Getting playlisted on Spotify is one of the most important things that artists can do to get more listens and exposure. Playlists are some of the most popular ways that artists get their music listened to by a much wider audience, and they are one of the best ways to pull in followers from all over the world. In the modern world, albums are becoming less and less viable in the current musical environment. Therefore, creating singles that are highly playlistable is much more important for getting noticed in the music world at large.
But often, getting onto these playlists can be a huge challenge. They are curated by real people, and so the number of different songs that are being pitched to their playlists can often be overwhelming. There are tons of people trying to be heard, and so lots of great artists end up getting glossed over. That means it’s important for musicians to be very intentional about getting their songs playlisted. But it often won’t happen unless there is a lot of sweat equity put into the process. Here is how artists and producers can get their music onto Spotify playlists and into the world of music at large.
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Submit Directly
The first and most simple way to get music onto big playlists is by submitting the songs to Spotify directly. When an artist uploads a song to Spotify through a distributor or label, their artist profile will show the unreleased and upcoming music that they are able to pitch. Every artist is able to submit one song at a time directly to Spotify playlist curators. To do this, just follow all the steps that Spotify presents to artists when submitting songs. Fill out all the information that is required, and submit the songs. Spotify curators will listen to the song, and if they feel like it fits well enough, they will put it onto playlists.
There are a few things that artists can do to give them better chances when submitting music through the built-in Spotify platform. The most important thing is to submit your music as early as possible. This gives the curators a good amount of time to listen to the song and find the right place for it. Try to initiate the pitch process a few weeks before the song releases to help Spotify have enough time to see if the music is a good fit.
Build Up Your Profile
Another very important thing to do when pitching songs to playlists is to make sure that your artist profile looks good. Make sure that the bio looks intriguing and that the pictures look as professional as possible. Have the look and feel of the Spotify Artist Profile reflect the overall feel of the music that you are putting out. Also, make sure that your artist profile is verified by Spotify to ensure that all listeners know that it is the right artist receiving all of the streams.
Spotify provides a tool called Spotify for Artists. This is an incredibly helpful and powerful way that artists can increase the quality of their artist page and post updates on their page. Through the Spotify for Artists app, artists can advertise their playlists and interact with their audience more consistently through the actual platform. Making use of the Spotify for artists app can help artists show their human side to their audience and communicate important things about themselves and their music. People often want to know that their favorite artists are people too, and creating a sense of connection through the artist profile is very important.
Be Active on Spotify
Being active on Spotify is a very important way to show that an artist is committed to both their music and the platform itself. This can be done through consistent releases on Spotify. This shows that the artist itself is very active and intentional with their music, but also creates a larger number of songs that they are able to pitch. Artists can only pitch one song at a time, so having a larger quantity of songs that they can pitch will help them create a more sustainable and viable way to get onto more playlists on Spotify.
Updating information on the Spotify for Artists app will also help create a much more active environment for artists on Spotify. The level of activity for an artist has a good amount of influence as to whether an artist will succeed on the platform or not.
Have an Active Online Presence
While being put onto Spotify playlists may be a great way to bump up streams in the short term, it is also very important to make sure that an artist is also being intentional about growing their own fan base on other platforms. This will, in turn, leak into all of the other areas of music, and grow their popularity, which will also lead to more ability to be playlisted. Having an active social media presence will help fans to connect with the music much more easily, and it will lead them to wanting to put the artist on more playlists organically.
It is also just a good idea in general to create a large and dedicated fan base because those are the people that will often provide the vast majority of actual income to the artist. According to the 1,000 true fans theory, you only really need 1000 people who are truly dedicated to you as an artist to make things work out as well as possible. Building up these fans in other places will make your popularity much more sustainable and consistent.
Create and Promote Your Own Playlists
Finally, you have to create and promote your own playlists. This shows that as an artist, you are still actively involved in the world of music outside of your own music and have an appreciation for other similar bands. Sprinkle some of your own songs in those playlists and focus on combining your songs with other music and artists you love. This will help listeners to be able to relate your music with other songs and musicians they already appreciate, which will help you in the long run.
Create and update these playlists regularly and be intentional about making these playlists as exciting and fresh as possible. Creating your own playlists is a great way to show how your music works in the context of other songs and will help Spotify curators find your music organically much more easily.
How Unison Can Help
Of course, the most important way that artists can get playlisted is by creating amazing music. At Unison, we know what it takes to make great music, and we’re ready to help you do it.
Our Artist Packs are created by professional producers, and anyone can use them at the touch of a button. The Unison MIDI Packs serve to inspire producers to make songs that sound new and exciting, while also using tried and tested methods for song arrangement. Our Vocal Packs give songs a truly human element, without having to hire singers and BGVs to get the job done. Your next masterpiece of a song is within your reach, and Unison is here to help you get there.
Sources:
Help – Pitching music to our playlist editors – Spotify for Artists | Spotify
How to get your music featured on Spotify playlists | Bandzoogle
The Truth Behind The 1,000 True Fan Theory | Hype Bot
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