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A Green Tick for Real Artists: Spotify’s Verification Badge Lands as a Sign of Salvation in the Age of Artificial Sound

Posted on 4 May 2026
Verified

It’s brutally telling how Spotify felt the need to place a green verification tick beside living, breathing artists in 2026. Artificial oversaturation has reached a tipping point, adding more friction to the divisive mode of aural access.

Spotify’s new Verified by Spotify badge is designed to show that an artist profile has been reviewed and meets its standards for authenticity and trust. The light green checkmark will appear on artist profiles and in search, while eligibility is tied to consistent listener activity, good standing with Spotify’s policies, and signs of a real artist presence, including live dates, merch, and linked social accounts. AI-persona profiles and accounts primarily representing AI-generated music are excluded at launch, while Spotify says more than 99% of artists actively searched by listeners will be verified in the first phase.

That sounds useful, and it probably is. It also feels like a symptom of a culture which spent years treating output as the only metric worth measuring. When all that mattered was volume, volume arrived. Now the industry has to ask whether music discovery can survive when the feed is swollen with anonymous, synthetic wallpaper designed to skim attention, game playlists, and impersonate humanity at scale.

The streaming swamp has reached breaking point

Spotify has spent years positioning itself as the ultimate democratic music machine, but democracy turns strange when millions of uploaders are fighting for the same fraction of attention. Oversaturation was already brutal before AI became a mass-production tool. Independent artists were already competing with major-label budgets, algorithmic mood playlists, sped-up versions, reuploads, lo-fi background fodder, fake collaborations, playlist farms, and frantic release schedules.

AI music adds even more smog to the congestion. Recent reporting stated that Deezer has seen AI-generated uploads reach around 75,000 tracks per day, while Spotify removed more than 75 million spam tracks across 12 months. That gives some scale to the sewage pipe running beneath the polished app interface.

This is where the anxiety around AI music starts to feel painfully practical. Artists are being drowned out inside a system already hostile to attention spans, fair payment, and meaningful development. If an artist spends months making something human, flawed, considered, and alive, then releases it into a catalogue being flooded by cheap automated material, how much room is left for a real song to breathe?

The answer depends on where you stand. Listeners experience abundance as convenience. Artists experience abundance as suffocation. A listener can skip through endless tracks and still feel served. A musician sees everything through a lens of an ecosystem which keeps tightening the odds.

Are listeners actually bothered if the music they love is AI?

The average person opening a chill playlist during work will probably never ask whether the piano loop came from a composer, a content farm, or a machine. Passive listening has trained people to treat music as utilitarian emotional interior design. AI thrives in that exact space because it can generate endless ‘music’ for rooms where nobody is listening too closely.

Still, there are signs that the public appetite for AI music has limits. The Verge cited survey data showing broad scepticism, including one Deezer and Ipsos study where 51% of respondents thought AI would lead to more low-quality, generic-sounding music. The same piece also noted polling where 66% of people said they never knowingly listen to AI-generated music, while 52% said they would avoid music from a favourite artist if they knew AI had helped make it.

That gap between stated values and listening habits matters. People may dislike AI music as an idea, yet still stream it accidentally, tolerate it passively, or fail to notice it inside background playlists. Artists feel the threat in their bank accounts, release strategies, visibility, and exhaustion. Listeners feel it when the mask slips, when a fake artist goes viral, or when a voice sounds suspiciously familiar.

Spotify’s badge gives listeners a quick signal without demanding a moral dissertation before pressing play. It also frames authenticity as something worth noticing.

‘AI as accessibility’: the argument that refuses to die

There is a serious argument on the other side, and dismissing it outright would be lazy. Music technology has always widened access. Home recording changed everything. Affordable production software changed everything. Bedroom pop, SoundCloud rap, Bandcamp scenes, DIY punk, laptop electronica, and independent distribution all cracked open doors once controlled by money, geography, studios, and industry approval.

For people who cannot sing, cannot play an instrument, cannot afford session musicians, cannot access studios, or cannot physically create music in conventional ways, AI tools can look like another form of access. They can help sketch ideas, generate demos, test arrangements, translate musical imagination into sound, and lower the cost of entry. That does matter. Nobody who cares about independent music should sneer at tools that help outsiders make something they could otherwise only imagine.

The problem begins when access is confused with entitlement to flood the commons. A rough demo made with assistance is one thing. A fake artist persona pumping out albums by the dozen is another. A disabled creator using technology to express a song idea sits in a different ethical universe from a content farm trying to monetise faceless output. A musician using AI as part of a process deserves a more nuanced discussion than a scammer cloning voices, hijacking profiles, or filling streaming services with royalty traps.

Spotify seems aware of that grey area. The company’s wider transparency efforts include AI credits, SongDNA, expanded credits, and new artist details in beta. Those artist details are expected to show career milestones, release activity, and touring activity, giving listeners more context around the person or people behind the profile.

A green tick will help, but it cannot save artists alone

The Verified by Spotify badge is a sensible move. It gives artists a credibility signal and gives listeners a way to separate human presence from synthetic fog. It may reduce confusion around AI personas, fake profiles, and content farms. It may help independent artists who already do the unglamorous work of building a real-world presence: gigging, releasing, maintaining socials, selling merch, and slowly gathering listeners who seek them out on purpose.

Yet a badge cannot fix the deeper economics of streaming. It cannot make royalty rates feel humane. It cannot stop artists feeling forced to release constantly to appease an algorithm. It cannot undo years of playlist culture flattening music into mood fuel. It cannot make listeners care beyond the point where convenience stops.

There is also a risk that verification creates another invisible threshold. Spotify says reviews will roll out over time, and that lacking a badge will not mean an artist is ineligible forever. That caveat is important to note, because new artists, niche artists, experimental artists, and locally loved artists often build slowly. If listeners start reading absence as suspicion, the badge could unintentionally make early-stage visibility even harder.

The strongest version of this system would support trust without turning human legitimacy into another popularity contest. It should protect artists from impersonation, synthetic spam, and fraud, while leaving room for small acts, strange acts, and unfashionable acts who have yet to generate sustained listener data. The underground has always looked statistically unimpressive before it becomes culturally essential.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

When the Applause Fades: Why Musicians Must Reclaim the Intrinsic Joy of Creation

Posted on 12 November 2025
Intrinsic

The dopamine rush of validation has become the unspoken drug of the digital age. Musicians, perhaps more than any other creators, are exposed to its corrosive pull. Every artist knows that hollow click of the “refresh” button on Spotify for Artists or the queasy scroll through comments beneath a new release. It’s a ritual built on scarcity—scarcity of attention, scarcity of time, scarcity of empathy. As Johan Hari has written, intrinsic pleasure is rooted in meaning, in connection, in the act itself. Extrinsic pleasure, by contrast, hinges on how others respond to us. In 2025, the music industry’s architecture thrives on the latter. The metrics have become the muse, and musicians are burning out on a treadmill that never stops.

