Over the previous few years, playlisting has change into the music advertising technique everybody within the impartial music scene talks about. It was overvalued as one of many golden keys to Spotify.
The momentum behind playlist advertising created an entire financial system round playlisting. Curators who as soon as made playlists for enjoyable started turning them into aspect hustles (or full-blown companies).
Some took the excessive street: operating advertisements, constructing actual communities round their playlists, and genuinely supporting indie artists. Others? Not a lot. Bot farms, shady practices, and pretend streams began creeping in beneath the radar. Some playlists with a whole lot of hundreds of followers have been ghost cities, inflated by bots that might drive low-quality site visitors from cities the place followers didn’t exist.
At this level, many artists have been burned by shady playlists or intermediary providers charging per submission. They paid for placements, obtained sketchy outcomes, and ended up with inflated numbers that didn’t convert into actual followers. This may even end in artists having their music faraway from Spotify fully. The overall recommendation? Don’t pay to be added to a playlist. Interval.
However that doesn’t imply playlisting is lifeless, removed from it.
Like most issues in music, the distinction lies in the way you method it and understanding the nuance.
The damaged mannequin: what went flawed
The playlisting gold rush taught everybody a lesson. Artists began seeing playlists as a get-rich-quick scheme. Pay $50 right here, $100 there, and count on hundreds of streams to roll in in a single day. However actual followers don’t present up whenever you deal with advertising like a merchandising machine. Actual followers come from real connections with listeners and the individuals serving to share your music.
The fact is, a lot of the points individuals face with playlisting occur as a result of they approached it transactionally. “What number of streams can I purchase for $100?” is the flawed query.
The higher questions are: “Who curates music my followers would love?” and “How can I construct an actual relationship with them?”. The objective ought to all the time be to construct a devoted fan base, not simply growing streaming numbers.
How to consider playlisting in 2025
In case you deal with playlisting as a advertising trick, it’s lifeless. In case you deal with playlisting as a relationship-building instrument, it’s extra alive than ever.
Whereas chilly emails can work, it requires composing outreach that stands aside from the everyday “Add me to your playlist…”. What’s rather more efficient is reaching out by way of social media as an alternative. Touch upon their posts. Ship a considerate DM. Ask questions. Share pleasure about their playlist. Present up like an actual fan earlier than you ever ask for something. Curators receiving DMs additionally get an opportunity to stalk your social media profile and study a bit about your creative journey, which may help so much in reframing the everyday “transactional” method. When you get a placement? Don’t cease there.
Right here’s what you ought to be doing:
- Supply to advertise their playlist in your socials – tag them, thank them publicly, and present help the identical method you want to obtain it!
- Ship them unique, unreleased tracks – make them really feel like they’re in your inside circle and spotlight that their style is necessary to you exterior of simply discovering new followers.
- Ask for his or her opinion – everybody likes to be seen as an knowledgeable.
- Guestlist them at your reveals – in the event that they’re native, invite them out.
- Supply to checklist their playlist in your Spotify Artist Profile beneath “Artists Decide”.
That is the way you construct an actual neighborhood round your music, beginning with curators. Not simply streams however actual relationships that may develop your profession long-term.
DIY Playlisting Technique (That Truly Works)
In case you’re doing this DIY, a instrument like PlaylistSupply generally is a complete game-changer.
Right here’s a easy plan you’ll be able to comply with:
- Use PlaylistSupply’s Natural Search and seek for artists much like you. Have a look at the playlists they seem on. These Found On playlists are gold as a result of they’re algorithmically related to fan discovery.
- Filter by Well being Rating so that you don’t waste time on junk playlists with pretend numbers. Concentrate on playlists that present sturdy natural site visitors.
- Test the Follower Historical past Chart! This helps you see how a playlist’s follower depend has modified over time. A wholesome curve alerts actual progress; sudden spikes or drops is likely to be a purple flag.
- Construct a listing of round 100 playlist contacts. This will provide you with sufficient quantity with out being overwhelming.
- Attain out personally as an alternative of utilizing a typical copy-paste “Hello playlist curator” template. Make it private. Present that you simply hearken to their playlist and that your music is related to it!
- Goal to safe 10-15 placements! In case you can lock in even 10 high quality placements, you’ll have a robust basis for brand new listeners and algorithmic momentum.
- Monitor your outcomes! Monitor your stats in Spotify for Artists and verify your Found-On part (open.spotify.com/artist/yourartistID/discovered-on). See which playlists drive actual site visitors and give attention to constructing deeper relationships with these curators.
Some Further Suggestions:
- Prioritize style and temper suits. Simply because a playlist has 10k followers doesn’t imply they’re your 10k subsequent followers. Area of interest genres and extremely specialised playlists could have the most effective outcomes!
- Search for lively playlists. Test when the final track was added. Does the curator add tracks solely chronologically, or do they swap out the primary tracks throughout the playlist repeatedly?
- Don’t chase follower counts blindly! A playlist with 2,000 lively listeners is best than 20,000 bots.
So… is playlisting lifeless?
No. Unhealthy playlisting is lifeless.
Shady playlisting. Transactional playlisting. Pay-to-play playlisting. These fashions are dying out – and truthfully, good riddance.
What’s thriving is genuine, relationship-driven playlisting. The place you and a curator work collectively to construct one thing actual. The place getting added to a playlist is the start of a partnership, not the top of a transaction.
In case you shift your mindset, give attention to actual connections, and deal with curators like collaborators and never merchandising machines, playlisting can nonetheless be one of the highly effective instruments in your progress as an artist.
Last Thought:
Constructing a music profession has by no means been about shortcuts. It’s about constructing a neighborhood and discovering devoted followers. Playlisting, when completed proper, may be an extension of that community-building and get your music to the fitting individuals.
Instruments like PlaylistSupply assist make that doable – providing you with the information and perception to search out curators who can really transfer the needle for you.
Use them correctly. Deal with individuals proper. And preserve making nice music!
Your future followers are on the market – ready to find you.