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How to recognize fake Spotify Playlists

by Miracle Oyedeji | Jan 19, 2022 | Highlight, Spotify

Don’t get scammed by crooks who disguise themselves as organic playlist curators. Instead, become a mobile bot streams detector by following the steps discussed in this guide.

There is no automated app for checking the validity of Spotify streams garnered from playlists of interest. Hence, artists must rely on instincts, logic, or common sense to differentiate between bot-supported playlists and organic ones. Contrary to popular belief, it is pretty easy to detect fake playlists, but you must be quite familiar with the techniques discussed in this guide.

Who is the Biggest Loser?

When a desperate artist pays for a thousand bot streams on Fiverr or a sketchy website, who is the biggest loser. Spotify or the artists?

To solve this puzzle, we must understand how Spotify makes its money and payout model.

According to Eric Dott, an associate professor of music theory at the University of Texas, Spotify is not getting mad at artists who use artificial streaming because technically, they have nothing to lose. He maintains that creating systems that eliminate bot streaming might be more expensive than letting it remain on the platform. Although Spotify has called out a few artists who used artificial streaming, they have little incentive to go on a massive campaign against entities that use bots to boost their streams.

In his words, the money lost to artificial streaming affects the musicians’ share, not Spotify’s share.

This is because Spotify makes money from subscriptions of fans and ads, but artists only get paid per stream. So the amount paid to artists depends on the net revenue from advertisements and premium subscription fees.

A dollar gained for fake Spotify streams is a dollar lost by innocent artists who get their streams from organic listeners.

Follow the steps given below to detect fake Spotify playlists.

Check for an unreasonable spike in followers count via Chartmetric

Chartmetric is a data analysis tool that can be used to see how well or how bad a Spotify playlist is performing. You can also get data on how an artist’s account is performing. It is a freemium tool, but you can check any Spotify playlist’s followers’ count graph for free.

Search for the playlist name or paste the playlist link in the search bar on the Chartmetric website. Look out for any sign of ridiculous increase or decrease in followers’ count on Chartmetric. You can ask the curator to explain what influenced the increase in followers. If the curator cannot provide a tenable answer, assuming the followers are bots is safe.

Calculate the ratio of the monthly listeners to the number of followers

You can get the ratio by dividing the number of monthly listeners by the number of followers. Round off the results to get whole figures. The normal ratios are 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 up to 26:1. New artists that are just gaining clout can have a ratio of 50:1. However, artists who bought fake streams can have ratios of 100:1 up to 200:1. In a case where an artist with 100,000 monthly listeners has 50 followers, know that something is wrong somewhere.

Check for random recommended artists

Based on the artist’s playlists, Spotify recommends related artists on the artist’s profile page. However, if an artist gets plays from bot-supported playlists, the Spotify recommendation would be incorrect.

Ask the playlist curator for proof of organic growth

Most fake playlist curators would want you to believe they are getting streams organically. Ask them about the growth process. Real playlists curators use influencer marketing, cross-playlisting platforms, Facebook ads, and blog placements to boost organic streams. If a playlist curator claims he or she is using Facebook ads, ask for proof. If they cannot provide you with evidence, there is a high probability that they are getting plays from bots.

Ask other artists who have been featured on the playlist via social media DMs

If you got duped by an Amazon manufacturer, you would be motivated to drop a bad review and report them to Amazon. Unfortunately, although artists can report playlists to Spotify, there is no way to drop bad reviews since the act of soliciting for playlist features is illegal on Spotify.

You can reach out to artists featured on the playlist to know their experience with the playlist curator. If they say the streams are fake, it is most likely fake.

Check the top cities of the artists on the playlist

In the past, Spotify had a feature that allowed anyone to check the top cities where an artist’s listeners are based.

More often than not, the top cities of artists should come from well-populated areas. The exceptions are artists who are famous in small cities. Such artists might be able to pull off impressive numbers from their hometowns. Also, artists trending in a particular town might experience a sudden spike in streams coming from that region.

If the top cities shown on the Spotify profiles of various artists that are featured on a particular playlist are the same or the top cities have small populations, the playlist is fake.

Spotify removed the feature some weeks ago due to unknown reasons. The data visible on the about section of artists are the number of followers, bio, playlists, and the number of streams on recent tracks.

Final Thoughts

If you have been added to a fake playlist and discover that the listeners’ location doesn’t add up via your Spotify for artists dashboard, ask to be removed from the playlist and report them to Spotify.

