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LinkedIn · Derrick McMichael II

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Spotify opening direct music video uploads is bigger than "cool, another content format."

To me, it is another sign that the artist funnel is collapsing into fewer platforms. Discovery, streaming, video, ticketing, merch signals, fan notifications, all of it is starting to live closer together. Spotify also just moved deeper into ticketing with reserved ticket access in the US through Live Nation.

That should make independent artists pay attention.

Not because Spotify is magically going to save everybody. It won't. No platform is going to care about your career more than you do. But when a platform starts connecting music videos, listener behavior, and live-event demand, that becomes data you can use if you are organized enough to capture the signal.

A video view by itself is still a vanity metric. A stream by itself can be a vanity metric too, depending on what happens next. But when you can connect that attention to saves, repeat listeners, email signups, merch buyers, ticket buyers, and brand proof, now we're talking about something that can actually help an artist make a living from their music.

This is why I keep pushing artists to stop thinking in random posts and start thinking in funnels. Top of funnel is attention. Mid-funnel is trust. Bottom of funnel is revenue. The platforms keep changing the packaging, but that part does not really change.

If Spotify gives you another surface, use it. But don't just upload the video and hope. Build the next step around it. What are you asking the fan to do after they watch? Where are you sending your most engaged listeners? How are you proving demand to venues, sponsors, or partners?

That is where the opportunity is.

What would you want from Spotify next: better fan data, better merch tools, or better direct-to-fan messaging?

#IndependentMusic #MusicMarketing #Spotify #ArtistDevelopment #LOUDmusic

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Post ID: 449ca7c0…Platform: LinkedInLast synced: 6/26/2026, 1:54:44 AM

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