Spotify’s guide to release day promotion
So you’ve made your hit song and it’s ready to release to the world, here’s what to do to get it the most traction.
Making and releasing music has never been easier than it is today. These days, getting your music on Spotify for free is possible with just a few clicks on RouteNote.
So, you’ve made a hit song and it’s ready to be uploaded to Spotify. What are the next steps to ensure your track doesn’t get lost amongst the others when it releases? Spotify have released their promotional guide to get you ready for release day with the ammunition to guarantee a success.
This a specific guide for how to prepare for release day on Spotify using Spotify for Artists‘ tools. You can check out our full video guide on marketing a release here.
Set The Stage: Pre-Release Presence
Just because your music hasn’t been released yet doesn’t mean you can’t be active on Spotify’s platform. You can tease your music on Spotify in a number of ways in the lead up to the big day.
Countdown Pages
This new feature from Spotify allows you to launch a landing page for your release in advance of the release day. The page features a countdown timer to build hype amongst your fans who can see the minute it drops.
To ensure they don’t miss it on the day, fans can pre-save your music from the Countdown Page. To really get things going, you can add Clips to your Countdown page to build your release and offer up merch to boost your sales.
Countdown Pages appear on your artist profile, the Now Playing view, Search, and Home. All those who pre-saved your release with notifications enabled will get a push notification once the day finally comes. Spotify have found that nearly 70% of users who pre-save an album stream it in the first week.
Artist Profile
Build up your artist profile from your Spotify for Artists hub. You can update your images and bio to reflect your upcoming release and enhance the aura of change surrounding you as the new release approaches release day.
You can pin your Countdown Page to your Artist Pick, displaying it near the top of your artist profile so fans and new listeners can’t miss it.
Get Visual: Utilise Spotify for Artists Tools
Spotify for Artists is packed full of tools which you can use to populate your profile with content. Building your artist profile and songs with visual content will make your page and music much more appealing to both new listeners and your existing fans.
Clips
These are up-to-30 second clips you can add to your profile page, release pages, Now Playing view, Home, and Countdown Pages. Spotify found that artists who uploaded Clips to their Countdown pages saw an average of two-times more pre-saves than artists who didn’t.
You can add Clips to any track before or after release.
Canvas
Canvas allows you to bring your artwork to life on the Now Playing page. These short looping videos come up for listeners as they’re listening to your song, offering a dynamic alternative to the static album art. Create something compelling for the Canvas to your songs to grab listeners when your songs come on.
Spotify say that listeners save or playlist tracks 4x more on average when a track has a Canvas video. Canvas videos will even play when someone shares your track on Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, or on Snapchat.
Spotify’s Campaign Tools: Your Kit for Growth
Amongst the tools you have access to in Spotify for Artists are ones to push your music to the next level. Both free and paid options for promotion are available to reach a new level of audience.
Playlist Pitching
A good feature in a hot playlist can make your career. Some playlists have millions of followers tuning in for their fix of the latest music, curated by tastemakers and Spotify’s algorithms alike.
You can pitch your music directly to Spotify for the potential to be included in their in-house playlists, reaching huge audiences with incredible potential for discovery by new listeners. Pitch your songs at least two weeks in advance to ensure your featured on your followers’ Release Radar.
You can also get your music featured on RouteNote’s In-House playlists if you upload your music at www.routenote.com. Find out more and how to pitch here.
Marquee
This is where you can really push your new release. Marquee offers paid promotion for full-screen, sponsored recommendations on mobile to the people most likely to connect with your music. You can set up a Marquee campaign as soon as your release lands on Spotify before it’s released in time for the drop day or up to 18 days after release day.
Spotify say that their studies find Marquee is 10x more cost-effective than similar social advertising.
Showcase
This feature allows you to keep the traction going with a mobile banner that appears at the top of listener’s Spotify Home. Use campaign headlines to grab listeners, like “New music”, “Recently released”, or “Getting buzz”.
Spotify find that releases using Showcase after a Marquee promotion see an average of 5x more active listeners than those that use only Marquee.
Maintain Momentum: It’s Not All About Release Day
Spotify that reveal that, on average, 75% of a release’s first-year streams happen after the first month. To keep traction building and get the streams rolling after the initial hype has died down, follow these easy pointers.
Share your release on socials
Staying active on socials is a great way to cultivate your fanbase but also to tell followers what you need them to do. Spotify’s Promo Cards give you an easy way to spotlight your music and achievements with unique sharing cards across socials.
Share your Canvas tracks and Clips to increase potential engagement with interesting posts. However, just a simple release page share can get people jumping in to listen along.
Promote your tour
Gigging is one of the greatest things you can do for your music. It connects you with audiences in memorable ways and can even be a great way to reach new listeners and sell more merch.
Spotify is a fantastic place to promote your concerts, with an events section in which you can add your gigs and allow listeners to easily view your upcoming dates as well. Your events are available to view on your artist profile as well as in the Now Playing view when people are listening to your songs.
Selling merch
Merchandise is a huge benefit to artists. It offers a fantastic source of revenue as well as providing unparalleled promotion as your fans walk around representing your brand. Spotify uses Shopify to integrate merchandise into artist pages, allowing listeners to easily browse and buy merch from artists they love.
Track your streams
Your Spotify for Artists hub offers in-depth analytics that reveal your streaming statistics in real-time. Use this data to see how your listeners are growing and find out who your audience is. Once you know who it is listening to your music, you can cater your promotion more towards them.