Spotify Monthly Listeners are NOT fans. Focus on THIS instead

We all want more Monthly Listeners on Spotify. They put it right at the top of our artist profile, so it must be the most important statistic, right? I'll explain why I feel it's actually the LEAST important metric for long term growth on Spotify, as well as what you should focus on instead.
FREE Spotify Growth Checklist DOWNLOAD
bit.ly/SpotifyGrowthTips
0:00 - That time I got on some big Spotify playlists...
1:23 - Misconception No. 1: Editorial Playlists are the endgame
3:53 - Misconception No. 2: Monthly Listeners are the best listeners
5:10 - So what should you focus on?
6:58 - The importance of Spotify Followers and Algorithmic playlists
7:33 - Closing remarks
The felt piano track that made me famous:
open.spotify.com/track/3kR3yl...
Spotify: bit.ly/JNJSpotify
Apple Music: bit.ly/JNJAppleMusic
Bandcamp: bit.ly/JNJBandcamp
Licensing inquiries: [e-mail]
///////
Follow and Connect:
www.fracturedcapstan.com
/ jamesonnathanjones
/ jnathanjones

[@TheProperPeople]

I would def listen to whatever track that was while washing dishes haha, sounded epic. Very well stated video and I agree with the sentiment, the same thing is applicable to any creative field.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks! You guys are certainly an inspiration in terms of what's possible when you consistently do what you love at a high level. Oh, and here :) open.spotify.com/track/4ca4O70rEld9YZMVshzywi?si=8ab17fac07f740c8

[@edrift3d]

Came to the comments for this exact thing.

[@BrentODell]

yeah, my thoughts EXACTLY, I'd 100% do dishes to this

[@nonospezial]

Holy maccaroni - listening to your music is a treat, watching your passion for synth is a bliss and laughing hard at your jokes (I mean it, and it's making me uncomfortable as there's no one else here) makes it worthwile watching your videos. I like this topic - interesting to hear your opinion on this. thanks!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks Noah!

[@poseurlol]

This made me really happy to hear. My band has the exact attitude you described. We're just honing our craft, developing our voice, and hoping that it resonates. Currently we're doing well on the Release Radar and have a great listener:follower ratio, but the numbers aren't huge. I'm hoping our sincerity is coming across and it's connecting with people and we'll catch on more. We also just gained some new fans from a 9-day tour we went on. By all accounts, the authenticity came across in person as well. Again, really needed to hear this.

[@SecondShooterBand]

^^^ Here's my band!!

[@CHONKERBOT]

Thank you for both of your videos on social media. The part about caring about the things you control gave me some relief I needed right now ;)

[@KrisAdamsmusic]

Yes definitely do more videos like this. It was uplifting and very grounded. Thank you!

[@ddya9845]

thanks cause I was focused on blowing up and completely ignored the support I was already getting

[@missingreels]

I really appreciate this video. It's full of advice that really resonates with me. And it seems to arrived right at a moment where personally I'm really struggling with how best to move forward professionally and am thinking a lot about some of the things you caution against (like writing with playlists in mind). So thank you for making this video, there's lots of food for thought here.

[@NeekoLsh]

Nice video, love your calm narrative voice and character. Generally really useful tips. Keep it up

[@bashfull9176]

Extremely well crafted video 10/10, I loved how you talked about the actual art your making. It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from David Bowie “Never play to the gallery… Never work for other people in what you do. Always remember that the reason that you initially started working was that there was something inside yourself that you felt that if you could manifest in some way, you would understand more about yourself and how you co-exist with the rest of society… I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfil other people’s expectations.”

[@Marcelrocha884]

I love this quote!!!

[@FreakinTrash]

this motivates - epic quote - thanks

[@garrettbevins8086]

Ive burned out from music production doing things for ‘money’ (placements). Not fulfilling. Totally agree with your take on honing in on an artistic voice, and making stuff that feels meaningful to your life. Money and art is a funky relationship

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Very true

[@ill2daMAX]

100% agree.

