Tag: Spotify

Spotify has become such a major platform for audio streaming that musicians must factor it in distributing their songs. Because of this, it’s not enough to just upload songs while hoping that a ton of people will accidentally stumble upon your music. You will need an approach to get the most listens possible – here are four ways to guarantee that.

1. Establish your goals

Before anything else, you must first establish your goals for the campaign. Without it, your marketing strategy will not have any direction and the success of the campaign cannot be measured. Your goals should always dictate your action and it should be clear from the start. If not, the push will be worthless.

Since distribution will be done online, jot down three social media goals to promote your music. Use the acronym S.M.A.R.T to be guided. S stands for Specific, which means that it must be exactly written. M for Measurable, meaning that the results can be quantified. A corresponds to

Attainable or controlled optimism. R for Relevant to the business and finally, T for Time-bound which states that the goal must have a deadline.

2. Target user playlists

Spotify rewards songs that are frequently added by users to their playlists. They also favour songs that have been shared on other online platforms like Soundcloud or blogs. In contrast, you get penalized when your song is skipped.

If that’s the case, creating playlists help to bump your popularity up. Combine your song with other popular songs with the same theme or emotion and assign a catchy name for the mix. Your plays will increase as your music is being promoted alongside the biggest names in the business.

3. Give listeners a preview of your work

Don’t go for long intros and outros if you want to keep your audience engaged – you must upload tracks that play within three seconds to avoid being skipped. Uploading a shorter version of your song can entice new listeners to follow you as well.

4. Upload the song before the grand release

It takes time before Spotify finalizes the songs they want to feature. To ensure that people discover your music, upload the song five weeks before you intend to announce its launch. Leading up into the launch, you can create noise by posting teasers on blogs, getting reviews from early listeners and by spreading the word via social media.

Take note that YouTube, Soundcloud, and the likes are Spotify’s competitors. To funnel listeners onto Spotify, release 30 seconds of the song on other sites and direct them to hear the full song on Spotify. You can also drum up excitement by sharing promotional material on Facebook and Twitter a few weeks before the launch.

When it’s time to announce the song, make another wave of announcements on social media. This time, include the link to your Spotify song – this will considerably help engagement.

Struggling to do all the work yourself? That’s what we’re here for! If you need help communicating your music updates to your followers, give Promo.ly a try! We are a music promo delivery system for artists, labels, and PR agencies, helping you maximize your current mailing list. We’re a music PR service that delivers music to your mailing list, get in touch to see how we can help today.

 

With the rise of Spotify, it has enabled bands, singers, composers, instrument players, and other music artists worldwide to share, distribute, and popularize their music pieces to greater audiences. For those who have yet to launch their music career or are in its early stages, having a Spotify presence helps you reach out to your intended audiences and gain recognition.

However, most budding music artists neglect being verified as an artist in this platform. When an artist is verified, a blue checkmark appears on the artist’s Spotify profile. For most novice artists, being verified is no more than just a blue checkmark—an assumption that costs them money and the opportunity to be famous. Others think that only more established musicians are entitled to its perks. However, what advantages does being verified on Spotify have and how can it help your music career?

The perks of having a blue checkmark on your Spotify account

Aside from giving your ego a boost, a whole new market opportunity opens up when you get verified on Spotify. For one, potential and current fans will know that you are the real deal, as you become a legit brand. This means you’ll begin to have a steadier set of followers and album patrons. There are a host of other advantages when you’re verified, including the following:

1. It helps to streamline your followers and list of releases

The basic Spotify user account will not include your past and future releases. Because of this, the musical pieces you release are scattered disparately and would only fall under an artist page automatically generated under your name but not under your direct control. It would be difficult for current and future fans to keep track of what you made and distributed. You might not even know that you have new followers as they will follow the artist page that Spotify generated on its own.

Verification allows you to merge your disparate releases into a list that can be found in a single discography page bearing your name. What’s more is this discography page is tied with your user account, giving you control over the page’s content. You can also post your future releases on the page. All your potential and current fans need to do, is to refer to your discography page, instead of relying on individual searches on Spotify or hearsay from other fans. The added convenience allows more people to enjoy your albums, which translates into more revenue for you.

