The most important info from Spotify Fan Study

Spotify for Artists has brought many benefits, allowing artists to pitch songs, create a Canvas, and put out Promo Cards. But the high point is naturally the insights into your streams and listeners. Using its brand-new landing page, Spotify now wants to give you even more information about your fans. Even though it’s not personalized, there are still a lot of take-aways. We’ve put together the most important information for you right here.

More saves & likes equals more streams

We’ve already pointed out multiple times how important it is to encourage your fans to like your songs and to add them to their playlists. Spotify’s data have underscored this once more: When a fan saves your song, chances are high that they’ll listen to it multiple times. A listener who has saved your track is three times more likely to play it again in 6 months, for instance, than someone who didn’t.

If a fan adds your song to one of their playlists, they will listen to it 41% more and look at your profile 12% more than someone who doesn’t. What’s more, 60% of all merchandise purchases come from fans who have added a song by the artists to their playlist.

Your super-fans are especially important. The top 5% of your fans listen to your tracks 6 times as much as the rest. Regular releases are good for your catalogue: When a new release comes out, your older ones receive a 15-20% boost, as well.

Promotion beyond the release week

On the day of the release, you have to be ready, because on average, traffic on your artist profile increases by 77%. However, only about 50% of artists update their profiles before a release. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t put all your energy into the release day or the release week. The fact is that more than half of all albums (53%) do not reach their peak in the first week. Promote your release over a longer time span, so that you can reach the fans who missed it in the first week, as well.

Many listeners make their way to Spotify from other platforms. The biggest growth can be observed on Runkeeper Pro, LinkedIn, Discord, Snapchat, as well as newsletter. So, keep regularly posting links to your Spotify on the other platforms that you use, as well. Spotify additionally points out again that Canvas increases the chances of your release being shared by your fans. With Canvas, shares on average increase by 10.7%.

Where are your listeners at home?

The cities where most new music is being discovered are all located in Latin America; namely São Paulo, Santiago de Chile, and Mexico City. Metropolises like Los Angeles, London, Chicago, and Paris follow behind. So, it’s well worth looking up where your listeners come from. Often, it’s not necessarily what you would expect.

Genres are disappearing more and more: Spotify’s analysis shows that many listeners now listen to all kinds of different music styles. 65% of hip hop listeners, for instance, also follow pop artists, and 36% of them also follow rock acts. Meanwhile, 53% of metal listeners subscribe to hip hop artists, as well. Spotify recommends listing multiple genres when pitching your song or album.

For a detailed analysis as well as information on merch sales visit fanstudy.byspotify.com.