WTF is Spotify’s “Popularity” Score, and Why Does It Matter?

Spotify’s “popularity” score measures how songs and artists stack up relative to others on the platform. Scored from 0 (least popular) to 100 (most popular), this number significantly impacts how Spotify shares music with listeners.

How Spotify Calculates Popularity

Spotify keeps its exact formula under wraps, but here’s what we do know:

• Total Streams: How many times your track was played.
• Recency of Plays: Spotify likely prioritizes recent streams, possibly focusing mostly on the last 28 days -- but this isn’t 100% confirmed.
• Listener Engagement: Actions like saves, playlist adds, shares, and low skip rates probably influence your popularity score.
  
  

Each song gets its own popularity score, while an artist’s overall popularity combines scores from all their tracks. Spotify updates these scores every few days, so changes aren’t immediate.

Why “Popularity” Actually Matters (and Why It Doesn’t)

Spotify’s algorithms use popularity scores heavily to select tracks for playlists like Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Spotify Radio. Here are general benchmarks:

• 10–20 Popularity: Solid chance for initial Spotify Radio placements.
• 20+ Popularity: Higher likelihood for Release Radar placements (only available during your song’s first 28 days).
• 30+ Popularity: Considerably better odds for placement on Discover Weekly.
  
  

Simply put, higher popularity increases the chance Spotify includes your music in personalized playlists and radio stations.

If you don’t care about algorithmic exposure, popularity scores are mostly irrelevant.

How to Maximize “Popularity”

• For Songs: Prioritize promotion in the first 28 days after release to utilize Release Radar, Radio, and Discover Weekly. But don’t stress timing too hard. You can just focus on concentrated promotion in any 28 day window if you miss Release Radio.
• For Artists: Promote multiple tracks at once (custom playlists are perfect for this).
  
  

Focus on Real Engagement

The best way to boost your popularity score sustainably is to find actual fans who save your tracks, add them to playlists, and listen repeatedly without skipping. Conversion campaigns excel at this kind of listener growth.

The 30+ Rule

Aim for a popularity score of 30+. The easier it is to reach and sustain that level, the more worth it is to keep pushing the song. If it’s a struggle to reach or maintain 30, your promotional efforts might be better spent elsewhere.

Use popularity strategically: Promote the songs that naturally gain traction faster—they’ll help you build an audience efficiently.

And remember: “Popularity” is just Spotify’s way of determining algorithmic placements, and those placements only matter if they matter to you!