Apple Music & Apple Music for artists
Apple Music holds about 15% of the streaming market, offering a unique algorithm focused on repeat listens and playlist engagement. Understanding its features can help artists tailor their promotion strategies effectively alongside Spotify.
By Andrew Southworth
Hey friends!
Today we’re going to talk about Apple Music & Apple Music for artists!
Almost everyone online talks about Spotify the most out of any DSPs (myself included), but that’s because they have the largest market share and in my opinion the best algorithmic exposure.
For example, Spotify has about 35% of the streaming market while Apple Music and Amazon Music only have about 15% each.
Fortunately when it comes to marketing music on Apple Music it is very similar to promoting music on Spotify. But it’s worth talking about how their algorithm seems to work and the benefits of Apple Music for artists.
Apple Music Algorithm
For Spotify we have a pretty good idea how their algorithm works due to their acquisitions, talks and general transparency about it over the years (in comparison). For Apple Music, we have pretty much nothing.
I pay for and moderately use an Apple Music subscription solely to stay up to date on how their platform works. When I first did this my goal was to see how their algorithm recommended me music.
The first thing I noticed was that repeat listens seem to be one of the most important metrics. If I listened to multiple songs from an artist they would recommend more music from that artist on the home page.
While they also do have playlists for finding new music or staying up to date on music from artists you love, I found this ‘listen to more music by…’ aspect to drive more listening personally. However i’m sure many people also use those playlists.
As far as those playlists go, it seems these variables matter most:
Repeat listens
Pressing the ‘love’ button
They added a ‘favorite’ button for artists this year, but i’m unsure how that plays into the algorithmic aspect.
Shifting the destination
When it comes to what type of ad campaign you should use to promote music on Apple Music, you can just use the normal method (which I cover in this video, or in my course Spotify Growth Machine).
However based on the fact repeat listens seem to push music to the home page recommendations, the destination should change. On Spotify I tend to recommend driving listeners directly to a song, for Apple Music I think you should send people to a playlist.
Make a public Apple Music playlist with your promoted song at the top, and then more music from your catalog they might like under it. Name the playlist something like ‘This is Artist Name’ or ‘Artist Name Greatest Hits’ or similar.
On Apple, send people to this playlist instead to try and encourage repeat listens.
For Artists
Overall Apple Music for artists isn’t as fleshed out as Spotify for Artists. However, you can see plays, average daily listeners, song purchases and Shazams (both on a profile level and a song by song level).
You can also dive into location data to see which countries and cities are most streaming your music. One interesting thing i’ve noticed is Japan loves Apple Music.
The recently added a live counter to Apple Music for artists as well. This shows how many people are listening right now and how many have listened minute by minute over the past 48 hours. Note that this live feature seems to only be available on certain accounts.
There is also an Artist Profile section where you can update your profile image and set some basic artist information.
Should You Promote Apple?
Usually I tell people just starting to prioritize a particular DSP to concentrate their efforts on one platform. Typically this would be Spotify because it has a larger user base and more algorithmic potential.
However sometimes artists just align better with another platform, for their own personal reasons or for the genre they’re in.
In my links in ads I usually have Spotify first and Apple Music second, and this leads to about 80-85% of fans going to Spotify and about 10-15% going to Apple Music.
Apple Music does pay better, and it does have an algorithmic recommendation system. Just keep in mind you’ll likely face a harder uphill battle compared to promoting music on Spotify.
That being said, I know an artist where iTunes is their #1 platform due to their fanbase demographics.
New Content
If you want to see my video on how to use Facebook ads to promote your music on Spotify, Apple Music and the others…
Recently Spotify announced they’re demonetizing about 67% of tracks on the platform, here’s the updates…
Did you know you can listen to my music industry interviews on podcast platforms? Click here to listen to the Modern Music Marketing podcast.
News
Here are some music industry news highlights from the past week.
Spotify confirms 1,000 stream threshold an other changes coming in 2024
62% of TikTok users in the US pay for a music streaming service
Spotify phasing out service in Uruguay starting January 1st 2024
Live Nation and Ticketmaster subpoenaed in US Senate probe over exorbitant ticket prices
Quote of the Week
You can get “good enough” at almost anything in 20 hours of focused effort. The problem is, most people spend years delaying the first hour.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:
My courses. Spotify Growth Machine teaches you how to use Facebook ads to promote your music on Spotify. YouTube Growth Machine teaches you how to grow a YouTube channel organically and how to use YouTube ads. Fan Growth Machine teaches you how to build a website, online store and grow your email list.
My ad agency. Forbid Media specializes in running Facebook conversion ads to promote your music on Spotify.
Website / Store / Funnels. MusicFunnels is the best all-in-one platform for music artists to make a website, online store, sales funnels and build their mailing list.
1-on-1 consulting. You can book 1-hour calls with myself or Alex Bochel here.
My Links:
🌍 MusicFunnels - Best website / store / funnels for music artists (get your 14-day FREE trial!)
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