Spotify celebrates 10 years of ‘Fresh Finds’ helping indie artists reach global audiences
Spotify curates celebratory playlist after 10 years of boosting nearly 70,000 artists’ careers.
Spotify is celebrating 10 years of its ‘Fresh Finds’ playlists – a major milestone for the platform’s discovery tool aimed at rising independent musicians. Since its launch, ‘Fresh Finds’ has become a key stepping stone for unsigned and emerging artists looking to grow their reach and fan base.
In 2024 alone, over 18,000 artists from 127 countries were featured across the ‘Fresh Finds’ playlist family. According to Spotify, these placements led to more than 65 million artist discoveries last year. That’s a significant number of new ears that may have missed out on these artists otherwise.
Spotify revealed that “on average, artists see their new listeners and international streams more than double one month after being added to ‘Fresh Finds’ for the first time.” And the opportunity doesn’t end there – over half of the artists who first appear on ‘Fresh Finds’ eventually land spots on major playlists like ‘New Music Friday’, ‘RapCaviar’, and ‘Lorem’.
Well-known names including Ice Spice, Doechii, Wet Leg, and Japanese Breakfast are among the many artists who were first spotlighted through ‘Fresh Finds’ and have since gone on to wider recognition. Spotify has now added even more notable alumni to a special anniversary playlist, which includes 100 gecs, Laufey, Ethel Cain, Brent Faiyaz, Clairo, and Big Thief.
“Thinking back over the past decade, so many inspiring artists have been a part of the ‘Fresh Finds’ story,” said Sulinna Ong, Global Head of Editorial at Spotify. “Seeing them go from those initial playlist spots to building a whole new audience is just incredible and highlights the impact of finding those early fans.
Fresh Finds isn’t just a single playlist – it’s a network of more than a dozen genre-specific playlists, including indie, rock, hip-hop, R&B, folk, dance, jazz, Latin, and even música mexicana. A team of over 30 Spotify editors use a mix of data, artist pitches through Spotify for Artists, and editorial insight to curate these lists each week.
If you’re an independent artist looking to break through, pitching your track to Spotify’s editorial team could be your next best move. Spotify revealed that “more than 90% of those 18,000 artists featured last year” got there by submitting through the playlist pitching tool on Spotify for Artists. Fortuntely, with RouteNote, you can pitch your music to top playlists with ease.
“Fresh Finds has always been about spotlighting new independent voices and helping artists connect with new audiences,” said Joe Hadley, Spotify’s Global Head of Music Partnerships & Audience. “A vital part of this has been really cementing the artist-to-fan connection, going beyond the playlist with initiatives like our live shows with Samsung in Chicago and New York City.”