2. It helps to personalize your playlists and engage directly with your fans

Because you are now in control, you can choose the album covers to use, embed links towards your website, and modify the album and track descriptions. Since your fans are all in one place, you can share a new track with all of your followers at once. You can even engage with your fans on a real-time discussion, especially if you are about to launch an album or recently launched one.

3. It helps to receive detailed analytics about your fans and followers

Spotify allows you access to data concerning your fans and followers; its Fan Insight Tool speaks for itself. For instance, you can see which songs have the most listeners, and when your songs became a trend. You can use this data to develop a marketing and outrage strategy that will drive more traffic and followers to your Spotify account.

4. It helps to land first on Spotify search results

When you are verified as an artist, Spotify’s algorithms would prioritize your songs and display them on the search results of people searching your genre. Human curators of playlists would also take you more seriously. Verification would thus help you stand out from other artists and generate traffic towards your discography page, which means more profit from your music sales.

Like this article? Checkout how to get your music playlisted on Spotify.

Promoly is a music promotion platform for musicians. If you’re looking for a music PR service to deliver music to your mailing list, get in touch to see how we can help today.

 

A music career is a dream for many people, young and old alike. Nowadays, there are so many platforms on which you can showcase your talent and become famous. One of the platforms that you should consider putting yourself on is Spotify.

One of the best things about this platform is that there are no contracts or record deals that you have to go through. By uploading your music on Spotify, millions of people will get to listen to what you have created and follow your artist page. If your music starts spreading, you might even be invited to sign a record contract with a huge music label! If you aren’t sure about the prospects of Spotify, here are a few things that you need to know before uploading your music:

You have to start by creating an artist page

Although you might already have a Spotify account, you will need to create your own artist page before uploading any music. A private account is different from a public page. If you have an artist name, it is essential not to skip this step. This is because if you do become popular from the music you upload on this platform, people will automatically associate you with your artist name. Staying consistent with your name will reduce the chances of people getting confused.

On your page, there must be an updated version of your profile picture. It is recommended that you update your bio and image on the regular. Whether you just dyed or cut your hair, it doesn’t hurt to upload a new profile photo. If you have your own website or merch store, make sure that you include those links to your Spotify artist page to increase traffic to them too.

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You should connect your page with other services

Once you have set up your artist page, it is time to connect it to other digital services. First off, you need to look into which services work with Spotify. Some of the platform’s partnerships include Songkick, Ticketmaster, Merchbar, and Eventbrite.

These services are all a part of the music industry and chances are that you may use them from time to time. If you book gigs, it is a good idea to sync Ticketmaster or Eventbrite to your artist page. Selling your music and merchandise is also possible on Spotify. Just sync the relevant services to your page, and you’re all set!

You do not have to spend a dime

Having an artist page on Spotify is absolutely free for everyone. You won’t have to pay anything for the service. All you have to do is get famous! You are free to upload your own music on the platform. Spotify also allows you to promote your personal merchandise without charging fees.

You should not expect lots of money from Spotify

Everyone knows that Youtube pays people who upload videos on their site. Of course, the amount depends on the number of views they get. However, this is not the case for Spotify. Sure, you may get a small amount of money, but the pay can be practically negligible. The platform pays up to $0.0084 for every stream that you get.

This means you make approximately $8 when you get a thousand streams. Moreover, this tiny amount of money does not go straight to your bank account. It goes to the music holder first. Then, it will be split among artists, writers, music producers, and record labels.

Spotify may not be a good place to try generating revenue from your music. However, it is a fantastic way to get your name out there and encourage people to listen to your music.

Like this article? We’ve written a comprehensive guide on Spotify Playlisting.

Promoly is a music promotion platform for musicians. If you’re looking for a music PR service to deliver music to your mailing list, get in touch to see how we can help today.

Related reading: choosing the right music distributor.

