Everyone's seen it. The dreaded "<1000 Plays" next to their latest release on Spotify. How do you get past this barrier as quickly as possible? I'll break down the best ways to go about getting your first 1K streams WITHOUT sabotaging your chances of landing valuable algorithmic playlist placements.
1) DON'T pay to get on a cheap playlist that is a rough fit for your song. This is a classic short-term gain, long-term loss scenario. If you read my E-book*, you know that Spotify's Algorithmic Playlists recommend songs to users based on the song's performance metrics and listening habits of similar users. What this means is that if your song performs poorly, (people skip it, etc), you won't show up on Discover Weekly. Being on a playlist that is a poor fit for your music is the quickest way to sabotage your metrics, since listeners of the playlist will probably skip your song if they don't love the first 10 seconds. Paid playlisting is not the worst thing in the world, I know some artists who have had success with it, but you need to be very selective about which playlists you want your songs on.
*(If you haven't seen the E-book, it's free, check it out if you're serious about upping your marketing game) --> www.echomixing.com/e-book
2) Get as many pre-saves as possible. Most artists post a pre-save link on their social media; it's pretty easy to get a link from your distributor to share. But if you really want to up your game, you might start reaching out directly to fans/friends/relatives. A pre-save is way more valuable than a stream. It has more impact on your Spotify metrics, and by pre-saving your song, listeners are automatically opted into following you. Send a pre-save link with a nice message to as many people or fans that you can, and your chances of landing on algorithmic playlists will increase drastically.
3) Get even MORE pre-saves by running a social media ad campaign prior to your release. If you can put together a good Facebook/Instagram ad campaign with the goal of getting pre-saves, the influx of followers on your Spotify will really help your Release Radar numbers and push you on to more Discover Weekly's. Running Facebook ads effectively and making the most out or your budget is not easy, so I recommend that you do some research first. Google and YouTube are great places to start. Also check out the social media section of my E-book for a general step by step on how to create an effective Facebook campaign.
Jonathan Korzelius is a mix engineer and producer from Nashville, TN.
@echo.mixing on Facebook and Instagram
HELPFUL LINKS: