Hey,
In this issue of MovGrowth, I want to explain, in simple terms, how the Spotify algorithm actually works for indie artists and what you can do to release music in a smarter way.
There’s a lot of talk about “hacking the algorithm”, but Spotify isn’t judging your song like a person. It’s watching how real listeners behave around your music, then deciding whether it should show your songs to more people or not.
🎛 What Spotify really cares about
Every time someone plays your track, Spotify is tracking a few key things:
How quickly people skip.
How long they listen.
How many save the song.
How many add it to their own playlists.
How often they come back and replay it.
Whether they follow you after hearing it.
Skips are negative signals. Saves, playlist adds, replays and follows are positive signals. From that, Spotify is basically asking:
“When we recommend this track to people who like this kind of music, do they enjoy it enough that we should keep recommending it to more people like them?”
If the answer looks like “yes”, you slowly get more chances in things like Release Radar, Discover Weekly, Radio and Autoplay. If not, the song just sits on your profile without much extra push.
🧪 What happens after you release
When you release a new song, Spotify starts with a small test group: your followers, past listeners, and people who behave like your audience.
If that group listens, saves, adds it to playlists and some follow you, Spotify gets a strong signal and starts testing the song with more similar listeners. If they mostly skip and don’t interact, that song doesn’t get many extra opportunities.
So the first days and weeks after a release are not “just another day”—they are training data for the algorithm.
🎯 What you can actually control
You can’t control Spotify itself, but you can control the inputs it sees.
1. The first 10–15 seconds.
Streaming is brutal for long intros. You don’t need to start with the chorus, but you do need something that grabs attention quickly: a vocal, melody, rhythm or mood that makes people stay instead of skipping.
2. Saves and playlists, not just “go stream it”.
A stream is weak. A save or playlist add is strong. When you promote your song, say something like:
“If you’re feeling it, please save it and drop it into one of your playlists – that helps way more than you think.”
It’s a small line that changes the data.
3. Warm people up before release.
Use TikTok, Instagram and your other channels to share short snippets and the story behind the song before it drops. When people are already familiar with it, they’re more likely to listen properly on day one instead of just clicking past it.
4. Avoid fake playlists and botted streams.
“Guaranteed streams” and shady playlists often come with bad behaviour: low retention, no saves, no follows, weird locations. Spotify can see that. Fake numbers don’t build a career—they confuse the algorithm and hurt you long term.
📌 A simple plan for your next release
Here’s a simple structure you can follow:
Upload 7–14 days before release and submit through Spotify for Artists.
Use that time to post snippets, lyrics and story clips so people recognise the song.
On release day, send fans to the track and ask them to listen, save it, and add it to a playlist if they like it.
Keep using the song in your content for the next weeks instead of disappearing after one post.
Do this across several releases and you’re no longer depending on luck—you’re consistently feeding Spotify clear, positive signals about who your music is for and how they respond to it.
If you’d like the next email to go deeper into playlists, release timing, or turning listeners into real fans, just reply with one word: “playlists”, “timing” or “fans”.
Talk soon,
Rakib