 

Spotify playlists are the burning topic in 2020. Streaming is taking over, and every artist wants a slice of the action. But how do you get your music featured? How can you use Spotify for Artists to your advantage? Continue reading to find out how.

What are Spotify playlists?

A playlist is a bunch of tracks which can be saved and listened to at a later date. People create personal playlists for long journeys, the gym, Friday night beer pong parties and everything in between.

Spotify has been playlisting for some time now. They have their official Spotify playlists and also offer personalised playlists, such as ‘Release Radar’ which are curated by their sophisticated algorithms. Brands, artists and record labels can also create their own playlists, using them as an ultimate marketing tool.

Streaming is taking over, and Spotify playlists are one of the newer ways to gain track exposure for artists and record labels. Used intelligently and the play count and following will soon start racking up.

The 2 types of Spotify Playlists

Keep in mind, there are two types of Spotify playlists we will cover, and you will take different approaches to each one. These are Personal Spotify Playlists and Official Spotify Playlists.

Personal Spotify Playlists

Personal Spotify Playlists are playlists that are created by the users of Spotify. Either record labels, or music bloggers, or just plain music fans and heavy users of Spotify will make these playlists and share them with other Spotify users. Some of these playlists become very popular and shared among lots of people. In some cases, Spotify will even feature these playlists in their app which helps encourage Spotify users to continue producing quality content and playlists within the Spotify app.

Official Spotify Playlists

Official Spotify Playlists are curated by the Spotify curation team and are composed of music that fits a specific element, mood, or style that is featured in a given playlist. These playlists are the ones you see in the prominent areas of the Spotify app. You may also see some personal Spotify playlists in this area as well. Ultimately it is up to the Spotify curation team to decide what playlists get featured in the app.

Do you want an awesome way of getting on playlists?

MySphera connects your music to new audiences through trusted tastemakers. Using their novel matchmaking tool, they’ll match your music with their roster of +800 digital creators to get your music featured in a wide range of digital assets, such as playlist features, Social media shoutouts, Video interviews, Blog Posts, and more – all, in one click.

Getting on Spotify Playlists:

Personal lists

To start, we look at the ins and outs of Personal Spotify Playlists. Later in the article, we will discuss Official Spotify Playlists. Personal Spotify Playlists are curated by other Spotify users who are not a part of the Spotify staff. The secret here is build up your online presence and then find the contact info of the people who run these playlists. Be very specific about who you send your music to, ensuring their taste matches up with your own.

Start investigating the details about Spotify Playlisting

To understand how to get featured on official Spotify playlists and personal lists, you must do some investigating. 

Before writing this article, I also did my research. I spoke with a few artists and record labels. I wanted to share their insight with you. This article will give you first-hand information from those who are seeking features on a regular basis.

Where do I begin with finding personal lists?

Start searching Spotify for playlists. There are hundreds of thousands to choose from. Some of them have a superabundance of followers, and some have an insignificant few.

Get to know how they work and a feel for the music they showcase. Follow the lists, listen to the selected music and start thinking about whether your music would suit their tastes. For example, a techno playlist will not feature your new drum and bass track. But a playlist showcasing electronic music as a whole genre may feature your new release. That’s if they like the record, of course.

Find and establish the playlist account details. How many followers do they have? Does it seem privately owned or professionally branded? See if the playlist owner has left any music submission details in the description. Do they have Twitter? These account details are a vital part of the preparation. Once established, start logging the information on a spreadsheet.

I urge you to create a spreadsheet with the headings:

1. Followers
2. Contact name
3. Contact email
4. Twitter
5. Facebook
6. Website

The ambition here is track exposure; I suggest you target the playlistings with the massive followings. More followers = more potential plays.

This list should be your manual. Keep it, refresh it often and refer to it when you’re planning your next release. Reach out to your new connections from time to time, don’t contact them only when you need something. Build a relationship and develop it.

Finding Spotify playlist promoter contact details

This is going to be the tricky and time-consuming part. But you only need to do it once, hopefully! Once your spreadsheet is filled with potential curators, you are going to need their submission details or email address.

