How to Choose the Right Streaming Service for Your Music
Do you want to release your music but are not sure which streaming platform to release it on? There are so many streaming services now, and it can be very hard to figure out which one is the most popular or best to use.
Read on to discover how you can choose the right streaming service for your music.
Streaming: The New Wave
Over the past couple of decades, online music streaming has become the primary way people listen to music. What once was a world full of vinyl records, CDs, and Walkmans is now a world of iPhones, Androids, and monthly subscriptions.
This new wave has posed quite a bit of controversy throughout the music industry, and it may be hard to tell if streaming is good or bad for it. Here are the highlights of each side.
Cons
The main con to streaming is revenue for artists and songwriters. Physical copies of music are, without a doubt, a more profitable way to sell music. Making it a lot easier for people in the public eye to make a living off songwriting and artistry.
Pros
On the other side of the spectrum, making physical copies of music and distributing them to stores across the country is virtually impossible for small bands and artists. Streaming has made it so that basically anyone can release their music in a way that has a chance at popularity.
It’s hard to say what phase of the music industry is better, but there is one thing we know for sure. Streaming is not going away anytime soon. So, it is critical to make the most of it. The best way to do this is to use Spotify and understand how it works.
Spotify
Spotify has made a name for itself as one of the most highly used streaming platforms on the market. It became popular for its personability to each listener. With personalized playlists that are updated weekly, in addition to a large repertoire of other well-crafted playlists, Spotify is the listener’s and the artist’s new best friend. Here is a little more about how you as an artist should be using Spotify.
Algorithmic Playlists
Spotify has two primary algorithmic playlists that are a huge help to small artists and bands all across the globe. They are called Discover Weekly and Release Radar. People love listening to these playlists because they update with new music every week. Discover Weekly presents the listeners with a new personalized set of songs every Monday. Release Radar gives listeners a personalized set of new releases every Friday. As an artist, these are your ticket to success.
If your song does well upon being released, it will catch the algorithm and be placed on one or both of these playlists. If it continues to do well, it will be placed on more people’s algorithmic playlists. The cycle will repeat every week until the algorithm is no longer triggered by your songs. This will cause a major spike in monthly listeners, followers, and, of course, streams. Learn how to use these two playlists to your advantage as best you can.
Editorial Playlist Submissions
When you upload your song, you can submit it to editorial playlists. These are playlists made by real people who work for Spotify and typically have hundreds of thousands of followers. This is a great way to get your music in front of people. Just be sure to upload your song at least two weeks before its release date.
Data Tracking
You can track all the playlists, streams, countries, cities, etc with the Spotify for artists app. This information is fun to look at and can be very helpful in learning how to best use Spotify to your advantage.
Music Distribution
Now it’s time to learn how to upload music to Spotify. While Spotify is a great tool for getting your music in front of the masses, it is not the only streaming service out there. To be perceived as a professional and get in front of as many people as possible, you should use a music distribution service to upload your music to all of the major streaming platforms at the same time. This is always the best way to go!
Royalty Allocation
In addition to distributing your music and offering a plethora of other features, music distribution services keep track of streams across all platforms and allocate royalties accordingly. So, you may not be making the same money you would make off of CDs, but you are still getting paid per stream!
The Takeaway
Music streaming platforms are now the primary way people listen to music. There is no use in fighting it. So, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Keep your focus on Spotify and its algorithmic playlists. You might just find yourself riding the algorithmic wave all the way to the top. However, don’t forget about the others. Be kind to your fans on other streaming services by using a distributor that also puts you on Apple Music, Google Play, TikTok, and Instagram.
