Spotify’s Fresh Finds Program Is a Pledge to Independent Artists
Music streaming can often be a dilemma for up-and-coming artists. It’s incredibly difficult to have a ‘break through’ moment unless you have impressive streaming numbers, but it’s a challenge to achieve those numbers unless you’ve had a breakthrough moment. Sometimes, however, it’s about getting your song in the right place at the right time.
If this was so easy, every independent artist would be doing it. That’s where Spotify comes in. Our Fresh Finds playlist is a great way to showcase emerging artists and make them accessible to our millions of listeners. This playlist has been live since 2016, but now has ten accompanying playlists for specific genres, like Latin and Experimental artists. Over 25,000 musicians have been featured so far; for many of them, this was the starting point that helped them jumpstart their careers.
But this blog isn’t about our Fresh Finds playlist — although you should check it out. As part of our commitment to supporting independent artists, we recently launched the Fresh Finds program. It’s the successor to our playlist, but is more hands-on. Through Spotify’s Fresh Finds program, we work directly with developing artists to give them the tools, training, and resources that will help them find long-term success in music.
Artists who are enrolled in the program will gain six to eight weeks of mentorship with Spotify members, as well as access to a customized Masterclass to better understand how to use our tools on Spotify for Artists. Artists will also have the opportunity to collaborate with producers and other songwriters, which Spotify will set up through our Songwriter and Publishing Relations team. At the end of the six to eight week program, all of the artists will release a Spotify Singles track. To get fans hyped up about the release, the process will be documented on social media so everyone can follow along and see the songs come to life.
Spotify has chosen four independent artists who will be the first to trial our Fresh Finds program. You can learn more about them here, but here’s a brief introduction:
Wallice
Wallice started writing songs in middle school, but is now ready to take her musical career to the next level. Her music has a sweet, nostalgic sound with a rowdy edge. In 2020, she released her first single, Punching Bag, which was inspired by some of her favorite artists.
Unusual Demont
Unusual Demont started out as a rapper, but has now transitioned to a more eclectic pop sound, which fans can experience in his first single, Amber. As part of the Fresh Finds program, Unusual Demont will be collaborating with Kieran Watters.
Julia Wolf
A New York City native, Julia Wolf is a visual artist who is already carving out a path for herself in the pop world. She released her first single, Hoops, in 2019, which shows off her piano skills and songwriting capabilities. Julia will be paired with songwriter and producer Jackson Foote as part of the Fresh Finds program.
EKKSTACY
EKKSTACY turned to music after a rough childhood to process and share his thoughts and feelings. He describes his music as a combination of indie, synth, and post-punk, which fans can hear in one of his popular tracks, i walk this earth all by myself. He will get to collaborate with Jonny Pierce, who is a member of The Drums.
Our Fresh Finds program is just a start to the legacy we are working to build, which is centered around our commitment to helping independent artists put themselves and their music out there on center stage. But this is also a commitment to our listeners as well. We want to push them outside of their comfort zones, while still introducing them to new artists that fit the sounds they already love.