Clear, concise definitions of every key Spotify for Artists metric and feature so you can read your data correctly and use the right tools to grow.
This glossary is written as compact definitions and focuses on terms you actually see in Spotify for Artists and how they are used in practice.
Unique listeners who played your music in the last 28 days from any source. Updates daily and trends your overall reach.
People who streamed your music in a selected time range. Different from Streams (plays) and from Monthly Listeners (rolling 28-day unique count).
Counted when someone listens to a track for at least 30 seconds. One listener can generate multiple streams.
Streams divided by listeners for a track or time period. Higher ratios usually indicate stronger engagement.
People who tap Follow on your artist profile. Following helps your new releases appear to those fans in Release Radar and other personalized surfaces.
When a listener adds your track, EP, or album to their library (or a dedicated collection like Liked Songs). A high save rate typically reflects strong intent to return.
Times your track is added to a user playlist. Often evaluated together with saves.
Percent of listeners who saved your track or added it to a playlist after streaming during a chosen period.
Initial plays that began (tapped or auto-played). A start may or may not become a stream if it ends before 30 seconds.
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People who intentionally listened to your music (for example from your profile, albums, liked songs, or their own playlists) in the last 28 days.
Your most engaged Active Audience subset, streaming you frequently and consistently in the last 28 days.
Active listeners with steady, medium engagement in the last 28 days.
Active listeners who played you only once or a few times in the last 28 days.
Listeners who intentionally streamed you in the past two years, but not in the last 28 days (lapsed fans).
Listeners who heard you only via programmed sources (editorial or algorithmic) in the past two years, without intentional plays.
User-driven contexts such as your artist profile, album pages, search, liked songs, and user playlists.
Editorial or algorithmic contexts such as Release Radar, Discover Weekly, Radio, Autoplay, Daily Mix, and Spotify Mixes families.
Breakdown in Spotify for Artists that shows which surfaces (profile, playlists, search, radio, other) generated your plays.
Personalized playlist updated weekly for each listener featuring new releases from artists they follow or listen to. Pitching an unreleased track at least 7 days before release helps ensure the correct song lands in followers’ Release Radar.
Personalized 30-track playlist updated weekly based on each listener’s taste profile and similar listeners’ behavior.
Multiple personalized mixes combining favorites with recommendations, typically grouped by style or mood, and refreshed frequently.
Algorithmically generated stations based on a seed (a track, artist, or playlist), continuously refreshed as you listen.
When music continues automatically with similar tracks after a chosen track, album, or playlist ends.
Curated by Spotify’s editorial team (for example, Today’s Top Hits, RapCaviar). Artists pitch only via Spotify for Artists for unreleased music; placement is never guaranteed.
Playlists created by listeners. Adds in high-quality user lists can drive steady, long-tail listening.
A promotional setting where you mark priority songs so Spotify’s systems increase the likelihood of showing them in specific programmed contexts (commonly Radio, Autoplay, certain Mixes). There is no upfront fee; a commission is applied to recording royalties from those Discovery Mode contexts only. Use when a track already shows healthy listener behavior.
A full-screen, paid sponsored recommendation shown to targeted listeners in Spotify. Booked inside Spotify for Artists, budgeted per campaign, used to drive intent on a new release.
A paid placement on the Home feed that highlights a priority release or catalog moment to selected audiences. Booked in Spotify for Artists with targeting options.
A short, looping vertical visual (typically 3–8 seconds) that plays on mobile while your track streams. Improves visual identity and shareability.
Short, vertical, captioned videos attached to your profile or releases. Used to add context, stories, or calls-to-action inside Spotify.
Pre-release pages where fans can pre-save, follow updates, and receive release-day reminders. Helps coordinate Release Radar and first-day momentum.
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Start Right NowArea in Spotify for Artists showing segments (Active, Super, Moderate, Light, Programmed, Previously Active), demographics, locations, and trends.
Performance by track or release—streams, listeners, saves, playlist adds, and source data.
Country, city, age, and gender breakdowns for listeners. Useful for tour routing and localized marketing.
The share of starts that end quickly (before becoming streams) or the share of streams abandoned early. Persistent early skipping suggests a mismatch between audience and creative.
Saves divided by listeners (or by streams, depending on your calculation). A leading indicator of durable interest.
Row position of your track inside a playlist. Top-row positions tend to capture disproportionate listening.
Spotify pays recording royalties to rights holders from a market-level revenue pool in proportion to their share of streams. There is no fixed per-stream rate; payout varies by territory, subscription type, and overall listening.
Royalties for the owner of the sound recording (often a label or distributor). Producer/artist splits are governed by your contracts.
Royalties for the composition (songwriters and publishers). Collected via PROs and mechanical agencies, separate from recording royalties.
Royalties in many countries for public performance of sound recordings (for example via PPL, SoundExchange). Eligibility depends on your role and local rules.
Unique code identifying a recording. Required to track and pay recording royalties.
Unique code identifying a composition (the song), used on the publishing side.
Release-level barcode identifying an album, EP, or single for distribution, reporting, and stores.
Ways to reference content in Spotify. URI is the internal protocol link, URL is the web link, Spotify Code is a scannable graphic.
Credits and attributes (artist name, roles, writers, producers, genre, release date, lyrics where available). Accurate metadata ensures proper attribution and discovery.
Spotify delivers adaptive streams at multiple bitrates depending on user settings and device. The exact rates are device/setting dependent and may change as Spotify updates audio features.
The official dashboard where artists and teams manage the profile, pitch unreleased music to editors, run Marquee/Showcase, view analytics, manage merch and shows, and invite team members.
Team access can be assigned at different permission levels (for example, full access for admins versus limited analytics for collaborators). Use least-privilege access for safety.
Plays similar music when a chosen track/playlist ends. Useful for discovery and long-tail catalog listening.
Families of personalized mixes (for example artist, decade, mood) that refresh regularly and can surface both new and catalog material.
Integrations that show merchandise and live events on your profile, driven by supported partners and data feeds.
Note: Specific lift percentages and eligibility thresholds for campaign tools (Marquee, Showcase, Discovery Mode, Clips, Countdown Pages) can vary by market and change over time. Always check the latest documentation in Spotify for Artists before planning budgets or timelines.
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