The goal of this post would be to get your track enough early traction to (hopefully) trigger Spotify’s algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar. It’s not an exact science or a guaranteed formula (each song can perform very, VERY differently), but with the right approach, you can increase your chances and set your release up for success. Let’s look at: THE (ADS) STRATEGY! But first...
First, a quick refresher on what we’re aiming for. Spotify’s algorithmic playlists – especially Radio and Discover Weekly, but you can also see Mixed, Daylist, Your DJ, Blend, and more there – are personalized lists Spotify creates for users based on their listening habits. Unlike editorial playlists, Discover Weekly is powered purely by data and listener behavior.
In other words: Spotify’s algorithm watches how listeners engage with your song (saves, repeats, skips, playlist adds, follows) and decides if it’s worth recommending to more people (and to which ones).
If a track starts gaining traction with a niche audience – say lots of saves and replays from a small group of listeners – Spotify may test it out by showing it in a few more users’ listening to sorta that kind of music in their Discover Weekly playlists. Positive feedback (more plays, saves, etc.) from those tests can snowball into a wider algorithmic push.
So, how much traction is “enough” to trigger Discover Weekly?
There’s no official number, but artists often toss around some benchmarks. One popular estimate is around 10,000 to 13,000 streams in the first month to have a solid shot at a Discover Weekly bump. This is, however, not a hard rule, just a ballpark figure. Likewise, roughly 7,000 to 9,000 streams in the first ~two weeks might trigger Release Radar beyond just your followers and people who already listened to your music.
Keep in mind: these are guidelines, not guarantees. In fact, some artists have landed on Discover Weekly with far fewer streams – even under 1,000, or with an older release without much traction beforehand.
The key takeaway here is that those streams most probably came with excellent engagement metrics (like high save rates, listeners replaying the song, low skips, etc.). Spotify algorithms care more about the quality of interaction in many cases. Before chasing vanity numbers, think about it this way: 100 genuine streams where 50 people saved the song and played it twice or more times is WAYYY better than 5,000 streams with zero saves, replays, or follows.
Bottom line: To impress the Spotify algorithm, you should focus on getting listeners who truly connect with your track – the ones who save it, add it to playlists, and maybe even follow you. Those actions send stronger positive signals than a high play count alone, and the most important window for these signals is, usually, the first few weeks after release – and that’s where a well-planned ad strategy can make a difference.
Running ads for your music might sound intimidating or expensive. The good news is SubmitHub’s Ads feature makes it easy to advertise your music on Instagram and Facebook without needing to master Ads Manager yourself (if you ARE good with ads, though, you should absolutely keep on running them yourself, no need to reinvent the wheel).
You can promote a single song, an album, a profile, or almost anything music-related – or, as the majority does, a playlist – though as we’ll discuss, playlists often perform better (= less expensive, so more streams) for cold audiences. SubmitHub’s ads system streamlines the whole process: you just paste your Spotify song/playlist link, create the landing page, edit if you want, choose some targeting (genres, similar artists, countries), and buy credits you load into the ad campaign… and our team then handles running the actual ads for you. It can be a seven-minute setup if you don’t overthink it.
But why advertise at all? Simply put, to get that initial burst of real listeners and engagement. Spotify’s algorithm “waits” about 1-2 weeks after your song comes out to watch how it’s doing. And if it sees strong engagement in that period, it becomes confident your song could click with more people.
Now, a fair warning: this approach isn’t cheap or magic. It requires some budget and a smart game plan. Even with the same ad budget, each song can have different results: the genre, the country targeting, the song appeal, and pure luck with the algorithm all play a role. There are no guarantees here or exact metrics that will 100% get you on Discover Weekly. However, if you have the resources to invest in a campaign, here’s a strategy we’d recommend (one that balances high-intent listeners with volume and algorithm-friendly variety):
The first prong of the strategy is an ad campaign directly for your song. This means the ad will send people straight to your Spotify track. On SubmitHub, you can set this up by choosing to advertise a “song” rather than a playlist (you’ll just drop the Spotify song URL during the ad creation).
The idea is to attract listeners who are specifically interested in your track. Since you’re putting your music front-and-center, the people who click through are likely genuinely curious about that song/that album. These listeners are more likely to save the track, follow you, or add the song to their own playlists – all high-quality interactions that feed the algorithm.
Such a song-focused campaign prioritizes intentional engagement over sheer numbers, but the downside is that advertising a single track is usually more expensive per conversion than advertising a playlist. Think about it: it’s a bigger ask to get a stranger to check out an unknown artist’s single, versus checking out a cool playlist that just happens to include that artist.
So you might pay a bit more for each click and stream (and get fewer streams in general), but those who do engage with a song ad are often the most interested fans. Budget-wise, expect this to be the priciest of your campaigns – and allocate a bit more here to ensure you’re reaching enough people. If you can, create at least a couple of your own videos to test something more personal as well (here are some ad video content creation tips).
If you have the budget, you might put 30 credits per day into the song-focused campaign, at least for the first week or two of your release. If you don’t have that, 8-10 credits per day is also an ok starting point.
The second prong is where we get crafty: build a Spotify playlist around the mood or theme of your song, and run ads to that playlist. This playlist should be filled with songs that sonically and thematically complement your track. The trick is to make it a playlist that a stranger would want to listen to, not just a promo dump of your own music.
