Spotify study confirms importance of superlisteners + How to reach them

Spotify has published new data insights about how super listeners, aka superfans, drive streams, buy more merch, and help power artists’ careers through long-term fandom and strategies to reach them. 

The insights are Spotify’s new Segments analytics dashboard on Spotify for Artists, which looks at super, moderate, light, programmed, and previously active listeners. 

3 Key Takeaways

• Superfans matter to artists at all stages of their careers. Averaged across all artist sizes, super listeners make up 2% of an artist’s monthly listeners but account for over 18% of monthly streams.
• That 2% also accounts for more than half of artist merch purchases.
• Artists see a boost in super listeners after a release, with two-thirds still streaming their music after six months.

The study also suggested actions that artists can take to engage their super listeners, like amplifying a new release with Marquee, sharing background using Clips, and growing their active audience by finding new fans using Spotify’s Discovery Mode.

Find the full Fan Study: the Super Listener edition HERE.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.