Airtrain — Hyperlaunch

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 inspired by a challenge from industry legend Kevin Bacon, who identified 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 high costs.

The Tech Behind Airtrain

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

Web Radio Streams: Airtrain connects to thousands of web radio streams, like 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: After capturing the track information, Airtrain cleans up the metadata (such as song titles) to standardize the data. It then uses the Spotify API to search for potential matches based on this cleaned data.
LLM for Accuracy: To enhance the matching process, Airtrain uses a large language model to analyze the potential matches and determine the most accurate one. This method eliminates the need for traditional audio fingerprinting while still achieving a 97% match accuracy.
Real-Time Earnings Calculation: With its real-time monitoring capability, Airtrain applies PRS tariffs to streams from US stations, allowing the calculation of potential earnings for songwriters within minutes of a song being played.

Tech Stack

Airtrain was developed using a modern, efficient tech stack designed for performance and scalability:

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

Availability

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