{"id":28496,"date":"2024-08-09T07:30:24","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T07:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberprmusic.com\/?p=28496"},"modified":"2024-08-09T13:29:07","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T13:29:07","slug":"5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Mistakes Artists Make on Spotify"},"content":{"rendered":"

Believe it or not, there was a time when promoting on <\/span>Spotify wasn’t a thing.\u00a0 There was a good decade or so when blogs reigned supreme, and before that, radio and live shows were the true catalysts<\/span>\u00a0for success.<\/span><\/p>\n

I miss those days. Especially now in light of the new data that was released on Spotify\u2019s <\/span>Loud and Clear<\/a><\/strong><\/span> website, which was recently updated<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are three not-awesome stats that I pulled from <\/b>Music Ally <\/span><\/b><\/a>and one from <\/b>MBW<\/a><\/strong><\/span> on that\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

15% of tracks uploaded to Spotify generate 95% of its royalties.<\/b><\/p>\n

80% of their streams are from tracks that are more than five years old.<\/b><\/p>\n

A quarter of music streams on Spotify last year (25%) were distributed by companies that were unaffiliated with the majors or Merlin. (MBW)<\/b><\/p>\n

Okay – so the playing field is NOT as even as you thought is it? But that doesn\u2019t stop the deluge of artists reaching for the brass ring when getting plays on Spotify.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s become a massive goal among musicians to rack up as many plays as possible. The problem is, most of the time, those plays don\u2019t actually deeply affect your career. They don\u2019t convert into fans (much less fans that will support you through tours, merch, and everything else), and so even when an artist is able to achieve the stream numbers they want, they\u2019re still with about the same amount of fans they had before.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this to say, Spotify is a <\/span>piece <\/i><\/b>of the puzzle when it comes to your promotions strategy, but it isn\u2019t the whole thing. In fact, a lot of times, I see musicians making the same mistakes over and over. After years of working with our artists on strategic press and marketing plans<\/a> <\/strong>that include some Spotify playlisting, <\/span>here are the 5 mistakes I see the most \u2014and how to fix them.<\/b><\/p>\n

Paying for What You Think Are Real Plays (But They Turn Out to be FAKE)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This happens so much more than you might think. Unfortunately, it\u2019s not uncommon that I see artists hiring companies that boast real plays on their playlists, only to find out that they\u2019re actually fake. The worst part is this can even come from otherwise reputable companies that have great reviews. Meaning you can go into it with the best of intentions and have done all your research and\u00a0still<\/em> get baited into paying for fake services.<\/p>\n

Our suggestion for fixing this: Continue to do your research and look for recent reviews and first-hand accounts. Sometimes companies will change tactics over time, but if you can find some examples of clients having successfully used their service in the last few months, that\u2019s a good sign that what they\u2019re doing is legit.<\/p>\n

They Get Added to Bot-Driven Playlists – and Can’t Get Removed Easily<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I knew an artist who worked with a company that had promised her actual plays and non-botted playlists, only to then get added to exactly those. While the company ended up swearing up and down they weren\u2019t fake, the evidence was pretty clear, and she understandably began to freak out about the consequences. You\u2019ve heard the stories\u2014Spotify punishing artists for unknowingly being added to these playlists by kicking them off the platform and erasing their music. This is not a good look.<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is that\u2019s not likely to happen to you. But that doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t be careful. Getting removed from playlists that are bot-driven can be a nightmare. Even if you can find the curator\u2019s contact information (and that\u2019s a <\/span>big<\/span><\/i> if), you\u2019re unlikely to hear back from them. It took my artist months to get her Spotify cleaned up, and she was lucky. So, while it might feel tempting to just go for it and hope Spotify doesn\u2019t notice, it\u2019s not worth it especially when you consider those plays aren\u2019t real fans and won\u2019t yield any true results.<\/span><\/p>\n

They Spend Too Much Time and Energy on Pre-Save Campaigns\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There was a time when pre-save campaigns were *it* for musicians. If you could get fans to pre-save and listen on release day, it felt like your odds of being added to a playlist were much higher. While there\u2019s some truth to that, the volume you have to hit for the Spotify algorithm to take notice is much higher than one might hope, and for the most part, while pre-save campaigns are great, they\u2019re not the <\/span>only<\/span><\/i> thing you should be focused on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a tendency to focus all your energy on getting people to pre-save, but if the people doing that aren\u2019t actually regular Spotify users who will then listen to your song when it drops (and many, many times after), then it doesn\u2019t really make sense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Think about it: How many hours during a pre-release campaign are you spending pushing pre-save? Are the results worth it? Instead, spend some of that time getting press or <\/span>building your email<\/a><\/strong><\/span> list.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plays might initially feel more exciting, but \u2014having strong quotes to add to your EPK or more real fans coming out to your shows go a long way when looking to achieve other goals like booking shows or signing to a label.<\/span><\/p>\n

