Airtrain

Real-Time, Cost-Effective Radio Airplay Monitoring

Overview

Airtrain is a custom-built solution by Hyperlaunch designed to provide a more affordable way to monitor global radio airplay. The idea was sparked by a challenge from industry legend Kevin Bacon, who pointed out the need for a more cost-effective alternative to existing services like WARM, which rely on expensive and resource-intensive audio fingerprinting. Airtrain takes a different approach, using a combination of internet radio streams, the Spotify API, and a large language model (LLM) to achieve precise, real-time monitoring with high accuracy, without the hefty price tag.

The Tech Behind Airtrain

Airtrain uses a clever mix of technologies and strategies to make radio airplay monitoring both efficient and effective:

• Web Radio Streams: Airtrain connects to thousands of web radio streams, such as HLS and Icecast, capturing track information directly from these feeds. Since nearly all major radio stations broadcast online, this method provides comprehensive coverage without the need for intensive audio processing.

• Data Cleaning and Matching: Once the track information is captured, Airtrain performs a cleanup on the metadata (like song titles) to standardise the data. It then uses the Spotify API to search for possible matches based on this cleaned data.

• LLM for Accuracy: To refine the matching process, Airtrain employs a large language model to analyse the potential matches and determine the most accurate one. This approach eliminates the need for traditional audio fingerprinting while still achieving a 97% match accuracy.

• Real-Time Earnings Calculation: Airtrain’s real-time monitoring capability allows it to apply PRS tariffs to streams from UK stations, enabling the calculation of potential earnings for songwriters within minutes of a song being played.

Tech Stack

Airtrain was developed with a modern, efficient tech stack tailored for performance and scalability:

• Backend: Built with Bun, a fast JavaScript runtime, ensuring low-latency operations.
• Datastore: Uses SQLite for lightweight, efficient storage, and DuckDB for quick and effective data analysis.
• Frontend: Developed using React Native and Expo, providing a seamless, cross-platform app experience.

Availability

Airtrain is currently not publicly available, but we’re open to discussions with interested prospects. Contact us if you’re looking for a more efficient solution for monitoring radio airplay and calculating real-time royalties.