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How to Promote your Music on Spotify

by Miracle Oyedeji | Dec 15, 2021 | Highlight, Spotify, Tips

If your music isn’t online, then it doesn’t exist? Unfortunately, nowadays, this statement is true.

The importance of being online is due to changes in the music industry and the almost extinction of CD Sales. As a result, the strategy to release and promote music has changed drastically in the last few years. One of the reasons is the appearance of online streaming and music sharing platforms such as Youtube, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Deezer.

Youtube still has the biggest impact among all the listed platforms, even though it is a video platform. However, Spotify follows just behind. If your music is not on Spotify, it might exist. Yet, you are not doing it right.

But why Spotify?

Spotify pays you the streaming of your songs
There is a great chance for you to be discovered
You get new fans and listeners
You are getting introduced to a new audience for your upcoming concerts and releases

Data is everything! On Spotify, you get to know important information about your listeners, such as where your listeners are from and what are their music preferences. To learn more check out The 4 New Engagement Stats on Spotify for Artists.

Would we say that Spotify is a digital music service that brings opportunities? Yes. Musicians quite often make more money from streaming on Spotify than doing gigs.

But, of course, you need a good fan base; read our 6 Pro Tips for a Raving Spotify Fan Base.

But How?

It may sound like it’s easy to promote your music, that you just upload your songs and that overnight your music will have thousands of plays, new listeners, and that money will just start to appear in your bank account. But tht’s far from being true.

This is actually possible with a consistent strategy, but don’t forget the most important thing: your music.

First, however, consider that you are the great artist you already are and that you have awesome tunes ready to be promoted. So which are the steps you should take?

Make your Playlist

Often musicians make lists of their favorite music. This way, you don’t have to count on other people’s lists, but you’ll have to take things into your own hands. Your music will be listened to within a list of music similar to yours and in this way, you will increase the number of song streaming. Why?

Spotify pays you for the streaming of your songs. An example of a successful playlist by musicians is Tom Misch, who did the same thing.

Engage fans on social networks. Not sure how to do it? Check out our 5 No-brainer Tips.

Share your music on all social networks. You can access directly through Spotify and
share the links and draw the attention of the fans you already have.

Data Platforms

These platforms know to be great. It makes things a lot easier. In one place you have in the genre you need, selected lists that are ready for cooperation and push your music to be discovered and get more streamings. And there are two options here. One is to get the data, and then it’s on you, and another option is to let someone use his sources and push your music to specific lists, actually do everything for you. In this case, a good service charges a sharing of data with you or an entire work if you decide on another option. With the cheap one for a few bucks, it’s not worth it to start.

Facebook Groups

Yes, that’s possible. Groups now have the strongest influence in
Facebook and are active. They are also ready to help. Find the right groups and share your music.

Manually search and contact Playlist Curators.

It is a good idea; it takes quite some effort. First, you need to choose a genre, keywords, and search perfect lists for your music on Spotify. Then, when you find the ideal lists, you need to find their creators, contact them and ask for their terms to find your song on their list.

But, don’t get demotivated by the word effort; we’ve got your back with tips on How to pitch your new music to Spotify playlist curators.

Spotify services

And finally, revise your Spotify options. First of all, you need to join.

Spotify for artists.

The next step is to submit your music before release, a minimum of 7 days before, to playlist editors to include your new song on their playlists for new music.

We hope you have a clearer picture of how to promote your music on Spotify. Now is, for sure, the perfect time to start.

Good luck!

How Tidal is Becoming the Best Streaming App for DJs

by Miracle Oyedeji | Nov 30, 2021 | Highlight, Tips

While Spotify is trying to play catch-up in 2021, Tidal is already years ahead of other streaming platforms.

In 2018, Tidal announced its partnership with Dubset, a rights clearance startup that has previously collaborated with Spotify and Apple in 2016. The deal will help Tidal monetize DJ mixes and payout royalties to artists. Dubset, formerly known as The Future FM, is affiliated with popular labels like SonyMusic, Merlin, and Warner Music — making it easier for Tidal to get tracks cleared via the online mixed-audio distribution platform.

Decriminalizing the production of DJ mixes

The music industry hates bootlegs, mashups, or DJ mixes because the production of such materials encourages illegal usage of rights holders’ music and piracy. Although artists heavily criticize its use, the DJ mixset is an integral part of EDM, dancehall, and afrobeat genres. The inability to create innovative ways

to satisfy both the users of these genres and the artists pushes millions of music listeners to pirate bay (an online index of digital content that allows users to share entertainment files such as albums or mixtapes, and DJ mixes).

