What does 2022 hold for Spotify artists?
How can Spotify artists make more money off Spotify this year?
2021 was a great year for Spotify artists, especially those from emerging markets like Africa, India, and Latin-American artists in general. On a scale of 1-10, Spotify attained 7 out of 10 for transparency last year, in my opinion. They published two Fan Studies; one gave out impressive data on the best practices on Spotify and the markets that paid the most while the second report tipped artists on how to maximize the Spotify platform for more streams. No other music DSP doles that much data to artists.
So far, this year has been dramatic for Spotify, as a brand, but we’ve heard little that concerns the artists. Apart from the Joe Rogan situation that got them siding with the podcaster over Niel Young and a 25% stock dip in January, Spotify has not been vocal about platform changes that could determine how artists should tilt their Spotify Campaigns in 2022. Hence, artists are left in the post-pandemic bubble regarding the dos and don’ts of Spotify promotion. Any blog or vlogger that pretends
to know what 2022 holds for the Spotify artists is simply tempting fate or straight out lying.
One update however that could piss Spotify fans off is the continued postponement of the launch of Spotify HiFi for premium Spotify subscribers. The Spotify HiFi is a feature that could boost fan experience and music interaction of the platform but for whatever reason, the Swedish music distribution behemoth is holding back. According to a Spotify community post in early January, 2022, the Spotify HiFi feature is “under consideration” and unavailable till further notice.
Below are the best practices that helped our Spotify artists in 2021. Every artist should take notes and apply them.
Get on other artists release radars
A great cosign from an established artist could be all you need to offshoot’ your career. Apart from getting all the visibility and bragging rights that come with a huge cosign, there are also algorithmic benefits attached. You can easily get on another artist’s Spotify Release Radar by featuring them or getting featured by them. Spotify would push your feature music out to your fans alongside theirs. It’s a win-win move. People like Vory, Lil Durk, and Fireboy recently got mainstream because of cosigns. There are barely any established artists who have not benefitted from the “stimulus package” system.
Use Spotify Canvas
Spotify Canvas is an 8-second visual loop that keeps fans engaged while playing music on Spotify. The Canvas is presented in a vertical style on the Spotify app. Artists are encouraged to add a canvas according to the Spotify report. They stated that Spotify Canvas has helped boost the fans’ engagement on the page of artists like Billie Eilish. According to a Spotify report, artists that used the Canvas feature enjoyed more than a 145% increase in share rate, 20% increase in playlist adds, 5% increase in the number of streams, 9% boost in profile visits, and 1.4% increase in save rate. It is worthy to note that Canvas is restricted to specific locations. Check if you are eligible to post a Canvas here.
Stay up on everybody’s face before and after release
Why do you think popular artists stir up conversations around their relationship, beef with another artist, body, sexuality, label issues, or allegations when they are about to drop new music. Kanye West and Drake did it when they were about to release Donda and Certified Lover Boy.
While this controversial pattern among artists seems corny, the game is the game. The moment people stop talking about you as an artist, your music experiences a downtrend. As an upcoming artist, starting your career with controversy might be a no-no, but you have to ensure that your social media account is always updated with “likeworthy” content that reminds your listeners of you especially during your release month. Leave the mysterious persona or selectively available status for when you are established. Now is the time to put yourself out there.
Always pitch your music for Spotify Playlist Consideration
I understand that the chances of getting into Spotify editorial playlists are slimmer for newer artists compared to the established ones. However, not pitching your music to Spotify editors also robs you of the chance to be featured on an algorithmic playlist. Unlike editorial playlists, you have a good chance of getting on algorithmic playlists such as
Discover Weekly and Release Radar only if you go through the Spotify pitching process. If you are having trouble getting your head around the terms editorial and algorithmic playlists, ensure you check out our guide on the 5 types of algorithmic playlists on Spotify. While you are at it, try to research any non-editorial playlist before pitching to any independent playlist curator. Use the down-to-earth steps discussed in this article to detect fake Spotify playlists.
Have a TikTok plan
Spotify is the latest social media platform doling out free exposure to non-celebs, giving upcoming musicians the opportunity to gain clout. Sooner or later, this window of opportunity would close as TikTok would monetize their platforms by demanding money for exposure. The same thing happened to Facebook and Instagram. These two platforms used people to promote their platforms and dumped them when they decided to monetize their platforms. It is not unusual for Facebook pages with over 100k followers to have little success reaching a good percentage of their followers. They have to pay to do that. Whether it is fair or not – that’s a discussion for another day – my point is you should get on the TikTok bandwagon before it is too late.
Final Thoughts
2022 promises to be a great year for artists. Stay tuned for regular updates on the best Spotify promotion tactics used by established labels and successful indie artists.