The Spotify algorithm can be hard to understand. Especially if you want to use it to your advantage. There are some things you can do to get a better chance to get picked up by the algorithm.
Table of Contents:
1 - What is the algorithm?
First of all, we have to clarify what the Spotify algorithm actually is. Example: When you play a Spotify playlist on shuffle, you might notice that the actual playlist is over at some point. Let's say the playlist includes 20 songs. If you listened to those 20 songs, Spotify will seamlessly put new music in the queue that isn't actually in the playlist. They usually play music in the same genre. If you listened to a hardcore EDM playlist, Spotify won't give you an Adele song after the playlist is finished. The main things Spotify is looking for after they play those new songs are listening time, song skips, favorites, and things like if you're following the artist or checked out their discography. The more someone interacts with those songs, the higher the chances that the algorithm will show this song to more people listening to that style of music.
2 - How to profit from the algorithm
The best way to profit from an algorithm is usually by interacting with it in any possible way and here are these ways:
Canvas
This feature is not the newest thing anymore, but it's super important to use it because algorithms are made to rank things higher if they use new features the company integrates into their app. A good example is the Instagram save button which a lot of people call "super-like". That's new data for the algorithm, so if people use that feature, they will get ranked higher. Same works for Spotify. Use all the features they give you and more importantly use new features if they get introduced.
Pre-Save
The same thing works for pre-saving. Pre-saving is not just a new feature but it also shows the algorithm that the audience is actually waiting for the song to be released. Example: Imagine an artist doesn't use a pre-save link. Their song won't be saved immediately to thousands of playlists. They basically starts at zero. Now imagine another artist that shares their pre-save link and immediately gets 1000 playlist adds at the second the song is officially released. It's obvious that the second song will rank way better in the algorithm's choice.
Artist Profile
A similar concept applies to your Spotify artist profile. Make sure you keep your profile up to date with your favorite playlist, an updated bio, and maybe even a header that matches your newest release.
Spotify for Artists
Let's talk about the most crucial part you need to do before your release goes live. This is submitting your song to Spotify editorial playlists. The metadata you are giving to editorials is even more connected to the algorithm than to the editorials. Telling an algorithm that your song is a "chill" song and not a "rock" song is so groundbreaking. Since it now can better identify in which niche your song needs to be placed.
Followers
The last thing in the list is followers. All artists are talking about "save my song", "add it to your playlist", and "share it", but gaining Spotify followers should also be mentioned here. It's just another piece of metadata that the algorithm can use to rank your music. So use it!
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