Playlists aka the mixtapes and radios of 2020. How do you build up a following on the Spotify platform? We can help you with that.
Nowadays, Spotify playlists are one of the most important key aspects in music promotion. Single playlists are overtaking blogs and other areas in terms of their influence and impacts for an artists career.
Several Spotify editorial playlists count 7 figure followers, and there are hundreds of private ones with big followings.
Question yourself: Could you mention several blogs with such interaction rate?
On top of that, Spotify is becoming more “social” every week. The company is currently working on structures that enable direct fan engagements & more editorial features. Basically, Spotify seeks forward to not only control music but also identifying the conversation and interaction behavior of the listeners more and more accurately. One comes to the conclusion that many people are trying to become the next playlist tastemaker. Thousands of new playlists are born daily. While most never reach a few people, others shot up and become the dominant players in their niche. There is no secret recipe, but we do know a number of things anyone can apply to improve their skill as a playlist & traffic curator!
Loyalty is not won by being the first. It is won by being the best. Stefan Persson
1. Target a Niche
Only a few Curators make playlists by sharing interesting songs people would like to discover. It is very helpful to cluster playlists first of all:
Context playlists: Based on mood, activity, location, season [Brain Food]
Content playlists: Based on a Genre [Rap Caviar, Viva Latino]
Hybrid playlists: A combination of both
Engaging with a specific audience is key:
Genre-audience: 90s R&B, Afrofusion 2019, Uk Grime & Rap
Mood audience: Melancholia, Rage Beats
Activity audience: Fun Run 150–165 bpm, Calisthenics Workout, Hype
Brand/ Artist playlists: Thenx Chris Heria Calisthenics Playlist, PNL
By choosing a proper targetting you increase the likelihood of people falling in line with your catalog. Evaluation of the feedback is very important. However, it is vital to believe in your own taste and selection as there is no other person like YOU!
2. Create Cool Covers
Branding is the fundament of your playlist promotion. Being easy to identify opens up the doors for traffic and following. The two keys consist of your originality and composition.
Question yourself: Is the artwork forcing me to say
“Damn son, where did you find this?”
3. Personal Promotion
Being an influencer on Spotify is similar to engagement on other platforms like facebook & instagram. You have to put yourself out, because no one else will do it for you. One option could be the usage of simple online tools like sponsored posts/ ads to reach out to your target audience. Another way could be a personal advertisement. The best rule might be: Do the things other people would not do!
- Contactyour family, friends, local venues, bars, shops, and cafés.
- Ask them to shuffle it or prepare a playlist for them. (#givevalue)
- Ignorethe No’s, Analyse & Reflect the feedback and continue!
- Takeaction & new risks.
- Repeat:This is the best way to grow and gain experience.
Question yourself: Did I try something the last week I never did before?
4. Playlist Marketing
Don’t rush into spreading your playlists immediately all over the internet. Figuring out where to promote and how to get people’s attention is the first step. Learning about the audience, mood, cover art, playlist description is a constant process that shall never end. Good Playlists hit the taste of the audience very accurately in order to retain listeners over time. This is only possible if you are an actual part of your audience:
Question to ask: How can you understand and predict behaviors of a community you are not a part of?
5. Enter Reddit’s Playlist competition
There is a special subreddit called “Spotify Playlists”. Simply, link to your playlist in the subreddit. Afterward, organic traffic will be redirected as Reddit is a reputable authority in search engines. Furthermore, the website’s user engagement can create viral posts within hours. On top of uploading and sharing your playlist, you can enter monthly competitions that offer even more exposure for your curation skills.
6. Website submissions
There are sites such as Playlists.netor Sound Platethat are designed to help with playlist promotion. They collaborate with other apps like “Playlist a Day”. Add your playlists on traffic sites like those in order to reach new fans each day!
7. Artist networking
Who is supposed to find new playlists? Artist and Network Managers are always looking for new relationships & sources of exposures. Every time you are adding a song to your playlist, you should tag and spread a word online. On top of that you could email their team (PR, label) to inform them about the playlist add. You could also send a DM, tell them how you discovered the track and add some value on top of it. Do not focus on the people that don’t respond, instead count the few ones who promote your playlist and repost because they value your curations efforts.
8. Ask Questions & Open your eyes
Find playlists you truly like. Stalk and find more about their promotional efforts and behavior. What does their brand look like? Do they switch the art? How often do they update? Do they curate the track order? You should always be able to see things as a student of life, no matter what you achieved already. The process of learning and adapting is a law of nature. The question is who is playing around with the disadvantages and who is stacking the decks in their favor.
9. Blog & Influencer collaboration
Teamwork is dream work. Feel free to contact blogs who cover the artists featured in your playlist. The opportunities are endless, you could work on a collaboration or a playlist takeover with them. Always ask yourself: How can I bring value to the table in the first place? #networking.
10. Consistency & Creativity
You don’t want to put all your resources into one project. You want to create multiple streams of revenue. You don’t rely on a single revenue stream. If you want to become an influential curator you will need more than one great playlist. Develop as many playlists as you can find time to maintain, and use their success to promote other playlists you offer.
Good Vibes from Germany
Hannes | Hkmk
ROOM OF UNDERSTANDING
“discover inspire accelerate”
