How Does Spotify Monthly Listeners Work: Quick Guide

Matic Magister

Aug 5, 2025

Understanding how Spotify tracks monthly listeners is crucial for anyone in the music business. From independent artists to label executives, this metric offers a clear snapshot of an artist's reach. So, let’s break down exactly , and why it's one of the most important metrics on the platform.

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What Are Monthly Listeners on Spotify?

Spotify defines "monthly listeners" as the total number of unique users who have streamed an artist's music in the past 28 days. These listeners can come from two types of sources:

• Active sources, like directly playing a song, searching for an artist, or listening from their saved library.
• Programmed sources, such as editorial playlists, algorithm-driven playlists (like Discover Weekly or Release Radar), and Spotify Radio.

It’s important to note that this number resets every day and reflects the rolling 28-day window. So, if a user listened to a song on July 1st, they would count in the monthly listener count until July 28th. If they don’t listen again, they drop off.

Unlike total streams, which count every play, monthly listeners give insight into the breadth of an artist’s audience — how many different people are engaging with their music.

Why Monthly Listeners Matter for A&Rs and Labels

For A&R reps at record labels, monthly listeners are one of the first indicators of an artist's market potential. Here are a few ways labels use the metric in practice:

1. Scouting Emerging Talent

If an unsigned artist suddenly sees a sharp rise in monthly listeners, it's a strong signal that something is resonating. A consistent growth pattern over several weeks can point to viral momentum or successful playlist placements.

2. Evaluating Campaign Impact

Labels and managers use monthly listeners to evaluate if a recent release or promotional push is working. A jump in listeners following a new single or playlist placement confirms traction.

3. Comparative Benchmarking

Monthly listeners also allow teams to benchmark artists against similar acts. Comparing two artists in the same genre and region can help make data-informed signing or collaboration decisions.

Why You Need a Professional Analytics Tool

While Spotify for Artists offers some of these insights, professionals in the music business often need a broader, scalable view. That's where Viberate comes in.

Spotify Analytics of 11M+ Artists

Viberate provides a massive database of Spotify stats – covering over 11 million artists. You can monitor monthly listeners, playlisting, followers, and streaming performance for virtually any artist.

Streaming Stats in One Place

Instead of switching between tools, Viberate gives you:

• Monthly listeners trends
• Song-by-song performance breakdown
• Follower growth and ratios

Audience Geolocation

Get a map-based view of where monthly listeners are coming from. Promote to cities and countries where the artist already has traction.

Playlist Analytics

Dive deep into an artist’s playlist placements. See which playlists are driving the most plays, and identify new opportunities to pitch songs.

Charts for Talent Discovery

Use customizable charts to sort trending artists by genre, country, or follower range. Add filters for hotness, rank, or growth speed.

Features That Give You a Competitive Edge

Here are just a few standout tools Viberate offers to better understand and act on Spotify data:

• Spotify monthly listeners tracker: See historical data, compare with industry averages, and monitor follower growth.
• Song-level performance: View and sort every Spotify track by release date, daily streams, or long-term performance.
• Conversion metrics: Analyze streams-to-listener or listener-to-follower ratios.
• Collaboration insights: Find artists with overlapping audiences and similar growth curves to plan collabs or lineups.

Conclusion

Understanding how Spotify monthly listeners work gives you an edge in evaluating artist performance. But if you’re serious about using this data professionally, tools like Viberate take your insight further. With Spotify stats across 11M+ artists, detailed audience breakdowns, and real-time charts, Viberate is your shortcut to smarter, data-driven decisions in the music business.

Visit to try it for yourself.