---
log: 006
title: "The gap: 7 on Spotify, 68 on SoundCloud, and a 21-month silence"
date: 2026-06-05
task: "#3/#6 External inventory → gap analysis"
tags: [salvage, gap-analysis, distribution, soundcloud, deezer, tooling]
shareable: true
---

## Cap (what & why)
Find out what's *actually* released vs only sitting on SoundCloud — i.e. the real
release backlog — and answer "is RouteNote even working?"

## Manœuvre (how)
Katana = yt-dlp (SoundCloud refuses scraping but yt-dlp enumerates it) + the **open
Deezer API** as a zero-auth proxy for "what RouteNote pushed to DSPs" (Spotify needs
OAuth; Deezer doesn't). A Python cross-reference normalises titles (accents, emojis,
feat/version noise) and diffs SC against DSP.

## Prise (findings / artifacts)
- `tide-table/gap-report.md` (committed) + `sources/` raw caches (gitignored).
- **DSP: 7 releases, last 2024-09-06.** SoundCloud: 68 (51 tracks + 17 live-sets,
  2020→2026). Bandcamp: ~5.
- **46 SC tracks not on any DSP** = the backlog. Top by plays: Automne Électrique,
  I come from Cyberspace, Nass Arrive.

## Sel (the shareable learning)
- RouteNote *worked* — the artist just **stopped feeding it 21 months ago** and never
  noticed. "Is my distributor broken?" was really "did I stop releasing?" The catalog
  makes that invisible drift visible.
- **Use the easy door.** Deezer's open API answers the Spotify question without Spotify's
  auth dance. Pick the API that doesn't fight you.
- Auto-diff gets you 90%; the last 10% is human — remixes/covers (WAP, Princess
  Superstar) can't go on DSPs, "toma uno" is a take. Tooling proposes, the artist triages.

## Hameçon (hook)
"I had 7 songs on Spotify and 68 on SoundCloud — and hadn't noticed I'd quietly stopped
releasing for nearly two years."

## Sillage (what it unlocks)
Triage the backlog → a release calendar (one/month, frontlist ⇄ backlog) = the `manifeste`.
The whole machine now has fuel.

## Addendum — never trust one API (corrected 2026-06-05)
PLN caught it: *Nass Arrive* is on Spotify but **not** on Deezer. Deezer was undercounting
(7) — the **Apple iTunes Search API** (open, no auth) returned **25** DSP titles incl. the
whole Opal 2024 live album. So several "backlog candidates" were false positives (already
released). Corrected via the **union Apple ∪ Deezer**: DSP = 25 titles (last 2024-10-04),
real backlog = **41** SC tracks. Spotify's anon web token is now **TOTP-gated** (broke) —
SOTA = official Web API + `spotipy` + a free dev app. **Learning: one DSP API ≠ the
catalog; triangulate and take the union.** YouTube (22) turned out to be a *content/demo*
surface, not a release catalog.