[@TheSoulSynthesis]

I really enjoy the mix of your showcases of concepts and hardware and the business side feels pretty organic here. I never really thought about getting my music out there but i want to change that. so every bit of honest info is highly appreciated!. You're not talking bullshit and just offer your knowledge and what you come across. Your whole channel feels genuine. Keep up the good work :) You also seem to be one of the few that not yet have caught the full synthfluenca. In visual style maybe but not with the content (love the humor btw) Cheers!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks for that! Much appreciated

[@darrengordon-hill]

GIMME DAT WASHING UP PLAYLIST!! My dishes need SCRUBBING!!!

[@singechamberlain2967]

Great video - I'm finding your videos to be some of the most interesting in the synth world at the moment.

[@CyberselfOfficial]

I really needed to hear this, thank you.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

I need to hear it myself from time to time. 😅🙏

[@andrewlandmusic]

It's like you're inside my head! 100% come to the same conclusions myself these last few months. Make music for you, and if other people like it too, bonus! 👍🏻 Keep up the good work, mate - love these vids.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks man!

[@RAPSTAR7LLC]

First of all, Merry Christmas ! You did good on explaining the differences between Algorith Playlist and Editorial Playlist. I ma looking forward to see similar video content of you , and i will be happy to see your carrer growth as well.

[@NovemberManBand]

This was entertaining and informative. Thanks!

[@jazsebastian]

Cool video mate, great points!! Thanks for the info :)

[@D_punkster]

Very insightful. Your videos are legit 😎

[@DavidStarrUSA]

Respect. 🔥 Thank you for creating.

[@EdinKaso_Composer]

Very well said Jameson. I can't believe I only just found this channel. I've only started releasing my music 5-6 months ago but right away I started noticing monthly listeners is not a true metric of an artist's popularity. Just being on one editorial placement could easily put someone into hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners and yet, they could still have no one that really "Cared" about their music...enough to follow it like you said. So I started shifting my mindset into the long term game and gaining followers and helping trigger that algorithm. Btw, I enjoyed the comedic bits in addition to the information haha. I don't usually watch a full 9 min video.

[@AlaskanTapes]

Really great video man, and important points any musician new or old should think about!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks man!

[@CarlArmstrong]

Great insights on all this. Thanks

[@tule7219]

i'm definitely gonna go listen to your music... you make really good music to be honest

[@anothercouture]

Interesting stuff, nice one.

[@SomeGuyNamedRobb]

I think as an independent artist we are all looking for people who are sharing our journey. A lot of what you said resonated with me, and I don't know if it's because misery loves company or if it's because maybe if we all voice our thoughts and opinions we will find a solution to some of these nagging questions. Either way, thanks for the input!

[@saylezz9922]

You got a loyal follower today. Helpful and funny, straight-up good content.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Really appreciate that! And welcome :)

[@natenubia8548]

Excellent, witty dark humorous video, very engaging and you didnt crack a smile 🤣 ALL points very valid.

[@KSACTV]

So articulate Jamey thanks for this

[@laurilest]

Yes-yes! More videos like that, please!

[@francescomilloni]

Wow… I feel so into this. I started to make the music I really wanted to when I was about to become father. I’m going to check out your Spotify, as I believe you produce a pretty close genre to mine. I’m always looking for new artists in my niche! (My USB key cries a lot, as she doesn’t see very much new music) Now, after few years, I figured that producing a genre which is not well defined is the worst thing for marketing. Yes, it took a bit longer than expected but I figured out. Still, I don’t want to produce tracks just to be put on a playlist. My albums are structured such as travels and can’t be peak hour or a calming break every track. That’s the curse of internet. You can be heard, but it’s hard to make your way through the noise.

[@matzsound]

Yes , this is informative and make me interested in your KZbin channel and shall listen also to your music. I’m also interested in the feelings en emotions which hide in your songs and why you picked a certain sound for a track that represents that feeling or emotions or the story or vibe that is in that soundscape or rithme. Greetings from the biggest small town in the world called : the Netherlands

[@Rickyslayer6691]

Great video

[@billybartcody3591]

I've got it all on Apple Music (hopefully they pay better than Spotify). Absolutely love your work, right up there with the best ambient works of all time, in my opinion. I put on Dismember for a buddy when I first heard it hunting around on KZbin researching Prophets (buying a Pro3 soon to pair with my Hydrasynth), now he's on board and we're both spreading the good word. You're a very talented man, Jameson Nathan Jones, it's only a matter of time before you'll be scoring Villeneuve films ;) In the meantime, you're entertaining the heck out of us with great content (some of the best insight from a fellow synthesist on the platform, and I watch almost all of it), and your wit/delivery kills me every time. Keep it up man, lots of us look forward to your missives.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Really appreciate that, William!