So, what happens when the applause fades (or never arrives)? When streams plateau, when algorithms ghost you, when your art sinks beneath the noise of the feed? For many artists, this has become the breaking point. But the truth is, that hollow space between expectation and recognition may be the only real place left to find art again.

The Mirage of Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation tells us to perform for approval, to turn art into proof of worth. It’s the ancient hunger for status, rebranded through digital dashboards and marketing lingo. Every artist who has ever written a line hoping it would “hit” knows the tension. The song becomes a transaction; emotion traded for validation. In the current climate, where even modest success often depends on ad budgets, playlist pitching, and marketing strategy, recognition has become something you buy, not something you earn through authenticity alone.

This isn’t to say artists shouldn’t want success. Wanting to be heard is human. But when the act of creating becomes contingent on the size of your audience, the soul of the music is quietly drained. It’s no longer about discovery or catharsis; it’s about performance metrics. The same song that once carried you through heartbreak becomes a data point on a graph.

Extrinsic pleasure feels fleeting because it’s borrowed energy. The problem is, once you build your creative identity around external feedback, you start to crave it like oxygen. Without it, you question your value. Without numbers climbing, you assume you’re failing. Yet, the failure isn’t in the music; it’s in the system that convinces you your art only matters when it’s seen.

The Endangered Art of Intrinsic Joy

Intrinsic joy, on the other hand, isn’t measurable. It’s the quiet moment in the studio when you lose track of time. It’s when lyrics spill out like confession, not marketing copy. It’s when you produce a track that no one may ever hear but it still feels like truth. That’s the essence that used to define artistry before content culture commodified it.

Hari’s observations about intrinsic fulfilment bleed into every form of creative expression. When music is treated as a mirror for others’ reactions, it becomes performative. When it’s treated as an exploration of self, it becomes timeless. The artists who endure, those who can survive being unseen, are the ones who understand that creating is a form of living, not a means to an end.

But intrinsic motivation is fragile in an environment designed to monetise insecurity. To protect it requires rebellion: switching off the analytics, writing songs no one requested, rediscovering the thrill of the unknown. The beauty of intrinsic pleasure is that it doesn’t rely on validation. It thrives in curiosity, imperfection, and the simple need to make sense of the world through sound.

When the Metrics Lie

Streaming statistics don’t tell the truth about worth. A musician with 500 monthly listeners could be creating something more vital than an artist with five million. The algorithm doesn’t measure innovation, courage, or the weight of lived experience. It rewards consistency, compliance, and marketability.

Many artists have confessed to feeling invisible. They wonder what’s the point of releasing music if it never “lands.” But that despair stems from comparing art to commerce. Music’s value cannot be quantified by engagement rates or playlist placements. Some of the most influential musicians in history made their most important work when no one was paying attention.

The danger of tying your creative self-worth to metrics is that it makes you risk-averse. You stop experimenting because you’re afraid it won’t perform. You start writing for playlists instead of for your soul. The algorithm rewards predictability; art requires disruption. The real question is whether the music still feels alive to you.

Relearning How to Create for Yourself

Reclaiming intrinsic joy means redefining success. Instead of chasing exposure, chase expression. Instead of calculating virality, pursue honesty. If writing and recording music still brings you the energy of something real, that’s the only currency that matters.

Artists who find their centre again often do so by removing themselves from the industry’s noise—writing without a plan to release, performing in small spaces, collaborating without agenda. It’s a way of returning to the root of why they started in the first place. The act of making music doesn’t need an audience to justify its existence; it’s already an act of rebellion in a world obsessed with consumption.

There’s also a quiet freedom in being small. You can fail privately, experiment wildly, and grow without scrutiny. Fame is loud but constraining. Obscurity can be liberating. The moment you stop writing for applause, the music starts speaking back to you in new ways.

Conclusion: The Point of Pointlessness

So, is it worth making music if no one listens? The honest answer is yes, as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons. Art made purely for external reward will always feel hollow once the dopamine fades. But art made to document, to explore, to connect becomes its own justification.

Music born from intrinsic pleasure doesn’t need an audience to validate it. It exists because it must. Every artist who keeps creating despite the silence is quietly resisting the transactional logic of an industry that measures success in numbers instead of resonance. The applause might fade, but the echo of truth remains.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

The Democratisation of Sound: From Bedroom Artists to AI Composers

Posted on 11 September 2025
Democratisation

The democratisation of music has always been shaped by access. For decades, studio walls kept hopeful musicians outside, unless they could stomach the gatekeeping, the costs, and the compromises. Then came the laptop revolution, where digital audio workstations, plug-ins, and affordable mics put power back into the hands of artists. What followed was a wave of bedroom-born music that bypassed traditional channels and went viral, proving the world was ready to listen without the gloss of million-pound recording budgets.

But if the laptop was the first crack in the industry’s rigid hierarchy, AI is now the chisel carving deeper into its structure. The question that divides artists and listeners alike is simple: is AI the logical next step in democratising music creation, or is it the threat that purists paint it to be?

The Bedroom Revolution

Before AI entered the conversation, we already saw artists reshape the industry from their bedrooms. The technology was there for anyone stubborn enough to teach themselves how to record and produce on consumer software. From the DIY ethos of Billie Eilish, who crafted her breakthrough When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? with her brother Finneas at home, to Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker sculpting expansive psychedelic landscapes alone, and even alt-pop icons like Grimes, who built her sonic world away from glossy studio floors, the rise of the bedroom artist proved talent and imagination could outshine production gloss.

The early 2010s were proof that a cracked copy of Logic or Ableton, a cheap mic, and a refusal to wait for permission could be enough to break the charts. For rock, pop, indie, and beyond, the bedroom became a legitimate birthplace of music, democratising artistry in a way major labels never could.

Enter AI: The Second Wave of Access

Fast forward to today, and AI tools are everywhere in the creative process. They’re not replacing the laptop revolution so much as extending its logic. Where the early democratisation hinged on making gear affordable and accessible, AI’s proposition is making knowledge accessible. You no longer need years of training in music theory to map out harmonies. You don’t need to spend months learning EQ balancing when mastering assistants can offer a decent enough polish.

