In the early days of promoting my music, playlisting absolutely destroyed the integrity of my data on Spotify.
When I switched over to Facebook ads, I didn’t really make it any better.
In fact, I may have made it worse.
Spotify had no idea where to put my music, which genres to apply to my songs, or which artists to associate with me.
You see, Spotify’s algorithm is heavily dependent on genre-matching to place our music in front of listeners who will like what we do, so proper targeting is essential to marketing our music on the platform.
This is how my genres got mismatched on Spotify (and what I’m doing to fix it).
It all started with playlisting…
Playlisting can be a great way to get a short-term boost for your music, but it comes at a cost.
You get quick access to listeners and streams, but if you’re not careful, it can actually do more damage than good.
When I first started submitting my music to playlists, I tested every platform I could find with little regard to the details of any playlist I submitted my music to (to be fair, I was still figuring out what kind of music I even wanted to make, but that’s for a different newsletter).
I had a few early successes with playlisting songs, but outside of a few spikes here and there, I realized it was never going to be the path to the end result I wanted as an artist.
I needed a better way.
Enter: Facebook ads
When I discovered the power of Facebook ads to market my music on Spotify, my whole world changed.
Here, I had access to actual listeners (not playlist bots) from all over the world. These people engaged with my music, and, even better, they engaged with my content on social media too.
Success, no?
Well, sort of. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was not being discerning enough about where I was marketing my music and who I was targeting.
I was simply getting results, and that was enough for me.
When I first started using ads, I went completely global with my targeting, serving up ads to users in every country where Spotify was available at the time, and while this helped me find repeated success with new releases, it was secretly doing damage I didn’t even know about at the time.
It wasn’t until I started really digging into how Spotify’s algorithm works that I discovered the problem…
Your targeting matters
By utilizing tools like Spotify for Artists and Every Noise at Once, I discovered that the genre of music I was making and the genre of music Spotify thought I made were two very different things.
I make electronic music with elements of trap and rock, but I was getting listed alongside underground hip hop artists, emo music, Brazilian synthwave, Russian new age, and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t anywhere close.
This was preventing me from accessing listeners who were actually interested in discovering artstis just like me.
Obviously, something had to change, so I went to work on my targeting.
The primary change I made was only to target countries in North America, Europe, and Oceania where English is either the official language or a dominant langage.
This single adjustment made a huge impact, not only on the success of my ads but also on Spotify’s ability to match my music to the correct genres alongside similar artists.
And on top of that, I was accessing more listeners who were already listening to the artists I wanted to be associated with.
And ever since I made that change, my data has turned a corner.
My genres, while still not perfect, are getting so much better, I’m getting more engagement on my music, and Spotify’s algorithm continues to show me love pretty much every week.
All because of one simple change.
If you haven’t checked into how Spotify categorizes your music, I suggest you do. It could have a significant impact on the success of your songs on the platform.
And if you want to dig deeper into this topic, check out this video.
In the early days of promoting my music, playlisting absolutely destroyed the integrity of my data on Spotify.
When I switched over to Facebook ads, I didn’t really make it any better.
In fact, I may have made it worse.
Spotify had no idea where to put my music, which genres to apply to my songs, or which artists to associate with me.
You see, Spotify’s algorithm is heavily dependent on genre-matching to place our music in front of listeners who will like what we do, so proper targeting is essential to marketing our music on the platform.
This is how my genres got mismatched on Spotify (and what I’m doing to fix it).
It all started with playlisting…
Playlisting can be a great way to get a short-term boost for your music, but it comes at a cost.
You get quick access to listeners and streams, but if you’re not careful, it can actually do more damage than good.
When I first started submitting my music to playlists, I tested every platform I could find with little regard to the details of any playlist I submitted my music to (to be fair, I was still figuring out what kind of music I even wanted to make, but that’s for a different newsletter).
I had a few early successes with playlisting songs, but outside of a few spikes here and there, I realized it was never going to be the path to the end result I wanted as an artist.
I needed a better way.
Enter: Facebook ads
When I discovered the power of Facebook ads to market my music on Spotify, my whole world changed.
Here, I had access to actual listeners (not playlist bots) from all over the world. These people engaged with my music, and, even better, they engaged with my content on social media too.
Success, no?
Well, sort of. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was not being discerning enough about where I was marketing my music and who I was targeting.
I was simply getting results, and that was enough for me.
