dylAn's Spotify Discovery Mode Campaign: Checking July's Results

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There are over 100 million tracks on Spotify alone as per their investor page. For artists building and reaching an audience has never been more challenging. Artists and their teams must employ innovative strategies to capture listeners' attention. At Wayward Publishing, we're always on the lookout for effective promotional tools, and Spotify's Discovery Mode has caught our eye.

Revisiting Spotify Discovery Mode

If you remember from our July article, Discovery Mode is one of Spotify's key advertising tools currently in beta. It allows artists to flag specific tracks for increased algorithmic visibility, influencing recommendations in Spotify Mixes, Radio, and Autoplay. Unlike other Spotify advertising options, Discovery Mode operates on a 30% commission of royalties generated from "Discovery Mode contexts," offering a potentially cost-effective solution for artists looking to expand their reach on the platform.

Our Unique Approach with dylAn on Spotify

For dylAn, we decided to take an unconventional approach on Spotify. Instead of promoting his latest EP "Florida Daydream Euphoric Horizon Side A," we utilized Spotify's Discovery Mode for six older songs from his catalog. Our strategy aimed to boost dylAn's entire Spotify library while promoting the new release through separate social media channels.

The Results Are In: A Deep Dive into the Spotify Numbers

After running the campaign throughout July 2024, we're excited to share the impressive results from Spotify:

Overall Campaign Performance on Spotify

• Listener Growth: We saw a staggering 372% increase in Spotify listeners, reaching 3,126 total listeners.

• New Listeners: The campaign brought in 2,719 new listeners to dylAn's music on Spotify.

• Stream Increase: Total Spotify streams jumped by 333%, amounting to 3,970 streams.

• Engagement: We recorded 26 saves and 17 playlist adds on Spotify, showing promising long-term engagement.
  

Top Performing Tracks on Spotify

We boosted six songs total with discovery mode. We chose to focus on older songs in dylAn's discography to grow his audience and see if the organic boost from his Florida Daydream, Euphoric Horizon: Side A combines with the algorithmic boost from Spotify. Here are our top-performing songs of the six.

1. don't ya know

• Spotify Listeners: 1,120 (+398%)

• Spotify Streams: 1,323 (+396%)

• Spotify Saves: 12 | Playlist Adds: 11

2. Lemons

• Spotify Listeners: 596 (+590%)

• Spotify Streams: 707 (+602%)

• Spotify Saves: 2

3. Structure

• Spotify Listeners: 541 (+285%)

• Spotify Streams: 690 (+201%)

• Spotify Saves: 4 | Playlist Adds: 1

Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Spotify Campaign

1. Significant Growth Across the Board: All tracks in the Spotify campaign saw substantial increases in both listeners and streams, with growth percentages consistently above 300%.

2. Engagement Rates: A Potential Concern: While the campaign showed impressive growth in listeners and streams, the engagement metrics (saves and playlist adds) were relatively low in comparison. This discrepancy raises some important questions about the long-term impact of Discovery Mode.

3. Lemons Shows Highest Percentage Lift on Spotify: Despite lower absolute numbers, "Lemons" achieved the highest percentage increase in both Spotify listeners (590%) and streams (602%).

4. Balancing Short-term and Long-term Gains on Spotify: While the immediate results are impressive, we're keeping a close eye on long-term Spotify engagement metrics like saves and playlist adds to gauge sustained interest.

5. Catalog Revival on Spotify: This campaign demonstrates the potential of Spotify's Discovery Mode to breathe new life into an artist's back catalog, potentially creating a halo effect for new releases.

Analyzing the Engagement Gap

Our Spotify Discovery Mode campaign for dylAn yielded impressive results in terms of reach and streams. However, a closer look at the numbers reveals a potential area of concern: the gap between streaming numbers and engagement metrics.

The Numbers

• Total new listeners: 2,719

• Total streams: 3,970

• Total saves: 26

• Total playlist adds: 17

When we calculate the engagement rate (saves + playlist adds / new listeners), we get:

(26 + 17) / 2,719 = 0.016 or 1.6%

This means that only about 1.6% of new listeners engaged with dylAn's music in a way that suggests longer-term interest.

Why This Matters

While Discovery Mode clearly excels at exposing music to a broader audience, the low engagement rate raises questions about the quality of these new listener interactions. Here are a few considerations:

1. Algorithmic vs. Organic Discovery: Listeners who discover music through algorithmic recommendations may be less invested than those who seek out music organically.

2. Passive vs. Active Listening: The high stream count coupled with low engagement might indicate more passive listening experiences, where users let the algorithm play music without actively engaging with it.

3. Long-term Fan Building: While increased exposure is valuable, the ultimate goal for most artists is to build a loyal fan base. Low engagement rates might suggest challenges in converting casual listeners to dedicated fans.

4. ROI Considerations: Given that Spotify's Discovery Mode operates on a commission basis, it's crucial to weigh the costs against not just streams, but meaningful engagement that could lead to long-term listener relationships.

Moving Forward

This engagement gap doesn't negate the value of Discovery Mode, but it does highlight areas for potential improvement in our strategy:

1. Targeted Campaigns: We might consider narrowing our target audience to increase the likelihood of reaching listeners who are more likely to engage deeply with dylAn's music.

2. Cross-platform Promotion: Combining Discovery Mode with strong social media campaigns could help turn passive listeners into active fans.

3. Content Strategy: Creating compelling artist narratives and supplementary content could encourage listeners to engage more deeply with dylAn's music and brand.

4. Analyzing Track Performance: The varying engagement rates between tracks (e.g., "don't ya know" performing better in saves and adds) could offer insights into what resonates most with listeners.

5. Long-term Tracking: We'll need to monitor how these new listeners interact with dylAn's music over time to get a fuller picture of Discovery Mode's impact.

While Spotify's Discovery Mode has proven its ability to significantly boost exposure, our challenge moving forward will be to translate this increased visibility into lasting fan connections. As we continue to experiment with and refine our approach, we'll be paying close attention to these engagement metrics alongside the impressive growth in streams and listeners.

What strategies have you found effective in turning streams into saves and long-term listeners? We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!