AI can already be used at multiple stages: songwriting assistants can suggest chord progressions, generate melody lines, or act as co-writers when inspiration thins. Tools like AI stem separation let producers isolate vocals or instruments from old tracks to sample more effectively. Mixing and mastering programs powered by machine learning can give tracks industry-standard loudness and clarity without hours spent tweaking compression ratios.

So when does it become “AI music”? Purists argue the moment you use AI-generated melodies, lyrics, or vocals, you’ve crossed into artificial territory. But if an artist uses an AI mastering tool, is that really any different from slapping on a preset chain in Logic or using autotune, which has been part of pop’s DNA for decades? The idea that AI will suddenly conjure symphonies out of thin air without any human input is misleading. Every AI tool needs a prompt, a guiding hand, a decision-maker. Music is still authored, even if the tools have evolved.

Purism, Whiskey, and the Cocktail Effect

For the traditionalists clutching their reel-to-reels and valve amps, AI is an existential threat, just as Pro Tools once was, and just as synthesisers were in the 70s. Their argument often hinges on purity: that music loses its soul if it isn’t forged in analogue sweat and tape hiss.

But purity is relative. Some people like their whiskey neat, others prefer it in an Old Fashioned, and some go for a neon-coloured cocktail with five umbrellas sticking out of the glass. None of those choices invalidates the others. If an artist wants to spend two years perfecting an album through analogue tape machines, let them. If another wants to sketch a concept with AI assistance, why should it matter? One doesn’t erase the other.

The problem only arises when platforms like Spotify blur the lines by implanting AI-generated artists directly into playlists. That practice feels less like democratisation and more like corporate experimentation. But considering Spotify’s business model already pays a pittance to human musicians, it’s hardly a bastion of fairness to begin with.

What Counts as Acceptable?

Drawing a line in the sand about what is and isn’t acceptable AI use is tricky. Is it acceptable to let AI clean up background noise on a vocal take? Few would object. Using it to automatically balance a mix? Still palatable. Generating an entire vocal performance from a modelled voice? That’s where many would draw the line.

The distinction should be between tools that aid and tools that substitute. Songwriting still needs vision, identity, and narrative; those can’t be outsourced without hollowing the art into wallpaper. But using AI as an assistant doesn’t strip the work of authenticity; it simply changes the palette artists have to work with.

History shows us that musicians have always absorbed new technology. From the electric guitar to drum machines, each innovation sparked outrage before finding acceptance. AI is following the same trajectory. It’s a tool, not a replacement, unless artists decide to hand it the reins entirely.

Conclusion: The Future Is Messy, and That’s Fine

The rise of the bedroom artist showed that access reshapes culture. Billie Eilish, Kevin Parker, and Grimes proved that industry dominance isn’t limited to those with label backing and a £1,000-a-day studio budget. AI now offers the potential for another wave of access, not by lowering costs of gear, but by reducing barriers of knowledge and expertise.

Some will stick to their neat whiskey, refusing to accept even a drop of artificial flavouring in their music. Others will pour cocktails, experimenting with every garnish AI has to offer. Both approaches can coexist. What matters is that the tools serve the artist, not the other way round.

If anything should be fought, it’s not AI-assisted creativity, but the corporate exploitation of AI to further squeeze musicians. Technology doesn’t kill creativity. Profit-driven platforms do.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

Navigating the Stream: Boosting Your Spotify Visibility in an Oversaturated Market

Posted on 3 November 2024
Spotify

This week, it was revealed by Hypebot that only 20% of artists can achieve the seemingly modest milestone of 1,000 monthly streams on Spotify. This statistic, while disheartening, offers an insight into the pervasive challenge of visibility within the industry.

With production and recording technology becoming increasingly accessible, the number of aspiring musicians uploading their sounds to Spotify has skyrocketed, leading to an oversaturation that has transformed the music industry’s landscape. Is this democratisation beneficial, or has it simply muddied the waters where only a select few can truly thrive?

Previously, the music industry was effectively behind a paywall, only accessible to those with enough funds to break through the financial barrier to pay for studio time. Today, effectively, anyone with a laptop can contribute to the airwaves and attempt to make their mark among the media plants.

This blog will explore how the music industry has evolved in recent decades, before providing workable tips for independent artists looking to be more than just a drop in the infinite sonic ocean.

From Vinyl to Virtual: The Evolution of the Music Industry

The music industry’s journey from the 1970s to the present day paints a fascinating picture of adaptation and transformation. From vinyl records to the streaming dominance of platforms like Spotify, the way music is produced, distributed, and consumed has undergone revolutionary changes. This evolution has not only impacted the commercial aspects of music but also the creative processes behind it.

The Vinyl Era and the Age of Gatekeepers

In the 1970s, the music scene was dominated by vinyl records and controlled by a handful of major record labels. These labels acted as gatekeepers, deciding which artists got the chance to record and distribute their music. This system placed a high barrier to entry for upcoming artists, making it difficult for them to break into the scene without significant label backing.

The Digital Shift and the Rise of CDs

The 1980s and 1990s witnessed the rise of digital recording and CDs, which provided higher sound quality and durability. This era also saw the beginnings of the digital revolution in music, with the introduction of digital audio workstations that began to democratise music production, allowing more artists to produce music at lower costs.

The MP3 Revolution and Online Distribution

The late 1990s and early 2000s brought about the MP3 revolution, which completely changed the landscape. Platforms like Napster disrupted traditional music distribution, leading to a massive shift towards online consumption. This period marked the decline of physical sales and the struggle of the industry to adapt to the digital age.

Streaming Takes Over

By the 2010s, streaming platforms began to dominate, culminating in Spotify’s rise as one of the most influential platforms in the music industry. These platforms offer unlimited access to vast libraries of music for a subscription fee or free with advertisements, fundamentally changing how music is monetized and challenging artists to find new ways to earn revenue.

The Current Landscape: Accessibility vs. Oversaturation

Today, virtually anyone with a computer and internet access can record and upload music to streaming platforms. While this has lowered the barrier to entry and allowed a more diverse range of artists to participate, it has also led to oversaturation. The sheer volume of available music makes it increasingly challenging for artists to stand out and achieve significant streaming numbers.

