Monthly listeners come and go, but followers get your next release in Release Radar. Here’s the follow campaign we ran for The Band of Heathens’ Stranger in 2020, the schedule, and the steps to copy.
Monthly listeners come and go. Followers stay. When someone follows you on Spotify, your next release goes into their Release Radar, so the follow is the number to work on. Most fans won’t think to do it unless you ask.
In this post:
- The gap we found in 2020: about 500,000 monthly listeners and 50,000 followers
- The week-by-week Stranger schedule, with the follow campaign in it
- The favor email that asked for the follow, and why it named Release Radar
- What Spotify gives you today, from Spotify’s own help pages
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How many of your Spotify listeners follow you?
In March 2020 I got on a call with The Band of Heathens to plan the campaign for their album Stranger. They had roughly 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and about 50,000 followers. My note from that call says it plainly: “only 50k there, that’s 10%.”
That left most of the monthly audience with no standing link to the next release. If even some of them followed, every new single would reach them without an ad.
Monthly listeners is the number everyone posts. I’d stop watching it. It counts anyone who played a song, however they got there. Followers chose to hear the next one.
First I wanted the band’s Spotify profile ready for visitors. The call notes list what that meant: the band’s own playlists (Essentials, Live, Covers, Deep Cuts), a renewed artist pick every two weeks, and playlist followers building before the first single. A fan who lands on a dead profile has no reason to follow.
How did the Stranger campaign ask for the follow?
Stranger came out in September 2020. The album was announced 15 weeks out, and three tracks went out early with the pre-order: “Today Is Our Last Tomorrow” the next day, “Black Cat” 11 weeks out and “South by Somewhere” six weeks out.
Then we added a second campaign on top. The objective in my notes reads: “frame release as ‘Spotify Exclusives’; convert fans into Spotify followers.”
- Five weeks out: a follow campaign. A page on the band’s own site sent people to follow the artist profile. A thank-you page caught them after.
- Four weeks out: “Before the Day Is Done” came out on Spotify first.
- About three weeks out: “Asheville Nashville Austin” came out as the Apple Music single.
- Two weeks out: “Call Me Gilded” came out on Spotify first.
- Release day: the album.
The anchor was an email and ad from the band with the subject line “quick favor to ask.” It thanked fans for streaming the first singles. Then it made four asks:
- Follow the band on Spotify, with the reason spelled out: “to get new music in your Release Radar playlist.”
- Follow the band’s complete-catalog playlist.
- Heart the songs you like.
- Add the songs to your own playlists and share them.
That email was creative one of five. The rest followed the singles: pre-save track one, then pre-save track two with track one out now, then pre-save track three with track two out now, then a thank-you for streaming. Each one ran as an email and as an ad.
The favor email names Release Radar because most fans don’t know what a follow does. Say what it gets them.
What to take from the Stranger plan:
- Run the follow ask as its own campaign, with its own page and dates.
- Tell fans what the follow gets them: new music in Release Radar.
- Ask again with every single, in email and in ads.
The follow page lived on the band’s own site, which is why it could have a thank-you page. Here’s how we build musician websites that can carry campaign pages like that.
How do you get fans to pre-save?
A pre-save asks for a click before there is anything to hear. So give them something to hear. For “South by Somewhere” the pre-save ran for the week before the single, and once fans pre-saved, the page let them check out a clip of the song.
We did the same for Todd Snider in 2021. The confirmation page for his album First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder thanked fans for pre-saving and gave them a button to hear a preview of the first song right away.
How do you give fans a reason to open your profile?
Following happens on the profile, so we kept giving fans reasons to go there. For “South by Somewhere” we made seven Canvas videos, the short loops that play behind a song in the mobile app. We also made a Canvas for each band member and posted a challenge to find them in the catalog: “Who can find all five?”
We scripted seven-second vertical videos for Ed Jurdi to point fans to the new single on Spotify. When “Black Cat” landed on Spotify’s Pulse of Americana playlist, the band thanked Spotify in a post and linked to it. When they added old live tracks to their Essentials playlist, that got a post too.
When both singles hit stream milestones, we drafted a post for the band to thank fans. The same post asked for the follow again. Every milestone is another chance to ask.
What does Spotify give you today?
Spotify’s Release Radar help page says “Your followers get songs from your new release in their Release Radar,” which updates every Friday. Pitch a song at least seven days before release day and Spotify uses that song.
Pre-saves have changed. In 2020 every pre-save ran through a third-party link from the distributor. Spotify now has Countdown Pages for new albums and EPs. When the music goes live, Spotify sends pre-savers a push notification and adds it to their library.
Singles don’t qualify, and the help page lists a minimum of 3,000 monthly active listeners. So single pre-saves still go through a third-party link.
Canvas is still there. Spotify’s Canvas page describes it as a 3 to 8 second vertical loop, and you can add one to upcoming releases.
What would I change now?
My notes don’t record the follower count after the Stranger campaign. That is the hole. Next time I’d log followers every Friday from the first single to a month after street date, next to which ask ran that week.
I’d also put the follow ask in the welcome email every new subscriber gets. It was on my Spotify checklist for Steve Kimock back in 2017: email subscribers an invite to follow on Spotify. It shouldn’t wait for a campaign. If you want them on the list before the first single, here’s how comment-to-subscribe works.
What are the steps?
- Open Spotify for Artists. Divide followers by monthly listeners. That’s your gap.
- Before the first single, build a few artist playlists and set an artist pick. Renew the pick every two weeks.
- Send the favor email from the band. Ask for the follow first and say it puts new music in their Release Radar.
- Run a pre-save with a reward behind it, like a clip or a preview. Use a Countdown Page for the album if you qualify.
- Make a Canvas for each single and give fans a reason to go find it.
- Every time a song hits a number, thank the fans and ask for the follow again.
Questions musicians ask
Do Spotify followers get my new releases automatically?
Yes. Spotify says followers get songs from your new release in their Release Radar, which updates every Friday. Pitch at least seven days before release day to choose the song.
Can I use a Countdown Page for a single?
No. Countdown Pages are for new albums and EPs, and Spotify’s help page lists a minimum of 3,000 monthly active listeners. Use a third-party pre-save link for singles.
What’s a normal follower-to-listener ratio?
I can only tell you ours. The Band of Heathens had about 50,000 followers to roughly 500,000 monthly listeners in March 2020, or 10%. Measure yours and track it weekly.
What should you do this week?
- Followers are the number that carries your next release, through Release Radar.
- Ask for the follow on purpose, say what it gets the fan, and ask again at every milestone.
- Give fans something on the other side of every click: a clip, a preview, a Canvas to find.
A big monthly listener number with few followers means your next release starts from scratch. Close the gap one ask at a time.
This week, write the favor email: four asks, one link, signed by the band. I wrote about that kind of email in why a note from the band pays.
Plan your next release with us
For the merch side of the same app, read how to sell more merch on Spotify.
