Spotify playlist marketing: how to get your music featured
Streaming services play an important role in the modern music industry. A crucial step to mainstream success is being able to reach the masses. Generating revenue is incremental to reaching large crowds. Spotify is a key player when it comes to music streaming services, followed by Apple Music.
One of the most powerful marketing tools of Spotify is music playlists. This article explains how to get a playlist placement and reach millions of people.
Spotify Marketing is included in our Growth Packages or can be bought as a separate product.
The importance of a playlist: getting seen is getting heard
Over 30.000 new dance tracks are added to Spotify every week. In the past, getting featured was a less tiresome endeavour. A record store had an X amount of spots available for new albums, each distributor could apply for one of those featuring. But the modern-day music industry means that not only albums get released, but even more so the singles.
This results in more weekly releases and yet all we have is one simple Spotify screen to share.
Getting your track in a playlist on streaming platforms means people see your track, which automatically leads to streams. So compared to the old days, Spotify promotion is the same as getting your album top shelf in a record store.
A bigger reach equals more streams
Music marketing nowadays is all about generating reach, which means generating streams. Instead of getting just one fan to buy your album, you need thousands to stream it. Online marketing can be done in several ways, for example through ads on social media platforms, radio ads and of course Google Adwords. But in all those cases we need fans to click and go to Spotify.
A playlist feature on Spotify saves that click, it approaches fans at the right time and place.
What kind of playlists does Spotify have and what are the differences?
Basically, there are two different playlists: editorial and user-generated. The difference is obvious: an editorial playlist is controlled by Spotify and a user-generated is controlled and curated by actual Spotify users.
One of the biggest differences between both is the way they are curated. A user-generated playlist is always curated by actual people, by music fans. People who are experts in certain genres and know exactly what is hot and happening.
Spotify’s editorial playlists, however, can both be curated by Spotify’s staff and also by using artificial intelligence. Some of Spotify’s biggest playlists get their tracks using sophisticated algorithms. Meaning that if both you and a friend listen to a playlist simultaneously, you can each hear a different selection of tracks. This is based on your personal listening behaviour.
User-generated playlists: how to get featured
In the case of user-generated playlists, it is important to know who is curating the tracks. Who chooses the tracks, how many times the tracks are refreshed and who picks the perfect blend for a playlist. If the list has a superb curation, it will gain more followers.
We offer marketing solutions for all kinds of features, also for user-generated playlists.
Our global network of dance fans, curators and record labels includes access to some of the biggest user-generated playlists.
Editorial playlists: how to get featured
Any artist who has music on Spotify can have access to Spotify for Artists. This tool enables artists to pitch their upcoming music to editors. If used correctly, it is a powerful tool.
If upcoming releases are pitched at least one week before the release date, Spotify guarantees features in Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists. These are artificially curated playlists; people who previously streamed your tracks (or from similar artists) have this playlist refreshed every week.
Pitching too late means missing out on these two large playlists. Taking a three weeks lead time before the release date makes sure that editors at Spotify notice the track well in time, for possible playlist features on non-artificial intelligence playlists.
A case study: Bobina – Targets
Bobina is a Russian trance DJ who has been performing all over the world for over 15 years. He recently made an album of alternative rock music, very different from what his fans expect from him. Pitching alternative rock releases on Spotify for Artists turned out to be unsuccessful. More marketing efforts were needed.
Kwettr pitched some of the tracks to user-generated playlist curators. This resulted in features on large Spotify playlists. His relatively unknown rock tracks were featured amongst mainstream pop music artists.