Five Workable Tips for Artists on Streaming Platforms

Given this historical context and the current challenges, here are five actionable tips for artists looking to increase their visibility and success on platforms like Spotify:

  1. Focus on Niche Markets

Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, artists can achieve more by targeting specific niches. By understanding and catering to a specific audience, artists can create more targeted and relevant content that resonates deeply with their listeners.

  1. Invest in Quality Production

While home recording has made music production more accessible, the importance of quality has not diminished. High-quality recordings can make a significant difference in how music is perceived by listeners and algorithms on streaming platforms.

  1. Use Smart Promotion Strategies

Artists should leverage all available channels to promote their music. This includes social media, music blogs, playlists, and collaborations with other artists. Effective use of these channels can significantly increase an artist’s visibility and streaming numbers.

The DIY ethos may seem attractive to independent artists who take immense amounts of pride in doing everything themselves, but very few successful artists got to where they are today alone. If you are serious about your music being heard, invest in PR; yes, there may be some music PR companies with campaign fees that will make your eyes water as you count the zeroes, but there are also swathes of cheaper PR options offered by people with strong connections within niches and local scenes – some charge as little as £50 per campaign!

  1. Engage with Your Audience

Building a loyal fan base requires active engagement. This can be through social media interactions, live streams, or offering exclusive content. Engaged fans are more likely to stream music repeatedly and share it with others. While it isn’t ideal that you have to invest so much of your time dedicated to your music affixed to Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, it is one of the best ways of organically growing a strong and loyal fanbase who will be worth far more than a few passive streams on Spotify!

  1. Analyse Data to Inform Decisions

Platforms like Spotify provide artists with data on how their music is performing. By analysing this data, artists can make informed decisions about everything from the type of music they produce to when they release it, maximising their chances of success.

Conclusion: Adapting to the New Normal

The evolution of the music industry from the 1970s to 2024 shows a pattern of disruption followed by adaptation. As we look forward, artists must navigate the challenges of an oversaturated market by focusing on quality, engaging directly with audiences, and leveraging modern marketing and data analytics. By adapting to these changes, artists have the opportunity to carve out successful careers in a radically transformed music industry.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

How to Increase Monthly Listeners on Spotify

Posted on 24 August 2024
Monthly Listeners

After the industry rushed to celebrate Billie Eilish becoming the third artist to reach the 100 million monthly Spotify listeners milestone which led to the Weeknd being knocked off his pedestal as the most popular artist on the platform, it became irrefutably clear that monthly listeners matter just as much as the number of streams you are able to amass on your most popular tracks.

However, it is extremely likely that independent artists vastly overestimate how many monthly listeners they need to be revered as among the most popular artists on Spotify.

If you have 1,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, you’re officially in the top 8% of musicians on Spotify. If that number grows to near the 100k monthly listeners mark, you can celebrate being in the top 1% of artists on Spotify. Achieving those kinds of figures as an independent artist may be difficult, but it isn’t a pipe dream.

This article will cover why paying attention to metrics such as your monthly listeners on Spotify is important, and most crucially, share tips on how to ensure your monthly listener count doesn’t plateau or drastically diminish following promotional campaigns.

Why Monthly Listener Metrics Matter

Metrics such as monthly listeners, streams, and likes provide unique insights into different aspects of reach and engagement. Here’s a breakdown of why monthly listeners matter and how they compare to streams and likes:

Monthly Listeners: Reach and Active Audience

Monthly listener metrics indicate the number of unique listeners who have streamed an artist’s music at least once within 28 days. This figure is crucial because it reflects the breadth of an artist’s audience and gives a sense of how many people are actively engaging with their music regularly.

  • Audience Scope: Monthly listeners provide a snapshot of how many people are tuning in to an artist’s music over a specific period, highlighting the artist’s overall reach. A high number of monthly listeners suggests a wide audience that isn’t just concentrated among a few loyal fans but spans across various demographics and regions.
  • Engagement Over Time: While streams can fluctuate based on releases or promotional efforts, monthly listeners offer a more stable view of an artist’s ongoing appeal. It’s possible for an artist to have high streams from a viral hit but fewer monthly listeners if most of those streams come from a small, dedicated fanbase repeatedly playing the track.

Streams: Depth of Engagement

Streams represent the total number of times an artist’s songs have been played. This metric is essential for understanding how popular a specific track or body of work is, as it counts every individual play, regardless of whether it’s from the same listener or different ones.

  • Track Popularity: High stream counts often indicate a hit song or successful album. However, streams don’t differentiate between a song that a few people play on repeat and one that is played by a wide audience.
  • Monetary Value: Streams are also tied directly to royalties. More streams typically mean more revenue for the artist, though the per-stream payout is often low. Therefore, streams are vital from a financial standpoint, even if they don’t necessarily reflect the breadth of the audience.

Likes: Fan Loyalty and Fandom

Likes on Spotify, typically seen as the number of times users have “liked” or “saved” a song or album, are a direct indicator of fan loyalty. When a user likes a track, it’s often added to their personal library or playlist, meaning they are likely to return to it regularly.

  • Long-Term Engagement: Likes can be an indicator of how many listeners are committed fans. If a listener takes the time to like a track, they’re signalling a deeper level of engagement and an intention to revisit the music, which could indicate potential for future streams and continued support.
  • Algorithmic Boost: Likes can also influence Spotify’s algorithm, making it more likely that the song will be recommended to other users, thereby potentially increasing both streams and monthly listeners.

Why Monthly Listeners Matter Most:

In the context of overall reach and potential growth, monthly listeners might be the most significant metric because it reflects how many people are being exposed to an artist’s music on an ongoing basis. It’s a broader measure of an artist’s active audience and potential market. While streams and likes are important, especially in terms of financial gain and gauging fan loyalty, monthly listeners provide a clearer picture of an artist’s relevance and ability to maintain an active and expanding fanbase.

