When you’re trying to get big on Spotify, one of the main feelings you’ll have is one of minor disillusionment. And it’s easy to see why; few parts of life can be more competitive than music streaming.
With so many artists competing for a few minutes of ear time with every listener, you need to make sure that you can be heard and seen. With Spotify, the best way to do that is through getting spotted on Spotify playlists.
Getting a curator to add you to his playlist takes some time and panning, however.
What can you do to achieve that goal as an independent artist?
1. Start with Spotify for Artists
It’s always the first place to start, and will play a critical role in your chances of making a streaming success of yourself on Spotify.
Start off by making an account with Spotify for Artists, and you can get all access to not only full Spotify verification but also great analytical tools for watching your progress.
Where are your main streams coming from? What seems to be attracting more followers to you? Spotify for Artists makes it easier to find out.
2. Get the Fans Involved
If you want an influencer to notice you, though, verification is just part of the process. You need to mobilize your present fan base and get them listening to you on Spotify. You need numbers, pure and simple.
Start promoting your Spotify tracks and pushing your Spotify profile link on social media, on your website, in blog posts and in the odd e-mail. The more encouragement you can give fans to use Spotify, the sooner you’ll benefit from this.
3. Release with Regularity
You need to keep adding new content to get people coming back, though. An average of one single per month is a good medium to help keep your profile busy and fresh.
4. Backup Supporting Playlists
Found your music in a playlist someone has made? Then throw a little link out there to the rest of the world for the owner. It’s a small little extra to add, but it can go some way to making sure that others will listen to playlists involving you. The curator will appreciate the help, too!
5. Find your Niche
Where are you getting most of your hits from? That is your niche to target on Spotify. Start building a list of the Spotify playlists that would fit in with your general genre and style as an independent hip hop artist. Then, start contacting the most relevant ones.
6. Connecting with Effect
Do yourself a favour then and start networking. Send them a message saying that you love their playlist, and that you’re going to share it with your social media and the like.
If you can, throw in a few song suggestions that aren’t your own work; only pitch your own content once you feel like you have made some kind of rapport with the curator.
Basically, be humble, do your research, and always build up to the grand pitch.
These curators get hundreds of emails saying the same stuff; you need to show you are more mature and, more importantly, more human. Do that, and you can really make a big difference to the kind of enjoyment that both parties feel.
