Spotify Kings and Queens

Katalina Garber, Page Editor

Platforms such as YouTube and SoundCloud are popular sites for many artists to publish their music for free, but some Amador musicians have also began to put their music on Spotify.

“I decided to put my music on Spotify because some people had been asking me to do it, and I thought it’d be a great way to get my music out there to more listeners,” said Lauryn Hedges (‘20).

Singer and songwriter Lauryn Hedges, also known as Lauryn Marie, joined Spotify last year and currently has 11,348 monthly listeners. Previously, she only put her music on Bandcamp, another free music platform where people can listen to an artist’s music, decide if they like it, and then pay them for it.

“Spotify is great because people don’t have to watch a video in order to listen to the song and it’s a lot easier to just stream the song than go through the whole Bandcamp purchasing process. However, even though it’s not quite as convenient, Bandcamp is the best way to support musicians directly! I also have my music on Apple Music, which I actually use, but I feel like Spotify is better for artists,” said Hedges.

One unique feature about Spotify is that it creates playlists for its users based off of their listening history. These playlists help users to discover new artists who are similar to what they typically listen to every week and they also help lesser known artists gain listeners.

Dalynn Miller is another Amador musician who has benefitted from this particular feature of the streaming service.

“I know that a majority of people would have never listened to my music if it weren’t for it popping up on their discover playlists or their release radar. I can attribute 99% of my streams to Spotify’s algorithm,” said Dalynn Miller (‘21).

Currently, Dalynn has 20,354 monthly listeners and has released two singles on her page, “thrifted youth” and “it rains in nyc”. These songs are also featured on her YouTube channel.

One other Amador group that also has music on Spotify is a rap group named 2syd.

Since Spotify is used daily by so many people, artists now have access to an easy way to expand their following and to share their talents with different communities around the world.

Check out these Amador musicians on Spotify and look out for them in your playlists!