watching.

“He kind of gave us a career.”
— FINNEAS
Built by Chad Hillard, credited with discovering Billie Eilish, early to Lorde, Halsey, Dominic Fike, Daniel Caesar, LANY.
See the dashboard ▶ Watch: How it works
Then $49.99/mo. Card required. Cancel anytime.  ·  Or $479/yr, save $120
LIVE 6 UNSIGNED ARTISTS ADDED THIS WEEK
TOTAL BY COUNTRY
US 91 GB 12 CA 6 AU 4 IE 4 MX 2 FR 1 IS 1 NZ 1 SG 1
19yrs
A&R scouting
experience
127+
Unsigned artists
on the shortlist
24/ 7
AI agent scouting
TikTok
5pm
Daily data refresh
after store turns
Early results

“I’ve been using before the data for not even a month, and already signed an artist from it. We check it daily. Exceptional tool run by an exceptional talent.”

Two Feet477 Records
How it works

Three steps. No spreadsheets.

What actually happens between a TikTok post and an artist showing up on your dashboard.

01
Discover

AI scouts TikTok

An agent scans hundreds of hashtags, 24 hours a day, flagging unsigned artists with real early signal. While you're asleep, it's working.

02
Filter

Chad listens

Most get cut. The ones with real voice, songwriting, and momentum move to the shortlist. 19 years of A&R instinct calibrates this step.

03
Deliver

You see it first

Approved artists hit your dashboard with daily streams, UGC, and social score. Spike alerts come to your inbox. Closing is on you.

The global listening layer

Local feeds.
One global radar.

Six local TikTok agents are reading their markets around the clock.

01 / 07

World view

A distributed listening layer, built market by market.

02 / 07

North America

The first field comes into focus.

03 / 07

Nashville

Local TikTok signals, read around the clock.

04 / 07

London

The listening layer moves with the market.

05 / 07

Paris

A second European feed sharpens the picture.

06 / 07

Melbourne

Coverage continues while the other markets sleep.

07 / 07

One global radar

Six live agents. One global radar.

Preparing the network
NashvilleLive agent
LondonLive agent
ParisLive agent
MelbourneLive agent
TorontoLive agent
SeoulLive agent
The editorial layer

We show you the signal.
Then we give you the read.

Every artist we add comes with a clear editorial take: what caught our attention, which signals we trust, and why we believe the artist is worth watching now.

Real BTD-tracked artist · Added March 16

New Artist Brief
Alyssa Grace
Alyssa Grace
INDIE POP · LOS ANGELES · ADDED MAR 16
Why we added her

The audience was still early, but the response was already visible: 41.2K TikTok followers, 1.7M TikTok likes, and 7.8K Instagram followers when BTD added her. We put her on the board to watch whether that audience converted into release movement.

41.2KTikTok followers when added
1.7MTikTok likes when added
7.8KInstagram followers when added
Chad's editorial take
Since BTD added Alyssa Grace, the tracked snapshots reached 8.9M monthly listeners on Aug 21, plus 530K TikTok followers and 115K Instagram followers in the July 7 social scrape. “bloodstream” grew from 15.5M to 91.9M streams in our tracked history.
One system, three signals

Let the alerts
keep watch.

One delivery surface changes with the signal, keeping the next place to look in your hand.

Tap a signal to preview 1 / 3
Before The Data Alerts mobile web view
Mobile web view · Daily at 5 PM
Inside the dashboard

One screen. Every signal.

Every number updates daily at 5pm after store turns. Click any metric in the live dashboard to drill deeper.

beforethedata.com/dashboard
Alyssa Grace
SPOTIFY AUG 21 · SOCIALS JUL 7
Social Score
64/100
Tracked song streams
147.4M
Across four tracked releases
Monthly Listeners
8.9M
Spotify snapshot · Aug 21
TikTok followers
530K
41.2K at add · Jul 7 snapshot
Instagram followers
115K
7.8K at add · Jul 7 snapshot
1
2
3

01  Social Consistency Score   ·   02  Daily stream velocity   ·   03  UGC intelligence

Built for the desk. Useful on the phone.

One workflow: hear the artist, follow the movement, know when the signal changes.

Review Hear the artist before judging the numbers. Music, context & early signals stay together.
01 · REVIEW QUEUE Needs review
Desktop leads the decision
The phone catches the signal
  1. Review the paired desktop and mobile experience
  2. Follow the artist
  3. Understand the Follow action
  4. Watch meaningful movement
  5. Understand the Following view
  6. Detect the signal
  7. Keep the context attached
  8. Deliver the signal to mobile
Momentum & Compare

See who is moving. Then see why.

Rank emerging artists by current movement, then compare two trajectories across the same window. The shortlist becomes a decision, not another pile of charts.

Momentum rankingsToday
Signed artist photos from BTD records · Rankings and values are illustrative
Compare trajectories
Alyssa GraceMomentum 84
vs.
girlsweetvoicedMomentum 78
Same window14 daysCurrent gap6 ptsNext checkCross-platform
Artist Intel

Know the context behind the movement.

The signal tells you who is moving. Artist Intel shows who is already around them, what is in motion, and what they are actually looking for. Every field is sourced directly and shown only when verified.

Musician playing guitar on a smoky stage
Demo profile Mara Vey Alternative · United Kingdom
Direct artist-sourced context · Updated Jul 24

Artist status at a glance

Verified
Recording dealNo deal confirmed
DistributionIndependent distribution
PublishingSelf-published
ManagementNone confirmed
Current positionReleasing independently while building the next project.
Direct askOpen to publishing conversations and sync opportunities.
How we compare

Other tools give you data.
We give you the shortlist.

