How to Increase Monthly Listeners on Spotify in 2026

Can you take a look at this artist?

And now this one?

That is the kind of impact my team and I deliver at SoundCampaign every single day.

I'm here to help you understand what it takes to gain those monthly listeners on Spotify.

In the beginning, this blog might seem boring to you, but trust me, this is something that is truly unconventional, and you will not get this kind of information on the internet because this is coming from my years of personal experience and a lot of testing.

#1 - Start Tracking and Testing Your Music

Being a founder, artist, and marketer at the same time, I have learned that tracking and testing things is quite important. Without it, you can’t achieve anything.

This way you learn what works and what doesn't.

While there are a lot of metrics (such as save rate, likes, follows, etc.), the most important thing that matters is your skip rate.

If it is very high, let alone increasing your Spotify monthly listeners, you will never even get to streams.

So first, head over to Spotify for Artists, make an account, and claim your profile there.

When you do that, you can track all the metrics, especially the skip rate.

Just like this:

This data right here is your friend. The better you get at analyzing these numbers, the better results you will have on Spotify.

#2 - Create a Playlist of Artists You Like (Study Hard)

There are chances you might not have enough data to analyze on your Spotify for Artist Analytics, and that's okay. This is what it looks like for most artists in the beginning.

In this situation, what you can do is go to Spotify charts and see what is trending up there. Make sure you filter the most popular artists because they are already famous.

Apart from this, you can make a list of artists that create music in your genre and you love them. Just look at the kind of monthly listeners they have.

Initially, I would recommend that you should make a list of 20 artists who have at least 1,000 streams on Spotify.

You might think 1000 monthly listeners is quite low and you want more. But tbh if you have more than that on Spotify, you're in the top 10 percent.

That's statistically proven.

In my career, I have seen that it takes a lot of effort to go from 0 to 1000.

But once you are past that number, your fans actually listen to the first 3-5 seconds of your song.

And that kind of activity pushes the algorithm, and your track gets served among the right audiences.

Once you have the list, you can analyze what kind of hooks these tracks have, what kind of music they make, and whether you felt it really or not.

Steal their work like an artist, don't copy anything. Get inspired and make something that people already like.

Learn the fundamentals, mix it up, and experiment from there.

And here comes the interesting part. Start releasing the music you create after that study.

Make sure the artists you study make music in your genre. Otherwise, this strategy won't work. You might do something that the listeners of your genre may not like.

The more you release, the more you will learn from your own data.

While it is interesting to study others, testing your own data is the best thing as you can quantify what works and what doesn't. After all, whatever numbers you are seeing are coming from your own efforts.

#3 - Promote Every Track Like Your Best Track

Imagine you have come up with a track and you think it is a masterpiece. What would you do in that case? Will you post it everywhere?

Of course, you will.

But that is the quickest way to destroy your song’s legacy.

Look, sending your song to a family WhatsApp group is not going to cut it.

Some of them will listen, and some of them will immediately skip it.

Same goes for your Instagram. If you have family and friends following you on Instagram along with your fans, and the ratio is quite bad there, I don't think you should share the story as well.

Back in 2018, I have witnessed this thing a lot. Fortunately, I found a solution.

First, you can pitch your song to community playlists that are made by the curators of your genre. This way your track gets in front of the listeners who actually want to listen to the type of music you are making.

Second, you can promote your music via Meta ads. If you're technical, you can do that on your own by watching some tutorials on YouTube.

Just in case you find it quite difficult, I have an effective solution for this.

We recently launched a Meta Ads service program for artists that can help you create a campaign and target easily.

The best part is, we are also doing free videos for your promotion. I don't know how long that's going to last, but for now, yes.

You have to test both types of campaigns and see what works best for you.

Most of the artists on SoundCampaign have done this and gained a significant amount of monthly listeners on Spotify.

When I said "release every track like your best track," what I really meant is putting all the effort you can.

Whether it's organic or paid, prepare for it and have a big release.

This strategy works best when you release singles after singles.

Let's say you released ‘song A’ today and promote it for, like, 15 days, get noticed everywhere, and gain an audience.