How to Increase Monthly Listeners on Spotify

Increasing monthly listeners on Spotify as an independent artist involves a combination of promotion, engagement with your audience, and leveraging the platform’s features. Here are some effective tactics:

  • Consistent Release Schedule:
    • Release new music regularly to keep your audience engaged.
    • Drop singles before an album to build anticipation and maintain visibility.
  • Leverage Social Media:
    • Promote your Spotify tracks on social media.
    • Use stories and posts to direct followers to your Spotify profile.
    • Engage with your audience through live sessions or Q&A to build a stronger connection.
  • Collaborate with Other Artists:
    • Partner with other musicians for features or joint tracks to tap into their fanbase.
    • Consider remixing tracks with different artists to reach diverse audiences.
  • Pitch to Spotify Playlists:
    • Submit your tracks to Spotify’s editorial playlists through the Spotify for Artists dashboard.
    • Aim for inclusion in user-generated playlists by networking with playlist curators.
    • Create your own playlists, featuring your music alongside tracks by popular artists in similar genres.
  • Optimise Your Spotify Profile:
    • Ensure your artist profile is complete with a professional bio, high-quality images, and links to your social media.
    • Use Spotify Canvas (the short looping visuals) to make your tracks more engaging.
    • Update your profile regularly with new releases and relevant content.
  • Engage with Your Audience:

    • Use Spotify’s built-in tools like Marquee to promote your new releases.
    • Send updates to your fans through Spotify’s email and push notifications.
    • Encourage fans to follow your profile and save your music to their libraries.
  • Cross-Promote with Other Platforms:
    • Share your Spotify links in newsletters, blogs, and other music distribution platforms like Bandcamp or SoundCloud.
    • Use music blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels to promote your music and direct traffic to Spotify.
  • Focus on Quality and Uniqueness:
    • Invest in high-quality production to make your tracks stand out.
    • Develop a unique sound or brand that makes you distinctive and memorable.
  • Engage with Local and Niche Communities:
    • Participate in local music events or online communities that align with your genre.
    • Build relationships with local radio stations or DJs who can play your tracks and promote your Spotify profile.
  • Use Paid Advertising:
    • Invest in targeted ads on social media platforms, directing users to your Spotify tracks.
    • Consider using Spotify Ads Studio to create audio ads that promote your music directly to listeners on Spotify.

By integrating these strategies, you can steadily grow your monthly listeners, increase your visibility, and build a loyal fanbase on Spotify.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

How Sponsored Content on Spotify is Diminishing the Democratization of Music in the Digital Era

Posted on 9 June 2024
Sponsored Content

If you have fired up Spotify recently, you will have undoubtedly been greeted with sponsored content from artists who have paid to advertise their music on the platform. The internet is awash with searches for how to turn off the feature, signalling that not every premium member of the most divisive music streaming platform since Napster is stoked at the arrival of the new mode of streaming platform advertising.

Frustrations aren’t solely felt on the fan side of things; music’s digital revolution was supposed to democratise music. Platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube promised a level playing field where independent artists could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with industry giants. Yet, as we get deeper into this digital age, the reality is quite different, particularly with the rise of sponsored content on Spotify.

In this article, after highlighting the issues which have arisen following the advent of sponsored content, we will explore how sponsored content on Spotify works, and most importantly for independent artists struggling to decide how to spend their marketing budget, if it is worth investing in the ads.

Of course, Spotify has been keen to digress that this form of advertising is far more efficacious than social media ads, and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, but is there any weight to the claim made by the profoundly exploitative platform which has recently announced they will stop paying artists who fail to rack up over 1000 streams in a calendar year? Probably not! Allowing artists to advertise on the platform, rather than solely uploading their music will be just another means to an exploitative end.

Sponsored Content and the Fall of Digital Music Democratization  

Spotify launched with the mission to make music accessible to everyone, offering a vast library of tracks for a relatively low subscription fee or even for free with ads. For artists, it was a chance to bypass traditional gatekeepers like record labels and radio stations, reaching a global audience directly. The algorithm-based recommendations seemed to favour the listener’s tastes, theoretically giving every song an equal shot at being discovered.

In recent years, however, Spotify has increasingly integrated sponsored content into its platform. This includes sponsored playlists, promoted songs, and ads tailored to specific user demographics. While this might seem like a natural evolution for a business seeking to maximise revenue, it has significant implications for music discovery and the independence of emerging artists.

Everything You Need To Know About Spotify Marquee - Symphonic Blog

Sponsored content creates a disparity in visibility between artists who can afford to pay for promotion and those who cannot. Big record labels, with their deep pockets, can ensure their artists get prime placement in popular playlists, featured spots, and targeted ads. This leaves independent artists struggling to gain traction unless they have substantial financial backing or happen to go viral by chance.

Spotify’s algorithms are designed to keep users engaged by recommending music based on their listening habits. However, when these recommendations are influenced by paid promotions, the algorithm’s impartiality is compromised. Sponsored tracks may get pushed to the forefront, sidelining genuinely popular or high-quality music that doesn’t come with a promotional budget. This can lead to a homogenisation of music, where only those tracks with financial muscle behind them get significant playtime.

For listeners, the increasing presence of sponsored content can be frustrating. It distorts the organic discovery process, where stumbling upon a hidden gem used to be part of the charm of using Spotify. Instead, users are now more likely to encounter music that’s been prioritised because of financial transactions rather than merit or popularity. This undermines the trust that users place in the platform’s recommendations.

How Does Spotify Sponsored Content Work and Is it Worth the Investment?

Spotify offers two main types of promotion: organic and paid. Organic promotion leverages Spotify’s tools to build your audience through follows, likes, and playlist placements without spending any money. On the other hand, paid promotion involves spending money to boost your visibility on the platform.

Paid Promotion on Spotify

Spotify’s paid promotion options include Marquee placements and Ad Studio ads. Here’s a closer look at each:

Spotify Marquee
 Marquee is Spotify’s premium advertising option. When you invest in a Marquee campaign, your music gets a full-page ad on the Spotify home screen for users in your target audience. Clicking the ad takes users directly to the music you’re promoting.
To qualify for Marquee, you need at least 2,500 followers or 15,000 streams in the past 28 days. The cost is based on a per-click basis, and you need a minimum budget of $250. Marquee also offers targeting options to ensure your ad reaches the right listeners.

Spotify Ad Studio 
Ad Studio allows artists to create audio and video ads that play between songs for free-tier users. You can either upload your own audio or collaborate with Spotify to create an ad. Unlike Marquee, Ad Studio charges based on impressions rather than clicks. This means your ad is about reach rather than direct engagement.

The Economics Behind Spotify Promotion

For independent artists, the decision to invest in Spotify promotion boils down to cost-effectiveness and the potential return on investment. Here’s what you need to consider:

Cost vs. Reach: Paid promotions can be expensive. For Marquee ads, you’re looking at a significant outlay, and for Ad Studio, the return might not be as tangible in terms of direct engagement.

Temporary Boost: Paid promotions can give your music a temporary boost in visibility, but maintaining that momentum requires either continuous investment or a solid fan base to sustain the initial push.