Chartmetric, Soundcharts, and Viberate are research tools, you still have to find the artists yourself. Before The Data does the filtering first.

Before The Data Chartmetric Soundcharts Viberate
Human curation✓XXX
24/7 AI scouting layer✓XXX
Global scout network✓XXX
Daily data refresh✓✓✓X
Pre-release artist access✓XXX
Artist Intel + context✓XXX
Social consistency score✓XXX
Price$49.99/mo$116/mo$129/mo$19/mo
Three differences that matter

Why this beats a spreadsheet.

Eight bullet points is a list. Three is a pitch.

01 / CURATION

You see the shortlist, not the firehose.

Every artist on the dashboard has been heard, vetted, and approved. The noise is gone before you arrive.

02 / COVERAGE

An AI agent that never sleeps.

While you're asleep, the agent is scanning TikTok for the next Billie. By morning, the best finds are vetted and added to the dashboard.

03 / SIGNAL

The Social Score, only here.

A 0–100 consistency index updated daily, built from TikTok posting cadence, Instagram posting cadence, and whether an artist keeps showing up over time.

Jerri
Jerri
Flagged Jan 28 Signed April 2026
Flagged here · 2K
Today · 9.6M
Spotify streams
2K→9.6M
Monthly listeners
254K→764K
TikTok UGC
2.3K→140K
Instagram UGC
752→18K
View the other 4 signed artists
CAUGHT PRE-RELEASE
Mia Miles
Mia Miles
Added at 292 TikTok followers

On the board before she had a single song out.

First 48 hours
3.7K → 12K
TikTok UGC
29 → 115
CAUGHT BEFORE THE ROOM
Billy Vincent
Billy Vincent
Flagged off one TikTok signal

2.1M plays, Luke Combs in the comments, unprompted.

Listeners
40K → 186K
Streams tracked
164K → 427K
Chad Hillard
Built by Chad Hillard
Founded Hillydilly in 2007. Credited with discovering Billie Eilish. Early to Lorde, Halsey, Daniel Caesar, and LANY. Shut the blog down in 2020. Now runs Dreams Never Die and Before The Data.
Subscribers include A&Rs and scouts at
Universal Music Group Republic Records EMPIRE Range The Team Universal Music Group Republic Records EMPIRE Range The Team
Logos reflect individual subscriber affiliations. No company endorsement is implied.
Pricing

Try the full dashboard free for 3 days.

One live scouting board. Daily movement, spike alerts, and the artists worth acting on.

Monthly Yearly SAVE $120
Individual access
Free for 3 days
$49.99/month after
Card required · Cancel before day 4 and pay nothing
  • 24/7 TikTok AI discovery The agent finds movement. Chad’s 19 years decides what qualifies for the dashboard.
  • Daily movement alerts See meaningful spikes before the story catches up.
  • Streaming velocity Spotify pace, growth, and 14-day trends.
  • Social traction TikTok UGC, Instagram growth, and consistency.
  • Song-level data Track breakdowns beyond the artist total.
  • Watchlists + filters Keep your shortlist focused and organized.
  • Artist Intel Management, distribution, publishing, deal status, and direct asks, when we have them.
  • Artist Intel, reports, and exports unlock when your trial converts.
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service.
Need full access today?
Need to see it first?

Get a 30-minute walkthrough before you subscribe.

Chad will show you the live dashboard, the artist vetting process, spike alerts, and how BTD fits into your scouting workflow.

Book a demo
Enterprise · API

Build on our data.

Programmatic access to the scouting intelligence, real-time artist metrics, spike alerts, and signing detection, direct into your workflow. Built for labels, management companies, and platforms that need to move faster than everyone else.

Real-time metrics Spike detection Signing alerts Song-level data RESTful JSON
View API documentation →
$ curl -H "Authorization: Bearer btd_..." \
    https://beforethedata.com/api/v1/artists
{
  "artists": [
    {
      "name": "Ava James",
      "social_score": 67,
      "streams_today": 189300,
      "added_at": "2026-04-17"
    }
  ]
}
FAQ

Questions.

Before The Data is an AI-powered A&R scouting dashboard built by Chad Hillard, founder of Hillydilly. It tracks Spotify streams, TikTok UGC, Instagram followers, and social score for unsigned artists Chad is watching. Members get the live scouting dashboard, data spike alerts, weekly tracker email, and every new artist add before it goes anywhere else.

Chartmetric and Spotify for Artists are research tools. You go looking for artists. Before The Data does the filtering first. Chad listens to thousands of songs, applies 19 years of A&R instinct, and only adds artists that have a real shot. You get the shortlist, not the firehose.

Spotify streams and daily velocity, TikTok UGC count, Instagram followers and post consistency, Social Consistency Score (0-100 updated daily), song-level breakdowns, 14-day trend charts, and spike alerts when an artist crosses a threshold.

The Social Score is a 0-100 consistency index we calculate daily for every artist on the dashboard. It factors in TikTok posting frequency, Instagram posting frequency, and consistency over time. It is designed to show you which artists are actively building, not just who had one viral moment.

Before The Data is $49.99/month with a 3-day free trial. Card required at checkout. Cancel any time before day 4 and you won't be charged.

Yes. Cancel from your account settings at any time. If you cancel during the 3-day trial, you're not charged. No hoops, no questions.

We currently don't offer this, but email chad@beforethedata.com if you'd like to discuss custom tracking options.

A&R reps, managers, music supervisors, sync licensing teams, indie label scouts, and anyone whose job is finding artists before they cost a fortune to sign. If you're still using playlists and algorithms as your only discovery tool, this is the upgrade.

See all FAQs →

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