Here’s how to do it: Suppose your new release is a romantic pop ballad. You could create a playlist called “Modern Love Songs for Romantic Souls” (just an example – feel free to get creative, but keep it clear with the name, so no “My Favorite Songs” which a stranger might just not get). Add 30-70 songs that fit the vibe: well-known romantic pop tracks, maybe some classic love songs, and definitely some gems in the same style but from artists roughly your size, too. Curate it like you’re making the ultimate mood mix for a listener who loves this theme. Place your song in the #3-#5 position in the playlist – early enough to be heard soon, but not first (you don’t want to scream “this is my song, please listen!”; it’s more subtle to lead with a very popular track in the #1 spot, then your song next).
Also, if you have other tracks of your own that fit the mood, you can sprinkle them later in the playlist (e.g. at positions 10, 18, 27). This way, listeners drawn into the playlist might encounter more of your music naturally as they continue listening.
When you’re done, promoting such a playlist often yields more clicks for the same budget because you’re advertising a collection of music that promises a whole vibe, and people might even follow and come back to. And since your song is near the top, chances are they’ll hear it in the first few minutes.
Why this helps: Even though some listeners might not realize one of the songs is yours, you’re benefiting in multiple ways. You get streams on your song (volume in the right context and alongside artists you like is good), and if the song truly resonates, you might get saves from it too. Plus, you’ll be growing a playlist of your own with followers – effectively building a channel you control. All those streams and saves coming from a playlist themed around your song’s mood could also signal to Spotify’s algorithm that your track belongs in that context.
So, if many listeners who enjoy “romantic pop” songs (as evidenced by them following this playlist and others like it) are enjoying your track, it reinforces to Spotify that your song is a good fit for similar listeners. That context can only help the algorithm confidently recommend your track to more romance-pop fans down the line.
From a budget perspective, you might run this playlist campaign at around 10-20 credits a day (≈$20/day). To get the volume, maybe don’t be too picky with the countries, but include Tier 1 as well as less pricy regions – e.g., Brazil and Mexico are especially interested in more niche music and can be quite engaged, so are worth including. It should generally get you a lower cost per listener than the song-only ad, so 20/day can go a long way, and less is, of course, also absolutely acceptable, especially if you plan on running this long-term. The goal here is to accumulate a larger number of streams and listeners, even if their intent is a bit lower on average than the song campaign’s audience. It’s a volume play, complementing the high-intent smaller group from step 1.
The third prong is a slight twist on step 2. In addition to the mood-based playlist, consider making another playlist that’s focused on your (sub)genre, and running ads to it. This is more about placing your song in the genre (not mood/vibe) context, which helps Spotify see engagement from the type of listeners who like that genre.
Building on the earlier example, you might create something like “Pop Bangers for a Friday Afternoon” or “Dreamy Indie Pop Mix Vol. 3”. The playlist should still be high-quality and enjoyable on its own – again, around 30-70 tracks mixing bigger hits and representative tracks from that genre (put at least 2 best ones at the start), plus smaller artists’ tracks that all fit that genre and you like (they might end up on your “Fans also like”, or you on theirs. Your song, again, goes near the top (slot #3-#5 will do it). The difference from the mood playlist is that this one is targeting fans of the very specific genre/niche overall.
Run a SubmitHub ad for this genre playlist, with a similar daily budget (around 10-20 credits/day recommended, but again, adjust to your needs). Target it to the same broader (not too broad, but not only crazy picky) regions. Listeners clicking this ad are looking for, say, a fun pop playlist for their Friday, or a dreamy indie pop soundtrack to work to – they’re not explicitly searching for new artists, but they’ll welcome a good song regardless of who the artist is. If your track hits the mark, they might save it or even loop it along with the known songs on the list.
Why do we need a second playlist? Isn’t this redundant? Not really – the two playlists (mood vs. genre) give you two different angles to catch listeners. Some people respond more to a specific mood (e.g., “I want romantic songs right now”), others to a genre collection (“I love indie pop, sure I’ll check this out”). Also, each playlist gives the Spotify algorithm a slightly different clustering of your song.
You might be thinking: This sounds like a lot of campaigns! Indeed, running three campaigns (one song-focused, two playlists) does require a decent budget. If funds are limited, you can scale down – perhaps try just the song campaign and one playlist campaign to start. But if you’re all-in and have resources, doing all three maximizes your chances of both depth (intentional fans) and width (lots of streams).
Here are some practical tips on budgeting and targeting to get the most from SubmitHub Ads:
Triggering a rocket start for a release is not easy and cannot be guaranteed, as it’s mostly in the hands of the algorithms: Meta's, Spotify's, and more. Even with the same budget and strategy, two different songs might see very different outcomes. A lot comes down to the song itself and that mysterious synergy between people’s behaviour and Spotify’s algorithms. What this strategy does is put your best foot forward: by combining direct song promotion (for high-intent engagement) with playlist promotion (for volume and contextual signals), you cover both bases. You get the enthusiastic fans and the big listener sample. In practice, this hybrid approach usually works better than just one or the other. It’s like jumpstarting a car – you need a spark and some fuel.
A couple of parting tips:
Always make sure your Spotify artist profile is in good shape when running a campaign like this. Often, curious listeners will click to see who the artist is. Having a nice bio, photos, and your social links on there can only help convert a casual listener into a fan (and looks more professional as no artist or cover pic and a "blending ethereal soundscape with lush harmonies" ChatGPT bio). The point is to look ready and fan-friendly when people check you out.
And then, keep realistic expectations. No ad campaign can guarantee virality or an algorithm jackpot. What it can do is give your song a fighting chance by delivering those crucial early listeners on a platter. After that, it’s up to the people and the platform. Some songs will catch fire, some will just simmer – and that’s okay. Learn from each release, refine your playlists, tweak your targeting, and above all, continue making music that connects with people.
Even if you don’t hit Discover Weekly this time, you’re building an audience, data, and experience that will serve you in the long run.