How to build real Spotify fans using mailing lists

by Miracle Oyedeji | Jan 13, 2022 | Highlight, Spotify

You cannot afford to release another masterpiece that won’t get heard outside the walls of your studio.

You have invested too much time, money, and creative effort into your new track, and it deserves to be celebrated globally.

It does not matter if you have 1000 Instagram followers or 300 followers. If you follow the steps in this guide, you will be able to reach out to your fans directly and sell them your cool customized tees for your upcoming projects.

The bitter truth is that it pays to have 1000 Spotify fans than 30,000 Instagram followers. Why? We explained why your Instagram followers are not your fans in a recent report. That report also exposed how social media companies are cheating you. Read now to know what’s at stake before proceeding with this mailing list guide.

More Spotify Followers; More First Week Sales

The Spotify algorithm promotes your music to people who resemble your immediate audience (Spotify followers). If you don’t have enough followers, the best way the algorithm can help you is to feature your track on an algorithmic Spotify playlist. Then, if your track gains traction via the playlist(s), the Spotify algorithm will push the song to personalized

playlists of your lookalike audience. Does the term ‘personalized Spotify playlists’ sound confusing? Don’t stress! We got you. Educate yourself on the various types of playlists available on Spotify.

As an upcoming artist, the chances that you would be added to Garnering many followers on Instagram will only get you miserly likes that won’t pay your bills. To make things worse, Instagram limits the percentage of followers who see your content, leaving you no other choice than to pay Mark Zuckerberg to reach your followers. Which do you prefer? One thousand engaged Spotify followers coupled with an opportunity to grow big on Spotify or 30000 unresponsive Instagram followers that won’t see your content let alone stream your music. Serious-minded musicians will choose the former.

If you are still reading this guide, it means you are very passionate about music. Congratulations! You have stumbled upon the success secrets of big indie artists and labels. In the next section, I will introduce you to the tools used by professional music marketers to sell merchandise and boost album sales. Without these tools, your first week’s sales would plummet badly.

What is a mailing list?

Big labels use various tools such as Facebook fan pages, playlists, and conventional promotion platforms like TV or billboard spaces but the ultimate music marketing tool is the mailing list.

A mailing list is simply a compilation of addresses employed by artists to reach their subscribers via mail. It allows artists to seek the user’s permission before showing up on a random Tuesday morning with a ‘new music’ newsletter.

How does a mailing list work?

The mailing list allows you to send newsletters to subscribers who have previously permitted you to send them emails. In addition, you can garner people’s emails via website pop-ups, social media, and manually from shows/gigs.

There are two types of mailing lists – the announcement list and the discussion list. A discussion list allows subscribers or external entities to post messages that would be visible to every member. In contrast, an announcement list enables the owner to send emails to the recipients’ inboxes.

Some low-range companies often purchase people’s emails to send them bulk emails. As an artist, you should not engage in such acts. Always seek permission before using people’s emails. Why mail someone who did not consent to get emails from you? It is counterproductive as the mail service provider will get ‘listwashed’.

an algorithmic or editorial playlist is slim. Likewise, the likelihood that the followers of machine-curated playlists would appreciate your type of music is smaller. So your best bet to blow up on Spotify is to nurture a couple of thousands of followers on your account and self-curated playlists. Then, BOOM – you can scale up from there.

How do I create a mailing list?

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You don’t need to be skilled in coding or programming to create a mailing list. However, to efficiently operate an announcement list, you need to register with an email marketing service like MailChimp. Some services are free until you reach a specific number of subscribers, while others are paid. An email marketing service lets you send bulk messages at once, check your subscriber activity, know your subscribers’ location, and give you access to advanced reporting tools.

How to grow your Spotify followers using mailing lists?

Write killer content

Subscribers have done their part by signing up for your mailing list. It is your job to send them entertaining content consistently. If you are not a good writer, you may have to hire one on Upwork or Fiverr. Don’t let your inability to come up with creative posts push your subscribers to unsubscribe from your list.

Promote your personal playlist

Playlist curation gives you a reason to show up on your subscribers’ desktops more often. The fact is that you cannot release music every time, so you must find ways to stay relevant when you are not dropping music. Add your music and songs from other artists to the playlist. The more people listen to your playlist, the higher your stream count. Check here for more tips on how to promote your Spotify playlist.

Give your audience an incentive to follow you on Spotify

You can give away free merch, Instagram shoutouts, or tickets to your shows in a bid to get people to follow you on Spotify. You can get creative with giveaways and find ways to reward your subscribers for following you on Spotify.

