5 Ways to Make Spotify Work For Independent Artists
If you’re an independent artist trying to get your music heard on Spotify, it’s essential to understand not only how the platform works and where you fit in the picture, but more importantly who it works for and how it can work for you if you’re willing to put in the necessary effort.
It can be discouraging to find out that 40,000 tracks are uploaded to Spotify every day, that the average per-play rate is less than half a penny, or that major record labels are buying their way to the tops of the most popular playlists through modernized yet unregulated forms of payola. However, there is still more opportunity than ever before to make waves as an independent artist in the growing sea of music without hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars being pumped into your promotion. Here are five steps you can take that, if done properly, will put you way ahead of the curve and increase your chances of garnering millions of streams, which is when those half pennies really start to add up!
1. Spotify Pre-Saves
Acquiring pre-saves raise your chances of being added to Spotify’s official playlists, as well as the algorithmically generated playlists like Discover Weekly. The day of release is the most important day in determining a song’s trajectory on the platform, so it’s important to work backwards from the release date — submit your single well in advance (ideally 5-6 weeks) to allow plenty of time to receive your Spotify URI code, and begin pushing it out in every way you know how to everyone you can. Make sure to encourage fans, friends and family to also add your song onto personal playlists and favorite the song, as this level of engagement is what makes Spotify take notice and increases your chances of climbing the playlist pyramid.
2. Make friends with curators and bloggers
Making a real connection to the individuals who create the playlists you want to be featured on and bloggers who write reviews that the playlist curators pay attention to is a great way to stand out from the countless artists they sift through on a daily basis. This requires some digging, but often the curator’s Facebook account is linked to their Spotify profile. Let them know how much you like their playlist and be genuine about it! Maybe suggest some other songs (that are not yours) which would be good additions. Once you’ve established a connection, politely ask them to listen to your music that you think would be a good fit. Taking the time to cultivate real relationships with these “gatekeepers” will always generate better results than spamming as many of them as possible.
3. Make friends with similar artists
Although you may be taking on all the aspects of your career, from the songwriting to production to marketing, at some point you need other people to help amplify your voice. Other artists are some of the best cheerleaders you can have, as they already have their own fan base that could also be your fan base. This means establishing relationships with artists that compliment your sound and occupy the places you would like to be in, from desirable playlists to music venues. Become a genuine outspoken fan of theirs and they will likely do the same for you.
4. Artist’s Pick and custom playlists
The Artist’s Pick feature allows you to pin a track, album, or playlist to the top of your profile for two weeks with a brief message about why it’s meaningful to you, thus adding a personal touch to your page and inviting listeners to stream your music.
Creating your own custom artist playlists has a similar effect. Fans love to know what music their favorite artists are into and, like the Artist’s Pick, these playlists generate more traffic on the artist’s profile, which translates to more streams.
5. Create consistency, not perfection
When you’re planning to release your music, it’s best to have a series of singles that you can release over several weeks or months so that you create momentum and hopefully increase engagement with each subsequent release. As an independent artist, it’s easy to get lost in the pursuit of perfection over one song, but it’s paramount to keep the big picture in mind. Work on building a catalogue of songs that you can release on a consistent schedule and you’ll experience far more growth in your audience and ability to produce music.
It’s important to note that only doing one or two of these things is far less effective than wholeheartedly exploiting all of these tactics. It helps to view the platform as a tool itself, not unlike the DAW used to produce your music. Adopt the mindset that getting your music heard and acquiring fans is as much of an art as making the music, and you’ll surely start to see a big difference in the impact you have on digital streaming platforms.