What is Spotify’s Discovery Mode, and can it change your career?

You’ve been waiting for it, and now it’s here: a new article in our series dedicated to boosting your career as an artist. Soundiiz aims to give you all the tools to broadcast and promote your music. It’s also an opportunity to unveil some of the critical features of your streaming platforms and understand what’s behind them. Today, it’s Spotify‘s turn! What is Spotify’s Discovery Mode, and can it change your career?

Take a look!

Why is Spotify implementing the Discovery Mode, and what kind of playlists exist?

A few years ago, Spotify launched Spotify For Artists, a series of features and an informative content platform designed to provide artists with marketing tools to boost their careers. On paper, the offer was attractive. It came at a time – still relevant today – when streaming platforms were increasingly criticized for their lack of transparency towards artists and the low remuneration generated by streams.

Putting itself at the service of artists with the Spotify For Artists initiative has a dual effect: it allows Spotify to place itself on the side of content creators. It contributes to the prosperity of the recording industry by supporting creation. As the market leader in music streaming, these efforts are by no means insignificant. In November last year, we devoted an entire article on making the most of Spotify For Artists.

Different kinds of playlists

Discovery Mode is part of the Spotify For Artists initiative. Still, to understand precisely what it’s all about, we must remind you of a few things about Spotify-generated playlists. First, there are editorial playlists. These are created by content creators, journalists, DJs, and other figures from the music industry. There are no algorithms here: they are made by hand and generally reflect current events or are designed to respond to a weekly theme.

The algorithmic playlist is the other kind of playlist we’re interested in today for Discovery Mode. It is automatically generated according to many criteria corresponding to users’ listening habits.

These algorithmic playlists include “Radio” and “Autoplay” modes. Radio mode corresponds to multi-song playlists based on artists, genres, or albums related to what you’ve already listened to. Autoplay plays one song after another, after an album or playlist.

Now that the basics are out, what is Discovery Mode?

What is Spotify’s Discovery Mode?

When a song is set to Discovery Mode, Spotify enhances its visibility in the algorithmic playlists mentioned above. This means that Spotify will promote it more than a song not set to Discovery mode, potentially opening up new audiences and opportunities for the artist.

Spotify announces the following figures: the platform will take 30% of the song’s royalties. Therefore, the artist’s margin is reduced, but visibility would increase. Of course, these figures are approximate, but they give an idea of the range. This could be particularly interesting for developing artists struggling to break the listener barrier. Thanks to Discovery Mode, they could reach new targets and take their music to almost inaccessible horizons. Building a listener base can be a long and arduous process.

The aim is to build a community rather than generating revenue. It’s a long-term vision, a source of concessions but a possible source of positive spin-offs.

Charleton Lamb of Spotify’s marketing department told MusicAlly:

“What was really important was that we wanted to be accessible to artists at any stage of their career. […] It won’t require any budget upfront. The model is accessible, democratic, and fair. You don’t have to pony up cash”.

Different purposes

Ms. Charleton’s point is reassuring: a Discovery Mode campaign doesn’t require a significant monetary investment. It’s a more accessible option for artists, especially those with a limited budget for marketing campaigns. And it’s certainly more cost effective than traditional advertising methods like radio or billboards.

However, it’s important to note that Spotify offers no guarantee that Discovery Mode campaigns will be successful. If listeners don’t react to or interact with the featured song, it will be removed from the program. This means that a campaign on Discovery Mode will only work if the song is of the right quality and tailored to the right audience. It’s also worth considering that while the increased visibility can be beneficial, the 30% royalty share that Spotify takes could impact an artist’s earnings.

The results? Spotify’s Discovery Mode claims some exciting figures: 40% more listeners, half of whom would only have listened to the artist with a push on Discovery Mode.

Spotify’s Discovery Mode: how to access it?

You can access Spotify For Artists in just a few minutes as an artist. To be “validated” by Spotify, you must have a Spotify account and have uploaded at least one song as an artist to the platform via a distributor. A few months ago, we dedicated an article to the role of distributors and explained how to upload your music through these intermediaries.

If you meet these two criteria, Spotify will validate your artist account. From then on, if you want to benefit from Discovery Mode, you’ll need to meet three criteria:

Your song must first have organically generated a few streams—at least twenty—in Autoplay or Radio mode. In other words, promoting it must not cost you a single dollar.
The song must have been released at least thirty days ago on Spotify.
Have at least 25,000 monthly listeners.
Have a distributor – the list can be found here –

You can also contact your distributor to discuss the Discovery Mode process. Some of them can manage it.

Spotify’s Discover Mode: is it efficient?

Spotify provides the figures and should, therefore, be treated with caution. According to the Swedish firm, a song benefiting from Discovery Mode sees a 44% boost in playlist adds, 37% in additional followers, and 50% more saves. The calculation compares the 28 days preceding a song’s entry into this promotional campaign.

These statistics are approximate, and it isn’t easy to obtain concrete results unless you ask the artists themselves! We have, however, carried out extensive research and read several artists’ testimonials claiming that the effect has been beneficial to them over the long term. With an increase in monthly listeners, a Discovery Mode campaign has affected their expansion strategy. A positive point! However, like any marketing campaign, it must be monitored monthly to see if the results are accurate. It’s up to each one to test, to be innovative, and to renew the operation if necessary.

Discovery Mode has had its share of detractors, particularly in the United States. Labels and institutions have protested that its system is equivalent to paying a broadcaster to make music available. For some, it would be comparable to devaluing once again the remuneration of artists by streaming platforms.

Discovery Mode works on a month-by-month basis. If you’re happy with the results, you can renew the monthly campaign. If not, it’s easy to stop.

How can Soundiiz help you boost your music career?

Soundiiz makes it easy to create SmartLinks. But what is a SmartLink?

A smart link is a link that allows you to store a multitude of other links in the same place. It’s a landing page that provides access to other links generated on different websites. Artists use them, for example, to promote their songs. With a smartlink, they can redirect you to the streaming services you use. It works the same way with playlists, albums, or songs.

Imagine you’ve just released an album. Once it’s available, you’ll no doubt want to share it without creating a link for each platform. Creating a SmartLink with Soundiiz makes this possible in seconds.

The good news? Smartlink creation is available in the free version of Soundiiz. And if you subscribe to one of our Premium or Creator subscriptions, from €3 per month, you’ll also be able to take advantage of tools for analyzing your smartlinks. As an artist, it’s essential to keep track of your statistics and understand, for example, which platforms your songs are most listened to.