Audience Targeting: While Marquee allows for precise targeting, ensuring your music reaches listeners who are more likely to enjoy it, Ad Studio ads might cast a wider but less engaged net.

Budget Allocation: As an independent artist, it’s crucial to balance your promotional budget. Spending too much on Spotify ads might mean less for other essential activities like social media campaigns or touring.

Alternative Organic Promotion Strategies on Spotify 

For most artists, using organic methods to promote on Spotify can be far more effective and 100% free!

Engage with Spotify’s Tools: Use Spotify for Artists to understand your audience and improve your engagement. Tools like Spotify Canvas and Spotify Promo Cards can enhance your profile’s visual appeal.

Playlist Placements: Getting your music on curated playlists can significantly boost your streams and visibility. Pitch your music to playlist curators and engage with playlist communities on social media.

Social Media Integration: Promote your Spotify links on your social media platforms. Encourage your followers to share your tracks and add them to their playlists.

Conclusion

The rise of sponsored content on Spotify highlights a growing tension between commercial interests and the foundational ideals of music democratization. While it’s understandable that Spotify seeks to monetise its platform, it must carefully balance this with its responsibility to maintain a fair and open environment for all artists. Only by doing so can it uphold the promise of the digital music revolution: a world where anyone, regardless of financial clout, can share their music with the world.

The bottom line for independent artists just starting out with a limited budget is focusing on organic growth and leveraging free tools might be a smarter approach. Whereas artists who have already built a solid foundation can consider paid promotion to amplify key releases; this balanced approach can help maximise your reach and build a sustainable career in the music industry.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

Spotify Has Sunk to a New Low, and So Will Royalties for ‘Less-Popular’ Artists

Posted on 29 October 2023
Spotify Royalties

Despite the pleas from musician unions, campaigns spearheaded by the likes of Broken Record and the UK government calling for a total reset on the streaming royalties model, there is a rumour buzzing around the music industry mill that Spotify is going to make one of its most unpopular moves to date by demonetising less-popular artists.

While it is little more than hearsay and conjecture at this point, there are swathes of viable sources indicating that a major shake-up is set to arrive in 2024. Also, it is incredibly unlikely that Spotify would decide to needlessly taint its already besmirched reputation amongst independent artists and champions of grassroots music.

Which Shake-Ups Set to Rattle the Coins from the Pockets of Independent Artists?

Earlier this week, Spotify garnered even more disdain after it was leaked that the streaming giant is poised to shake up its streaming royalty framework, potentially skewing payouts away from lesser-known artists.

Rumblings suggest that Spotify intends to establish a threshold for song streams before artists are compensated for their creativity. In potentially one of the platform’s most inequitable and discriminatory moves in its recent history, artists are being warned that if they previously received less than 0.5% of Spotify’s royalty pool, they could be totally excluded from receiving their meagre royalty payouts.

According to Billboard, this is set to affect up-and-coming artists and creators of white noise or ambient nature tracks. While it makes some degree of sense to punish the ‘artists’ who are oversaturating the streaming platform with quite literal white noise, the reprimand that will undoubtedly make independent artists think “What is the fucking point?” is totally unjustifiable. Especially as it appears that a large part of the incentive behind this move is to funnel more funds towards the more mainstream artists.

Spotify’s official stance, as voiced to Mixmag, hints at their continuous efforts to refine the platform for artists, though specifics are under wraps. Trade unions and musician groups, including the United Musicians and Allied Workers, have aired their grievances, opining that such reforms might further pad the pockets of music moguls, but that should never come at the expense of side-lining grassroots artists. Furthermore, the Future of Music Coalition observes Spotify’s growing drift from its original promise: a democratised platform treating all tracks equally.

It comes as no surprise that oligarchs like Universal Music Group (UMG) are warming up to this shift, leading to rife speculation over a budding pact between UMG and Spotify, touted to champion ‘genuine artists’ with devout fan followings. This revamped royalties blueprint is slated to see the light of day come next year.

Until then, the United Musicians Union and Allied Workers Union aren’t letting sleeping capitalist dogs lie. Their reaction iterated that artists have solutions to fix the issues surrounding streaming loyalties, but Spotify has tuned out of the conversation before chastising the proposed changes which will make the music industry even more of a pyramid scheme. Resistance isn’t futile. Make your opinions on these new manifestings of late-stage capitalist malificence known.

Which Streaming Platforms Pay Fairer Royalties to ‘Less-Popular Artists?

Spotify may hold the monopoly on the music streaming industry in the UK, but it isn’t the be-all-end-all for musicians who fall shy of the streaming stats of mainstream trailblazers.

It is worth bearing in mind that a platform with a smaller user base, but a higher stream rate might not necessarily be more lucrative for an artist than a platform with a vast user base but a lower per-stream rate. Furthermore, when it comes to discoverability and features, there are few which can outshine Spotify. We have written countless articles on how Spotify as a music marketing tool can provide independent artists with value beyond the streaming revenue, which we still stand by, regardless of its CEO’s determination to become the music industry’s most nefarious figure.

Considering the above, here are some platforms and models that were touted as being “fairer” to less-popular artists:

  1. Bandcamp: This platform allows artists to set their own prices on digital and physical releases, and often gives a higher percentage of sales directly to the artists compared to other platforms.
  2. SoundCloud: Known for its direct engagement between artists and fans, SoundCloud provides a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work and grow their audience. It operates on both a streaming royalties model and a direct purchase model.
  3. Resonate: This is a co-op-based streaming platform that uses a “stream-to-own” model. After a certain number of streams, the user owns the track. The idea is to provide a more equitable distribution of revenue.
  4. Tidal: Founded by Jay-Z and other artists, Tidal claims to pay a higher per-stream rate than royalties from competitors. However, its smaller user base compared to Spotify or Apple Music can affect total revenue potential.
  5. Direct fan funding and tipping: Platforms like Twitch and even Spotify have introduced or considered features where fans can directly tip or fund their favourite artists, providing another revenue stream beyond just streaming.

Furthermore, it is crucial for artists to consider multiple revenue streams (live performances, merchandise sales, licensing deals, etc.) in addition to streaming revenues.

There may come a day when the dynamic streaming landscape starts to fairly pay artists their dues, but if you do have a dog in the fight, align yourself with advocacy groups and movements pushing for fairer pay and more transparency in the streaming industry.

