The New Core Skill for Artists and Teams
In 2025, algorithms are the primary gatekeepers of music discovery. Whether a song is pushed to millions or buried in obscurity often comes down to how well it interacts with a platform’s recommendation system. For artists, managers, and labels, understanding these systems is no longer a marketing bonus — it is a professional necessity.
Category:
Music Business & Streaming
Read:
7 mins
Location:
Stockholm
Date:
Apr 2, 2025
How Recommendation Engines See Your Music
Every streaming platform organizes and categorizes music differently. Spotify relies heavily on collaborative filtering, YouTube leans into watch time and viewer retention, and TikTok uses engagement velocity to determine what trends. At the core, all of these systems are looking for the same signals: engagement, completion rates, and the relevance of your track to existing listener patterns. The better your metadata, the more consistently you release, and the more engagement you drive in the first hours and days, the more the algorithm will invest in showing your music to new listeners.
Building Feedback Loops
Algorithms reward consistency and interaction. That means your release strategy should account for post-release momentum, not just launch day. Responding to comments, encouraging playlist adds, and creating derivative content like live versions or remixes all send positive signals back to the platform. The goal is to keep feeding the system reasons to believe your track is worth recommending — and to extend the discovery window well past the typical two-week peak.
Testing, Measuring, and Adjusting
Algorithm literacy is not static knowledge. Platforms adjust their systems constantly, and what worked six months ago may not be as effective today. Artists and teams should track performance metrics across multiple releases, looking for patterns in saves, playlist adds, completion rates, and shares. Treat each release as both a creative statement and a market experiment. Over time, you will build a data-driven understanding of how your catalog interacts with each platform’s system — and how to adjust your approach accordingly.