Dubset scans and detects the songs in a DJ mix, making it easy for Tidal to pay artists and DJs.

With the aid of a proprietary software named MixSCAN, Dubset can identify the songs and their respective rights holders. Before a mix can be analysed, it is run via MixSCAN, which identifies audio content using audio fingerprinting and textual fingerprinting. Dubset production engineers further analyse the report of the software. A mix that has gone through the three-step identification process will be given a special mixDNA. The mixDNA consists of metadata that helps identify the tracks used in a particular mix.

A new dawn at Tidal

Following Jack Dorsey’s acquisition of the majority stake at Tidal for $297 million, there seems to be an instant turnaround in the way things are run in Tidal.

The audio-streaming platform initially created by Hov is fast becoming the DJ’s favorite DSP. Tidal made two brilliant changes that are aimed at making the lives of amateur and professional DJs easier. These two changes are;

Equipping DJs with more DJ apps

Tidal has seen a growth in the population of DJs using its DJ software integration service. In response to this development, Tidal announced that it would integrate more DJ apps such as Edjing Mix and Hercules’ DJUCED. Currently, the Tidal app houses integrated apps like Rekordbox, Algoriddim Djay, and Serato.

Providing new sets of DJ-friendly playlists

Any run-of-the-mill playlist can keep regular listeners on the Tidal app for hours, but DJs require more. The audio-streaming platform added BPM-specific, artist-curated, instrumental, and era-specific playlists to its platform to make DJing easier using Tidal.

Final Thoughts

Tidal is doing everything within its capacity to keep growing its DJ fanbase. By creating a safe space for DJs to operate in today’s royalty-driven world, Tidal is improving the music experience on its platform.

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How to get on Spotify DJ mixes

by Miracle Oyedeji | Nov 17, 2021 | Highlight, Spotify

Dance and electronic music slap harder when multiple tracks are sequenced and mixed in a way that creates a live sonic experience that is way different from what listeners would typically get from playlists.

Once listeners get used to a Spotify playlist to the point of being able to predict the next song, the music experience becomes boring over time. DJ mixes come with unpredictability, smooth transitioning, and intelligent live mastering. These qualities are missing in regular Spotify playlists. The Spotify DJ mode helps create fading transitions between tracks in a playlist; however, the feature does not match professional DJ services. Third-party DJ controller apps like Algoriddim DJAY used to be a go-to option for listeners who wanted to create DJ mixes, but Spotify discontinued the DJ apps in 2020.

Return of Spotify DJ Mixes

Spotify cannot continue to run away from its consumers’ cravings. Considering that Apple Music is doubling down on its devotion to creating DJ mixes, it’s only a matter of time before Spotify starts losing dance and electronic music fans to Apple Music.

Spotify DJ mixes returned to Swedish audio-streaming last month. The Spotify DJ Mixes feature allows DJs in 8 countries – namely, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Indonesia – to create DJ mixes for Spotify listeners. The feature will allow listeners to have a different feel of their favorite tracks, discover new music from unexplored terrains and interact more with artists.

The DJ mixes feature is still in its early stages, and Spotify tipped fans on their blog to “expect” a better experience as time goes on.
On the first day of the launch, the original DJ

mixes for Spotify were curated by DJ Adam Beyer, DJ AmyElle, DJ Shingo Nakamura, DJ Moti, and DJ Noise.

How do Spotify DJ mixes work?

For the time being, it is still unclear how Spotify DJ mixes works for the upcoming DJs who may not yet have enough clout to be invited by Spotify. The DJs who made it to the first row during the launch were handpicked, and it seems Spotify is still testing the waters.

The feasibility of Spotify DJ mixes would depend on its audio identification, payment, and clearance model.

5 Reasons Artists Should Never Buy Fake Streams

by Miracle Oyedeji | Oct 20, 2021 | Highlight, Spotify

It might be tempting to buy fake streams in a bid to impress your peers and the labels, but do you know about the disadvantages of getting artificial streams?

Have you been finessed by playlist curators who promised authentic streams and in the end, all you got was valueless streams from bots?

Do you want to know how to differentiate between fake bot streams and real Spotify streams?

