Hello — Welcome to the latest Spotify Newsletter! Thanks for reading!

Spotify proudly shared this week the big news that Taylor Swift has officially become the first woman to amass an astounding 100 million monthly active listeners.

This is incredible.

I, for the record, am not one of those 100 million listeners. Not one click. Not even by accident.

But my absence has not slowed down the Swift train.

I am not a fan of Tayor Swift’s music. I find it perfectly mediocre. That’s my opinion. In an alternate universe, Neko Case will have 100 million listeners.

That’s my Spotify fantasy.

Even though I have a shrugged shoulders attitude towards Swift’s music, it doesn’t mean I’m not standing tall and saluting her massive success — on the charts, on Spotify, and on her world tour.

It’s impressive.

Aside from the Swift news it was a relatively quiet week out of Spotify headquarters.

There was some relatively silly news regarding Daniel Ek, who shared his “guiding motto” on Twitter, which received a variety of reaction from other business leaders.

I’m planning to set up a featured playlist section in the newsletter, so look for that news coming soon.

Thanks again to everyone who has signed up for the newsletter and enjoys scrolling through my weekly Spotify update. I appreciate the support. Onward and upward.

Have a terrific weekend.

★In the SPOTlight★

⭐️ Spotify Pays Less Than 0.5c Per Stream, and I Don't Care

Since Spotify launched its music streaming service in 2008 there’s been constant shock, fascination and outrage at the amount it pays artists, per stream.

But ultimately the figures have been misunderstood, misappropriated and given far more importance than they deserve.

⭐️ Your statistical chance of being featured on Spotify’s “New Music Friday” playlist is 0.47%

A thread that caught our eye.

Mark Williamson ran the artist services team at Spotify from 2011 to 2018. He’s now the CEO of ROSTR, a modern music industry directory.

⭐️ Taylor Swift Becomes First Female Artist to Hit 100 Million Monthly Spotify Listeners

It’s not a cruel summer after all, as Taylor Swift has become the first female artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners.

🗣 Podcasts 🗣

• Late Night Hosts Join Forces on Spotify Podcast Series to Support Out-of-Work Staffers

▶️ Playlists ▶️

• How To Make a Playlist in the Age of the Algorithm

• Breaking Down The Different Types Of Playlists On Spotify For Casual Listeners And Rising Artists

• Friend Helps Single Guy Pick Date Based On Spotify Playlist

🎧 Streams 🎧

• Bob Marley’s ‘Natural Mystic’ Hits 100 Million Milestone On Spotify

• Shaggy’s ‘Hey Sexy Lady’ Hits 100 Million Streams On Spotify

• Spotify Discovery Mode: The Ultimate Guide For 2023

🎼 Spotify 4 Artists 🎼

• How To Get Your Music on Spotify in 2023

• Why optimizing for followers on Spotify is a fundamental mistake

• Here’s All the Artists, Creators, and Athletes You Can Blend with on Spotify

💡 Tips & Tricks 💡

• How to Use Smart Shuffle on Spotify

🤖 Spot(ai)fy 🤖

• How AI Will Change Spotify Forever

⚽️ Spotify FC ⚽️

• Future Spotify Camp Nou wins International Architecture Award 2023

🖌 Design Notes 🖌

• How to train Spotify's algorithms for your DJ sets

• Audio-based Machine Learning Model for Podcast Language Identification

📝 Ek Notes 📝

• Elon Musk and Mark Cuban hate Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s ‘guiding motto’

🔥 Extra News 🔥

• Why I'm sticking with Spotify despite the price hike

• My favourite Spotify feature is better than ever

• Spotify Rolls out New, Refreshed Widgets for Android

🎵 New Adventures 🎵

Tea For The Tillerman Yusuf / Cat Stevens

Young Girl Sunday Blues Jefferson Airplane

(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right Millie Jackson

Hesitating Beauty Billy Bragg, Wilco

Helen Wheels - Remastered 2010 Wings

Mamma Gilberto Gil

Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me Gladys Knight & The Pips

Bring It On Home To Me The Animals

Change Of Heart Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

📧 Get in touch 📧

If you have a question, idea, request, or simply a desire to chat about Spotify, please email me at jeff.spotifynewsletter@gmail.com.

😀 Have a Nice Weekend! 😀