Artist Insights · Internal Use Only

Don West

Streaming, audience, social — a full picture of where the artist is right now.

April 2026
Data: Strategic Analytics
Sources: Luminate · Spotify Internal · Chartmetric

5 Things to Know

01International artist being evaluated domestically. US is only 17% of global streams. Netherlands (idx 622), New Zealand (379), Denmark (363), Sweden (343), Australia (330) are his core markets. Whatever is working is working overseas first.
02Audience age is the headline: core socials age 31.7 (P11). IG followers skew 25–34 (48.5%, index 113). This is an older R&B audience in a genre that typically skews younger. No Spotify age data available.
03+149% year-over-year US streaming growth. 4-week average went from ~311K to 777K. Peak US week hit 1.1M in November 2025. The trajectory is moving, just from a low base.
04TikTok engagement is P5 — bottom 5% of all artists. Like-to-view at 2.6% vs 10.4% benchmark. With only 24.5K TikTok followers, the platform simply isn’t part of his audience’s behavior.
05Fans Also Like: Olive Jones, Aaron Frazer, Jalen Ngonda, Durand Jones. This is a retro-soul/neo-R&B cluster — analog warmth, Motown influence. The audience is niche, specific, and quality-driven.
Streaming
Artist Level Streams
777K
Weekly US
4-week average
4.7M
Weekly Global
4-week average
17%
US Share
Of global ODA
1.1M
US Peak
Weekly ODA — US vs Global

Long runway of near-zero streaming from 2019 to early 2025, then a sharp ramp. This is a recent discovery event, not a gradual build. Something happened — a playlist placement, a viral moment, a project drop — that created the initial spike. The question is whether the floor will hold at 600–800K or recede.

Week 1 Debuts — US ODA
How Long
37K
Dreamin
32K
Did You Have To Go
34K
Day To Night
204K
So High
65K
Never Love
78K
Give Me All Your Love
91K
Julia
56K
Send It Back
75K
What Turns You On
19K

Day To Night (Nov 2025) debuted at 204K — an outlier. The surrounding releases (Give Me All Your Love at 91K, Never Love at 78K) are more consistent indicators. The most recent releases (How Long 37K, Dreamin 32K) are smaller — cooling interest or strategic soft releases.

Top Tracks Over Time — US Weekly ODA

Small Change is the dominant catalog track. The top 6 tracks show the shape of catalog engagement — 6 tracks are currently generating weekly streams.

Socials
Social Performance
Followers & Growth
Instagram
0.7%
1M Follower Growth
Growth PercentileStrong — P71
Engagement Rate3.5% (bench 4.9%)
TikTok
24K
Followers
1M Growth Rate0.4%
Growth PercentileAverage — P59
Like-to-View2.6% (bench 10.4%)

IG growth at P71 (0.7% per million) is the one strong social signal. IG engagement at 3.5% (vs 4.9% bench) is below average but not alarming at his scale.

TikTok is essentially non-functional. 24.5K followers and 2.6% like-to-view (vs 10.4% bench) puts him at P5. This isn’t a fixable content strategy problem — his audience doesn’t live on TikTok.

Engagement
3.5%
IG Engagement Rate
Benchmark4.9%
vs Benchmark-1.4pp
PercentileP54 — Average
2.6%
TT Like-to-View Ratio
Benchmark10.4%
vs Benchmark-7.8pp
PercentileP5 — Very Weak
Follower Growth Over Time

Instagram leads in absolute followers. Instagram grew +14475% over the tracked period, TikTok +163%. Instagram remains the larger platform.

Audience
Where They Listen
Global Markets
Netherlands
622
New Zealand
379
Denmark
363
Sweden
343
Australia
330
Switzerland
303
Croatia
302
Belgium
297
US Markets
Bend, OR
389
Santa Barbara et al,
317
Other - Alaska, AK
262
Butte-Bozeman, MT
229
Palm Springs, CA
226
Honolulu, HI
220
Charleston, SC
207
Missoula, MT
207

Netherlands at index 622 is the standout — nearly 7.5% of global streams from one country. Australasia/Northern Europe corridor defines the international footprint. In the US: Bend OR (389), Santa Barbara CA (317), Honolulu HI (220), Charleston SC (207). Coastal lifestyle markets where neo-soul has a natural audience.

