Every week thousands of new songs are released on Spotify. Many are well produced, have good lyrics and a competitive sound... and yet they don't grow. They don't get into playlists, they don't gain monthly listeners and they don't generate real revenue.
In 2026, the problem is rarely music quality. The real brake is often in how music is released: distribution, strategy, use of data and lack of understanding of the digital ecosystem.
In this article we explain why many artists are not growing on Spotify, what unseen mistakes are holding them back and what factors do make a difference when it comes to sustained growth.
One of the biggest mistakes in 2026 is to think that if a song is good, Spotify will automatically push it. It doesn't work like that.
Spotify does not reward artistic quality, it rewards user behaviour. The algorithm looks at data such as the number of plays in the first few hours, retention, saves, additions to playlists and repeat listening.
If this data does not arrive, the song remains invisible, even if it is perfectly produced.
Misallocating a song kills it from day one
Many artists believe that distribution is an unimportant technicality. In 2026, this is one of the main reasons why a song doesn't take off on Spotify.
A poorly distributed release can lead to delays, metadata errors, poor indexing on the platform or the song not reaching the algorithm in optimal conditions. The result is simple: the song is born without traction.
Most songs that don't grow don't fail because of a lack of talent, but because no one properly prepared their release into the digital world.
