Spotify Super Listeners
What is a Super Listener?
A super listener is a consumer of music who has intentionally sought out an artist’s music, as opposed to being fed the music through algorithmic means/playlists (e.g, Release Radar, Discover Weekly etc). They are the listeners who have visited an artist’s profile, release pages and saved the music in their libraries in the last 28 days.
Why are they important?
Despite making up just 2% of artists’ monthly listeners, they drive over 18% of monthly streams and are responsible for 50% of an artist’s ticket sales from Spotify.
Their engagement goes beyond just streams (one Super Listener streams as much as 20 programmed listeners), they are vital in the sharing of music as well; being 9x more likely to share music with their network.
They are more loyal than programmed listeners, with research showing they tend to stick around for longer. More than 50% of Super Listeners will continue streaming the music 6 months after first discovering it.
Activating the Super Listener
Converting a Programmed Listener into a Super Listener is a journey that comes across multiple touch points.
At the beginning of this journey is the Growth stage, which involves Potential Listeners (haven’t streamed your music in at least 2 years but their listening behaviour suggests they’re likely to) and Programmed listeners (only heard your music on programmed sources such as playlists).
After growth, the Reactivation stage follows which involves giving a little nudge to previously active listeners but who haven’t streamed your music in the past 28 days.
Finally, Engagement stage includes your monthly active listeners (including light, moderate and super listeners). These are listeners who have intentionally streamed your music in the past 28 days.
It’s important to know the journey from Programmed Listener to Super Listener isn’t always linear; whilst one fan may discover your music on a NMF playlist and became an instant fan, streaming your music every day, another may discover your music on a Release Radar playlist then disappear temporarily but become reacquainted with your music after a Marquee, Showcase or other tool is utilised. Thus, it’s vital to give them a reason to keep coming back to your profile and your music!
Give them a reason to keep returning
Understand your audience
Using S4A’s audience analytics is crucial to this step; Using the Segments tab to break down the programmed, previously active and monthly active listeners, Sources of Streams to gain knowledge on how your listeners are discovering your music and finally utilising Release Engagement when you’ve recently dropped new music to see how Super Listeners are showing up.
Use the tools to your benefit
Now you understand how listeners are engaging, it's important to reach them more intentionally so they can become a Super Listener.
During the Growth Stage you can find new listeners using Discovery Mode & Playlist pitching, and these will use programmed sources to seek out new listeners likely to respond well to your music.
The Reactivation stage is, as mentioned, where you bring back fans using Marquee or Showcase by targeting previously active listeners. Check out our blog here on Best Practices for these tools.
Finally, the Engagement stage is where you keep your profile optimised, fresh and enticing to your fans. Using the Merch, Tour Dates and Clips features ensures fans lean in because your profile is active and visible. Have a read through of this blog to understand how best to optimise your profile.
