DistroKid distributes music.

Spotify for Artists manages your presence inside Spotify.

They’re connected, but they’re not the same product.

What is Spotify for Artists?

Spotify for Artists gives musicians access to tools including:

streaming analytics

audience demographics

profile editing

photos

artist picks

upcoming releases

playlist pitching

Why do you need it?

Your distributor can put your music onto Spotify.

But once it’s there, Spotify for Artists becomes the place where you actually understand and optimise your Spotify presence.

Playlist pitching

One of the most important functions is pitching upcoming unreleased music to Spotify’s editorial system.

That’s one reason artists should upload music early.

If you deliver a track at the last minute, you’ve given yourself far less time to prepare the release properly.

DistroKid’s plan matters

DistroKid’s Musician Plus tier currently includes customised release dates, whereas the basic Musician tier focuses on fast release essentials.

For planned campaigns, that extra control can matter.

Distribution is only stage one

Artists sometimes spend enormous amounts of time choosing a distributor and almost no time thinking about what happens after release.

But getting onto Spotify is easy.

Getting listeners is hard.

The real work happens through:

great music

audience development

content

playlist strategy

fan relationships

repeat releases

distribution is infrastructure.

It isn’t the marketing strategy.