You have come to the right place. This guide will help you understand why buying fake streams is harmful to your career as an artist and the best ways to identify playlist curators who bulk up their playlist stream count with bots.

You make your rules in the music game, but one rule you must adopt regardless of your tribe or genre is common sense. There is nothing commonsensical or profitable in getting fake streams from bots. For one thing, Spotify will not pay you a dime for racking up artificial streams, and at worst, your artist account can get banned for life. Yeah, you heard that right – for life!

What is a fake stream?

A fake or artificial stream is derived using bots and scripts (automated machine processes). These automated machine processes create unusual streaming patterns that are not congruent with the behavior of an average human listener. Money paid to dishonest artists is money stolen from the hardworking ones who get their streams from genuine Spotify listeners. Spotify can adjust stream count, limit exposure, remove songs, and withhold royalties of artists who are caught in such fraudulent acts.

How to detect fake streams

Spotify’s fraud-monitoring team is purging artists using fake streams from their streaming platform. The major victims of this Spotify purge are artists unaware that the streams they got from 3rd party listener playlists are artificially generated. When reaching out to independent playlist curators, be sure to vet the playlist and toss them off your list if you find any unusual listening patterns.

These dishonest playlists can be identified by following the down-to-earth steps given in this section. It is important to note that Spotify does not provide a tool that helps artists distinguish between fake streams and real streams. Hence, the methods recommended in this guide are based on gut instinct and rationality, as there is no accessible foolproof method of identifying artificial streaming.

While paying money to get into an independent playlist is illegal, according to Spotify, the major downside of getting on these playlists is that some use bots and fake Spotify accounts to grow their playlists. So even if you are willing to risk getting caught by Spotify and intend to pay for a playlist placement, you have to ensure the streams from the playlist are real. Follow the steps below to vet a playlist.

Ask for their Playlist Growth Strategy

If your track is getting free placement from an independent playlist, it is odd to ask them for their playlist growth strategy. However, if you are going to put your money on it, it has to be legit. The healthy ways independent playlist curators grow their page are through Facebook ads, Google ads, influencer promotion, or social media engagement. If a playlist curator cannot provide you with evidence of how they grow their playlist, it is safe to assume that the playlist is fake.

Reach out to artists who have been featured on the playlist

When you want to order a piece of furniture (let’s say a chair) from a furniture company, the first thing you do is search Google for reviews from their customers. The same applies to playlist shopping. Reach out to various featured artists and ask them about their experiences with the playlist. Like every disgruntled user, any artist who has been a victim of a playlist would gladly provide you with the necessary information. Also, ask if the playlist followers saved their songs or followed them. If ten featured artists tell you the same thing about a playlist, they are most likely right.

Look for unusual followers spike using Chart metric

Chartmetric is a tool that allows you to get information about a Spotify artist, playlist, or track. Using Chartmetric, you can view the changes in the follower count of a playlist within a specified amount of time. All you need to do is copy the playlist link on Spotify and paste it into the search box on the top right of the Chartmetric website. If you discover an outrageous and sharp increase in the playlist followers count in a short period of time, the playlist might be getting plays from bots. Also, if you see a sharp decrease in followers count, there is a good reason to believe that Spotify corrected the follower count and removed fake accounts from their platform.

Disadvantages of buying fake streams

Buying fake streams is one of the few moves that have no pros and lots of cons. You can end your career by engaging in such activity. Below are the five major reasons you should never buy fake streams.

You will miss out on valuable data

There have been a ton of success stories from artists who were able to pull off a successful tour with the aid of the data gotten from Spotify. The simple way to know the best location to tour is by checking your Spotify for Artists dashboard for the cities where your music is streamed the most. However, if your streams are coming from bots, how do you want to know where to tour? Artists who opt for

such alternatives are merely deceiving themselves and hurting their chances of growing big.

Fake streams do not fool big Labels

The major reasons artists fake their age, hair, status, Instagram followers count, and Spotify monthly listeners are to get the attention of the big labels. Lol! The funny thing here is that industry insiders can easily spot fake streams. The moment they see that your streams are coming from bots, they will get pissed off. For real!

Spotify can limit your track’s exposure

According to Spotify, they will shadow-ban your song and prevent it from going viral once they detect artificial streaming activity on your account.

You can get sued

In a case where you were able to get a huge payout from Spotify using this method, Spotify can sue you. For example, in 2020, Spotify sued an indie label named Sosa for using millions of fake Spotify accounts to increase the streams of their content.

