Title	SAYLISTS
Brand	WARNER MUSIC GROUP
Product/Service	PLAYLISTS
Category	A01. Data-enhanced Creativity
Entrant	ROTHCO, PART OF ACCENTURE INTERACTIVE Dublin, IRELAND
Idea Creation	ROTHCO, PART OF ACCENTURE INTERACTIVE Dublin, IRELAND
Production	ROTHCO, PART OF ACCENTURE INTERACTIVE Dublin, IRELAND
Additional Company	WARNER MUSIC London, UNITED KINGDOM

Name	Company	Position
Conor Cunniffe	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Copywriter
Rob Maguire	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Creative Director
Shane O’Riordan	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Design Director
Bronagh O'Donnavan	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Strategist
Aisling Clarke	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Art Director
Sam Caren	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Art Director
Niall Eccles	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Developer
Hannah Gallagher	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Post Producer
Jessica Derby	Rothco | Accenture Interactive	Executive Producer
Cristiane Schmidt	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Art Director, Designer, Motion Designer, Editor, Stop Motion Artist
Raphael DaSilva	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Art Director, Designer, Motion Designer, Illustrator, Animator
Gabriel Teixeira	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Art Director, Designer, Motion Designer, 3D Generalist
Paul Power	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Video Editor
Ray Swan	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Agency Creative Director
Jen Speirs	Rothco Part of Accenture Interactive	Executive Creative Director
Alan Kelly	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Chief Creative Officer
Richard Carr	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	CEO | MD Accenture Interactive
Patrick Hickey	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Executive Chairman
Zara Flynn	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Managing Partner Rothco Accenture Interactive
Sean Cushen	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Senior Account Manager
Lauren McNinney	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Agency Resource & Operations
Clair Fleming	Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive	Agency Resource & Operations

Why is this work relevant for Creative Data?

Lyric data has been collected for years and used solely for its primary intended function: to enable people to sing along. By looking at the untapped potential of this data and unlocking the therapeutic aspects of the lyrics, this project empowers Speech & Language therapists with a tool that their patients genuinely want to engage with.

Background

As part of Warner Music Group’s corporate social responsibility, they support initiatives in music with positive social impact. Musicians have long used their art to help with speech sound disorders (including WMG’s Ed Sheeran), so this area was a perfect fit. Speech and language therapists have an arsenal of tools at their disposal which can help their patients. Most of these patients are children, however, which raises a problem that most tools can’t overcome - how to keep kids engaged in their therapy. We set out to provide speech and language therapists with a unique and accessible new tool that could help their patients practise the sounds they struggle with in a way that doesn’t bore them: by reimagining speech therapy within the world of popular music.

Describe the Creative idea / data solution (20% of vote)

Repetition is key to overcoming a Speech Sound Disorder, but for kids, repetition is boring. Except when it happens in music. Warner Music teamed up with Apple Music to analyse over 70 million song lyrics, isolating songs in which particular sounds occur in particular patterns that are beneficial for speech therapy. These songs were collated into Saylists: playlists categorised by problem sounds, providing an easy, accessible, and enjoyable way for kids to practise the sounds they have trouble with, simply by singing along to their favourite songs.

Describe the data driven strategy (30% of vote)

The strategic approach to this brief consisted of analysing an existing data set for its previously unrealised therapeutic potential. A linguistic analysis of sounds in speech therapy is not dissimilar to linguistic analysis of poetry, or song lyrics. By using one set of techniques on a unique data source, we were able to unlock therapeutic potential that had previously been untapped. This meeting of two worlds is particularly relevant when our target audience was considered: a group which overlaps both the audience for pop music, and the age-group most likely to have a Speech Sound Disorder (SSD): young people. Saylists provides this cohort with an easily accessible way to practise the sounds they struggle with in a way that’s fun, engaging and – most importantly – not boring.

Describe the creative use of data, or how the data enhanced the creative output (30% of vote)

We developed an algorithm to analyse song lyrics for specific sounds occurring with a certain frequency, as well as other conditions such as proximity to similar sounds and placement within a sentence. The algorithm then analysed over 70 million songs in search of those that demonstrated genuine therapeutic value, the largest data analysis of lyrics ever. All were scored and ranked. Songs that scored highest and fit listener profile were compiled into Saylists categorised by problem sound. The Saylists were launched on Apple Music where they are easily accessible to all, with supporting communications on social channels. The Saylists will be available indefinitely, with data available to create additional Saylists in the future to continually refresh the platform and the offering to listeners.

List the data driven results (20% of vote)

Within a week of launch, Saylists were already being recommended by therapists, and used in therapy sessions; the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy expressed their excitement at the project’s release, and the department of English Language Teaching at Cambridge University has gone so far as to publish lesson plans to bring Saylists into classrooms. The project was enthusiastically welcomed and praised around the globe, reaching an audience of over 42.5 million purely through earned media and word of mouth. Due to these results, Apple Music are now developing the project for other music in other languages.