They Have No Strategy for Fan Retention<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Speaking of strategy<\/span>, getting your stream count up on Spotify is\u00a0not<\/em> a good release strategy\u2014at<\/span>\u00a0least, not by itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Often, I find artists pouring all their energy into building up a presence on Spotify and getting on as many playlists as possible, but there\u2019s no plan beyond that. Even if they get on a ton of playlists (which, by now, you know is a little trickier than it seems), then what? How do you reach your actual fans to tell them about a new song?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If all you have are 10,000 streams on a song and nothing to do with the people WHO streamed it,, then what\u2019s the end goal? Who\u2019s supporting you at that point?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You must have a strategy that goes well beyond Spotify. At least currently, Spotify doesn\u2019t offer a way to see who your fans are or interact with them. They may listen to your song, but you have absolutely no idea who they are or any way to cultivate the relationship after that.<\/span><\/p>\n

They Focus on Spotify and Nothing Else<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Again, Spotify plays a valuable role in strategic press and marketing campaigns. But <\/span>focusing\u00a0only<\/em> on streams is to ignore the basics of what makes you as an artist successful: your fans, your community, and your<\/span>\u00a0ability to show your personality and connect with others.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reason Spotify works so well for established artists is because we already know we love their music and love their song, and so we want to hear it a million times (remember, 80% of all songs played are more than 5+ years old) . If I\u2019m just getting to know an artist, I need to fall in love with them before I can <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> fall in love with their song. That means seeing their personality (which Spotify can\u2019t deeply provide), feeling part of their community (which Spotify doesn\u2019t currently provide at all), and having a way to feel a part of the process (Sorry, Spotify doesn\u2019t provide this either.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Does this mean Spotify shouldn’t be part of your promotion strategy? Absolutely not. It\u2019s here to stay and will always be a piece of the marketing puzzle. There\u2019s a way to use it so that it becomes a strong aid rather than the whole kit and kaboodle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And honestly? You might like it better that way. After all, interacting with fans isn\u2019t just how you\u2019ll grow a stronger music career, it\u2019s what makes this whole thing palpable and dare I say <\/span>fun<\/i><\/b>. Seeing the impact you\u2019ve had on someone\u2019s life most probably come from Spotify alone. Hearing it through a story they tell you or a comment they leave. For now, that means stepping away from Spotify so you can truly connect with your fans. Don\u2019t worry, when they feel that connection and want to listen to your song, they\u2019ll still head to Spotify to stream it or share it with a friend. That connection starts away from Spotify\u2014but it can still end up creating the meaningful streams you\u2019re after.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of comments they leave – download this to find out the best times to make those comments HAPPEN.<\/span><\/p>\n

Need help with your posting strategy? Download our Best Times to Post<\/a><\/span><\/strong> so you can stay up to speed with your fanbase’s social media habits.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Cyber<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Believe it or not, there was a time when promoting on Spotify wasn’t a thing.\u00a0 There was a good decade or so when blogs reigned supreme, and before that, radio and live shows were the true catalysts\u00a0for success. I miss those days. Especially now in light of the new data that was released on Spotify\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":29178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,53,133],"tags":[197,1048,131,2039,1427,35,2040],"collection":[2197],"class_list":["post-28496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-sound-advice","category-streaming-for-musicians","tag-independent-musicians","tag-mistakes","tag-music-marketing","tag-playlisters","tag-playlisting","tag-spotify","tag-spotify-strategy","collection-streaming"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Mistakes Artists Make on Spotify - Cyber PR Music<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find out what the 5 biggest mistakes I see artists most often make with Spotify and how you can fix them to make your strategy better.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Mistakes Artists Make on Spotify - Cyber PR Music\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Find out what the 5 biggest mistakes I see artists most often make with Spotify and how you can fix them to make your strategy better.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cyber PR Music\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-09T07:30:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-09T13:29:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Spotify-Mistakes.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ariel Hyatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ariel Hyatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/\",\"name\":\"5 Mistakes Artists Make on Spotify - Cyber PR Music\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Spotify-Mistakes.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-09T07:30:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-09T13:29:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bdf285b89bc557389ed1d62981c9b87f\"},\"description\":\"Find out what the 5 biggest mistakes I see artists most often make with Spotify and how you can fix them to make your strategy better.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Spotify-Mistakes.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Spotify-Mistakes.png\",\"width\":550,\"height\":550},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/5-mistakes-artists-make-on-spotify\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Mistakes Artists Make on Spotify\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cyberprmusic.com\/\",\"name\":\"Cyber PR Music\",\"description\":\"Your premier resource for all things digital PR. 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