From discovery playlists that always seem to know exactly what we want to listen to through to a homepage full of all the latest releases, greatest throwback tunes and solid podcast recommendations, our love for Spotify runs deep here in the Hive!
Our pals in green aren’t just great for the listeners and fans, though. They’ve got all the right tools for artists to get the most out of every single release and we’re about to share our top tips with you. Consider Spotify that venue that always has everything you’ve listed on your tech specs and throw in a few extras on the food and beverage rider for good measure ;).
Here are a few of our top tips to get the most out of Spotify!
If you haven’t already, sign up for artists.spotify.com and get your dashboard rolling. You could honestly spend hours in there reading the Spotify blogs, making your profile pretty and delving into the amazing stats Spotify has to offer. The most important part about this dashboard is that when you release new music, you can pitch it directly to the editorial team. As soon as it appears in your dashboard, click through to pitch to the editors and follow the super easy steps!
Tip: you’ll need to have your elevator pitch down! Speak to your publicist to refine your pitch to ensure it’s short, sharp and to the point. Know your song, why people need to hear it and why the editors need to get on your team.
Make your profile a little more you! Log into your Artist dashboard, click ‘profile’ on the top menu and get to work on updating your profile image, adding a bio and any upcoming shows you have. You can even add a fundraising link! Dive in and have some fun. One of our favourite parts of this tool is Artist Pick. In Spotify’s words “When we launched Artist Pick late last year, the concept was super simple: we wanted to give you, the artist, more places to express yourself on Spotify. Artist Pick gives you control over the music at the top of your artist profile. You could pick something you love—any track, album, or playlist—and add a short message about why you love it.” Be sure to update this regularly to really get the most out of it.
Make your song stand out visually with a Canvas! This is a super effective tool that Spotify says is more likely to keep people streaming the track (+5% on average vs. control group), sharing the track (+145%), adding to their playlists (+20%), saving the track (+1.4%), and visiting your profile page (+9%). Every track you release should have a three-eight second Canvas.
Use playlists to share the love. Create your own Spotify playlists, use the artist dashboard to feature them to your Artist profile, post on social media and tag the artists you’ve featured. It’s a great way to connect with other artists, spread the love and build a followership on your own playlists.
And last but not least, don’t be scared to ask your fans to follow you! Treat Spotify like its Instagram. The more followers you have, the more streams you will garner without having to do a single thing! Be a legend and follow people back, and go ahead and follow some of your favourite artists and your picks for the best emerging acts.