ACTUAL Promos And Deals

[KillJoyfatty]

  It’s crazy to me how Spotify handles promos. I have two accounts that are practically identical in how I use them, yet Spotify offered a promotional discount on one and completely excluded the other—and of course, it’s the excluded account where the promo would actually be useful. This rigid, all-or-nothing approach leaves willing users hanging and completely misses how modern retail works.

Go to any major website like Walmart or Amazon, and you immediately see general-use promo codes right there on the screen to get you through the digital door. Yet Spotify completely ignores this. Right now, if you search online for a promo code, they don't exist for the general public. You almost always already have to have an active account or hit some hidden background criteria to get a deal. By locking promos away and ignoring general-use codes, Spotify is cutting out a massive potential market of people who haven't even signed up yet.

Instead of hiding discounts, Spotify needs a general-use promo code that anyone can find on a web browser or see in an advertisement—a hook to pull brand-new users onto the platform by trading their time for access.

If a non-user wants to try Premium, they should be able to earn it with their attention before committing to a subscription. Here is the general idea:

* The Challenge: A browser-based landing page challenges potential new users to listen to a set number of tracks (e.g., 10 songs) from a curated pool of emerging or independent artists.
* The Verification: To keep it honest, the system tracks that the tracks are played completely from start to finish without skipping, ensuring real ears on the music.
* The Payoff: Completing the session unlocks a general-use promo code for a free trial or a heavy discount on their first few months of Premium.

This is a bulletproof loop. Emerging artists get guaranteed, unskipped plays from fresh audiences who have never heard them before. New users get a tangible, earned incentive to finally check out the platform. Spotify captures a massive, untapped market of people who were sitting on the fence, driving daily active engagement up from day one.

People want value, and Spotify needs ears on new music. Connecting the two through a public, browser-accessible attention model is a massive missed revenue stream. 

Honestly, this entire pitch only happened because I was 🤬 off about my own account getting 🔩out of a discount. But petty spite aside, I genuinely think this idea has serious merit and untapped potential. (I even bothered to have Gemini proofread before I posted, that means I'm serious 💯)

#promo #progress #new #newartists #initiative #attention 

[Mystery3]

Great idea but I don't think they'll ever read this

[ＢＩＯＨＡＺＡＲＤ]

Great idea but look at the dates on these, they'll never look at it

[PEPsiC0la]

Hey @KillJoyfatty, great idea! My two-cents on this is that Spotify does not generally prioritise new/emerging artists on its platform (there are many discussions about this online and on social media, so I won't go into it here), so there would really be no incentive for Spotify to have such a campaign, and it would be hard to make a business case for it.

In practical terms, Spotify offers new accounts a standard intro offer of 1 month free (although sometimes intro campaigns that offer up to 3 months). The reason one of your accounts probably didn't get the intro offer is because it had already redeemed an offer in the past. I believe that you can reach out to Spotify Customer Support and they will be able to confirm this on their end (as well as which offer was used).

Depending on the region you are in, there are third-party offers for a number of free months of Spotify Premium, but that's dependent on where you are. You can search the web using terms such as "Spotify free trial promo premium" to see if there are any available in your country (for example, Microsoft offers a 3-month free trial for new subscribers in the US). However, note that you won't be able to activate the offer if your account has already redeemed one in the past.

Hope that helps! I'm happy to answer any other questions you have about free trials, just let me know 🙂

[KillJoyfatty]

I have to disagree harshly with your argument on this, as I think any company competing in a saturated marketplace like Spotify's current situation should be looking at any means available at all to increase their share of it. To say there's no incentive to gain new users is to say Spotify is a dead app.

In a boardroom atmosphere, if I was to hear a member of my team say, "No need to get new users trying the app," I'd have an intern on standby to help them clean out their desk.

Let's look at how actual growth works. Code and 'special' offers that make someone feel like they're receiving a chance to join with an offer that gives bragging rights, or ANY motivation at all in this direction, should be treated as a gift from God. Platforms like Spotify rely heavily on high customer retention numbers after that initial use, so getting them through the door with something that feels exclusive is the entire battle.

Then there is the massive, untapped engine of the independent community. Giving new artists a direct opportunity to fuel their own growth by bringing their existing circles onto the platform is a massive win-win. When an artist can look at their network and say, "Hey, use this specific code to get on Spotify, listen to my track, and support my music," it transforms the creator into an organic marketing force.

If a platform actually implemented a system specific to that—where the acquisition strategy directly leverages the hustle of emerging artists to bring in their friends and fans—it would create a massive boon in new users. You don't just sit back and ignore the influx of new blood; you build the tools that let the user base grow itself.

[PEPsiC0la]

Hey @KillJoyfatty, I read your reply and I appreciate you took the time to outline your argument.

I guess where I disagree with you is the premise that Spotify can increase their MAUs and subscriptions by creating a platform that is more inviting of emerging/independent artists and their fans. This is because this subset of artists simply don't bring in nearly as much money/attention as the top 100 artists.

It's no coincidence that one of the biggest complaints about Spotify lately is that it's a bad platform for discovering new artists and music. This is by design, because Spotify has done the math and knows that there is no business case for making the platform friendlier to new artists with under 100,000 followers/monthly listeners. Of course, it would be incredible for those artists and their fans if it did, but Spotify doesn't care about that, or indeed the 95% of artists that are struggling to make a proper living off their platform. I know I don't have the exact numbers right, but I doubt I'm far off.

Fortunately, there are now alternatives to Spotify where artists can reach their fans more directly and do not rely on streaming numbers, but instead on merch and physical sales (CD/vinyl/tape) or digital downloads (e.g. on Bandcamp) and also ticket sales, if the artist can afford to go on tour, which they often can't because it's becoming increasingly expensive when you don't have label support.

We can agree to disagree. I think what's great about this Community is that new and emerging artists have a place here where they can post their music in the Chat section (specifically in the Discovery & Promo board). There is even a regular feature called "Artists Wanted" where artists can submit a song released within the last year for the chance to gain exposure in the Community.

Do share any other thoughts you have on the subject, I'll be interested to read them.