Spotify Discovery Mode

Discovery Mode is a marketing program available on Spotify.  In return for a reduced royalty rate, the nominated tracks are boosted in the algorithms that drive the ‘Radio’ and ‘Up Next’ sections of Spotify. 

Spotify has reported that tracks in Discovery Mode have found over 40% more listeners on average – compared to pre-Discovery Mode and that 44% of those listeners had never listened to the artist before.

There are no specific rules around when Discovery mode can be used other than the track eligibility criteria.  However, there are some scenarios where we see this being particularly useful;

• Ahead of a new release. Use it to remind fans of your best tracks, and then drive attention to other parts of your catalogue ready for when your new release drops.
• To raise awareness before a tour or other event.
• To reach new fans outside of your regular listenership once a small following has been established for an artist.

In order to be opted-in to the program, tracks must fit the following criteria.

• Must have been released 1+ months ago
• Must have more than 1 radio stream in the last 7 days

These rules ensure that there’s enough listening history for the track to make the program effective. Spotify maintains a list of eligible tracks from which Kudos may select tracks for Discovery Mode.  We will help to identify good candidates for the program and discuss plans with labels to coordinate with other marketing etc.  In addition to the above criteria, Kudos shall have complete discretion over the selection of tracks for Discovery mode.

The minimum opt-in period is one calendar month and the opt-in must be made 1 month prior to the start date.  There’s no maximum period but we expect to rotate the tracks we have enabled for Discovery Mode on a regular basis.  Kudos will review how well each track performs in Discovery Mode each month and will remove any tracks which consistently fail to perform well enough to see any advantage.

There is no upfront cost.  However, Spotify takes a percentage of revenue generated on those select streams as a commission.

In some cases, tracks that are opted-in to the program will see an uplift in discovery streams that is significant enough to offset or even exceed the commission. However, bear in mind that this will not always be the case. Some tracks may not perform any better in Discovery Mode than they did previously.

There is no commission charged when tracks are streamed in any other context (such as from an artist’s discography, editorial playlists, etc.), so it is only the portion of streaming revenue that is generated by discovery streams that will be affected one way or the other.

Opt-ins can be arranged via your label manager – who will also be able to tell you which of your tracks are eligible as well as advise on strategy and best practices based on our experience.  We will also reach out to labels where we identify that Discovery Mode could be particularly beneficial.