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For more advice on how to monetize your music career and ensure your music career has some degree of sustainability, keep following our blog, or get in touch and enquire about our artist development services.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

How Musicians Should Prepare for Spotify Wrapped 2023

Posted on 22 October 2023
Spotify Wrapped 2023

Instead of Spotify Wrapped catching you off guard this year, gear up for the 2023 launch by creating content to share across your social media platforms, restocking your Spotify merch page and preparing a short video which will be presented to your top fans to make the most out of the momentum of the annual event.

Spotify Wrapped has been knocking around since 2016, but in 2022 Spotify took the event one step further by giving the artists the opportunity to share reels and take advantage of other features in a bid to help fans get closer to their favourite artists.

To maximise the momentum and monetization, Spotify for Artists has produced a guide for artists to prepare for the biggest fan moment of the year. If you are wondering if it is worth the effort, a Spotify article revealed that fans wanting merch from their top wrapped artists led to the biggest ever week of artist merch sales on the platform!

Every year Spotify Wrapped rolls around, there are swathes of cynics bemoaning the value of Spotify royalties and fans; yes, one t-shirt is the equivalent of thousands of streams, but no guns are forced to the foreheads of music fans forcing them to choose between buying a band tee and paying for a monthly Spotify subscription. Leave the pessimists to their lament; hundreds of millions of listeners around the world come together for Wrapped, focus on them and how you can thank your fans for their support.

British Band Makes a T-Shirt Inspired by Abysmal Spotify Royalties

When Will Spotify Wrapped Streaming Data Be Released in 2023?

Spotify will cease collecting streaming data on the 31st of October; currently, it is rumoured that the data will be released a few weeks later; however, Spotify is keeping the Wrapped release date under wraps for now, aside from the advice that artists should get a video ready by the 15th of November.

Your Spotify Wrapped 2023 Check List

  1. Record a Wrapped Video Message

Your Wrapped video message will appear in your top fans’ Wrapped experience; it should be 30-second or less address to the fans elucidating what their support means to you. You can also tease what you have lingering in the pipeline to add some hype around your future releases or plans! Shoot the video virtually, come up with a catchy caption, and leave your music on your Spotify page and out of the audio.

  1. Give Your Top Fans Access to Discounted Merch

Adding discounts to merch for only your most devout fans is a brand-new feature for Spotify Wrapped 2023. Unfortunately, this feature is currently only available to artists in the US and Canada. If you want to give your top fans a discount, ensure your discount rewards are set up by the 15th of November by heading to your Spotify for Artists page, hitting the merch tab and creating the discount.

  1. Create or Refresh Your Spotify Merch Stall

If you are outside the US or Canada, you can still maximise your merch sales by adding exclusive and new merch to your Spotify merch shop. There’s no harm in attempting to clear old stock either! Just make sure the items you want to sell are the five recently added items and your merch will be promoted to your top fans via their wrapped experience and email. For more info on how to sell merch via Spotify, read the Shopify merch guide.

  1. Promote Your Upcoming Shows

If your tour dates are listed on any of Spotify’s partner sites, your top fans will be informed where you are playing and tempted into buying tickets. To name a few, ticket partner sites include DICE, Eventbrite, See Tickets, Songkick and Ticketmaster.

  1. Prepare Your Spotify for Artist Profile

  • Even though it is likely that your top fans are already following you on your social media pages, double-check check all your social handles are added and up to date.
  • Playlist your top 2023 picks via your personal account on the Spotify app to highlight your top 2023 releases and the tracks that inspired you throughout the year. It is a great opportunity to help give other bands some recognition!
  • Set up a Fan Support link. If asking for virtual donations or ‘end of year tips’ makes you feel uncomfortable (it shouldn’t), you can always ask for donations for a charitable cause you feel strongly about which will help fans to understand you on a deeper level and raise funds for a worthy organisation.

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For more advice on how to increase your Spotify streams and boost your monthly follower count, learn more about our artist development and consultancy services.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

Streaming is King: Here’s How to Conquer the Domain in 2023

Posted on 17 September 2023
Music Streaming

As streaming platforms, such as Spotify, which continues to reign supreme in 2023 with a dominant market share, reached saturation point a long time ago, independent artists have a seemingly impossible task ahead of them if they want to hit the ground running with their new releases and become popular playlist staples.

Perceptibly, battling it out on the streaming platforms themselves has become futile. New uploads are just a drop in the ocean, and it is enough to make the era of indie landfill in the 2000s and 2010s seem like a euphonic utopia of opportunity. It is no surprise that given that we thought music was derivative then, we are positively dejected by the prospect of an industry where millions of banal hits pile onto the airwaves each year.

So, what’s the remedy?

It may be the case that streaming platforms are proliferated by hack hobby musicians, and there isn’t a lot that can be done to prevent their access to streaming platforms. But for professional musicians worth their salt, there is everything left to gain in the industry. Well, relatively. New up-and-coming artists who have any true staying power in the charts have become sonic unicorns. Especially with the disappearing phenomenon of the mainstream music industry, but great music, which is marketed as masterfully as it was made, still has a fighting chance. Especially for artists willing to harness fan power.

Marketing your music outside of streaming platforms has become crucial to making an impression. Or at least achieving streaming stats and monthly listening figures that don’t want to make you throw the towel in. If you’re searching for the average number of followers, monthly listeners, or streams you need to be regarded as a success in the industry, you might as well be looking for the average length of a piece of string. There is no fixed number that you can achieve that will signify that you’re a success – unless you’re Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, Drake, or the Weeknd, that is.

Streaming stats boil down to several factors. From whether your genre or style thrives on streaming platforms to how much money you throw at a pre-release campaign. It isn’t always a case of the best artists being the ones to send their streaming stats through the roof. Therefore, streaming stats aren’t yardsticks you should use to determine your worth as an artist.

This article will highlight up-to-date streaming platform stats to show you what you are up against as an independent artist, before suggesting some of the ways you can ensure your new releases rack up the streams and garner fans who will support you away from streaming platforms – which is where the real revenue streams will start to flow.

2023 Music Streaming Stats

To conquer your enemy, it pays (in this instance, $0.003 – $0.005 per stream on average) to know them. To understand the music streaming market in 2023, we have collated a list of streaming platform stats:

  • 10,000 – 50,000 monthly listeners will help you earn $100 – $600 each month.
  • The Weeknd and Taylor Swift are the only artists to break the 100 million monthly listeners mark on Spotify with 106.89 and 100.91 monthly listeners, respectively.
  • Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande are the most followed artists on Spotify with 115.03 and 93.76 followers, respectively.
  • As of September 2023, Spotify holds music from 11 million artists; their music is listened to by 551 million active monthly listeners.
  • The rate of Spotify uploads continues to soar in 2023, with an average upload rate of 120,000 per day.
  • You would need 625 million subscription streams or 1.875 billion free streams to achieve gold certification on streaming platforms alone. Which is infinitely higher than the 500,000 album or single sales you would need away from streaming platforms.