If you’ve already found this information when searching Spotify that’s great; you don’t need to relook these details up.

So how do you find someone’s email address?

When I used to run press campaigns, I had a couple of methods for getting someone’s email address. I’ll explain, there are a few simple ways and a grey-hat method.

Twitter:

A lot of curators have Twitter as it’s a powerful way of promoting their playlisting. Follow them. I suggest you Tweet them and ask for their email address if it’s not publically listed. Or if they follow you back, you can direct message them. Start a conversation and get to know them a little before spamming them with music.

Facebook:

Load up Facebook and see if the playlist has a Facebook page. For instance, the Spotify playlist ‘I Love Drum & Bass’ has one. Located at the top is a ‘Send Email’ button. If there isn’t an email address listed, you can always send them a message. “Hi, I would like to send you some music for playlist consideration, could I have your email address please” would be a good opening message.

What happens if they don’t have a Twitter or Facebook?

Does the playlist have a website? It might be worth spending some time on Google snooping around. Once you find the site take a look for their contact details, typically positioned in the footer. If the contact details are not listed there is tools like Hunter. Hunter (in their own words) lets you find email addresses in seconds. This method can speed the process up and help find the exact email address needed.

Once you have their email address, send them a simple email, like the Facebook message but this time ask for permission to send them music.

Just because you have their email address it doesn’t mean they want to hear from you, so don’t spam them with releases without seeking that permission first. You don’t want to be flagged for spam. Remember, it’s all about building relationships. Once you get their approval; send them the music as promised.

Are all your social media accounts set up?

Having a good online presence will help you achieve you being playlisted by a curator. Sadly, the days where the music would do the talking have long gone, unless you are very well known. Having a great looking social network will increase your possibilities with music getting picked up by influencers, bloggers and playlists. I understand this paragraph has just irritated you a little. I know it shouldn’t matter, but regrettably, it does.

How to get on Spotify playlists

Below you’ll find what’s required and how to get on Spotify playlists.

Will a verified Spotify account help me get on official playlists?

Yes. Is the short answer.

This is a must if you want your music featured by Spotify’s playlisting editorial team.

To get your Spotify profile verified, head to Spotify for Artists and fill in the details. Once this achieved, you can also submit it to their editorial teams. Spotify says, “With Spotify for Artists, you can submit one song from any scheduled release for our team to discover and consider for editorial playlists. We’ll also include it on your followers’ Release Radar playlists.”

Let’s take a peek at Spotify for Artists track submission page:

The image above shows where you will find your repertoire. From there you can hit ‘submit a song’ on your pending track. The next image shows you how to get your music to the right editors. Select the genre, mood, styles, lyrics and complete the remaining steps. 

Submitting a song

When you select the genre, you’ll be presented with sub-genres. Choose the relevant options and press next. 

Getting music to the correct editors

Phew. One more step to go. This next section is to tell Spotify more about the music. 

Spotify for Artists: Track submission

As you can see, submitting on Spotify for Artists is comprehensive and must be done carefully. This is something you do not want to get wrong. Mainly as you can only choose one track per release, submitting music should be strategic, and I highly recommend you read the Spotify for Artists FAQ before starting. 

Joining as a Record Label or Distributor

This is very similar to signing up as an artist, but instead, you must create an analytics account by following this link. The setup process is simple and shouldn’t take more than a few moments.

As you can see below Spotify asks you to search for your Record Label or Team. Input your details and select or create your team. 

Get more playlist features for your record label’s artists. Promoly helps record labels deliver better promos to their mailing lists. Track recipient engagement, drive more features and get your artists noticed. Start your 7-day free trial.

You must choose if you are representing a label or distributor. Then follow the remaining steps. When pressing next, you presented with a screen asking for three tracks owned by the label or distributor. The remaining steps are self-explanatory and easy enough to follow.

Timing is important

To be considered for an official Spotify playlist they recommend you submit your music seven days before the release date.

