Finding Playlist Placement On Spotify.

If you’re an indie musician looking for that ever-so-coveted Spotify playlist placement, Here are a few tips that I learned that will help you out. Please note… There is absolutely no way to buy yourself a placement on an editorial Spotify playlist. If someone tries to sell you that promise. It is 100% a scam. It cannot be done. There are plenty of videos that you can watch on YouTube created by Spotify staff that explain how that is not possible.

Beyond contacting me via the Radio Stations contact form, the easiest way to finding a playlist curator only involves a bit of effort on your part… Maybe more than a little but, you can do this yourself.

I found this playlist in a matter of about a minute and a half and I’m going to use this one as a shining example of what to look for.

This may not seem like a big deal but the playlist curators are, in fact looking for your music. Why? Isn’t that simple? They want to charge you. The more likes or follows the playlist generates, the more it will cost to land your song on one. If you’re looking to get on a playlist completely free of charge, that will be an even more difficult task but, it can be done as well following these steps.

Finding the year that the playlist was established is something to look into and I’ll explain why on the next picture.

The amount of likes and how many songs are in this playlist is super important. From picture 1 you saw that it was established in 2020. Even though it’s not an exact date, when you look at the number of likes generated, it definitely jives. This, to me, points out a 100% genuine playlist that has never bought 1 single follower. If we can imagine for a second and set this establishment at December 31st, 2020. That means that in roughly 180 days it picked up 1,570 likes which translates to about 8-9 likes per day. That’s extremely reasonable for a private playlist. If there were one that was established in 2020 with 1,967,813 likes (just a random number) that would and, should, raise an eyebrow.

The number of songs is important as well. This playlist is not stuffed. This means that the curator is pretty picky probably on the music that they allow onto the playlist. 180 days in and only 62 songs on the playlist means that they want to keep top notch talent so the word about the playlist spreads. If this were someone that is only out for your cash, you could see a 2 day long playlist worth of music instead of the 3.5 hours that this one is. I found this at random and I do not know any of this for sure… Once again, this is based on my experience looking around but, I would have to assume that this person would keep your track on the playlist for 30 days and remove you after to keep the playlist fresh and new.

Drum roll please! Yes. Contact information. A 100% genuine playlist curator will always want to let you know how to get in touch with them because they’re always on the lookout for new music to keep their playlist fresh. Now, when contacting a curator, please make sure you keep it professional. Don’t write them a message like “yo’z, hows do I get on?”

“Hello. I came across your playlist on Spotify. My name is__________ And, I just released my new single____________ You can preview it _________________. I would like for you to please listen to my music and see if it is a fit for your playlist. If so, Please respond with price and duration of submission at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your time. __________________”

You’ll want to keep it something to that effect. This is a business transaction and, treat it as such. I guarantee that your emails will get more responses if you keep them professional.

So… The big question maybe huh? How much would this cost? – I have seen playlist placement for upwards of $4,000 but, with the one above, I would assume anywhere between $20-$40 with placement between 30-60 days… More likely 30 days because of the number of songs that are in the playlist.

If this is a good deal all boils down to you. If you’ve been on the popular submission hub website (No Names Given) trying to get your music onto playlists, you know it can be really easy to burn through $100 with not a single result. So, wether or not you find this as being an appealing deal is all really in the eye of the beholder.

As an independent musician you must invest in yourself. Sometimes that investment will be a win, sometimes it will be a loss but, it will always be a learning experience.

I wish you all the best of luck and, if you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask.

• DJ X TECH 06/04/2021