Before you spend much time thinking about getting your music onto Spotify playlists, you’ll want to mke sure you’re a verified artist on Spotify, which is simple to do (and no longer requires that you have at least 250 followers on the platform).
You don’t NEED to be verified in order to get your songs added to Spotify playlists, of course, but it definitely helps demonstrate to playlist curators that they should take your music more seriously. If you’re active on the platform, they’ll assume you’re also more likely to promote their playlists should they feature your music.
If you aren’t verified as an artist on Spotify yet, go HERE.
[To learn a proven strategy for getting your songs onto more Spotify playlists, download our FREE guide “Getting Your Songs on Spotify Playlists: a streaming success guide for DIY Musicians.” It will take you through a series of achievable steps that will increase your chances of a high-profile playlist placement.]
These are playlists like Your Favorite Coffeehouse and RapCavier where the music is selected by Spotify’s in-house editorial team. These playlists can also have millions of followers.
Because they are Spotify’s most powerful editorial tools, official playlists get promoted like crazy within the platform. No big surprise: they’re also the most coveted placements, so you and every other artist on the planet wants in.
So how do you get the attention of the Spotify editorial team? Well, the old “who-you-know” methods still apply: connected publicists, managers, labels, distributors, digital promotion experts, etc. — people in the industry that have the ear of a Spotify playlist curator or two.
But there’s another way, one that doesn’t require you to have connections or a big promotion budget: start DIY, get your songs onto lots of smaller playlists, and begin teaching Spotify’s algorithm to be on the lookout for more song activity from you.
The more activity your songs get, and in particular, the more your songs are added to playlists, the more likely it becomes that Spotify’s editorial team will take notice.
This playlist activity also increases your chances of being added to…
Spotify automatically generates two personalized playlists for users: Discover Weekly and Release Radar. While most of the industry is focused on getting official playlist placements, algorithmic playlists are actually driving far more streams, according to Spotify UK’s Bryan Johnson, and THIS is really where DIY artists should be spending their energy.
The more followers you have on Spotify, the more times someone saves your song to their queue, library, or playlists, the better your song’s chances of being added to either of these personalized playlists:
This is why it’s crucial to get your fans to follow you on Spotify since your releases can be automatically added to your followers’ Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists. The more followers you have, the more fans who’ll never miss out on your new tunes. The more people who enjoy a new release early on, the more Spotify will serve that music up on more algorithmic playlists.
These are Spotify playlists managed by third parties, such as Pitchfork, or major-label playlists such as Topsify.
Most branded playlists will try to strike a balance between established artists and emerging artists as a way of achieving tastemaker stature — so don’t count yourself out of the running for a branded playlist, even if you’re not signed to or otherwise directly affiliated with the entity that created the playlist.
Just what they sound like: you create them, you promote them, and (assuming you’re verified) you feature them on your artist discography page!
You’ll have plenty of chances to create playlists using your own music (Greatest Hits, set lists, etc.). But it’s also good to curate a list of other artists’ songs and then include one of your own songs in the bunch. That way your playlist can have a broader appeal beyond your existing audience, and you’ll still have a chance to make some new fans if they like your song.
For example, here’s one of my playlists, “Lyrics in the Limelight”:
Please follow if you dig! Dig?
The audience for your playlists is dependent on the reach of your promotion, the size of your social and email followings, how well you use keywords in the name and description of your playlists (for searchability), and selecting smart hashtags when you share the playlist on Instagram or Twitter.
Curating your own playlists can be great not only for connecting with existing fans, but for deepening your relationship with your music scene and other artists because you can trade playlist placements; “I put your song on my list — you put my song on yours.”
Which brings us to…
These could be playlists run by any of Spotify’s millions of users, including other artists, bloggers, or fans.
Google “Spotify playlist” along with your genre and you’re bound to find dozens if not hundreds of really top-notch playlists that are curated by music enthusiasts who are happy to include lesser known artists in the mix.
As always, be polite, follow their playlists, like them on social, engage first, and THEN make your song pitch. If they do add you to their playlist, thank them and share it like crazy. That will increase your chances of them adding another of your songs to their playlists in the future.
Anyone on Spotify can opt to create a playlist that’s “collaborative,” meaning any follower of the playlist can alter the list, add or delete songs, change the song order, etc.
Here’s one you can add your song to right now:
Please be kind: follow first and only add one track!
If you want to take a deep dive into how to make the most of your music on Spotify, specifically through playlists, download our FREE guide “Getting Your Songs on Spotify Playlists.”
Got any Spotify insights to share? What’s worked for you on the platform? Let me know in the comments!
The post The 6 primary types of Spotify playlists that can feature your song appeared first on DIY Musician Blog.
