A RouteNote Artist’s Guide to Spotify’s Artist Tools
Spotify’s powerful suite of artist tools, especially the Campaign Kit, can be your secret weapon for building a thriving fanbase.
As a RouteNote artist, you’re in control of your music’s destiny. With free music distribution to Spotify, you have access to the biggest platform of music listeners in the world. This opens you up to global discovery and earning from every stream.
Spotify offers a plethora of fantastic tools that allow you to boost your presence and your plays once your music is live. This guide breaks down how to leverage these tools to achieve your unique music goals, whether it’s attracting new listeners, reigniting interest from past fans, or fostering deeper connections with your most dedicated supporters.
Understanding Your Audience Goals
Every artist’s journey is unique. Whether you’re launching your debut album or gearing up for a tour, Spotify’s tools can help you at every stage. The Campaign Kit is designed to help you convert casual listeners into “super listeners” – those highly engaged fans who consistently return to your music.
Remember, these super listeners are invaluable; Spotify’s research shows that over two-thirds of them will still be streaming your music six months down the line.
The Campaign Kit focuses on three core audience goals:
- Growth: Expanding your reach and attracting new fans.
- Reactivation: Re-engaging listeners who haven’t streamed your music recently.
- Engagement: Deepening connections with your existing, active fans.
Goal #1: Grow Your Audience – Reaching New Ears
Attracting new listeners is the first step to building a loyal fanbase. The Campaign Kit offers several tools to help you connect with potential fans:
- Playlist Pitching: Getting your music on the right playlist can be a game-changer. Did you know that in 2024, 74% of artists added to editorial playlists had fewer than 100,000 monthly listeners? This free tool is accessible to artists of all sizes.
- How it works: Submit your unreleased tracks to Spotify’s editors for consideration in curated playlists.
- Measure: Track your growth in new listeners.
- Success Story: Imagine your track landing on a popular playlist and driving thousands of new streams, just like Latin artist Jay Wheeler’s “TRAPPii” did!
- Discovery Mode: Spotify’s personalized recommendations are a powerful discovery engine. In 2024, 35% of all discoveries on Spotify happened through these algorithmic recommendations. Discovery Mode lets you influence how your music is surfaced in Spotify Mixes, Radio, and Autoplay.
- How it works: Amplify the reach of your songs within Spotify’s personalized listening experiences.
- Measure: Monitor your streams and new listener growth.
- Success Story: See your audience explode like pop artist NERIAH, who reached nearly half a million new listeners before her debut album launch.
- Marquee and Showcase: These tools are even more effective when used together. Research shows that combining them generates 40x more new active listeners than using Marquee alone.
- How they work: Introduce your music to listeners, even those new to your work, who are most likely to stream it after seeing your campaign.
- Target: Reach both programmed audiences and potential new fans.
- Measure: Track the growth of new active listeners and overall new listeners.
- Success Story: Imagine nearly half of the listeners reached through your Showcase being brand new to your music, like EDM artist William Black experienced.
Goal #2: Reactivate Listeners – Rekindling the Flame
Keeping your music top-of-mind is crucial. Without engagement, a significant portion of your previously active audience can stop streaming.
- Marquee and Showcase: These tools are essential for re-engaging past listeners.
- How they work: Target listeners who haven’t streamed your music recently with your new releases or catalog gems.
- Target: Focus on your previously active audience.
- Measure: Track the number of reactivated listeners.
- Success Story: See your tracks saved to libraries and playlists by returning fans, just like indie artist Goth Babe experienced with his Showcase campaign.
Goal #3: Deepen Connections – Turning Fans into Superfans
Your active audience is your most valuable asset. These are the fans who save your music, add it to playlists, and support your live shows and merch.
- Discovery Mode: This tool helps nurture these vital connections.
- How it works: Amplify your reach among existing fans and encourage actions like saves, playlist adds, and follows.
- Measure: Track your stream growth.
- Success Story: See a significant increase in saves and playlist adds, like R&B artist thuy experienced after activating Discovery Mode.
- Marquee and Showcase: These tools can further strengthen your bond with active fans.
- How they work: Encourage your most engaged listeners to delve deeper into your musical world.
- Target: Focus on your active audience.
- Measure: Track the growth of amplified listeners.
- Success Story: See a dramatic increase in streams from active listeners who viewed your Marquee, like pop artist Jillian Rossi experienced.
Getting Started with Spotify’s Artist Tools
The Campaign Kit is waiting for you in the Campaigns tab of Spotify for Artists (desktop). Playlist pitching is available to all artists, Discovery Mode is live in numerous markets, and Showcase and Marquee are expanding their reach.
Combine these tools with other Spotify features like Clips, Canvas, and Countdown Pages to maximize your impact.
Ready to take your music career to the next level? Head over to the Campaigns tab on Spotify for Artists and launch your campaign today! As a RouteNote artist, you have the power to build a thriving and engaged fanbase. Use these tools wisely, and watch your music reach new heights.
Distribute your music to Spotify and beyond with a free account at www.routenote.com today.