Building your online presence as a musician can lead to real, IRL opportunities. That being said, once you learn how to get your music on Spotify, it can feel incredibly difficult to break through on oversaturated streaming platforms.
Hope is not lost– Below, we’ll break down exactly how you can earn your first 10K monthly listeners on Spotify. By utilizing Spotify’s unique social tools and working the platform to your advantage, anything is possible.
Why The First 10K Is The Hardest
Getting to your first 10K can oftentimes feel like an uphill battle. The good news is that getting to your first 10K is usually one of the most difficult points in your career– once you pass that threshold, you’ll have a lot more insight on what works and doesn’t work for your fanbase.
To provide some perspective, earning 10K listeners is quite a feat relative to the entire platform of Spotify. Nearly 80% of artists on Spotify has a monthly audience of fewer than 50 people, so climbing the ladder amongst an endless sea of hobbyists can be challenging.
If you want to make it on Spotify, and more importantly, the full scope of the music industry, it’s essential that you put in the legwork first before waiting for a record deal or outside support to sweep you off your feet. The first 10K is the hardest because you need to dominate the learning curve surrounding building a budding audience. Make no mistake– Reaching 10K monthly listeners isn’t easy by any means, but if you can conquer this hurdle, it will a lot easier for you to progress as an artist.
How To Get 10K Monthly Listeners On Spotify
Without delay, here are some proven strategies to help you earn 10K monthly listeners on Spotify:
1. Be Consistent
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Even if you haven’t reaped the benefits of a strong fanbase, it’s essential to stay consistent on social media and with your music releases to reach 10K listeners on Spotify.
The more music you make and release the more experience you’ll earn. As a budding artist, you need to focus on finding your polished sound and cultivating the beginnings of a fanbase.
2. Search For Your Listeners
Your listeners are not going to magically find you as an artist. It’s up to you to search for them, at least in the beginning. Pitch your music to playlist curators, content creators, and anyone else who could enjoy your style of music. You need to do the legwork to find your fanbase.
3. Build A Brand
Musicians working to earn more monthly listeners need to put time and effort into building a brand. Your listeners should have a clear idea of what universe your music lives in, and this vision should be consistent across your social and public platforms.
You can help create a more consistent brand by having a customized link in bio from your Instagram to TikTok. This way, you can help funnel your fans to Spotify.
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4. Adapt With Speed But Execute With Patience
Building a strong music fanbase takes years. Contrary to what the music industry projects, overnight success is all but non-existent. Artists work for years under the radar before earning a modicum of success, par for the course of musicians. You need to be patient to reach the 10K threshold.
At the same time, it’s key to adapt based on the anayltics provided by your content and music. Use engagement metrics to inform your content strategy so that you can grow as efficiently as possible.
5. Collaborate with Other Artists
In order to grow your audience, you’re going to need to build your network. Find ways to collaborate with other artists, whether that’s supporting each other’s music or exchanging remixes. Official collaborations with other musicians cross pollinate your audiences by nature. Find other musicians who align with your musician style, and create networks together.
6. Provide Experiences For Your Fans
The artists that stick around are willing to innovate and provide community-building experiences for their fanbases. If you want to earn 10K monthly listeners, you’re going to need to put in a lot more time than just scheduled spots for music making.
Some simple mini apps to help you find your footing in your community are Ask Me Anything, Dare Me, Shoutout, and Boost It. Luckily, these community-building mini apps are also poised to bring in passive income, so they’re worth your time in more ways than one.
7. Reference Other Artists
When in doubt, use the lessons you’ve learned as a fan. What draws you to discover new artists? Why do you listen to one artist more than another? Take these lessons and apply them back to your own release and branding strategy.
If you take these strategies to heart and consistently strive to improve your craft as a marketer and a maker, you’ll certainly make your way to 10K monthly listeners. It’s the journey that matters, not the destination– enjoy cultivating your path to Spotify stardom.
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