With up to 170 million active users and just under half being paid subscribers, Spotify has thrown conventional music consumption into the shadows, making half the time spent listening to music worldwide being from streaming services. Whilst this still means that artists have a higher chance of becoming an overnight success story, many users and musicians alike have raised concerns regarding the sheer volume of music on these platforms, with tens of thousands of new songs added to Spotify daily. We investigate the power of personalised playlist and how to leverage your own artist account.
Personalised user playlists
Definitely the most overlooked factor on this list, playlists created by Spotify users are more influential than you think. Whether it’s being played from someone’s phone at work or in a cafe, having your music added to a playlist by literally anyone is a great way to introduce more people to your music. In addition, widely listened user playlists are often shown in the about section of artist bios, allowing for anyone on the platform to stumble upon your music. Spotify is full of users who are constantly trawling through music and compiling their own playlists, so you don’t necessarily have to be on the right side of the editors to get added to popular playlists.
Pitching to Spotify via a distributor
If you’re an independent artist, it can be hard to know how to properly promote your music. Luckily in this day and age, there are third party resources you can use to help cut through the rest. In an age where music is consumed almost entirely online, getting your music on Spotify feels like an essential step towards making your music accessible to the masses. Distribution services like AWAL and TuneCore help speed up the process of having your music added to Spotify, allowing you to bypass all the unnecessary manual labour. Depending on your chosen distribution service, some may be paid while others have free trials.
Create your very own artist playlists
Not only does this make your own music more accessible to the public, but it’s also a fun and creative way to engage with your audience and share your own music tastes. Spotify allows users to compile their very own selections that can be constantly updated and curated in a blog-like fashion. These playlists are fully customisable, often bearing their very own album artwork. Everybody’s making their own playlists right now, including big names such as Diplo, Frank Ocean and Lorde. Playlisting your favourite tracks a great way of embracing the new world of streaming, and allows your voice to be heard among a deep cesspool of miscellaneous content fighting for the limelight. To do this, you need to claim your artist profile on Spotify.
Pitching to Spotify editors via your artist profile
It’s important to throw your song into the mix for playlist contention with the friendly editors at Spotify. If you have claimed your artist profile on Spotify, you’ll be able to view the release due out on the ‘upcoming’ tab.
Once your profile is claimed, simply click on the ‘Catalog’ symbol on the left hand side and the ‘upcoming’ option and ‘Submit a song’. Follow the instruction and be sure to submit it at least 3 weeks from the release date.
Take for example this release as an example by Sparrows and the upcoming release of a remix from Delamare.
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