5 Ways Independent Artists Can Use Their Data to Build an Audience

Releasing music is only the beginning. Once a track is out in the world, it can find its way onto playlists, across radio stations, into DJ sets and into social media videos. Each moment can introduce your music to someone new.

With activity happening across so many platforms, it can be difficult to see the bigger picture. Which tracks are gaining momentum? Where are your listeners? Who is supporting your music, and how can you build on that support?

Songstats brings your music data together in one place, helping you understand what is happening across your releases and turn those insights into your next opportunity. Here are five ways to use it to grow your audience and build your career.

1. Discover playlists that can introduce your music to new listeners

Playlists are an important part of music discovery, helping listeners find new tracks alongside the artists and sounds they already enjoy. The right placement can introduce your music to a relevant audience and give your release another opportunity to gain momentum.

How to check it: Your goal here is to find playlists that have had a positive impact for you before. Open your artist profile or an individual track in Songstats and explore the playlists supporting your music, listed in Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and others. Look at the curators, follower counts and track positions, and pay attention to the genres, moods and artists appearing alongside you. Playlist Journey lets you follow how support for a track develops over time and across platforms.

You can cross-reference playlist activity with other data. For example, an addition might coincide with a significant increase in playlist reach, followed by a rise in streams or monthly listeners in a particular city.

Put it into action: Once you have identified playlists that have been a good fit for your music, reach out to their curators to thank them for their support and share a new release they might enjoy. Building those relationships can lead to continued support over time.

To discover new opportunities, head to Marketing, then Playlists, where you can find playlists that the Songstats algorithm recommends for your sound. Explore the playlists and listen to the music they feature to see whether your track is a good fit. You can then pitch to participating playlists via DailyPlaylists. Use the data you have gathered previously to create stronger, better aligned pitches.

2. Find out where your audience is growing

Your music can travel far beyond your local scene. You might discover a growing audience in a city you have never played or a country you had not considered in your promotional plans.

How to check it: Open Audience on your Songstats artist profile and explore your listeners and followers by city and country. Look at the locations where you already have an audience and check back over time to spot markets that are growing.

A city with a large listener base may be an established market, while a smaller city showing consistent growth could be an opportunity worth exploring. Compare what you see with other activity, such as playlist additions, radio support or Shazam growth in that area. These signals can help you investigate what is happening, even if they do not explain the cause on their own.

Put it into action: If you notice growing interest in a particular city, consider testing a small targeted campaign, connecting with local artists, or approaching relevant promoters and venues. Share content that speaks to listeners in that area and encourage them to follow your profile or join your mailing list. Streaming listeners do not automatically translate into ticket buyers, so look for other signs of demand before committing to a show.

3. Build on your momentum

Understanding where your music is gaining momentum can help you focus your promotion and make more strategic decisions about this release and your next one.

How to check it: On your artist profile, head to Analytics, select Overview, then open Momentum. The Recent Movement view brings together activity across sources over seven, 28 and 90 days, including daily averages and comparisons with the previous equivalent period. Depending on your available data, you can see signals such as streams, radio plays, video views, Shazams and DJ support.

Explore other Momentum views, including Growth Drivers and Supporters, to investigate different signals around your music. Then open individual tracks and review their historical performance and activity.

In Songstats, the easiest way to stay on top of your momentum is to check your Activity Feed and set up push notifications. Songstats monitors your music and lets you know when something worth knowing happens, whether it is a playlist add, a chart entry, DJ support or a radio play.

Put it into action: Use your insights to build on what is happening now. If a track is gaining playlist support, radio plays or DJ support, share the moment with your audience using Songstats sharing artworks, create content around the track and reach out to the people supporting it. You could also test promotion in a market where your audience is growing. As you plan your next release, use those insights to decide where to focus your pitching, content and promotion.

4. Turn key supporters into lasting relationships

A playlist add, radio play, DJ support or UGC video can represent a person or team who chose to share your music. Those moments can be the beginning of relationships that support your career beyond a single release.

How to check it: Keep an eye on your Songstats Activity Feed and notifications for notable playlist placements, radio plays, DJ and influencer support. In each source you will see the most notable achievement, such as Top Creators on Instagram or Top Playlists on Spotify. Click on the playlist or track for a deeper dive into its performance as well as historical support.

Put it into action: If a radio station has been playing your track repeatedly, introduce yourself, thank them for the support and ask whether they would be interested in hearing a future release. As the relationship develops, there may be opportunities for an interview, a guest mix or a premiere.

Similarly, if an influencer has used your music in an Instagram video, take time to understand their content and audience, then reach out with a genuine thank you. If there is a natural fit, explore a collaboration around a future release or a longer-term partnership. Start with the relationship and offer an idea that works for both of you.

5. Leverage AI to analyse your Songstats data

The Songstats MCP lets you plug your music data into an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Claude or Grok. You can ask questions in everyday language and use your data to compare releases, summarise changes across platforms, investigate audience growth and identify potential opportunities.

How to connect it: Set it up from the Songstats MCP page.

Put it into action: Ask your AI assistant to explore your audience and identify the people who are supporting your music. For example:

• "Where has my audience grown the most over the last 90 days, and which markets should I explore for future shows or promotion?"
• "Which DJs, radio stations and playlist curators have supported my music most over the last six months?"

Use the answers to investigate promising markets and build a list of supporters to connect with. Ask follow-up questions about the dates and the data behind the results, then use what you learn to plan your next steps.

Last tip: understand your social content with Socialstats

Social media is an important place for music discovery, fan engagement and keeping listeners connected between releases. Socialstats, available with bundle plans, helps you analyse your social channels and the performance of individual posts across platforms including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. Explore which content attracts attention and engagement, identify the themes or formats that resonate with your audience, and use those insights to guide what you create next.