If you are an up-and-coming artist, you will without a doubt find yourself trying to distribute your music on Spotify.
If you are in a position where you cannot afford a distributor and do not have a label signed, you may need a service that gets your voice heard.
Musicians who at one point could not afford to have a music distributor or a label were able to release their music independently online and finally earn revenue for their hard work and creativity.
It is important to make sure your music is on Spotify to give you the same advantage as other independent artists in the music industry.
While you may want to cut out the middle man and upload your music onto Spotify without a distributor, you will not be able to.
Spotify will not allow independent artists to upload their music onto Spotify without some sort of distributor helping them.
Can You Upload Your Music to Spotify Directly?
At one point, Spotify for Artists allowed creators to upload their music directly onto the streaming platform.
Without a record label or a distributor, musicians were able to upload anything that they pleased without the middleman.
However, Spotify for Artists, unfortunately, closed this feature. Spotify for Artists now allows you to see your listeners, track the way they listen to your music, and how much revenue you have made.
While it is a great marketing tool, it no longer gives you the ability to upload your music directly.
While major record labels can upload music to Spotify directly, they do not allow that luxury to independent artists.
Solution #1: Finding A Record Label to Distribute Your Music
Spotify allows record labels to distribute music directly to Spotify or with the help of a distribution service. To get a record deal to distribute your music, you should follow these steps:
- Make a demo or an album
- Build a fanbase through live shows
- Post music on sites like Bandcamp or Soundcloud
- Network with people within the music industry
- Improve your sound and style
While it may be difficult to get a record deal, it is possible. You should be continuously posting your music online, making new music, and connecting with your community to make a record deal possible.
By getting a contract, you will be able to distribute your music on Spotify and other platforms.
Solution #2: Uploading Your Music onto Spotify Through an Online Distributor
So how do you upload your music to Spotify? If you have not received a record deal, you will need to use an independent music distributor.
Tunecore
Tunecore will successfully upload your music to Spotify and other major platforms that you may choose.
When it comes to this service, it is one of the many music distributors. However, it is the most popular for DIY and independent musicians.
If you are a new artist, it is important to use a tool that is affordable for you and will help distribute your music on a major platform like Spotify to make sure your music is heard.
CD Baby
CD Baby is a distribution service that allows artists to upload music onto Spotify one song at a time.
They also offer promotional techniques and instructional information on the music industry to help promote yourself as an artist.
If you are a beginning musician, CD Baby is a great tool to get you started on publishing your music onto Spotify.
Distrokid
Distrokid is an online distribution company that will allow you to distribute your music to Spotify. You will be able to upload an unlimited amount of music through the service.
The service will also put your music on multiple other platforms of your choosing. It is a great organized tool to get your music out online and streaming.
Do I Need to Upload My Music onto Spotify?
At one point, musicians were able to focus on grassroots sales and marketing, like selling CDs and playing in live shows. However, that is not the case today.
It is important to make sure your music is on some sort of streaming service so you can get noticed for your hard work and creativity.
More importantly, Spotify is the top streaming service, so it is most likely it will happen on Spotify rather than anywhere else online.
Spotify is the most influential streaming service that is known today. When the music industry collapsed in the early 2000s, according to Fortune Magazine, Spotify “saved the music industry” through its streaming capabilities.
If you are a serious musician and are looking for a large audience, the place you will find it is on the Spotify algorithm.
The platform can place your music on playlists with other more well-known or famous artists. That way, your song will pop up after another musician that may have influenced you!
The streaming service has many important discovery tools and placements that will allow you to grow as an artist instead of staying stagnant among your listeners.
Even without the Spotify algorithm and its ability to get artists noticed, you cannot deny the fact that millions of people use Spotify to listen to music. If your music is not on Spotify, it most likely will not be found.
How to get verified on Spotify?
Becoming verified on Spotify used to be quite tricky for artists. However, in 2017, they created the ability for artists to set up their artist profiles through Spotify for Artists.
Through Spotify for Artists, you can get verified. When you are verified you can create playlists and share them straight through your account.
You can connect with your fans and audience by creating playlists that you will both listen to.
Being verified with Spotify is a great way to connect to your audience and communicate with them through music and playlists.
How to Find an Audience on Spotify
While Spotify may have millions of daily listeners, it also has a great number of musicians competing for the listener’s attention.
If you find it difficult to find an audience on Spotify, it is important not to get discouraged. Finding an audience on the platform will not happen as quickly or easily as many are led to believe.
Musicians with a record label can have access to easy marketing tools and PR campaigns. They have an easy advantage over smaller independent musicians.
The best way to find an audience on Spotify is by promoting your music yourself by using it in videos like TikTok and other social media platforms. You can also create playlists with your songs and other popular songs that people listen to.
Once you can get discovered through one song, you may find it is easier for your other work.
It may take some time, but it is important to not get discouraged and continuously upload your work onto the platform. You never know which song will go viral!
