How to get on Release Radar or Discover Weekly on Spotify?

To begin with, many of the artists base their success on being included in curated playlists. That is, Spotify’s weekly playlists such as “New Music Mondays” or alternative playlists, which independent users can create. To learn more about the platform, be sure to check out our article on Spotify right here.

Is your goal to get the most streams on your tracks? Then certainly algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly and Releaser Radar will be very effective in increasing them.

Release radar alone generates more streams than any other of Spotify’s self-curated playlists. At least that’s what Spotify UK’s director of artists has said. So let’s take a closer look at this playlist, which is so coveted by artists.

First of all, we give you some advice from the greatest mathematicians to reach the holy grail: access to the two playlists Release Radar and Discover Weekly.

Tip number 1: Be active, release new songs regularly.

It’s a well-known fact that the more tracks you release regularly, the more likely you are to land on Spotify users’ Discover Weekly or Release Radar playlists. But BEWARE, prioritise quality over quantity! There’s a reason Daft Punk don’t release albums every 3 days. So even if you’re releasing a lot of tracks, make sure the quality is still there. 

Tip number 2: Thinking that Spotify is the only way to success.

While Spotify is a great way to get on the road to success, focusing solely on it is one of the most common mistakes made by all artists. This would be to miss out on promotional opportunities that can be just as beneficial to your career as playlists. For example, radio shows, interviews or social media advertising. All of these methods have their advantages and will positively affect your performance on Spotify. 

Now, obviously, you have to ask yourself the question. So how do you cook a good chicken Basquaise? In all seriousness, let’s take a look at how Release Radar and Discover Weekly playlists work.

How to get your music to Spotify “Discover Weekly”?

Firstly, it should be noted that all users receive their own Discover Weekly playlists every Monday morning.

But what is this playlist made of? Well, it’s entirely based on each user’s taste in music. It modulates itself according to your listening and your reactions. An intelligent algorithm that analyses individual listening habits and will thus help you discover similar songs that you have probably never heard before.

At this point, you probably want to know how you can increase your chances of getting on the Discover Weekly playlist, right?

Your tracks must be present in playlists. Of course, the selection of the Discover Weekly playlist is mainly based on other playlists on the platform. And here we’re not just talking about playlists with millions of subscribers, but also small playlists in your area.

But how does the robot magically integrate the selection into our playlist?

The robot will take the data from all the playlists to determine everyone’s taste. It will then compare anything that might be similar between artists and what users might also like. This method will be used on all playlists on the platform. To put all the chances on your side, get your music out on the right day, we say more here.

Engagement goes hand in hand with quality. 

Be aware that if your music is not appreciated, you will have a very low engagement rate and you won’t build a loyal following except for… your mum.  As a result, your song will not be picked up by Discover Weekly.
It’s important to know that the number of streams you have on a sound is not the most important thing. Generally speaking, music that has less than 20,000 streams has a good chance of getting dropped. For Spotify’s algorithm what is going to be most important is the proportion of people who will record, add or share on social networks out of all the people who listen to your tracks. The higher the share, the more likely you are to land on Discover Weekly.

How do I get to the Holy Grail? Access Spotify Release Radar as an artist

So yes, this playlist is based on an algorithm that may seem complex to analyse. In reality, you don’t need a doctorate in computer science, it’s a bit simpler than it looks, let’s see it together. 

Just like the weekly playlists, Release Radar adapts to each user. A unique playlist that moulds itself to the feet of each user. The big plus point of this playlist is that, unlike those that only offer artists to discover, it offers up to two hours of music. It offers up to two hours of sounds from artists you listen to regularly. So you can discover the nugget of one of your favourite artists.

Get as many fans as possible on your Spotify page

Your upcoming releases will usually only appear on the Release Radar playlists of users who follow your artist page, so rule number one: Ask users to follow you.

The important thing is to establish a good fan base. Every time you release new music, your loyal fans will be informed via the famous playlist.