When dealing with curators, I advise you give them as much time as possible. Curators will get hundreds of releases sent to them, so they require as much time as possible.

How do I send my new email recipients’ music?

There are various ways this can be accomplished:

Email:

Email is great. It’s the easiest way to get hold of someone. It’s excellent for making introductions. But it’s not really designed for sending music. Yes, you can post a link in the body of the text, but do you really want your pre-released music attached to a shareable link which is being sent into orbit?

This is where Promoly can help. And here’s what I propose you do.

Make your introduction over email.

Something like “Hi Bob, I’d like to send you my new track for consideration of your ‘Ultimate Cheese Party’ playlist. Do you mind if I send you a promo?”

Wait for Bob’s reply.

Bob replies, saying “Sure, send it over!”

Use Promo.ly and securely send your new beat to Bob. Promo.ly will keep track of Bob’s activity and show his written feedback and when he’s downloaded it.

Give it a few days and reply back to Bob’s email. “Hey Bob, thanks for downloading! Can we discuss a placement on the playlist?”

An alternative way:

A few curators have their own website with a dropbox submission method. It’s a simple method, but individually, I would like to have a connection with someone over email instead of blind posting. However, this is up to you, and if it gets results, I fully support it.

Get more playlist features for your record label’s artists. Promoly helps record labels deliver better promos to their mailing lists. Track recipient engagement, drive more features and get your artists noticed. Start your 7-day free trial.

Summing-up

Getting features on playlists is difficult, but not impossible. It will take some work and relationship-building to start with. Once you have these connections confirmed getting features in the future will be smoother. Make sure your social media is in check and get them verified where possible. As mentioned earlier, having your Spotify profile verified is a must if you want the prominent list features.

The most important rule of all? Write and release good music.

Do you want to know if uploading music to Spotify is good idea? Check out the pros and cons here. 

 

Think back to when you were a kid, dreaming of making music for the rest of your life.

Dreams like this were more elusive before the rise of YouTube and online music streaming apps. Now, artists can get their music in front of millions of people without a record deal.

And this digital music revolution isn’t slowing down.

Easily, the most famous music streaming app of the bunch is Spotify – boasting an impressive 180 million users, it’s even credited with launching the career of Grammy Award-winning artist Lorde.

Could you be an upload away from turning your dream into a reality? Is Spotify the right platform for you and your music?

Also, this article is for musician’s, not for music fans uploading their music collection for listening purposes.

How to directly upload your music to Spotify

Spotify had an attempt at making it easy for artists to upload their music quickly. The idea was you didn’t have to go through music distributors, like Label Grid, and instead, you could upload to Spotify directly.

Unfortunately, as of July 2019, Spotify discontinued direct access. 

Spotify stated: 

“Almost a year ago, we started to beta test a feature that lets independent artists upload their music directly to Spotify. Today, we notified participating artists about our decision to close the beta program, along with how we can help them migrate their music to other distributors over the next month.”

> Please refer to this link for the full press release.

Regardless, there’s plenty of distributors that allow direct upload to Spotify, so you are not out of luck. 

How to upload music to Spotify, the pros and cons of Spotify, and how to get the most from this platform:

There are many ways to distribute your music. The most common way is through the internet, but other options such as physical distribution or even direct sales through independent record stores are also available. This article will focus on how you can get your music distributed by a digital music distributor.

What is a Digital Music Distributor?

An online music distributor is a company that provides services for independent artists, musicians and record labels who want to sell their music digitally.

In short, the distributor takes your music files and distributes them to online stores and streaming platforms, such as Spotify. 

Choosing a music distributor

Depending on the type of music you wish to distribute, e.g. rock, punk, dance music, hip hop, metal etc., it’s always wise to do your research before applying for digital music distribution.

Many distributors will offer different skillsets, such as providing advice about playlisting, pitching, strategy, and some will go as far as submitting to Spotify and Apple Music for playlist consideration on your behalf.

