Sources & scope
Edition One
Contour maps the melodic dance music scene using released records and the people credited on them. This page says where that comes from, what the words on a sheet mean, and what the map does not claim.
Where the data comes fromI
Every fact on this site is drawn from publicly available catalogue and credit data — release listings, credits and artist pages published by:
- Streaming services
- Spotify, Deezer
- Download stores
- Beatport
- Open music databases
- MusicBrainz, Discogs
- Scene listings
- Resident Advisor, 1001Tracklists
- Company registers
- Companies House (England and Wales)
Nothing here comes from private sources or anyone’s internal reporting. There are no sales figures and no royalty data.
What the words meanII
- Release
- Something published under a catalogue number by one of the surveyed labels — a single, an EP, an album or a compilation.
- Artist
- A name credited on at least one release in the edition, as a lead, a collaborator or a remixer.
- Label
- An imprint that published releases in the survey window.
- Connection
- Two names that appear on the same record, or on the same label. Nothing about sound, style or quality.
- Distance
- How often two names turn up together. Close means shared people — not similar music.
What this edition coversIII
10,138artists
55labels
It is a cut of the data taken at a point in time, not a live feed. Its inputs are recorded and kept, so the edition can be rebuilt exactly as published.
What it is notIV
- Not a ranking.
- Nothing here is a chart, a rating or a league table.
- Not complete.
- A name missing from the map means it is not in this edition, not that it does not exist.
CorrectionsV
Every artist and label sheet carries a correction link scoped to that sheet. If something’s wrong, please let us know via the card link.
Edition One · 251edda282659aac