Break an Artist & Get Signed in 90 Days

Social Media

1. Content

The number one way to insert an artist into a particular space and associate them with specific acts is by creating the right kind of content. For inspiration, look at what similar pages do: the substance of their posts, the captions and hooks they use, and the subject matter.

Those are the posts the target audience engages with. Posting similar content consistently will eventually lead to a few viewers from the target audience engaging with it, which teaches the algorithm to push that content to similar viewers. This creates a cascading effect, causing the artist’s content to naturally be shown to the exact people that will become their fans.

2. Collaborative Posts

Collaborative posts send the right signals to the algorithm and put the artist in front of the desired audience right away. This makes it an incredibly useful tool when starting out, because it can be challenging to build the right connections without an initial follower base.

In order to have the most beneficial collaborative posts, confirm that the pages you create a shared post with have the right target audience. Aimless collaborations may increase general exposure, but they won’t cause the algorithm to push your content to the right people, so the benefit will be short-lived.

3. Trends

TikTok and Instagram run on trends, and using the right ones helps tie an artist to the right audience.

Join trends happening in the space your target audience occupies. Skip trends in random spaces where few potential fans would see them.

The greater the proportion of target audience members among viewers, the higher the interactions-to-views ratio will be. This tells the algorithm that the content is very popular among that type of viewer, leading it to boost the content even more.

The same goes for trending audio. Repurpose audios trending in the correct niche to increase the likelihood of being recommended to users in that space.

4. Remixing Reels

Remixed reels are shown to viewers of the original reel if the original creator reposts the remix. Strategically choose reels that the target audience is engaging with in order for the remixed content to reach the correct people.

The challenge with this approach is doing it in a tasteful manner that does not take away from the artist’s image by coming across as a cheap marketing tactic. Like all other posts, it should be authentic to the artist.

5. Interactions

Interacting with the target online space by commenting is a powerful method because it increases direct exposure to other users in the comment section. When commenting, post genuine and relevant comments to express an authentic sense of belonging in that space, as well as to encourage interaction from other users.

6. Influencer Content

Paid influencer promotion can be an excellent tool for artists who have little to no following in order to get a boost in exposure.

But the ROI can be very low if you pick the wrong influencers.

Influencers can charge anywhere from $50 up to millions of dollars, depending on the size of their following. For this reason, it is critical to only pay influencers for posts that clearly have an engaged and active follower base fully aligned with the artist’s target audience.

Otherwise the money disappears.

Spotify

1. Features & Remixes

Features and remixes can boost an artist’s exposure. For many artists this isn't feasible, whether because of their genre, a lack of connections to other artists, or a preference to make music alone.

However, for those that are able, collaborating on releases with artists in the same scene can be an excellent way to gain traction.

2. Playlists

As an artist grows, their music will naturally appear on user playlists that aim to capture a specific vibe, and these are great for discoverability.

Artists can create their own playlists like these with their own account, add a variety of music including their own, and give the playlist a relevant name. Over time, listeners can save these playlists, allowing the artist to accrue organic plays passively.

3. Paid Playlists

While playlists created by users and the artist themselves can be massively helpful, paid playlists can actually have a very negative effect if done incorrectly. Firstly, just like influencer promotion, the playlist should reach the correct target audience. Otherwise, money will be wasted on listeners who are not interested and who will not help the artist grow.

Moreover, many paid playlists, especially those that guarantee a set number of streams, are filled with bots. They pile up fake streams that look like results, and the money goes to fans who don't exist. Another danger of this is that Spotify can detect fake streams and actually punish the artist by taking down their music.

In order to successfully utilize paid playlists, submit to real playlisters with healthy, active listener bases that align with the artist’s target audience.

Advertising

1. Active Streaming Campaigns

Running strategic advertising campaigns on social media that reach the correct target audience can be extremely powerful for organic algorithmic boosting. One of the strongest signals the Spotify algorithm can receive is from a person saving an artist’s track.

A song suddenly gaining many saves in a short period of time sends a massive signal to the algorithm to boost it to other users. Furthermore, ad campaigns that precisely target the right audience will increase the ratio of streams to skips and streams per listener. The higher these stats are, the more the song will be recommended to other users through Discover Weekly.

Effective ad campaigns on social media can raise a song’s popularity, because they can get Spotify to boost it organically.

2. Playlist Campaigns

Running ads on an artist playlist can also be a solid option for advertising for the same reasons that playlists on Spotify can be useful, as discussed earlier. This is especially effective for driving streams for an artist’s older catalog or a full-length album all at once.

Utilizing These Methods

Algorithmic boosting on social media and Spotify is now how most listeners find new artists, so it pays to know how to use it.

Used well, these methods (tailored content, playlisting, and targeted streaming ad campaigns) can build real organic momentum across the major platforms.

The end goal is to build audiences on these platforms and a genuine connection with them. Then email, SMS, and other direct-to-fan channels turn that into a real relationship. That relationship is what makes future ventures possible: live shows, special offers, Patreon, merch.

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