If you are looking for a distributor that offers more than just digital distribution:

I recommend checking out Label Grid, which provides a whole music management tool kit. Symphonic, which also provides a synchronisation arm. Or Cygnus Music – they have a solid team to help you grow. All companies have a fantastic team who can help you with everything from marketing, playlisting and providing solid advice. 

Here’s a list of some (not all!) music distributors to get you started. 

Amuse

AWAL

Believe Music

CD Baby

Cygnus Music

DistroKid

Ditto Music

Fresh Tunes

FUGA

Horus Music

InGrooves

Label Engine

Label Grid

Label Worx

LANDR

MondoTunes

OneRPM

RouteNote

Soundrop

Stem Music

Symphonic

Triple Vision

Tunecore

Creating your Spotify for Artists profile 

Once your music is distributed to Spotify, you can create a Spotify for Artists profile, and you can’t do this before your music is on their platform.

Spotify can be a powerful marketing tool, so this is an excellent opportunity to flex those branding muscles.

Is your current band photo looking a little dated? This would be a good time to update everything from your photos to your official bio.

Spotify gives you 1500 characters to tell your story. You can also include links to your website, music magazine features, and your merch store. Don’t hesitate to talk about the artists, events, and stories that inspire your music.

These little details can help people connect with your music. Keep building that connection by including your own Spotify playlist. This is a great way to show love to fellow artists and give fans another way to get to know you better.

If you want to submit music for playlist consideration directly to Spotify, it must be unreleased (as in, on Spotify and before the release date) music and done via Spotify for Artists. Plan accordingly and make sure your release date is no less than a week away before submitting.

Syncing Up with Spotify

Once you’ve registered for Spotify and set up your artist profile, look at Spotify’s partnerships with other digital services.

These Digital Services include:

• CD Baby
• Songkick
• Ticketmaster
• AXS
• Eventbrite
• Merchbar
• Distrokid
• Emo Bands

If you sell music, concert tickets, and merchandise through any of these services, connect your accounts to make them appear on your Spotify page. This is a quick and easy form of cross-promotion.

Syncing your CD Baby, Emo Bands, and Distrokid accounts will also verify your Spotify page, making you a verified artist on Spotify (blue check and all!).

Is Spotify Free for Artists?

One of the first questions artists ask is whether or not Spotify is free.

The good news is, yes! Spotify does not charge. However, keep in mind that the music distributor you use will likely charge a fee or commission.

Spotify also allows artists to promote merchandise without a fee.

How Much Can You Earn Through Spotify?

This is where Spotify receives its biggest criticism. In recent years, the streaming service has received significant scrutiny over its revenue model for artists.

Despite nearly a million streams per minute, Spotify only pays out $0.006 to $0.0084 per stream. Worse, this revenue is paid directly to the music holder, and this means the royalties are often split between artists, writers, music producers, and their record labels.

This makes it much harder for new artists to earn a living from Spotify.

While Taylor Swift may be one of the most prominent artists globally, she too took up the cause against Spotify when she pulled nearly all her music from the platform in 2014. Swift called out the platform for directly cutting into paid album sales.

Even though Spotify claims that working musicians can make up to $425,000 in monthly royalties, Swift’s claims further shed light on potential problems with the service.

Top Takeaways

Is Spotify the right platform for you?

Here’s a recap of the top takeaways of Spotify:

• 180 million users and almost a million streams per minute
• Create your own branded artist page
• Tell your story, sell your albums, and promote your merch
• Get your music on Spotify through your music distributor of choice
• See which music trends best with built-in analytics
• Spotify is free, but your music distributors will charge a fee
• Artists can only earn $0.006 to $0.0084 per stream

Spotify is part of a special club of music streaming services for both fans and artists. Other services include Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon Prime Music, SoundCloud, and Pandora.

Start Making a Name for Yourself

Feel music stardom within your grasp?

If you’re ready to try your luck and upload music to Spotify, bookmark this guide right now and get to work on your Spotify presence!

But remember, Spotify is just one piece of the promotion puzzle. If you really want to get your music out there, start building your robust list of industry contacts now or talk to an expert who can help.