Music Marketing

Why Your Spotify Monthly Listeners Will Drop If You Don’t Keep Your Presence Fresh (2024)

William Duvall

Jul 1, 2023 — 4 min read

Have you noticed a drop in your monthly listeners or have you noticed your audience is slowly losing interest in you? Do you feel like you're possibly becoming irrelevant to your fans and don’t know what to do?

If so, this article was made for you. Sit back and take notes as we discuss common mistakes artists make which ultimately leads to you losing Spotify monthly listeners.

1) You Don’t Release Enough Music

For a moment, think about the feeling you get when you finish a new song. You’re filled with unmeasurable excitement to show the world your hard work and talent that you’re immediately contacting your music distributor and planning your next release.

This is where I ask you to slam your foot on the brakes and think about a couple of things first.

Do you currently have a lengthy backlog of songs that could be finished and released in the coming months/year?

Do you plan on releasing music every 3, 6, or 12 months and if you do, are you going to be releasing a single, EP, or album?

This is something most artists don’t think about when releasing music but it’s arguably one of the most important aspects you can plan for.

Quick Tips: At a minimum, it’s recommended you release a new single every 3 months, an EP every 6 months, or a full album every 12 months.

To plan this accordingly, try holding onto a small percentage of songs and strategize your release for them with the recommendations above.

This will ensure you constantly have a cycle of new content rolling out to your fans and this will also give them content to look forward to throughout the year(s).

As we all know, social media has taken over our world by storm. It has allowed us to create a whole new way of marketing ourselves and has also allowed us to connect with our fanbase on a much more personal level.

Making great music and promoting it is only one piece of the puzzle. The other part is connecting, growing, and retaining your fanbase on Social Media.

Most commonly, artists run out of content ideas that they can share on their social media and this is quite understandable. However, if you get into the habit of not posting regularly, you will start to see your engagement trickle away and your fans will likely lose interest in you.

Quick Tips: You can check out some good social media content suggestions below but there’s a much larger spectrum of ideas to pull from.

- Behind the scenes pictures/videos from a recent production of yours

- Live performance

- Quality photos of the artist/band

- Milestones you’re proud of

- Upcoming releases

- Tutorials or sharing a quick song you made (This doesn’t have to be a song you release)

- Inspirations

You get the picture, the ideas here are endless. Just make sure the content you choose to share is relevant to you, your music, and your fanbase and don’t forget to have fun with it!

3) You’re Changing Genres

As a musician, you don’t always think about the type of music you’re making until it’s time to release and promote it but this might be something you want to start thinking about beforehand.

Though it’s possible to make substantial genre transitions within your career, it’s recommended you stay within your primary genre so you don’t throw off your fans’ expectations and most importantly the Spotify Algorithm. (Examples of “Primary Genres” could be: Pop, R&B, Jazz, Country, Etc.)

Quick Tips: If you’re getting tired of your primary genre, try creating music within the “Sub-Genres” that fall under your primary genre. (Example: Primary Genre: House | Sub-Genre: Float House or Tropical House)

Doing this will keep your music within the same ballpark but it will also create enough of a difference to retain your fanbase’s interest without making a substantial genre change.

4) Your Spotify Artist Profile Is Stale

One of the most straightforward tools at your disposal might be your Spotify Artist Profile. Here, you can promote future releases, upload custom imagery, create a personal bio, and link your social media.

To learn how you can optimize your Spotify Artist profile, check out this blog post.

However, the topic we’re focused on is staying relevant with your fanbase just like we’ve discussed in the previous points, and as mentioned, you want to avoid being stale and inactive.

Quick Fix:

- Update your bio semi-annually (Include milestones, influences, collabs, etc.)

- Update your header image, change your profile photo, and switch out photos in your image gallery quarterly / semi-annually

- Change your “Artist Pick” monthly (You can share an upcoming concert, playlist, or even a new/old release)

- Add a custom video canvas to your song(s)

If you follow all of the steps we’ve discussed, you will surely retain your fanbase and you’ll likely gain new fans en masse. Becoming irrelevant is an understandable fear but if you create the right game plan ahead of time, you’ll only set yourself up for success.

Common Questions:

How does changing genres affect an artist's algorithmic recommendations on Spotify?

Changing genres can confuse the algorithm, potentially affecting your appearance in algorithmic playlists and recommendations. Staying within your primary genre or exploring its sub-genres can provide consistency that benefits algorithmic performance.

What are some specific strategies for keeping a Spotify artist profile fresh aside from regular music releases?

Beyond releasing new music, artists can update their bio, photos, and playlists, engage with fans through the platform, and utilize Spotify's Canvas feature to add visual elements to their tracks.

How can artists effectively use social media to complement their Spotify presence?

Artists can use social media to drive traffic to their Spotify profile, share behind-the-scenes content, promote new releases, and engage with their audience, creating a cohesive cross-platform presence.

To quickly recap, check out the main focal points below:

1. Release music frequently (Single every 3 months, EP every 6 months, or Album every 12 months)

2. Post on your Social Media frequently with content that resonates with you or your fanbase

3. Keep making music under your “Primary Genre” and play around with the “Sub-Genres” if you get bored

4. Update your Spotify Artists Profile quarterly / semi-annually (Images, Bio, Artist Pick, Video Canvases for your song(s), etc.)