Imagine what will happen when you release ‘song B.’ The audience you gained while promoting ‘song A’ will also listen to ‘song B.’

This is how you climb the ladder.

Also speaking of organic marketing, I have a lot of interesting ideas for you that you can implement to gain traction for free.

Plus, you will get attention from those who will like to listen to your music because, of course, on Instagram and TikTok, they are not immediately going to click on your bio link.

If they like what they've seen in the short-form content, they will definitely try to find more about you.

When your listeners come like that, you can expect seriousness from them. They will definitely listen all the way to the end. If not that, you can at least expect them to listen to at least 50% of the song.

#4 - Make Short Form Content a Daily Routine of Your Life

The people who click on your link bio were interested in your short form content. They made an effort to click a link that’s in your bio.

That proves they will most likely listen to the first few parts of your song.

I recently heard in a podcast from GaryVee that you don't need millions of followers to get millions of views on TikTok or Instagram.

The algorithm has changed a lot. It rewards those who create the best content and gain attention in the first 3-5 seconds, just like Spotify.

The more you can hold people on these social media channels, the more algorithms will reward you.

To some extent, I have tested this myself.

Even on social media, I apply the same strategy that we did on Spotify to gain initial traction.

What I do is I make a list of 20 artists who are most active on the social media channel that I am targeting.

I analyze which reels or TikTok videos are performing best for them. I am biased towards picking accounts that have low follower count and have more views on their content.

Most artists I know come up with stories about their past, where they're coming from, behind-the-scenes, and where they're heading next.

Look at their content format, try to adapt, and mix it with your story.

Don't just put verses of your music video out there; that is the biggest mistake most artists make.

When it comes to posting organic, short-form content, I think the most important thing is telling your story.

The more people learn about your struggles, ideals, and why you are doing music, the more your achievements will feel personal to them.

Sometimes, it's not just the music that touches hearts. It's also your story.

#5 - Network and Collab with Musicians in Your Genre

No matter which industry you are in, networking goes a long way.

From being an artist to a music tech entrepreneur, I have witnessed it myself many times.

A single shoutout from someone who is making the same vibe as yours can feel like stealing other artists' monthly listeners.

And if it’s a collaboration, you have literally hacked the system.

I was in a meeting with Azfar, one of our writers at SoundCampaign.

I asked him if he knows Arijit Singh. The reason? I listen to Martin Garrix.

In fact, I thought that Arijit Singh got popular after getting a collab with Martin Garrix.

He told me that if there is a Bollywood movie coming up in India, you will see at least two to three tracks of his in that movie.

It rarely happens that a Bollywood hit never gets an Arijit song. Not only this, he was so excited and told me that he also gets chills whenever he listens to Arijit’s tracks.

I was surprised and tried to listen him on my own and explored his other music.

And let me be really, really honest here: I would have never listened to his tracks if Martin Garrix was not on one of them.

It's not that the music is bad. In fact, there is definitely some soul in it.

The lesson of this story is Arijit Singh is getting one monthly listener from me because I listened to the track he made with Martin Garrix.

The Harsh Truth

An artist who makes whack music with solid marketing skills always gets the streams.

On the other hand, you can see great artists getting a lot less fans because their marketing sucks.

What really matters is creating the right balance.

The last time I listened, someone on loop is because their story resonated with me, and their music gave me the vibe that I enjoy. That basically means two things here:

1. 1. They know how to make great music
   2. They knew how to reach out to me

This is why you should release fast, test faster, and see what really works. Look at Spotify charts and see how average artists made it up there. Learn from them. That’s your starting point.

In the end, I would say, "Never think less of yourself."

I have seen a lot of artists promoting their music with different marketing strategies. They are making the best music they can. Still, they are not going for the editorial playlist submission on Spotify.

While SoundCampaign can get you a lot of community playlists and social media influence, never forget that a single Spotify editorial placement can drastically turn your life around.

So, be present in places where your music will get heard, and loved. That is a surefire way to increase monthly listeners on Spotify.