For nearly a decade, Spotify has celebrated the Best New Artist nominees, honoring rising voices as they break through to a new stage in their careers. But it’s more than just the songs that stand out. It’s how these artists are adding depth around their music to bring their fans even closer.
We continue to hear from artists about the challenge of breaking through the noise to reach real fans. There’s more music being released each day, discovery on social media often doesn’t convert into listening, and virality rarely translates into sustainable fandom. Now, more than ever, it’s about building fans who go deeper into your music and stay there.
From getting hyped for a new release to spending time with visuals and videos, fans on Spotify have more ways to dive in and stick around longer. That’s what helps you take your fans further.
KATSEYE: When Anticipation Becomes Participation
As pop group, KATSEYE, geared up to release BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, their second EP followed a series of attention-grabbing singles. Fans weren’t just waiting on a release day — they were already involved from the start.
KATSEYE’s Countdown Page gave listeners a place to engage early, and their countdown videos brought the release to life even before day one with ‘behind-the-scenes’ footage from the making of their music videos to their favorite stories behind the tracks. When the EP landed, fans who had already been following along were pulled back in to replay, save, and dig deeper.
In the weeks that followed, the group used Showcase and Marquee to keep the momentum going, bringing listeners back around their priority single “Gabriela” and sustaining engagement with the EP. Instead of moving on, fans spent more time with their music because they had more moments to stay connected.
Overall, their approach earned KATSEYE a Spotify for Artists Marketing Award and showed how a release can become an experience that fans feel part of. As Katerina Miheliuthakis, VP of Revenue at Interscope Capitol put it, “Fans want to engage with their artist as much as possible. Giving them more ways to do that around a release helps turn interest into real connection.”
Olivia Dean: A World Fans Could Step Into
When singer-songwriter and Best New Artist winner, Olivia Dean, released The Art of Loving last fall, she invited fans to explore something much bigger than the music alone. Every track came with a Canvas, while official and live videos offered more ways to experience the songs, including a Live Room performance of “Man I Need”. The album’s Countdown Page, featuring a revealed tracklist, three pre-release singles, countdown videos, and album-themed merch, helped keep listeners close as the release took shape.
That depth resonated. The Art of Loving landed on Countdown Charts as the third most pre-saved album the week of its release, showing how eager fans were to dive into the full album the moment it dropped.
Leon Thomas: When Global Discovery Brings Fans In
After pitching songs from his upcoming EP, PHOLKS, to Spotify editors, singer-songwriter Leon Thomas landed on playlists like RADAR and RNB X, reaching new listeners worldwide. RNB X alone drove nearly 3 million streams, and by the end of the year, Leon’s songs were being streamed in more than 180 countries.
When that kind of reach arrives all at once, it’s crucial to give new listeners more ways to go deeper. For Leon, that meant adding ways to spend more time with his tracks, including a Spotify OUTSIDE performance of “YES IT IS” that let his audience sit with the song instead of moving on.
New tools and features to take your fans further in 2026
1. Bring fans into your creative world
Music videos give fans another way to connect with your songs and another reason to return. Since launching music videos in beta to Premium listeners in more than 100 markets, we’ve seen that people who discover a song with video are more likely to come back, save it, and share it.
Now, we’re expanding how fans find and experience music videos on Spotify, with video-first destinations across mobile, TV, and desktop. Fans can watch editorial video playlists like Today’s Top Videos and soon, personalized video playlists. All music videos delivered to Spotify are eligible for programming in these playlists, unlocking a new discovery and distribution opportunity for artists.
2. Help fans dive into the stories behind your music
Fans don’t just connect with songs. They connect with the people and stories behind them. Features like About the Song and SongDNA will soon give listeners clearer paths into learning more about your creative world, from the ideas that shaped a track to the collaborators who helped bring it to life.
With Spotify for Artists Previews, you and your team can check out these features early, share feedback, and help shape how they show up for listeners. On January 7, we started previewing About the Song with eligible artist teams, and we’re looking forward to starting a Spotify for Artists Preview of SongDNA in the coming weeks.
3. Get clearer insights into who’s really leaning in
Monthly listener counts show how big your audience is, but there’s much more to the story. Some listeners hear a song once. Others save, return, and explore more of your catalog. Focusing on your monthly active listeners helps you understand who’s really choosing your music: the listeners pressing play from their own playlists, your artist profile, or your catalog.
We’re rolling out updates to Spotify for Artists that make it easier to understand your monthly active listeners, and how to better grow that audience over time. You’ll get clearer views into where your most engaged fans are and how listeners develop from first plays into super listeners, so you can plan tours, releases, and next moves with more confidence.
Together, these updates are how we’re helping artists take their fans further, with clearer insight, richer experiences, and more ways to turn listening into lasting connection.