Spotify's Fresh Finds Forward: Tools for Tomorrow's Stars

With the industry’s attention turning to the next class of breakout artists, Spotify is proudly touting its Fresh Finds Forward (FFF) program. It’s a vital extension of the streaming service’s Fresh Finds playlist, which has proved an invaluable tool for identifying promising acts before they break.

Indeed, every Best New Artist slate of the last five years has included at least one nominee who was featured in Fresh Finds. We’re talking sombr, Doechii, Japanese Breakfast, Ice Spice, and Wet Leg, not to mention other breakouts like Ella Langley, Laufey, ROLE MODEL, Megan Moroney and Royel Otis, to name a few. More than one in 10 artists generating $100,000+ annually on Spotify today were first playlisted on Fresh Finds.

Now, with FFF, Spotify is helping tomorrow’s stars find the resources they need to succeed. All artists featured on the Fresh Finds playlist are invited to join the program via Spotify for Artists. Once onboarded, they can avail themselves of its offerings for a full year.

This November found Spotify hosting its first Fresh Finds Forward Summit, which gathered 200 or so indie artists for two days of workshops, conversations about careers and community and other useful schmoozing. Future stars learned about songwriting, building a team and the financial literacy required to navigate the industry.

Rapper Isaiah Rashad’s “Ask Me Anything” global livestream was the first piece of the launch, and the Spot has also unveiled “Found on Fresh Finds,” a performance video series. The DSP cultivated this impressive archive by inviting young acts to its L.A. studios, where live renditions were captured—resulting in a superb calling card to represent an artist’s vibe and value proposition.

The platform Spotify is providing for new-artist visibility is often a literal one, as represented by Fresh Finds Live at Brooklyn’s Sounds That Move Festival, Fresh Finds Rooftop at CMA Fest, Fresh Finds Live in Houston and Fresh Finds at FORM Arcosanti.

“Fresh Finds has always been about finding artists at a pivotal moment and helping them reach new audiences at the right time,” reads a quote from Spotify Global Head of Music Content and Partnerships Joe Hadley. “Fresh Finds Forward takes everything we’ve learned from a decade of discovery and builds a support system around it, so participating artists aren’t just getting a playlist placement, they’re getting the benefits, resources, and the community to make the most of that moment.”