Why is Spotify so popular?
Image Credit: Spotify
Spotify is the top music streaming app on the planet. What’s its secret?
At first glance, Spotify seems much like any other streaming service in the sea of choices for music fans and artists in 2022. Spotify has a gigantic library of songs, but Apple Music’s is bigger. Spotify has yet to launch a hi-fi streaming tier – Amazon Music offers one for no extra charge. So what makes Spotify the best music streaming service?
Spotify gives you free music
Spotify is popular because it makes streaming music so incredibly easy. You don’t even have to pay. The free tier is a genius tactic for reeling users in – then, once you’re sick of the adverts that make it free in the first place and long for the freedom of unlimited skips, hitting subscribe is easy.
Securing Spotify Free subscribers has the additional outcome of users becoming comfortable with the app, and therefore in the future being more likely to choose Spotify over the likes of Apple Music, when they can afford the ten dollars a month subscription. The free trial of Spotify Premium works on a similar vein.
The Spotify recommendations algorithm is legendary
Whilst you can use Spotify to rediscover beloved artists whose CDs you scratched and lost long ago, one of the most beautiful aspects of Spotify is its music discovery features.
Playing that one favourite song will encourage Spotify to recommend not just songs by the same artist but similar music you’ve never heard of. It’s like a record store employee in your pocket, but without the judging sneer when you ask if Snow Patrol have released anything new recently. You discover new music almost by osmosis.
What is Spotify’s strategy?
Spotify is constantly making innovative decisions without reinventing itself. New playlist tools, and social sharing and music discovery features, emerge often on the app.
The company’s decision to head boldly into podcasting went solidly against its musical roots and shows a platform continually looking forward, enticing new listeners of different types – partnerships with the likes of Joe Rogan show they’re not afraid of courting controversy.
How do you get your music on Spotify?
The power Spotify has over the music industry in 2022 means that, as an artist, releasing your music on the platform is central to your success.
Digital music distributors like RouteNote upload songs by unsigned artists to Spotify. RouteNote is special because we work with artists to get their music online for free.
With RouteNote you keep 85% of revenue; get unlimited uploads to all the biggest streaming services; keep all the rights to your music; have the freedom to come and go as you please, and it’s free forever. And like Spotify, we have a Premium tier, too.