How to Increase Streams on Independent Releases

When it comes to streaming platform stats, remember that everything is relative; your milestones should always be set based on your current standing in the music industry and what is possible based on your marketing budget. By setting attainable instead of lofty and ‘in a perfect world’ goals, you will have something to push for and celebrate to achieve.

Here are some of the best ways to maximise the success of your singles, EPs, and albums across streaming platforms:

  1. Value user-generated playlists as much as Spotify-curated playlists. Read our guide to getting playlisted here.
  2. Start marketing your new releases and pushing your pre-save links across all your social media accounts six weeks ahead of the release date and create unique content to make the countdown interesting.
  3. Collaborate with artists who already have a strong presence on streaming platforms or partner up by curating your own playlists.
  4. If you have a strong enough social media presence, consider paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.
  5. Link up with pluggers, and promoters who have a track record in maximising streams.

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For more inside views into the music industry and tips on how to take your music marketing campaigns to the next level, keep following our blog, or get in touch for one-to-one sessions with our award-winning A&R team.

Of course, you can always boost your streaming stats by submitting your demo to our top 10 UK music blog, which is heavily frequented by staunch music fans and industry figureheads, who are always scouting for fresh talent.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

Spotify has jumped on the TikTokification bandwagon with Discovery Mode

Posted on 13 March 2023
Discovery Mode

The TikTokification of apps has been impossible to ignore with the prolific prevalence of cringe reels filmed in vain hope for an attention-driven shot of dopamine cropping up on Instagram and Facebook. Now Spotify has jumped on the immediate gratification bandwagon with Discovery Mode.

As with any innovation, there are some advantages, but once again, those perks don’t throw the underdogs a bone. Understandably, not everyone is happy about this new move that has stoked fears about what this means for the music industry.

The streaming era of music has already changed the way some artists write songs. Extended intros and quiescent interludes have been forsaken for the allure of earwormy instant hooks; every skip on a track is negative data for Spotify’s algorithm. Who can blame artists for playing the game?

In recent years, more and more music fans have started to utilise TikTok to discover new artists. In 2021, 75% of users said they discovered artists on the app. 67% of users surveyed stating they seek out artists outside the platform after being exposed to them via TikTok videos. It hardly comes as a surprise that so many users discover music on the app, given that users spend an average of 1.5 glued to it each day.  This can also be taken as a good sign that TikTok users don’t actually think of the Oh No TikTok Remix as the height of sonic pleasure.

What is Spotify Discovery Mode?

Spotify Discovery Mode was launched to garner more algorithmic exposure through auto-play and Spotify Radio. Although, it comes at a cost. The increased exposure is in exchange for a lower royalty rate. Yes, lower than the current rate of $0.003 – $0.005 a stream.

Of course, there is the argument that Spotify is best utilised as a music discovery platform; the exposure gained via Spotify can increase the flow of revenue streams elsewhere and widen your audience. Yet, it seems unfair that the CEO, Daniel EK, has added this royalty cut caveat to the new tool, which he announced on March 8th during a Stream On event.

When artists create Discovery Mode campaigns, their music will be added to TikTok-ESQUE discovery feeds, which allows users to vertically scroll through tracks and take advantage of the Smart Shuffle feature. The rollout won’t happen all at once. The availability of features will hit some markets before others.

For music fans, this Spotify revamp is an attempt to make the app just as interactive and lively for its subscribed members as TikTok. The revamp also strives to take the clutter away from the homepage, which is currently a messy mash of recently streamed artists, new releases, daily mixes, discover weekly playlists and release radar playlists.

How Valuable Can the Spotify Discovery Tool Be?

Even though the Spotify Discovery Mode has only just been made available to all artists, before the mass launch of the tool, it has been tested with a select number of artists; apparently, the results speak for themselves.

The stats showed, on average, Spotify users utilising the Discovery Mode are twice as likely to save songs, 44% more likely to playlist the artists, and 37% more likely to follow that artist.

While those figures are pretty impressive, the reduced royalties, which are 30% less than standard royalties, are still a slap in the face for the artists that are providing all the content; Spotify is still standing by its convictions, maintaining that it will provide invaluable opportunities to connect with new listeners.

In a recently published blog post, Spotify sold the discovery mode by iterating that it requires no upfront investment – unlike many forms of promotion. Yet, that has done little to quash the rallying cries against the lower rates, which are speaking out against preying on independent artists looking for a way to break through in the oversaturated industry.

All musicians can enter their tracks into Discovery Mode via Spotify for Artists if their distributors participate in the program. The head of artist partnerships and audience at Spotify, Joe Hadley, was rife with optimism for the new possibilities the tool can offer independent artists.

Those sentiments certainly aren’t shared across the board; even members of congress have dubbed Discover Mode as a digital form of Payola. For anyone not in the know, the term Payola was coined to refer to the music industry middlemen that pay for radio play. One of the biggest causes for concern is the dam that the lower royalty rates will create in the flow of cash from Spotify to songwriters.

Members of congress are also starting to question if the new tool goes against the guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission under the subsection that covers transparency over disclosures of paid content.

How Discovery Mode Works in Practice

If you don’t mind taking a royalty rate cut, you can create a Discovery Mode campaign by logging into Spotify for Artists, heading to the campaigns page and hitting Discovery Mode.

From there, you can set up a month-long campaign; new campaigns must be created from the 11th to the last day of the month. Select the tracks you would like to be part of the campaign and submit them.

If you don’t see the track you would like to select for a campaign, there are a few items in the eligibility criteria you need to take into account. Your track must be distributed via a participating licensor (CD Baby, DistroKid, Venice Music, Stem, and Vydia), has been streamed on Auto Play in the last seven days and has been on Spotify for at least 30 days.

Note that Discovery Mode is a way for artists to let Spotify know which tracks are a promotional priority. This will add a signal to the Spotify algorithms, which are tasked with personalising listening sessions for premium subscribers.

By creating a Discovery Mode campaign, you will increase the likelihood of selected tracks being recommended, it is NOT a guarantee that your streaming stats will skyrocket.

 

Article by Amelia Vandergast