Captain’s Advice: 3 ways to make the most of Spotify
Spotify has become one of the most popular music streaming platforms worldwide, both for music fans and bands and musicians. It’s no wonder, as the platform offers numerous great features that help you promote your music and powerfully present yourself as an artist, if you know how. We have compiled the most important “Spotify hacks” for you in this article.
(Important: Spotify keeps changing and improving, therefore some of the links might not work forever or the visual appearance of features might change over time. In this case please consult Google or the Spotify Artist Support).
1. Get a verified account
Spotify comes with an important feature for bands and artists which many musicians are still unaware about: Verified artist accounts, short: VIP accounts. VIP accounts are official artist accounts which show your fans that you’re the real ones. Each verified account displays a blue check-mark right next to the band name on the profile page – like in the case of our passengers “Kytes”:
The advantages are obvious: Your fans can follow your verified account and will be notified immediately if you upload a new track or share a new playlist. Also, the verified account is closely connected with your discography which is thus easily searchable for your fans. You can also feature your own playlists directly on your discography page. And lastly – this we deem an important one: Verified accounts can be found via the search function, unlike the accounts of regular users.
This is how you can get your own verified account on Spotify:
In April 2017 Spotify drastically simplified the verification process. You no longer need 250 followers in order to get a verified profile and you don’t need to go through the old, complex process. All you have to do is get access to your profile on Spotify for Artists and you’re done. You will later also use the Spotify for Artists account to edit and manage your images and playlists. If you already have a verified account but haven’t used Spotify for Artists yet, get access to Spotify for Artists here.
2. Create branded playlists
- Within your Spotify for Artists area you should create and curate branded playlists that you communicate to your fans. For more information on branded playlists check out the Spotify website.
- With the help of Spotify’s new Self Branding Feature, you can now add a cover, description and hyperlinks to any of your playlists directly in the client. If your artist profile does not yet show this feature you can request it here.
- Questions about branded playlists? Contact Spotify support for more information.
3. Make the most out of Spotify for Artists
a. Get to know your listeners: The tool helps you to see demographic data like age and gender of your listeners as well as the locations they listen from, which can help with the planning of your next tour.
b. Track your performance: Track who adds your music to playlists and how well your music is received. You will also be notified if your music is added to one of the 4500+ of Spotify’s internal playlists which can boost your reach significantly.
c. Personalize your artist profile: Edit your artist picture, create playlists and feature your favourite songs in your profile.
d. Get in touch with Spotify: Spotify for Artists features a new and improved help centre which helps you find answers to your questions more easily.