Putting your music online on streaming platforms like Spotify is a great moment for any artist. It’s the start of something new: your music will be available worldwide and Spotify for Artists is here to help!
It’s also your chance to be added to a Spotify editorial playlist that can instantly get your career off the ground and allow new fans to discover you thanks to their powerful algorithms. But what can you do to get Spotify subscribers and increase your chances of being listened to again and again instead of only being played once?
Spotify, the leader of music streaming time and time again
The numbers speak for themselves. Despite significant growth in competition (Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google Play Music and YouTube Premium), Spotify remains the undisputed master of music streaming representing 36% of the market and with over 108 million registered subscribers (including over 83 million paid subscribers) as of June 2019.
Here is a comprehensive guide to getting the most out of Spotify for Artists, promoting your music and increasing your streams and visibility.
1. Spotify for Artists: The Best Way to Gain Subscribers
Spotify is more than just a streaming service that pays you every time someone plays your track, it’s a platform where music fans go to find new artists to love. When you put your tracks on Spotify, your fans can find your music through a number of paths, some of which you might not have thought of:
- Search for you and find your profile
- Algorithm recommendations
- Placement in thematic and/or specialized playlists
- Activity of friends
That’s a lot of ways for people to find your music and for you to see the number of Spotify subscribers grow!
The diffusion of your songs depends essentially on how you put yourself forward.
However, don’t expect the algorithms to do the job for you. You will get, at best, a dozen or a hundred viewers. It can never be emphasized enough: if your message and aesthetics are not unique, you will lose an opportunity to gain a new fan.
| Read also: Storytelling: Building a Universe Around Your Musical Project
There are a few actions you can take on your own to gain new fans and increase your streams. Let’s start with the first step: certify your artist profile with Spotify for Artists.
| Read also: How to Use Spotify for Artist to Develop Your Streaming Audience
Spotify for artists: the essential tool to boost your streams.
| Learn how to add lyrics and canvas on Spotify
2. How to Create a Spotify for Artists Account
Once your music is on Spotify, all you need to do is access Spotify for Artist to be certified and get the famous blue tick on your Spotify profile. No need to fill out a form or have 250 subscribers, verification is now available for all artists.
To claim your Spotify artist profile, follow these six steps:
- Go to the Spotify for Artists homepage
- Click on request your profile
- Select either the artist or the manager, depending on your relationship with the project
- Copy the link from your artist page via the share button in the Spotify app.
- Enter the artist’s link in the search bar
- Request access to Spotify for Artists and verify your identity by logging in to your music project’s social network accounts
Frank Ocean- Example of a Certified Artist Account
Pretty simple, isn’t it? Verification times vary, but Spotify usually takes 2-6 weeks to complete the verification process. Once you’ve claimed your profile, you’ll have access to all the statistics, promotional tools and profile customization options that Spotify offers. You’ll be able to see your number of listens, analyze your audience, and find out who your fans are.
3. Spotify for Artists: Some Tips for Completing Your Profile
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Your Biography
A verified profile allows you to showcase your unique personality. Once you have claimed your profile, you will be able to upload your personal profile photos, a photo gallery and a profile banner. In addition, you will be able to tell your story (maximum 1500 words) in your artist biography.
Writing a music biography can be difficult, but there are a few things you need to cover to introduce your project to the person discovering your profile. Give your audience a brief overview of your background, your music, and even a few words about your latest project. Excerpts and quotes from the press are also good options to flesh out your musical biography. Above all, don’t forget to include links to your social networks so that you can be found more easily and, in fact, grow your fan community!
| Read also: How To Write A Good Biography to Promote Your Music?
Spotify artist page of King Krule
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Your Concert Dates and Merchandise
One of Spotify’s features for artists also allows you to enter the dates of your upcoming gigs directly on your profile and redirects you directly to SongKick to buy the ticket. So when a listener subscribes to your artist profile, they’ll have access to your gig dates on their own Spotify dashboard. Also, you can include visuals and links to your merchandise. Keep them up to date and you’ll hopefully sell more concert tickets, t-shirts and vinyl.
| Read also: How to Find Concert Dates? 5 Tips for Playing Live!
Weyes Blood highlighting his concert dates and merchandising on Spotify
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The “Artist’s Pick” Feature
One of Spotify for Artists’ features, and certainly the most strategic to be updated regularly, is “Artist’s Pick”. This feature gives you the possibility to choose a song, an album, your next concert date or a playlist to pin to the top of your artist page with a short message. This is your opportunity to personalize your profile and share your inspiration or simply your “hot news”.
Grimes “Artist’s Pick” on Spotify
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The “Artist Playlists” Feature
On the other hand, you can also design personal playlists called “Artist Playlists” allowing you to gather all your inspirations of the moment as well as your top tracks.
The xx “Artist Playlists” on Spotify
These tools are designed to encourage your fans to keep coming back to your profile. But they only work if you update them regularly.
4. Promote your Tracks Intelligently with Spotify’s Data Analysis for Artists
Knowing the details about who is listening to your music and where it is being listened to is important when planning an album launch, tour or digital marketing campaign.
It is understandable as an artist to put musical creation before anything else, but that doesn’t make it any less important to understand how your music is spreading. And it’s especially worth it if you want to broaden your audience. Spotify for Artists is an essential tool for understanding how your fans interact with your music.
You can export some Spotify for Artist statistics as .csv files and get :
- Chronological statistics in Audience
- Your table of songs in Songs
- Your table of featured playlists in Playlists
IMPORTANT : The number of streams on Spotify is counted when a song is streamed for more than 30 seconds.
Analyze your audience with Spotify for Artists © Spotify
| Read also: Musical Metadata: How to Master the Stats Perfectly in the Streaming Era
Thanks to Spotify for Artists, you can also:
- Get an overview of your monthly and/or daily listeners
- Analyze the engagement of your fans
- Know who’s listening to your music
- Know how people listen to and discover your tracks
- Discover where your fanbase is located
It’s so valuable to know where your music is most popular, where you’re expanding your audience, what songs people like most, when you’re added to playlists or when your listeners press the “play” button. Of course, it’s even better if you can get your statistics on all streaming platforms.
5. Understand the Challenges of Streaming and Master Tools like Spotify for Artists to Gain Subscribers
Streaming platforms and digital distribution are very hot topics in the music industry right now. But whether or not you’re involved in the debate, the reality is that these platforms can connect you with new listeners.
No matter how much you earn for each stream, you should always think about how your project will connect with your listeners and create new fans. Taking advantage of the marketing and promotional tools offered by platforms like Spotify for Artists is a great way to stand out from the crowd and make yourself known.
For more concrete advice on playlists, we recommend the guide for artists and playlist curators 👉 Work Hard Playlist Hard
– Article written by Amy Cimpaye in its original version, translated by Mackenzie Leighton –
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