Did you know that Spotify’s Discovery Mode could help you get your music in front of new listeners? But what is Discovery Mode, and is it worth it?
We’ve put together a short guide on what Discovery Mode is and what the entry criteria is to benefit from the feature.
If you’d like to start distributing your music to Spotify and access tools like Spotify Discovery Mode, get in touch with one of our team on 0116 253 0203 or make a free account here.
What is Discovery Mode?
Spotify’s Discovery Mode is a new feature added to Spotify For Artists to allow eligible artists the chance to place their releases as a ‘priority track’ within Spotify’s algorithmic playlists, radio and suggestions to listeners. This gives numerous artists a higher chance of their music being listened to by more and new listeners.
There’s no one explanation on how the algorithmic playlists are put together for each individual user, as they pull from multiple different user behavior signals. This could be, for example, the listener’s age, liked songs, repeated songs, and song attributes (this isn’t an exhaustive list). These behavioural signals are how Spotify determines if a user would like your track. So in short, Discovery Mode uses these behavioural signals to put together the perfect playlist for users.
But it’s important to remember that Discovery Mode won’t put your music in more places; it just increases its chances of being discovered.
Where do my tracks appear?
It’s worth remembering that the algorithmic playlists and suggestions to listeners on Spotify are different to editorial playlists. If your music is eligible for Discovery Mode, this means that it could appear in any placements that are determined by the Spotify algorithm.
Although, if you opt in for Discovery Mode, your music may not appear on Spotify’s algorithmic playlist.
The Spotify algorithmic could push your music to potential fans in one of the following:
- Discover weekly
- DJ and release radar
- Artist radio playlist
- Autoplay tracks after a playlist or album has finished.
How is it different from editorial playlist pitching?
As we’ve mentioned, Spotify utilises algorithmic traits to build a playlist for, or suggest new music to a user, which is very different to how editorial playlists are put together.
The main difference between the two is that editorial playlists are curated by an individual or team of individuals at Spotify who select tracks that have been pitched to them to fit a certain genre, mood or theme of a playlist.
Whereas Discovery Mode pushes your song through theSpotify’s algorithm to listeners based on user behaviour and song attributes.
What is the eligibility criteria?
Discovery Mode isn’t yet open to all artists on Spotify (as of writing this article), but as the feature is developed and rolled out of its beta, this could change and become available to more artists.
For a track to be eligible for Discovery Mode, it must reach all of the following requirements.
- Distributed by a licensed distributor (Horus Music is one of them!).
- Released on Spotify within the last 30 days (although it’s worth remembering that if your track has multiple versions, it’s the earliest date that determines the eligibility)
- Streamed at least 20 times through Discovery Mode Contexts within the last 28 days. A Discovery Mode context is a subset of playlists that are personalised to individual Spotify users. A Discovery Mode context could include one of the following:
- Spotify radio
- Autoplay
- Spotify Mixes (from Daily, Artist, Decades and Genre mixes)
- And finally, meet the Spotify monetise eligibility criteria in the previous month.
Spotify has specified that as they grow and evolve Discovery Mode, the eligibility criteria will grow and evolve with it.
Can it help me grow as an artist?
Discovery Mode is best placed to help put your music in front of new listeners. Depending on where you rank within Spotify’s algorithm (the higher up the better), the better chance you have of being placed in front of new listeners.
On average, Artists who have gone through Discovery Mode have seen a 50% increase in saves, a 44% increase in playlist adds, and a 37% increase of 37% of new followers during their first month of using Discovery Mode.
Do you earn less on Discovery Mode?
At its core, yes, if your music is eligible and opted into Discovery Mode, you will earn less per stream.
Spotify will pay out 70% of royalty streams on tracks played through Discovery Mode. And Spotify will take the remaining 30% in commission. This is because there are no upfront costs for an artist to use Discovery Mode.
In short, think of the 30% being payment for being placed in more prominent placements. As an artist, it is best to take everything into consideration before opting in or out of Discovery Mode. Even though the benefit is the opportunity to place you in front of more listeners, it might not be as beneficial in the long run.
Distribute with Horus Music
If you’re an independent artist or group and you’d like to get your music heard on the global stage, get in touch with Horus Music to distribute your music!
With our distribution service, you will get instant access to Spotify for artists and unlimited distribution – meaning you can release as much or a little music as you’d like.
Sound like your kind of thing? Create a free account with us today and start distributing!