How to get more Spotify followers (without paying for them)

Why followers matter more than streams

A stream is one listen. A follower is someone your next release reaches on its own: new music from artists people follow goes into their Release Radar, the personal playlist Spotify updates every Friday. That is why a few hundred real followers can do more for a release than thousands of one-off streams from a playlist that forgets you next month.

Six ways to earn them

1. 1

   Give something away for a follow

   Stems, an acapella, a drum kit, a preset or an unreleased demo. Put it behind a follow to unlock link: the listener follows you on Spotify, then gets the file. Someone who wants your stems is exactly the fan you want.

2. 2

   Put the follow on every page you share

   Your link-in-bio, your release links and your downloads should all lead back to your Spotify profile. One clear follow button beats five social icons.

3. 3

   Ask for the playlist too

   If you keep a playlist of your own songs or your favourite tracks, a playlist follow keeps people coming back. A link can ask for both an artist follow and a playlist follow.

4. 4

   Make a release link before the release

   A countdown page with a notify list turns the weeks before release day into a time to collect fans. See promoting a release before it is out.

5. 5

   Pitch through Spotify for Artists

   Pitch an unreleased song from your Spotify for Artists dashboard at least a week before it comes out. Even when it does not land on an editorial playlist, a scheduled release reaches your followers on day one.

6. 6

   Say it out loud

   At the end of a video, in a live stream, in the caption: tell people that following on Spotify is how they hear the next one. Most listeners simply never think of it.

What not to do

• Do not buy followers or streams. Bought accounts never listen, they drag your numbers down, and Spotify removes artificial streams and can take down releases that use them.
• Do not ask for everything at once. A follow plus one more step is plenty for a free download. Five steps and people leave.
• Do not hide the reason. "Follow to get the stems" works. A follow button with no reason does not.

Track what works

Give every freebie its own link, so you can see which one brings the most follows. The links that convert best are the ones to make again. More in Understand your analytics.