Age Distribution — Instagram (WW)

No Spotify age data available — non-Sony limitation. IG shows a 25–34 core (48.5%, index 113) with meaningful 35–44 presence (18.2%, index 107). The under-18 audience barely exists. This is an adult audience.

Gender

No Spotify gender data available for non-Sony artists.

Ethnicity & Language (Instagram)
Ethnicity%Index
White / Caucasian79.7%148
Asian18.2%160
Black / African American1.4%12
Hispanic0.8%6
Language%Index
English95.9%174
Spanish1.0%8
German0.9%31
Portugese0.5%7
French0.4%12

Predominantly White/Caucasian (79.7%, index 148) with notable Asian representation (18.2%, index 160). Black/African American is strikingly low at 1.4% (index 12) for an R&B artist — worth investigating.

Audience Psychographics

Derived from streaming demographics, geographic indexing, platform behavior, and fans-also-like clustering.

Who They Are

Adults 25–34 (48.5% of IG) in coastal lifestyle markets (Bend OR, Santa Barbara, Honolulu, Charleston) and Northern European streaming cultures (Netherlands 622, Denmark 363, Sweden 343). This is a mature, quality-seeking audience that discovers music through editorial playlists, music blogs, and word of mouth. The under-18 audience barely exists (3.4%). TikTok is irrelevant to this audience — P5 engagement confirms it.

Values & Identity

Analog warmth in a digital world. The Fans Also Like cluster (Aaron Frazer, Jalen Ngonda, Durand Jones & The Indications) defines a specific aesthetic: retro-soul, Motown-influenced production, real instruments, vintage vocal styles. This audience has strong genre convictions and discovers through sonic quality, not cultural moment. They buy vinyl, attend intimate shows, and value authenticity over scale.

Platforms & Behavior

Instagram is the only social channel with traction — IG growth at P71 is Strong. Streaming is overwhelmingly international (83% ex-US), concentrated in Northern Europe and Australasia where editorial playlists and independent music blogs drive discovery. The Netherlands alone accounts for 7.35% of global streams. Campaign strategy should be Instagram + editorial + DSP relationship management. TikTok, paid social, and content-first approaches are structurally mismatched.

Cultural Context

The audience ethnicity is the most notable data point: 79.7% White/Caucasian (index 148) and 18.2% Asian (index 160) with Black/African American at just 1.4% (index 12) — unusual for an R&B artist. This isn’t a Black music audience consuming R&B — it’s a predominantly White and Asian audience drawn to retro-soul as a musical aesthetic. This has implications for radio strategy (Adult Contemporary may outperform Urban/R&B formats), sync targeting, and brand partnerships.

Fans Also Like
Olive Jones
Hajaj
Dojo Cuts
Nectar Woode
Aaron Frazer
Otis Kane
Jalen Ngonda
Durand Jones & The Indications
Moon Soul
GoldFord

This is the most cohesive Fans Also Like cluster. Aaron Frazer, Jalen Ngonda, Durand Jones — retro-soul revivalists. The audience knows exactly what they want. This isn’t a casual pop listener — it’s a genre enthusiast.

artistGPS
Evaluation Summary
P19
Very Weak
Score: 36.9 / 100 · 7 KPIs
KPIValuePercentileRating
Catalog Momentum-14.6%P11Very Weak
Release Momentum19.1%P47Modest
IG 1M Follower Growth0.7%P71Strong
TikTok 1M Follower Growth0.4%P59Average
Instagram Engagement3.5%P54Average
TikTok Like-to-View2.6%P5Very Weak
Core Socials Age31.7P11Very Weak
RCA

Artist Insights · Data: Strategic Analytics · Internal Use Only · April 2026