No long-term growth

Unless you make music for bots and scripts, I think there is no point buying fake streams. You cannot fool the labels since they know better. You cannot fool the labels since they know better. Also, you cannot fool music fans because random people on the internet will expose you.

Final Thoughts

True artists seek to connect to an audience that appreciates their body of work. Faking your stream count cannot get you a true fan base that will show up for your concerts and purchase your merch. These days, music fans can tell when an artist is getting streams from bots, and no one wants to listen to a fake artist.

How to Pitch New Music to Spotify Playlist Curators

by Miracle Oyedeji | Oct 13, 2021 | Highlight, Spotify

The benchmark for the number of songs featured by Spotify editorial curators is 20% of the total tracks pitched within a specific time frame. Your aim as an artist is to be of the lucky 20 percenters eligible for an organic push from Spotify.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps you can take not only to pitch your song to editorial and independent playlists seamlessly but also to enhance your chances of landing your desired playlists.

Pitching is a process of ‘selling’ your music to Spotify curators, whether editorial or non-editorial, with the aid of submission forms, emails, direct messaging apps like Facebook and Instagram, or real-time conversations.

It is not impossible to get your song on a playlist by having a physical meeting with a curator, but it is rare. Also, tracking down the physical locations of Spotify curators can be pretty awkward, and you might get arrested. Lol! Apart from stalking a curator, any other method listed above is proper and effective.

The nature of your pitch or the pitching method used is highly dependent on the type of playlist you intend to be featured on. There are Spotify editorial playlists, algorithmic playlists, personalized playlists, listener playlists, and artist playlists. Check out this Loudlab article on the types of playlists on Spotify. Here, we will focus on how you can pitch your new music to Spotify editorial playlists and listener playlists

Difference between Spotify editorial Playlists and listener playlists

To expand your sources of Spotify streams, you need to pitch to both Spotify editorial playlists and listener playlists. The trick behind getting featured on stream-boosting playlists is understanding the nature of these playlists and the curators’ aim. This section will help you understand the nature of Spotify editorial playlists and Spotify listener playlists; and what the curators of these playlists expect to see in a playlist pitch.

What are Spotify editorial playlists?

Spotify editorial playlists are verified playlists curated by a team of in-house music experts

and genre taster makers – basically, people who know lots about music. The ability to democratize the playlisting sphere to an extent where everyone and anyone can create a playlist makes Spotify the people’s favorite ahead of Apple music. Also, the “rags to riches” stories of Spotify artists are great PR for the Swedish audio streaming platform. Great examples of editorial playlists on Spotify are RapCaviar, Pop Pp, Most Necessary, and New Music.

Spotify Editorial Playlists Requirements

By creating over 5000 editorial playlists, Spotify aims to keep listeners across all music genres on their streaming app for as long as possible. Hence, they push the “best songs” to more listeners. By creating over 5000 editorial playlists, Spotify aims to keep listeners across all music genres on their streaming app for as long as possible. Hence, they push the “best songs” to more listeners.

Submit your music to your distributor 7-28 days before release

Distributors like CDBaby and Distrokid can get your music on streaming platforms in three days. Still, you do not need to hasten this process as Spotify editors recommend submitting your song for playlisting at least 7 days before the release date. So there is no need to rush; schedule your release 28 days before release and give the editors enough time to find the best playlist for your track.

Pitch via Spotify submission form on your Spotify for Artists account

Spotify has provided the best and most convenient method of pitching for artists – the Spotify for Artist playlist submission form. You can pitch your upcoming music to Spotify using your Spotify for Artist dashboard. Under the ‘music’ section, you will see your yet-to-be-released music under ‘upcoming’ (if your distributor has submitted the track to Spotify). Click ‘playlist pitch’ to fill in the necessary information such as genre, types of instruments on the song, city, and description. Do not be tempted to leave the “describe your song for us” box empty. Also, ensure you give them enough information on the song’s mood, creation process, tour plans, previous radio tours, blog reviews, and your promotion plans. Use this opportunity to sell yourself to Spotify editors.

Make no compromise on music quality.

You do not need to have much experience as an artist to know that no streaming platform would playlist trash, not even the we-care-about-independent-artists Spotify. I hate to break it to you, but it won’t get playlisted if your song is not good enough. Period.