When I first started using ads, I went completely global with my targeting, serving up ads to users in every country where Spotify was available at the time, and while this helped me find repeated success with new releases, it was secretly doing damage I didn’t even know about at the time.
It wasn’t until I started really digging into how Spotify’s algorithm works that I discovered the problem…
Your targeting matters
By utilizing tools like Spotify for Artists and Every Noise at Once, I discovered that the genre of music I was making and the genre of music Spotify thought I made were two very different things.
I make electronic music with elements of trap and rock, but I was getting listed alongside underground hip hop artists, emo music, Brazilian synthwave, Russian new age, and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t anywhere close.
This was preventing me from accessing listeners who were actually interested in discovering artstis just like me.
Obviously, something had to change, so I went to work on my targeting.
The primary change I made was only to target countries in North America, Europe, and Oceania where English is either the official language or a dominant langage.
This single adjustment made a huge impact, not only on the success of my ads but also on Spotify’s ability to match my music to the correct genres alongside similar artists.
And on top of that, I was accessing more listeners who were already listening to the artists I wanted to be associated with.
And ever since I made that change, my data has turned a corner.
My genres, while still not perfect, are getting so much better, I’m getting more engagement on my music, and Spotify’s algorithm continues to show me love pretty much every week.
All because of one simple change.
If you haven’t checked into how Spotify categorizes your music, I suggest you do. It could have a significant impact on the success of your songs on the platform.
And if you want to dig deeper into this topic, check out this video.
In the early days of promoting my music, playlisting absolutely destroyed the integrity of my data on Spotify.
When I switched over to Facebook ads, I didn’t really make it any better.
In fact, I may have made it worse.
Spotify had no idea where to put my music, which genres to apply to my songs, or which artists to associate with me.
You see, Spotify’s algorithm is heavily dependent on genre-matching to place our music in front of listeners who will like what we do, so proper targeting is essential to marketing our music on the platform.
This is how my genres got mismatched on Spotify (and what I’m doing to fix it).
It all started with playlisting…
Playlisting can be a great way to get a short-term boost for your music, but it comes at a cost.
You get quick access to listeners and streams, but if you’re not careful, it can actually do more damage than good.
When I first started submitting my music to playlists, I tested every platform I could find with little regard to the details of any playlist I submitted my music to (to be fair, I was still figuring out what kind of music I even wanted to make, but that’s for a different newsletter).
I had a few early successes with playlisting songs, but outside of a few spikes here and there, I realized it was never going to be the path to the end result I wanted as an artist.
I needed a better way.
Enter: Facebook ads
When I discovered the power of Facebook ads to market my music on Spotify, my whole world changed.
Here, I had access to actual listeners (not playlist bots) from all over the world. These people engaged with my music, and, even better, they engaged with my content on social media too.
Success, no?
Well, sort of. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was not being discerning enough about where I was marketing my music and who I was targeting.
I was simply getting results, and that was enough for me.
When I first started using ads, I went completely global with my targeting, serving up ads to users in every country where Spotify was available at the time, and while this helped me find repeated success with new releases, it was secretly doing damage I didn’t even know about at the time.
It wasn’t until I started really digging into how Spotify’s algorithm works that I discovered the problem…
Your targeting matters
By utilizing tools like Spotify for Artists and Every Noise at Once, I discovered that the genre of music I was making and the genre of music Spotify thought I made were two very different things.
I make electronic music with elements of trap and rock, but I was getting listed alongside underground hip hop artists, emo music, Brazilian synthwave, Russian new age, and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t anywhere close.
This was preventing me from accessing listeners who were actually interested in discovering artstis just like me.
Obviously, something had to change, so I went to work on my targeting.
The primary change I made was only to target countries in North America, Europe, and Oceania where English is either the official language or a dominant langage.
This single adjustment made a huge impact, not only on the success of my ads but also on Spotify’s ability to match my music to the correct genres alongside similar artists.
And on top of that, I was accessing more listeners who were already listening to the artists I wanted to be associated with.
And ever since I made that change, my data has turned a corner.
My genres, while still not perfect, are getting so much better, I’m getting more engagement on my music, and Spotify’s algorithm continues to show me love pretty much every week.
All because of one simple change.
If you haven’t checked into how Spotify categorizes your music, I suggest you do. It could have a significant impact on the success of your songs on the platform.
And if you want to dig deeper into this topic, check out this video.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.