We often get questions about how the “Related artists” feature on Spotify actually works. A post on the Spotify blog gives a clear explanation if this feature - we will summarize it here.

Whereas Spotify first used tagging and genre matching from the All Music Guide they a while ago moved over to a more dynamic solution to power the related artists feature.  The current solution incorporates user listening data to power the feature. In practice, if there is data showing that people listening to your music are also listening to “Foster The People” then this band will be one of those in the list of the related artists.

For you as indie artist, knowing what other artists your fans are listening can be valuable information. One example would be when trying to introduce your music to new listeners - if you know your fans are listening to “Foster The People” then there is a high chance that other fans of “Foster The People” will also like your music.

You can then direct marketing efforts towards these fans - such as via music forums/blogs they frequent and other online hangouts. Now, this is pretty grass routes promotion but it is just one illustration how how this knowledge can be used to your advantage. Remember, one new fan who shares music with friends can mean many more.

Greetings ladies, gentlemen, comrades and fellow humans. Just a quick post today to say that there is now a new “page” on the Record Union blog. This page is entitled “online promotion directory” and features a list of services which we think are useful for aspiring independent and unsigned artists which are looking to use the online environment to their advantage. We hope that this will help artists find out about new services which can help them expand their fan base and generate exposure for their music. It contains links to blogging services, podcasting services, tools to make your life easier, online marketing tools and links to online promotion advice. The directory will be updated whenever we find new service to add, and if you would like to recommend services to add to this directory, or think we have missed something out, please contact the Blog Team at dogblog@recordunion.com. We will also be writing more articles dealing with online promotion advice here on the Dog Blog, which you can find by clicking on the “promotion advice” categories section (on the right of your screen). Happy time!