Spotify’s new Discovery Mode feature is a hot topic in our community right now. 

And for good reason: it’s very polarizing. 

Some love it (I’ve seen several artists experience a significant analytical and financial boost from it inside our agency) and others hate it. 

So what’s the verdict? Is it good? Is it another evil money-making grab from yet another tech giant? 

Or—and stay with me here—is it both?

I recently scheduled my very first Discovery Mode campaign inside Spotify for Artists, and even though it hasn’t kicked off just yet, I already have some thoughts on the matter. 

Discovery Mode is (too?) easy

Getting set up with my first Discovery Mode campaign was a breeze. 

All I had to do was navigate to the “Campaigns” tab, select Discovery Mode, and get started with a campaign. 

From there, I selected the songs I wanted to push, clicked through to finalize the campaign, and boom, done. 

It’s easy. 

In fact, it’s almost too easy, which makes my antennae perk up. 

Technology companies are in the business of making money, as they should be. 

But you and I both know that the easiest option to spend money with them isn’t always what’s in our best interest. 

This philosophy is why I never use the Boost button in any context. 

Boosting a post on Facebook or Instagram will undoubtedly throw the net wider, but you’re giving up granular control of the outcome by taking the easy path. 

Learning to navigate Business Manager and Facebook’s Ads Manager is a far more effective route to achieve our desired outcome—it gives us more control over the details. 

The problem here is that Discovery Mode sure does feel a lot like a “Boost” button for Spotify. 

My concerns about Discovery Mode

On the surface, Discovery Mode doesn’t feel like it’s what’s best for us as artists. 

In truth, it feels a lot like a new form of payola to me, yet another way to pull money from the pockets of musicians who aren’t really making much in the first place. 

Of course, it should come as no surprise to any of us, as this system is largely what the music industry has long been built upon (see link above). 

You gotta pay to play. 

Except, I don’t believe that’s the music business of the future. At least not the long-tail independent side of it. 

I simply refuse to accept that there isn’t a way to make music and earn a little money from it without playing “The Game”. 

Discovery Mode feels like it could be another version of “The Game” to me, and that makes me hesitant to use it. 

The case for Discovery Mode

But I am using Discovery Mode. At least for the month of June. 

You know me, and I am always down to test things so we can all benefit from the experience. 

I have no idea how this is going to work out, but here’s my argument for why it could be a net positive for me (and us, really) and for Spotify. 

Through Discovery Mode, Spotify takes a 30% cut from all streams generated within Radio and Autoplay for the songs that are included in the campaign. 

The potential upside is that if a song generates enough additional streams to outpace that 30% reduction in royalty payments, then the artist makes more money from the deal, as does Spotify. 

That makes Discovery Mode a potentially positive-sum game. And positive-sum games are what fuel growth for everyone. 

We like positive-sum. 

In addition to the potentially positive-sum revenue side of things, we also potentially get increased exposure for our music, and with a great song, increased exposure can lead to increased opportunities and relationships that may further our career. 

Again though: with a great song. 

So is Discovery Mode good or evil? Honestly, I don’t know yet. That’s why I’m testing it. 

Hopefully, we’ll know more in a few months when all the data—streams & royalty payments—have come to rest. 

Because you know I’m gonna share the results with you. 

If you want to learn more about the process of using Discovery Mode, you can watch me set up my very first campaign on YouTube.