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Spotify<\/a><\/strong> has launched Fresh Finds Forward<\/strong>, a program that will take on approximately 10,000<\/strong> emerging independent artists a year and give each of them 12<\/strong> months of benefits.<\/p>\n Those benefits include free studio time in the US<\/strong>, premium subscriptions to music software, and six months of free therapy, according to Spotify<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The program was announced on Thursday (September 17<\/strong>) and is built around the company\u2019s Fresh Finds<\/strong> playlists.<\/p>\n Eligibility is retroactive to January 1, 2026<\/strong>: artists added to a Fresh Finds<\/strong> playlist from that date onward are invited to join through Spotify for Artists<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The 12<\/strong> months run from the point an artist is onboarded.<\/p>\n The company said in May 2025<\/strong> that more than 18,000 artists from 127 countries were featured<\/a> on Fresh Finds<\/strong> playlists in 2024<\/strong> alone \u2013 well above the roughly 10,000<\/strong> a year it expects to take into the new program.<\/p>\n Spotify<\/strong> has not said how it will narrow that field.<\/p>\n Free studio time is limited to US<\/strong>-based artists, at studios including Electric Lady Studios<\/strong> in New York, The Lighthouse at Ocean Way Nashville<\/strong>, and Spotify Studios<\/strong> in Los Angeles. The company has not said whether the program\u2019s other benefits are available in every market.<\/p>\n Participants also receive early access to select Spotify<\/strong> tools and features, plus prioritized access to tour or music video partnerships with the company.<\/p>\n The package covers premium access to LANDR<\/strong> Studio Pro and Splice<\/strong>\u2019s Creator plan, and mental health and wellness resources that include six months of free therapy through BetterHelp<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Artists in the program also get a Fresh Finds<\/strong> badge on their Spotify<\/strong> artist profile, which the company says signals editorial recognition.<\/p>\n Spotify<\/strong> is running in-person and virtual events that connect participants with its own staff and Fresh Finds<\/strong> alumni.<\/p>\n \u201cFresh Finds has always been about finding artists at a pivotal moment and helping them reach new audiences at the right time,\u201d said Joe Hadley<\/strong>, Spotify<\/strong>\u2019s VP of Global Music Content and Partnerships. \u201cWe spent years listening to what independent artists actually need, and those conversations shaped what this program would become.<\/p>\n \u201cFresh Finds Forward<\/strong> takes everything we\u2019ve learned from a decade of discovery and builds a support system around it, so participating artists aren\u2019t just getting a playlist placement, they\u2019re getting the benefits, resources, and the community to make the most of that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresh Finds<\/strong> playlists are curated by Spotify<\/strong>\u2019s editors, who select independent, unsigned, and early-career artists across genres and markets.<\/p>\n The company said in that May 2025<\/strong> announcement that more than 30 editors work on the playlists<\/a>, which run from a flagship list to more than a dozen genre editions.<\/p>\n Spotify<\/strong> says the playlists have helped more than 80,000<\/strong> artists reach new listeners over more than a decade.<\/p>\n \u201cFresh Finds Forward<\/strong> takes everything we\u2019ve learned from a decade of discovery and builds a support system around it, so participating artists aren\u2019t just getting a playlist placement, they\u2019re getting the benefits, resources, and the community to make the most of that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Hadley<\/strong>, Spotify<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Laufey<\/strong>, Clairo<\/strong>, ROLE MODEL<\/strong>, Ethel Cain<\/strong>, Ella Langley<\/strong>, Megan Moroney<\/strong>, Royel Otis<\/strong>, and Omar Apollo<\/strong> were all featured on Fresh Finds<\/strong> before they built their current audiences, according to the company.<\/p>\n Spotify<\/strong> says Fresh Finds<\/strong> alumni have been nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards<\/strong> for five consecutive years, among them sombr<\/strong>, Doechii<\/strong>, Japanese Breakfast<\/strong>, Ice Spice<\/strong>, and Wet Leg<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Spotify<\/strong> says the playlists have driven more than 128 million<\/strong> new artist discoveries since 2024<\/strong>. In 2024<\/strong>, nearly 70%<\/strong> of Fresh Finds<\/strong> streams represented a listener hearing an artist for the first time.<\/p>\n More than half of artists first added to Fresh Finds<\/strong> are later added to other editorial playlists such as New Music Friday<\/strong>, RapCaviar<\/strong>, or Lorem<\/strong>, the company says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen our editors feature an emerging, independent artist on a playlist, it can be a springboard for visibility that brings new listeners and new opportunities,\u201d Spotify<\/strong> said in its announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd with the connections, community, and know-how we have at Spotify<\/strong>, Fresh Finds Forward<\/strong> is how we turn that moment of discovery into something bigger, putting dedicated resources behind these artists to help them grow.\u201d<\/p>\n More than one in 10 artists generating over USD $100,000<\/strong> a year on Spotify<\/strong> were first playlisted within its Fresh Finds<\/strong> ecosystem, according to the Loud & Clear report the company published in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n That is more than 1,600<\/strong> of the 13,800<\/strong> artists who generated six figures from the platform last year \u2013 before labels, distributors, and publishers take their cuts.<\/p>\n Sam Duboff<\/strong>, Spotify<\/strong>\u2019s Global Head of Marketing & Policy, Music Business, told MBW<\/em> in March that artists\u2019 royalties and listenership on average \u201cmore than doubles\u201d in the year after they are added to a Fresh Finds<\/strong> playlist.<\/p>\n The same report put the number of professional or aspiring professional artists on Spotify<\/strong> globally at approximately 250,000<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Spotify<\/strong>\u2019s royalty rules require a track to reach at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months<\/a> before it generates royalties, a threshold that took effect in April 2024<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Fresh Finds Forward<\/strong> follows other moves by Spotify<\/strong> to build programs around its editorial playlist brands.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the company and Live Nation<\/a> Urban<\/strong> announced a one-day R&B festival<\/a> built around its RNB X<\/strong> playlist, with Erykah Badu<\/strong> and H.E.R.<\/strong> on the bill.<\/p>\n It has also taken Fresh Finds<\/strong> itself off the app before, staging live events with Samsung<\/strong> in Chicago<\/strong> and New York<\/strong> in 2024<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Notifications will begin rolling out to eligible artists through Spotify for Artists<\/strong> on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n