A recent study from Ditto Music has given us an interesting snapshot of what music promotion for independent artists looks like in 2026, particularly when it comes to finding new fans. For its Independent Music Report 2026, Ditto surveyed 5,039 independent artists across 112 countries. The research looks at everything from income and touring to social media, streaming, discovery and the realities of trying to build a sustainable career independently. There is a lot to unpack, but one part particularly caught our attention at LMSUK:
Where are independent artists actually finding new fans?
- According to Ditto’s research, 67% of artists surveyed said social video platforms were their biggest source of new fans, with TikTok and YouTube accounting for 49%
- By comparison, 17% identified Spotify’s algorithmic or editorial playlists, while just 1% said editorial playlists alone were their biggest source of new fans.
- That doesn’t mean you should stop pitching your music to Spotify.
- It means your music release strategy needs to be bigger than uploading a track, submitting a playlist pitch and waiting for people to find you.
The reality for independent artists
One of the biggest challenges with music promotion for independent artists is that most musicians don’t have unlimited time or money to throw at every release.
Ditto’s study found that money, time and resources continue to be major barriers to turning releases into sustainable careers. In fact, 43% of respondents said better playlist and discovery tools were the single change they most wanted to see, while 41% chose higher streaming royalty rates. So where you spend your limited time and promotional budget matters.
You don’t necessarily need to be everywhere. You need to understand where your potential fans are finding music and build a strategy that gives them a reason to stop.
Where are new music fans coming from?
The biggest takeaway from Ditto’s research is the role social video now plays in music discovery.
67%: Social video platforms combined
49%: TikTok + YouTube
17%: Spotify algorithmic + editorial playlists
1%: Editorial playlists alone
Those figures shouldn’t be read as “social media good, Spotify bad”. They’re showing us that discovery and listening can happen at different stages of the same journey. Someone might discover your band through an Instagram Reel, watch another video, visit your profile and then head over to Spotify or YouTube to listen properly. That is why social media for musicians isn’t simply somewhere to announce that you’ve released a song. It’s increasingly where that first introduction happens.
We’ve talked about this before in our LMSUK guide to social media engagement for musicians: before somebody cares about your release, you have to give them a reason to care about the artist behind it.
Does that mean Spotify playlists don’t matter?
No. There’s another figure in Ditto’s study that’s important here.
- Of the 2,259 artists who had attempted an editorial playlist pitch, 43% said they’d successfully secured a placement.
- But another 43% said they didn’t know how to pitch for editorial playlists at all.
That’s a sizeable knowledge gap. Spotify playlist pitching can still be part of your release strategy. It just shouldn’t be your entire release strategy. A playlist can help amplify a track and put it in front of listeners, but you should also be creating demand around the release yourself.
Give people a reason to discover the song
Think about how you’re currently promoting your music on social media. If most of your campaign looks like:
New single coming soon → Pre-save now → Out Friday → Out now
You’re giving existing fans useful information. But what are you giving somebody who’s never heard of you?
Try building content around things that can introduce both the song and the artist:
- Tell the story behind the track or a particular lyric.
- Use live, rehearsal or studio footage to introduce the music naturally.
- Create short-form video around the strongest moments of the song, not necessarily just the chorus.
- Show some personality so new listeners get to know the people behind the music.
- Connect new releases with older songs and give new fans somewhere to go next.
- Think about your visual identity so the whole release feels connected rather than like a series of unrelated posts.
The aim isn’t to turn musicians into full-time content creators. It’s to create enough opportunities for the right people to come across your music.
Don’t wait until release day to create interest
This is where a good music release strategy becomes important. You can start testing ideas before the track is released.
- Which clips are people watching?
- Which opening hooks make people stop?
- Which posts get shares, saves or comments?
- Are people clicking through to your profile?
- Is one part of the song getting a noticeably stronger reaction than another?
Organic social media gives you the chance to learn what people respond to before you start spending money on advertising. If something is already connecting, you have much more information to work with when deciding what deserves additional promotion.
Social media is the introduction. What happens next matters.
Getting somebody’s attention is only the beginning. Once someone discovers you, make it easy for them to take the next step.
That could be: Watch → Profile → Stream → Follow → Save → Come back
But ultimately you want that journey to go even further.
Discover → Follow → Listen → Buy → Attend → Become a fan
Your Spotify profile, website, mailing list, YouTube channel and social profiles all play different roles within that journey. And opportunities matter too. A stronger online presence can help when you’re applying for gigs, festivals, radio, showcases and other industry opportunities because you’re giving promoters and industry professionals something to discover as well.
That’s one reason LMSUK regularly sources music opportunities for independent artists, including festival applications, radio and podcast submissions, grants, industry networking and other routes to get your music in front of more people through LMSUK Backstage Pass.
Don’t just plan a release. Plan how people will find it.
Before your next release, ask yourself three questions:
- How will somebody who’s never heard of us discover this song?
- What will make them interested enough to listen?
- What do we want them to do once they have?
That’s a much better starting point than simply choosing a release date and hoping a playlist does the rest. Ditto’s latest research gives us some useful data to back that up. Social video is playing a major role in music discovery, while streaming platforms remain an important part of what happens once you’ve got somebody’s attention. Your job is to connect the two.
Planning your next release?
You don’t have to work all of this out from scratch. LMSUK’s Backstage Pass gives independent artists access to music opportunities, festival applications, radio and podcast submission routes, resources, industry networking, grants and exclusive discounts. BackStagePass
And there’s another useful perk if you’re planning your next release:
Backstage Pass members can get 20% off Ditto Music plans.
So you can save on your music distribution while also accessing the tools and opportunities to help you actually promote the release.
And if you’re looking for more places to get your music heard, check the Music Opportunities section inside Backstage Pass, which is updated with festival applications, submissions, grants and other opportunities for independent artists. BackStagePass