[@joelnegus]

Get em out there bro - love this!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Haha appreciate it man 🙏

[@MaPa60]

Great fun, you are right of course. I got on an editorial playlist for Christmas, and that placement keeps giving and giving. But changing the music style too drastically, might alienate listeners who liked your previous track, which you don't want to do. If you do a lot of different music, I'd suggest opening several profiles, so you can keep each of them consistant within one style per profile. That way, you won't disappoint followers of each profile, and it will also be much easier to market.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

I would agree that drastic changes in style would be difficult for an audience to follow, but I’m speaking more about the natural evolution and expansion as an artist. It’s easy to start making what you think will playlist, but that creates a bit of a creative rut for me. I’ve never found editorials all that great at building followers - just a large increase in monthly listeners for a while until my tracks were removed or moved down the playlist. Congrats on your placement though, as it’s still exciting and the money is nice! Have you seen a good increase in followers/engagement since your track was added?

[@MaPa60]

@@JamesonNathanJones Absolutely, as an artist there is so much to learn and you want to push it constantly. Tnx, yeah better engagement, not so much followers. I don't use the follow thing either, so maybe they could come up with something better there, or if you could attach your email to that follow button, so you didn't have to have a website just to build an email fan-list!

[@ZachSprowls]

More business videos would be great! But don't stop the creative ones either. Thanks to one of your videos, I just bought a Prophet rev2. Can't wait to start making music with it!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

No plans of stopping anytime soon :) Congrats on the Rev2

[@MattLeFaitMusic]

Your humor is amazing hahahaha

[@noahvandenabeele]

Absolutely agree!

[@DinoSvanhvit]

We need more of this. There’s so much that does not actually work, when trying to tame ”the internet monster”.

[@DJJohnnyTapia]

Good stuff, stay true to yourself

[@tommymags]

What a great video. Finally someone questioning the wisdom of following Spotify. I’ve often wondered is there a better way? so many videos so much time and energy people are spending chasing Spotify I’m wondering if it makes sense to do that is it really worth it?

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks! Just depends on what your priorities are, and what kind of music you make. At this point I’d rather put my time and effort into things I have more control over.

[@LeviGrxce]

You’re a saving Grace!

[@haddonhousefilms]

Whats your favorite synth? I love korg synths. The emx1 is very enjoyable to fiddle with.

[@justincaldwell2527]

Well if there is anything about your approach to these self deprecating editorial videos it is you are self aware. These videos have saved me thousands of dollars on gear I really don't need. Your G.A.S and G.R.A.S (*tm ) rants are priceless and spot on. But jokes aside, I do like how you approach these things. It's a bit self loathing but not far off from what really is happening to many of us. Keep up the good work. .

[@ricochetsixtyten]

While I do agree that followers are a better metric, don't forget that even if you have 10k followers alot of them might be passive and not even listeners and just forgot they followed you in the first place. I would say having active followers is more important than just having followers.

[@ArlinGodwin]

You're right...but streams are starting to pay some of my bills and that money is real.

[@maximrecords5492]

We like you. Very cool!

[@simontomalik1095]

I just found a big GEM, thanks man for doing this

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thanks Simon!

[@PatrickOkora]

Is it bad if I went through the whole internet pitching to free playlists (mostly "made by artists for artists")? Even if there are some botted ones?

[@senvo28]

Right

[@ClydeCyrus]

Currently at 2022 followers with 33K listeners! 📈

[@LasryMgmt]

I love this video good enough and very entertaining lol 😂

[@CaptHiltz]

Spotify probably posts monthly listeners over followers because in theory that number will be bigger. In the case of my band it's the opposite. I wish they they would post the follower number. Soundcloud does it.

[@TheSymbolicUniverse]

How does one find their voice in music when there are so many genres one wants to do?

[@frywolny]

Talking about the fan base..why not Patronait as well? I found your music inspring, technical epxlanation always presented within quality music context. I'd gladly sign in. Granted - I don't know how does it really work as an investment from your side but mybe worth considering. Cheers!

