How to Increase Your Spotify Presence and Earn More Royalties

1. Why Spotify Growth Matters More Than Ever

Spotify has become the central platform for music discovery. Whether you are an independent artist or a curator building a playlist brand, Spotify growth influences your reach, credibility, monthly revenue and long-term audience loyalty. Understanding how Spotify evaluates your music is the first step toward increasing your presence and earning more royalties.

The platform uses a combination of engagement metrics, listener behaviour and matching algorithms to determine which tracks deserve visibility. Those who understand these mechanics can systematically improve their results.

2. Master the Core Signals Spotify Tracks

Spotify’s algorithm is designed to reward predictable, positive listener behaviour. These are the primary signals that influence your visibility:

• Save Rate: How often listeners save your track to their library.
• Completion Rate: Percentage of listeners who finish the track.
• Repeat Plays: Strong indicator of emotional connection.
• Playlist Retention: How well your track performs within playlists.
• Skip Rate: High skip rates negatively affect algorithmic reach.

Tracks with strong performance across these metrics are automatically pushed into algorithmic playlists such as Discover Weekly, Release Radar and Radio.

3. Optimise Your Metadata and Branding

Metadata is a powerful part of Spotify's discovery engine. Correct and consistent metadata helps match your music to the right audience and increases your chance of entering relevant playlists.

• Precise genre and subgenre tagging
• Professionally designed cover artwork
• Consistent branding across all platforms
• Accurate song mood and instrument descriptors
• Updated bio and artist photos

Artists with clean metadata outperform those with confusing or inconsistent information.

4. How to Get Into Spotify Playlists

Playlists remain the most powerful source of initial traction. They generate sustained streams, build algorithmic trust and introduce your music to new listeners.

A. Editorial Playlists via Spotify for Artists

Submit your track at least 7 days before release. Editors care about:

• Genre accuracy
• Mood coherence
• Quality of production
• Clear marketing plan
• Story behind the track

While competitive, editorial placements often follow after you show stable algorithmic performance.

B. Algorithmic Playlists

These playlists activate automatically based on engagement patterns. The key drivers include repeat plays, saves, and consistent listening across multiple days. Many artists underestimate this source, yet algorithmic playlists often outperform editorial by volume.

C. Independent Curators

Independent playlists are essential for early traction. They allow artists to build momentum before the algorithm activates. Curators look for specific moods, subgenres or consistent quality. The right playlist can produce long-tail streams that last for months.

5. Submission Platforms as a Growth Tool

Playlist submission platforms create a bridge between artists and curators. When designed ethically and efficiently, they provide real value to both sides of the ecosystem.

A. For Artists: Free Access and Higher Success Rates

High-quality submission systems allow artists to:

• Submit music to curated, genre-matched playlists
• Reach real curators instead of bots or inactive lists
• Improve their placement chances through accurate matching
• Analyse which curators respond best to their genre

Instead of cold messaging hundreds of playlist owners, artists get targeted, structured access—often without paying upfront. This increases fairness and reduces spam.

B. For Curators: Gates, Quality Control and Better Music

Curators benefit significantly from submission-based ecosystems. Through submission gates, they can:

• Receive only relevant genre submissions
• Filter by mood, BPM, language or subgenre
• Save time by reviewing high-quality tracks
• Grow their playlists faster with strong, fresh music
• Monetise their time ethically without compromising quality

Submission systems create a steady flow of new music while maintaining standards. This leads to stronger playlists, higher listener retention and improved curator reputation.

6. How Submissions Increase Long-Term Algorithmic Growth

A strong submission strategy improves algorithms directly. When artists land on multiple mid-sized playlists with active followers, Spotify reads the listener behaviour and starts pushing the track to larger groups.

• Small playlist momentum → better playlist retention
• Better retention → algorithmic trust
• Algorithmic trust → Discover Weekly and Radio activations
• These → long-term, passive streams

This is why building early playlist traction through curated submissions is one of the most effective ways to scale up without paid ads.

7. How to Increase Your Royalties

Royalties are a function of stream volume, geographic location and user type (premium vs. free). To maximise revenue, focus on:

• High-value regions like the US, UK and Western Europe
• Long-tail playlists that keep delivering months of streams
• Consistent release cycles to maintain momentum
• Fan engagement campaigns that drive saves and repeats
• Submission platforms that place your music in curated, high-retention playlists

Growth is exponential once momentum builds. More playlists → more algorithmic reach → more streams → higher royalties.

8. Build Momentum Outside Spotify

External signals such as social media activity and press mentions boost credibility. This indirectly assists playlist decisions and algorithmic traction.

• Short-form content (TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts)
• Influencer collaborations
• Local press and blog features
• Lyric and visualiser videos
• Email lists and fan communities

Spotify may not read all external data directly, but human engagement influences editorial decisions and real-world traction boosts the algorithm.

9. Final Thoughts

Growing your Spotify presence is a predictable process when handled strategically. Metadata optimisation, playlist submissions, algorithm triggers and consistent branding work together to create long-term momentum. Curators benefit from better quality control through submission gates, while artists gain fair, direct access to genre-matched playlists.

With the right structure, both sides grow—and royalties follow naturally.