Articles have abounded about Spotify’s hurdles to small independent artists. Many of these challenges have been out of Spotify’s control due to app limitations and forced royalty regulations. But over the years, developers of this audio streaming app have made a lot of effort to change the way it works in a way that favors smaller artists who aren’t signed to labels.
With over 11 million artists on Spotify, how can you stand out as a musician and expose the right audience to your music and your brand message? Here are five ways Spotify has attempted to benefit independent musicians in 2024 and beyond.
More Accessibility for Consumers
Spotify’s user experience has always lacked user-friendliness and accessibility. That’s drastically changed since the start of 2024. Today, the platform makes finding music a lot easier for those looking for a particular genre. How does this tie into your own intentions for making your music channel conducive to Spotify ads?
Independent artists should capitalize on this by effectively branding their music in a way that makes it easier to find. No matter how hard you work on a particular track, nobody’s going to listen to it if they can’t find it. Labeling your music helps people find it and directs them over and over again to stream your tracks. Spotify has simplified this process making it more accessible for creators and consumers alike.
Merchandise Sales for Individual Artists
Part of branding is having a catalog of products available for sale to your super fans. Clothing, household paraphernalia, and posters are excellent ways to please your fans and generate extra income for you. YouTube channels that are still in their growing phase do this, too, because they know it’s a great way to grow their channel and generate a decent income.
If this seems like a project more suited to already popular musicians on Spotify, think again! Offering these types of products after you’ve received over 1,000 streams on your channel is a great way to market yourself through those who are already your fans. Shirts and hoodies with branding on them are great conversation starters, so don’t minimize the effect of merchandise branding.
Spotify Rewards Consistency
While some would argue that users on Spotify would find more record-label content on the platform, the platform is now aiming to push a more varied selection of indie music to its users. The Spotify algorithm favors signs that you’re a serious musician, and one of those signs is consistency in your uploads.
If you want to be taken seriously as a musician you have to put the work in. This means actively generating a catalog of music that’s not only consistent in publishing but also consistent in format, genre, and branding. This leads us to the next important point.
Branding Opportunities
You simply cannot rely on your music alone to identify your brand to an audience. Your face, an identifiable logo, color themes, and even your personal story all tie into how users perceive you. This is your brand, and Spotify has enabled musicians to build this brand more effectively.
Music culture is strongly diverse, so it’s up to you to build a brand that’s vibrant and relatable to those you’re trying to appeal to. This is why people spend hours on Spotify, because they want to be part of a community that relates to who they are and where they are in their lives.
Favorable Marketing Avenues
Music pairs well with relatable content of other formats. As a musician, don’t shy away from the marketing aspect of your career because this is what separates successful Spotify channels from the ones that never see playtime.
Creating blogs, YouTube videos, social media posts, and public marketing campaigns around your music is a sure way to grow your audience and keep them loyal. Find ways to link to your music as much as you can by creating varying forms of content every time you release a new creation on Spotify.
Wrapping Up
It’s important to remember that your music is a product. Yes, there’s a marketing component to getting your music out there, and this marketing knowledge often goes against the grain of musicians who simply want to make music for the sake of their love of it.
Staying consistent with uploads and working towards a catalog of tracks is a sign that you’re serious about making a career out of your music talent. So work the system and watch your profile grow on Spotify this year and in the years to come.
