DSP Portals vs Velveteen Streaming Analytics
Updated June 13, 2026
Velveteen aggregates streaming across platforms with a few days of lag. For real-time figures or play-level detail like listener location and source, go straight to the DSP portals: Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists, and the others. The Streaming dashboard links to them from a DSP portals note.
Velveteen and the platform portals answer different needs. Here is when to use each.
When Velveteen is enough
Use the Streaming dashboard when you want one combined view across platforms, ranked by track, artist, label, or release, for a date range. It is the fastest way to compare platforms and see your whole catalog in one place.
When to use the DSP portals
Spotify for Artists
Near real-time counts, listener detail, and playlist sources.
Apple Music for Artists
Apple-specific plays, Shazams, and listener cities.
Amazon, YouTube, Tidal
Each platform's own studio or for-artists portal for native detail.
Tip
Why the numbers can differ
Portal figures are often more recent because they do not wait on distribution reporting. Small differences in timing and counting are normal between a portal and Velveteen's aggregated view.
Frequently asked questions
Which is more up to date?+
The DSP portals, usually. They can show same-day or near real-time figures, while Velveteen waits on daily delivered reports.
Why do the totals not match exactly?+
Timing and counting differ between a platform's own portal and Velveteen's delivered, aggregated data. Small gaps are expected.
Where do I find listener locations?+
In the DSP portals. Velveteen reports stream counts, not play-level listener detail.
Where are the portal links?+
On the Streaming dashboard, in the DSP portals note.
Related articles
Where the data comes from
Daily DSP reports delivered through distribution, broken down by Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon, and Deezer, scoped to your catalog and lagging a few days.
Overview
The Streaming dashboard: stream counts by track, artist, label, and release, where the data comes from, the few-day reporting lag, and how streams differ from royalties.
Streams vs royalties
Why a stream count is not a dollar amount, and how streaming analytics and the royalty engine track different data on different timelines.