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Absolutely a viable option that I’m currently researching. Thanks for the kind words :)

[@billybartcody3591]

@@JamesonNathanJones do it, you never know. If you're not focusing on your content and music for a living, you should be. And if you are, well it's always nice to have some breathing room.

[@dvdny]

3:20 - Maybe that's the problem with Spotify in general - casual listeners that just want background 'noise'. I've neem following the WhyPeopleDance #Layers SoundCloud for years, and I *always* hunt down the artists of my favorites, it's allowed me to find so many new producers (and their friends). So, maybe look for SC channels that you'd fit into. Keep it up! 👏👏

[@JamesonNathanJones]

It's more of an issue with the editorial, or "mood" playlists I think. Some of the algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly are actually pretty good for finding new artists. I used to absolutely love the SC sense of community, but sort of left it behind when I started getting hundreds of bot comments and messages :/

[@dvdny]

@@JamesonNathanJones Ahh, important distinction, Good point.

[@esaiasiaw]

song in background @ 3:40?

[@JamesonNathanJones]

open.spotify.com/track/5PhhffPSjGz8TR0w7FkzFG?si=gFzVlGOVQc6lZvbyJHZMog

[@AnDynessisity]

I would totes wash my dishes to that music bee tee dubs.

[@KILLMOORE]

Lol top vid 10/10 delivery.

[@bpmoore2934]

What a guy💌

[@mattskalicky]

Coming to the party late, but this is very poignant. I'm releasing music for the first time in a 30 year career but I have no need to make money or be famous. I would just like people to enjoy my music which leads to my current issue. I don't want sell out but I would like to see people enjoying my music...

[@sanosketheboss]

Pls what's the name of this song 5:02 😄?

[@JamesonNathanJones]

“Could” by Lost Art of Surrender (my alternate moniker :)

[@sanosketheboss]

@@JamesonNathanJones . Thanks 👍

[@_DRMR_]

I think you are just about awkward enough for Olafur to consider you a potential friend. Keep it up ;)

[@opsjesse]

Building an email or text list is the real deal gameplan when it comes to business.. But its so hard to translate to being a musician. I dont think I've seen any youtuber, social personality, or otherwise come up with a solid strategy. Aside from the "youtube videos >> suggestive referrals to ones music" that you mentioned here. Its one thing to offer a product offer as a lead magnet for capturing emails. It's a whole different animal when the product is something they need to connect to emotionally to be of any value to the listener.

[@opsjesse]

What I'm saying is yes, help us! Lol

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Absolutely agree. It’s much easier with a product or something more tangible to offer. Unfortunately, music itself usually isn’t enough anymore. For me, it’s been thinking of how I can help people and what I can offer that will help them. Once that trust is built, people are far more receptive to all your work.

[@J-MLindeMusic]

Wait, you guys got fans?

[@MajorMoment]

sadly, this is no longer the case. clicking on the follow button absolutely does NOT mean your listeners will get notified of your new release. rather, there is a *CHANCE* they will get your new track added to release radar. a chance, not a guarantee. out of over 10K followers we have, a whopping 14% of our follower heard our track in the first month, despite a MASSIVE marketing campaign, a marquee campaign, submitting way before the release, pitching, posting, and doing all the things recommended. and whoever heard the track loved it, it did get a RR and DW boost, has a popularity score of 43%, but still... 14% of followers heard it. How come?

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Yep. This video is more than a year old and Spotify has gotten progressively worse since. I think the main point still stands though: more focus on things that are more controllable like email lists or platforms where a more personal connection can be established directly with fans.

[@roddy9372]

funny guy 😂

[@lucygodfrey141]

lol

[@jscj2066]

I think your mother was correct. Just saying…❤️

[@Justbase]

ah well, at least you don't live in a war torn country.

[@Justbase]

having said that, it is all relative - i get that, and i actually DO enjoy listening to your tunage.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

@@Justbase So sorry you're in that situation. Obviously, there are more important things than music marketing. Just sharing my experiences in hopes that it helps someone. Best wishes and I hope things improve VERY soon!

[@Justbase]

@@JamesonNathanJones music makes all the difference. It matters what you do, to me at least.