Use relevant CTAs in your newsletters

Call to action (CTA) refers to the words or phrases added to an article to encourage the readers to take action. For example, use catchy phrases to save your songs before a release and follow you on Spotify. Remember: the algorithm pushes your song to your followers and the lookalikes.

Final Thoughts

At the top of the music pyramid, there are a few outliers. Why few? The unsavory truth is that there isn’t much space for everyone at the top (It is what it is). To get to the top, you must be willing to take a path less traveled. While others are crazy about social media, keep building your mailing list and secure your future as an artist.

Million-dollar merch tips from Spotify to Artists

by Miracle Oyedeji | Dec 22, 2021 | Highlight, Spotify

Since you all loved our previous article on Spotify’s first-ever fan study, we felt cute and decided to cover their latest fan study (merch edition). Below are the biggest takeaways from the recent report, and we believe these tips are worth a million dollars. Enjoy.

New Converts pay the most $$$

Lovers do the most when their relationship is new. They text more often, laugh hard at each other’s silly jokes, wait forever for either of them to cut the call, kiss in public, and tell the world about their newly found love. However, these little acts fade as their relationship ages.

The same thing can be said about music fans. Although your day-one fans will always be the ones to defend you when you get involved in scandals or when you clash with your music rivals, it is the new converts that would be willing to spend their money on your merch in the first week of release without much marketing.

Stats for nerds: According to Spotify, new fans are 7.8 times more willing to cop your merch a day after they hop on your music, and they are 7.0 times more likely to donate to your fundraiser account.

More Music Release; More Merch Sales

Unless you are Ye or Rihana, it may be challenging to get your fans to buy your merch when you are not releasing a new album or single.

The media buzz artists get during a music release, their once-in-a-blue-moon interaction with fans, and the buildup of FOMO across their

fan social media group pages make it almost impossible for the core fans not to purchase their new merch.

Stats for nerds: According to Spotify, artists get the most merch clicks 24 days after a fresh release. Fans are 7.2 times more willing to cop your merch on release days compared to other days, 4.0 times more in the first week compared to other weeks, and 2.1 times more in the release month compared to other months.

The most followed artists make more sales

Are you surprised that artists with many followers sold more T-shirts than those with fewer followers? No? Me neither. I mean – you don’t expect an upcoming artist with less than 100,000 overall followers to have more sales than Drake. But, it is what it is.

Stats for nerds: In line with the November Spotify fan study, 67% of fans who clicked on an unspecified artist’s merch were those who playlisted their tracks, liked their tracks, or followed their Spotify account.

Black is the key to more sales

Spotify noticed that 50% of the T-shirts by artists were black, while white and grey T-shirts made up 30% of the overall T-shirts stocked. The reason thousands of artists prefer to use black T-Shirts is that all colors pop with a black background, making it harder for fans not to notice your new merch. So if you want all the attention, join the #teamblack.

Stats for nerds: The colors – grey, blue, green, red, yellow, pink, and purple – dipped below 10%, according to Spotify Fan Study (merch edition). In addition, 50% of the T-shirts attached to artists’ profiles were black, while about 20% were white.

Stand out or get lost

Fans are not stupid. No one is willing to put their hard-earned cash on some crappy generic T-shirt because the face of their favorite artist is featured on the merch.

So boss up and hire the best designer to help you create amazing designs. The automated merch designers won’t help you.

Treat your merch the same way you treat your music (we assume you care about the music); no artist in their right mindset would use an automated mixing tool or put out music that’s not on par with the current industry standards. So why then should you do that to your merch?

Stats for nerds: Sorry, no stats available for this section.

My Christmas Gift to You

2021 is the year to bury the idea that DSP sales alone can sustain you in the music business. It does not work that way. Ye did not become a billionaire because he had 10 number one albums. Rihanna did not attain the Forbes billionaire status because of her Grammys. At a point in time, these two artists have complained about the low pay they get from music sales. Hence, they are billionaires because they started selling something different than their music – physical merch. Ye has Yeezy, and Rihana has Fenty.

What do you have? Yes, you.

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!

Social Media Sites are stealing from your brand:
Here’s how to regain control

by Miracle Oyedeji | Dec 9, 2021 | Highlight, Tips

Have you noticed that a good percentage of your social media followers are not seeing your content?

