The music industry has been intensely focused in recent years on better monetizing the superfan: That segment of the music audience that’s more engaged and more willing to spend money on their favorite artists.
Now, Spotify has identified a new segment within its own audience: What it calls “super listeners.”
On the surface, that may seem like another name for superfan, but Spotify’s definition of “super listener” seems to be a smaller subset of superfans – and the streaming platform says it’s this small group that is the key to growing a loyal fan base.
While Luminate, in its Luminate Midyear Report (download it here), identifies 18% of the US music listeners as “superfans,” Spotify says only 2% of listeners on its platform qualify as “super listeners.”
Is an audience segment that small worth paying attention to? Spotify says yes. According to their data, super listeners account for 18% of all streams, are nine times as likely to share music with their network, and account for a whopping 50% of all artist ticket sales through Spotify.
One super listener streams 20 times as much of an artist’s music as “programmed” listeners, i.e., those listeners who click on a track because it appeared in a playlist or recommendation.
And in a survey of 4,500 US-based listeners, this group reported spending more than $25 per touring artist on merch, live shows and other purchases in the previous 30 days.
They also display a great deal of loyalty: More than 50% of an artist’s super listeners will still be listening six months later. In other words, they’re the “super-superfans” that truly drive an artist’s career.
“These fans aren’t casual. They’re committed,” Spotify said in a blog post.
“If you’re looking to build a real fanbase that sticks around and keeps showing up for your music, it’s not just about getting more listeners. It’s about connecting with the right ones.”
“If you’re looking to build a real fanbase that sticks around and keeps showing up for your music, it’s not just about getting more listeners. It’s about connecting with the right ones.”
Spotify
To that end – and with an eye towards a little self-promotion – Spotify is offering up some tips on how to use the platform’s tools to identify and build an artist’s super listener base.
Artists who are signed up to Spotify for Artists can use the analytics dashboard to identify super listeners by going to Audience → Segments to see how many listeners are super listeners, moderate listeners or light listeners.
Artists can also go to Audience → Overview to see the source-of-streams graph that shows where listeners are finding the music, whether through playlists or by actively searching an artist’s profile page, catalog or release pages.
Spotify has devised a “fan funnel” to help artists visualize how to move listeners from being “passive” fans to “active” fans, and identified three stages, each one requiring a strategy of its own:
The growth stage consists of potential listeners and programmed listeners (those hearing an artist’s music through playlists, recommendations, etc). Artists can use Discovery Mode or playlist pitching to turn bring potential listeners to their music.
The reactivation stage involves previous listeners who’ve dropped off and haven’t listened to an artist’s music in the past 28 days. Artists can use Showcase and Marquee campaigns to nudge those listeners back to their music.
“Because campaigns hone in on listeners in specific audience segments – and based on real streaming behavior – they’re effective at moving listeners down the funnel,” Spotify says, noting that listeners who see a Marquee or Showcase are twice as likely to become super listeners during a campaign than those who don’t.
The engagement stage is about maintaining the fan base an artist has built – and that, Spotify says, is about new releases and new events.
The platform recommends that artists keep their profile pages fresh with new merch and clips. New additions of tour dates help artists appear in the Concerts Near You and Live Events feeds, and in personalized concert recommendations.
And, of course, new releases matter: Spotify says artists see an 18% spike in super listeners after a new release.
“There’s something powerful about knowing who’s showing up the most consistently. These are the fans who stay engaged, spread the word, and support artists across the board,” said Claudia Zamora, Product Marketing Manager, Music Promotion at Spotify.
Those who closely follow the music business will no doubt be eager to see how Spotify addresses super listeners in its long-awaited “Music Pro” tier – and whether that tier proves to be a boon for artists looking for a broader audience, and better earnings, in the streaming economy.
Chartmetric is the all-in-one platform for artists and music industry professionals, providing comprehensive streaming, social, and audience data for everyone to create successful careers in music.Music Business Worldwide
