Stay Ahead: Music Industry Insights Oct 2024

Stay up-to-date with the latest enhancements from major DSPs and social platforms. These updates offer new tools and features to help artists and creators expand their reach, engage fans, and deepen their connection with audiences.

Apple Music

Apple Music for Artists now offers a Set List feature, letting you turn concert set lists into playlists. Share these Set Lists on Apple Music and social media to build anticipation for upcoming shows, let fans relive concert memories, and deepen connections with your audience.

Key Features:

Create a Set List Playlist: Upload your artist image for the playlist cover and connect your Bandsintown account to automatically pull in upcoming show dates.

Add Tracks and Customize: Include songs performed live, organize them to reflect your show, and set a release date for when the playlist goes live on Apple Music.

Promote Your Set Lists: Share Set Lists across social platforms from the Artists app, letting fans who missed the live show feel part of the experience.

Discoverability: Set Lists are visible on your artist profile on Apple Music and Shazam, enhancing fan discovery through events pages and the Shazam app.

Set Lists make it easy to keep fans engaged with your music, both on and off stage.

More info on Apple Music for Artists.

Instagram and Spotify Integration

Meta launched the global Spotify integration on October 17, allowing users to add songs discovered on Instagram directly to their “Liked Songs” on Spotify. This feature builds on last year’s test.

To access the feature, users must first link their Spotify account to their Instagram profile. Once connected, saved songs will appear in both the ‘Liked Songs’ playlist and the ‘Your Library’ tab on Spotify. The integration is available to both iOS and Android users.

Additionally, Meta is testing “Listening Now Notes” in select countries, enabling users to share what they’re listening to on Spotify through IG Music Notes.

Instagram

Instagram has introduced an in-app best practices hub, offering creators personalized tips, educational reels, and guidance on growing audience engagement, reach, and monetization. Topics include content creation insights, posting frequency, and tips for maximizing reach.

More info in the Professional Dashboard.

TikTok

TikTok has launched the ‘Share to TikTok’ feature, allowing users to share music, podcasts, and audiobooks from Apple Music and Spotify directly to TikTok. Users can post content to their TikTok Feed or send it via DMs, linking back to the original DSP for seamless discovery and engagement.

More info on TikTok Newsroom.

Spotify

Spotify now provides an offline playlist automatically when you lose internet access, ensuring uninterrupted listening wherever you are.

Spotify has also expanded support for music videos across 97 markets, giving artists a powerful new way to engage fans. Fans can now switch to video in the Now Playing view or access videos via artist profiles and search.

More info on Spotify for Artists.

Qobuz

Qobuz has introduced the most affordable student subscription available, making high-fidelity streaming more accessible for young listeners.

Qobuz has also launched its high-fidelity streaming and download service in Japan, marking a significant expansion into the Asian market.

More info on Qobuz.

YouTube

Creators on YouTube can now remove specific rule-breaking elements from their videos, streamlining compliance and content quality.

YouTube Shorts now allows videos up to 3 minutes, includes new editing tools, and offers “Collab” features for side-by-side video creation.

Additional features, such as collaborative playlists, fan badges, and a sleep timer, enhance viewer engagement and personalization.

More info on YouTube Blog.

Audiomack

Audiomack has achieved a significant milestone, now reaching 10 million active users. This growth underscores Audiomack’s rising popularity and influence as a music streaming platform, especially for emerging artists.

More info on Music Ally.