The sad drop in engagement rate on your page is not accidental; it results from the greediness of tech companies (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and their disregard for creators who invest their hard-earned money and time to create breathtaking content.
I hate to break it to you but you have been played by the four horsemen and their cohorts. When their platform was young, they ensured that even newbies got exposure; however, once their Google play downloads exploded and became popular, they tweaked their algorithm to neglect the creators responsible for their success. Then, they slapped you with shadowban and continually obstructed your content from getting to your followers. The only time your content gets seen is when you give them your money. Isn’t that robbery?

It is becoming too expensive to get seen on social media; hence you need to take total control over your music career and build your fans using a mailing list. In this guide, we will inform you on the dangers of not building a mailing list and how you can build direct relationships with your fans without having to pay Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for miserly clicks.

Your Followers are not Your Fans

The beeping sound of a ‘follow’ notification from Instagram introduces an influx of dopamine into the bloodstream. However, if these notification alerts become unending, you get overwhelmed with a false sense of security. False? Yes, false as in not dependable, not in your control, and not good for your future as an artist.

There is a popular saying that goes like this; your followers are not your fans. Unfortunately, that saying can be perceived as quite accurate as it applies to all social media platforms. To best understand the difference between a follower and a fan, you must first comprehend the nature of the relationship between the users and social media platforms.

A user is a person who provides their mail to a social media company and agrees to abide by the rules of the digital platform (that no one reads) in exchange for the ability to connect with people from all over the globe and consume entertaining content. The social media company is the entity that ensures that the website is up and running while regulating the type of content shared on the platform. The company’s interest is to keep its users on the website, hence promoting entertaining content to more users and punishing the unentertaining ones.

On the other side of the spectrum, you are just another social media platform user, and the company treats you as such. Your followers are fellow users interested in your social media content, while your fans are genuinely interested in your music. A good percentage of your followers won’t stream your music until your true fans have listened and created user-generated content on your behalf. Even if a good percentage of your followers are devoted to your music, the social media algorithm won’t show them your content.

To take back control from the social media companies starving your followers on the app, you must turn the followers into direct users of your brand, and the best way to do that is to create a mailing list. With a mailing list, you can collect their emails and reach out to them regularly. Once your followers give you permission and access to their mail, they become lifelong customers. You can sell them your next album, merch, or tour tickets.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying you should dump your social media accounts. Social media is, of course, an excellent tool for building a fanbase, but it’s not a patch towards having a solid mailing list. When it comes to fostering long-term relationships with listeners, the mailing list is the bee’s knees. The Dangers of banking on social media to connect with your fans include;

According to a Buzzsumo report, Facebook engagement for business pages suffered a 20% fall in 2017 (roughly 5 years after it launched its mobile ads program). Although Facebook ads date back to 2004, there was no place for ads on the Facebook mobile app before 2012. The moment Facebook ads became a thing across all industries, brands previously enjoyed’ exposure plummeted significantly on Facebook pages. Think of it – the lesser exposure facebook pages get organically, the more money Facebook gets per impression/click. The idea of changing the way its algorithm operates is not just motivated by growth but also greed. The moment brands hack the algorithm, Mark’s’ zero support team’ Zuckerberg changes it.

Social Media Platforms come and go

When using a social media platform dwindles, the biggest losers are the influencers who have put in much effort to build a digital presence on the platform. At least the founders and shareholders get a share of the profit. But the influencers are left with nothing. Examples of dead social media platforms include vine, MySpace, DailyBooth, FriendFeed, iTunes Ping, Google Buzz, Yik YAK, Google Wave, Meerkat, Friendster, and Google Plus.

Your account can be hijacked by hackers or banned the company

I have lost count on the number of my friends whose Facebook accounts have been hacked in the past. But then, I remembered how my Instagram account was almost hacked in 2021 while helping a friend recover her account. It dawned on me that Facebook does not have a support team that anyone can contact to resolve an issue. If your account gets hacked, your best bet is to chat with a bot, and most people never recover their hacked Facebook accounts.

Also, your account can get reported for the silliest reasons, and the funny thing is you might get banned from Facebook for breaking obscure rules that no one ever reads.

You are always on the losing end

Facebook alongside Instagram or Twitter is already a successful venture for the early shareholders and founders. If these platforms stop operating at any point in time, the brands that depend on them lose the most.

Final Thoughts

Social media life is so fast that your followers are constantly distracted by a networking app. To make things worse, the social media companies hamper your posts from reaching your followers, let alone other users who don’t follow you. The mailing list is the best way to get their undiluted attention without bothering about an unfavorable Facebook algorithm.

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.

How to build real Spotify fans using mailing lists

More Spotify Followers; More First Week Sales

What is a mailing list?

How does a mailing list work?

How do I create a mailing list?