How to pitch to Spotify editorial playlists

The step-by-step procedure of pitching your unreleased music to Spotify editorial playlists is listed below. Note that Spotify does not allow artists to pitch already-released music, and only one song can be pitched at a time, meaning you cannot pitch another song until the currently pitched song is released.

Claim your Spotify for Artists with the aid of your distributor. CDBaby and Distrokid offer this service for free.

Log in seven and set up your Spotify for Artist profile in the most appealing format.

Click the ‘music’ section and find your upcoming releases under the ‘upcoming’ column.

Choose the upcoming release you would like to pitch.

Fill the Spotify playlist submission form. Then, submit.

What are listener playlists?

Listener playlists are playlists generated by Spotify users. Listener playlists can be made private or public. However, you can only pitch public listener playlists, aka independent playlists.

Listener playlists requirements

The requirements can vary depending on the editor, the nature of songs featured on the playlist, or the aim of the playlist. For example, some curators require money while others don’t. Curators also ask for favors in non-monetary forms such as playlist exchange and cross-promotion across social media accounts.

How to pitch to listener playlists

Ensure you listen to the playlist for a while and understand its purpose. When pitching, let them know you are a fan of their playlist and your song is similar to songs on the playlist. It is a plus if you have a cordial relationship with the editor on social media or real life.

However, resist the urge to extend fake friendly antics all in the name of wanting to build a

relationship. Be professional while pitching. Also, do not intrude on the curator’s privacy. You can reach them via mail, social media, or submission forms.

Some playlists curators don’t want to be reached; kindly leave them the heck alone. Finding listener playlists can be done manually on Spotify or with tools such as SubmitHub and Groover.

Spotify editorial playlists vs listener playlist

Before we list and explain the differences between Spotify editorial playlists and listener playlists, it is important to know that both types of playlists are essential for the success of a Spotify campaign. So ensure you include both in your Spotify promotion plan.

S/N	Spotify Editorial Playlists	Listener Playlists
1	Spotify does not accept a dime to playlist your song.	Some independent curators require artists to pay to get featured on their playlists although it is totally illegal according to Spotify.
2	Your only point of connection to verified Spotify tastemakers is the Spotify for Artists Playlist submission form.	You can reach independent curators via mail, social media, or non-Spotify site submission forms.
3	Editorial playlists can get you more streams than independent playlists partially because people trust Spotify more and also Spotify trusts the Spotify curation team more.	They can help you boost your streams, hence boosting your Spotify Popularity index.
4	The duration spent by tracks on Spotify editorial playlists can be very short given that Spotify updates these playlists weekly or bi-weekly.	The duration spent by tracks on independent playlists depends on the nature of these playlists and the editor’s choice. If you pay to get in a playlist, your song can be featured as long as agreed.
5	New musicians are welcome.	Independent playlists tend to favor the labels and established artists.
6	You can only pitch a song at a time (28 days) and you cannot pitch more than one song in an EP or LP.	You can pitch as many songs as you want to different playlist curators. Do not overwhelm a playlist curator with all your songs, as this move is frowned upon. Pitch one song at a time per independent curator.
7	Pitching to editorial playlists can get you featured on algorithmic playlists.	Pitching to an independent playlist cannot get you featured on algorithmic playlists.

Disadvantages of not pitching your track to Spotify

Before your song can make it to Spotify or other streaming platforms, it means your distributor has vetted the song content. However, before you can get an extra boost from Spotify Algorithmic playlists or editorial playlists, their editorial curators need to have a taste of your music. When you refuse to pitch your track to Spotify using the submission form, you also lose out on algorithmic playlists such as release radar and discover weekly.

One mistake artists make when putting out music is not pitching their upcoming releases to Spotify editorial playlists at least 7 days prior to the release date. Although not every song that is pitched to editorial Spotify playlist curators would be playlisted, there are certain benefits that are attached to sending your music for consideration. In a case where your track does not make it to any editorial playlist, your music will certainly be added to the release radar.

How do you know when Spotify accepts your pitch?

The playlists you are featured on will be publicly displayed on your ‘Spotify about’ section. You can also see your songs’ playlists by clicking on your home page’s ‘playlists’ column. However, you will only be able to see the playlists that helped your songs get streams.

How to Promote your Music on Spotify

But why Spotify?

Make your Playlist

Engage fans on social networks. Not sure how to do it? Check out our 5 No-brainer Tips.

Data Platforms

Facebook Groups

Manually search and contact Playlist Curators.

Spotify services

Spotify for artists.

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