Fundamental tips for artists on Spotify
Every day, around 100,000 new tracks are delivered to streaming platforms. With that much noise, it can be hard for artists to stand out. That’s why we dove into the nitty gritty of Spotify’s behavioral study to give you some concrete advice on how to get your music heard. This quarterly study conducted around the world is Spotify’s way of providing transparency on user habits for a better music experience. Using Spotify’s conclusions, and some extra advice from our in-house team of experts, we’ve put together a summary of tips and tricks that can help your music before, during and after release.
First of all, take care of the metadata
This is a key recommendation: metadata is the lifeblood of a project. Whether it’s the music genre, the name of the composer(s), featuring artists, remixers or even the language in which the songs are sung and the list of instruments used, you need to fill in all the information requested in Labelcamp.
The more precise and complete the information you provide, the better the Digital Content Operations team will be able to meet the requirements of the DSPs in terms of metadata quality which can impact timely deliveries and proper placement.
Optimize genres and subgenres
Discuss with your Label Manager which genres to enter into Spotify for Artists (S4A), which will be used to pitch your music to the appropriate editorial managers. It is recommended to include the city of origin and the city of residence of the artist(s), the musical culture of the tracks (African, South Asian, Caribbean…) and the moods (chill, meditative, sad, romantic…). Now that your fans are listening to many different styles of music, providing more descriptors can allow for a broader reach and more targeted combinations. Spotify notes that the era of genre silos is over: 53% of metal fans also follow hip hop artists.
Don’t forget the lyrics
In terms of SEO, you can also add the lyrics on Musixmatch. From there, creating a Lyric video for your YouTube profile is only one step. This allows you to diversify the content offered on your channel.
Optimize your Spotify profile
On the day of your album release, your artist profile will experience a peak in traffic. Take advantage of this and update your banner to match the colors of your new release. Make sure your social networks have all necessary info including a clear bio, nice pictures, concert dates and merch.
The Artist Pick
Via Spotify for Artist, you can highlight a track, album or playlist and add a short message to explain your choice. Please note: this highlight remains on your profile for two weeks, so be sure to set a reminder to keep it active. However, nothing prevents you from changing it more regularly.
It is recommended to make a playlist including all of your latest releases, along with older tracks from your catalog. In addition to generating streams, this strategy helps to recruit subscribers to the playlist. It is also recommended to promote a more general playlist of the label.
In fact, catalog streams increase by 15-20% on the day new music is released. Use this week to attract as many people as possible to your music, whether it’s new or old.
The pre-save campaign
To ensure that you have a good turnout on the release day, you can prepare a pre-save campaign to encourage your audience to save the song or album before its release. As soon as it is released, your music will be added to the listener’s library who will be more likely to add you to a playlist.
Spotify says that when a fan saves a song, they clearly intend to listen to it again. In fact, they are three times more likely to listen to it again in a few months if they’ve saved it. And if the user adds you to a personal playlist, the trend becomes even more pronounced: they are +41% more likely to listen to your tracks and +12% more likely to view your profile.
Canvas
Prepare Canvas in advance for each of your priority tracks, and adapt your video clips to the Canvas format. Note that the Canvas can be changed as often as you like, to share important dates such as a new video, the release of an album or the launch of a tour.
A release is never over. There’s always a way to breathe new life into your campaign. On average, adding or updating a Canvas on your track will increase shares by 10.7%.
You can create your Canvas from your Spotify for Artists account.
Social Networks
Encourage your fans to listen to you via all possible channels: newsletters, social media, tours, etc. On social networks, it is important to adapt each of your profiles to the colors of your music artwork for the day of the release and optimize redirection links.
Interact with your fans
Your biggest fans are capable of generating huge streams. On average, 5% of your fans listen to you 6 times more than others. Don’t forget to take care of these most loyal fans, even if you’re going after new listeners.
Share your successes: share your playlist entries, tagging the country specific Spotify account. You can also offer free gifts, concert tickets or anything else in return for sharing your content, for example.
Long-term strategy
Spotify states that 53% of releases reach their peak streams more than 7 days after release. So keep promoting your music to make sure you reach as many people as possible.
Don’t bet everything on the album release date! Plan several important dates after the release: a new video, a live stream, a radio interview… For your marketing campaigns, think about spreading your budget over time.
Sponsorship campaigns
Keep in mind that sponsorship campaigns are mainly there to “push” existing successes, they are less effective when it comes to generating interest.
Take advantage of social networks to get to know your audience better. Offer a variety of content and analyze their reactions. Encourage your fanbase to use your music in their creations.