Some people might see Spotify as an MP3 player – a piece of technology with music inside, and nothing further. But we know it’s not true. Spotify is made of people’s preferences, their emotions and their habits just as it is made of music. Actually, Spotify’s structure and the way its algorithm works take into account how people think and act. And that’s why organic promotion on Spotify works best.
Organic music promotion on Spotify
Spotify is based on billions of links between each and every item on the platform – an artist, a song, an album or a playlist. Being aware of these connections and how strong they are, the algorithm can conclude that two artists are similar, and that you might like song X if you listen to song Y on repeat.
You as an artist can also benefit from this method. You can create collaborations with artists in your genre, even from another country, and get your music heard by new listeners. You can share your music on social networks and communities, and even that might translate to exposure and plays. Spotify has eyes and ears everywhere.
Spotify Playlists are one of the best examples of internal connections on the platform and for an effective promotional plan. At the macro level, Spotify uses almost 4 billion playlists to realize what songs or artists are alike and how close things are, mainly by the number of playlists they appear on together. But at the micro level, every playlist entry connects you and your song to the other songs and artists on the playlists, and that’s what makes Spotify playlist promotion so efficient.
Why playlist promotion is so important
First and foremost, getting music onto playlists means getting more streams. People listen to playlists, sometimes a LOT of people. These people will listen to your track – especially if you got a good placement on the playlist. But there are some side-effects of getting onto a playlist that might have a huge impact on your music and exposure.
Like we said a second ago, getting your song on the same playlist with big artists will link you and your son to those artists, increasing the chance that their fans will find your song. It also helps Spotify’s algorithm classify your song to the right genre and niche, and target the right listeners who might like your music.
Beyond that, like any other interaction with your music on Spotify, it triggers the recommendation algorithm. Based on existing connections and new connections from the new playlist, Spotify’s recommendation algorithm actively promotes your music and recommends it to the right people. It might even be someone who never heard about you or the playlist. Your music might get to an entirely new place, just by hitting the right playlist.
And we didn’t even talk about breakthroughs. A successful campaign that gets you onto big playlists can have a huge impact and gain more and more exposure, until your music explodes everywhere. In fact, there are artists whose breakthrough into the global consciousness is attributed to a breakthrough on Spotify that has been amplified by the platform itself. These artists include Dennis Lloyd, Lorde and Paul Johnson, who have gained tremendous exposure thanks to support from official playlists on the platform.
How to promote your music right
Pick the right playlists
Some companies that offer promotional services for Spotify such as playlist campaigns, encourage users to submit to as many playlists as possible. It does make some sense. After all, more playlists have more followers, and will lead to more exposure, won’t they?
The answer is yes, of course, but it comes with a cost. If your music gets to the wrong listeners you’ll have your tracks skipped and disliked, causing the algorithm to spend fewer resources on promoting your music, or worse – get your music classified wrong.
Submitting to as many playlists as possible is like shooting in all directions, you don’t know what you hit. You might create links to artists and genres you have nothing to do with, and the algorithm will recommend your music to the wrong people. When it comes to playlisting, you must be picky.
Submit your music to playlists your target audience listens to. Aim for those with big artists from the same genre or niche as yours, same country, and same vibe. Targeting the right playlists will boost your exposure and be way more effective than acting without thinking.
Stay away from buying streams or placements
It’s illegal. Just don’t.
And it won’t help you either. Spotify can detect drastic changes in stream numbers and realize if they might be fake. If it is, they will just delete those streams, and might even ban the artist. If a playlist curator buys streams or tries to sell placements, Spotify will remove the playlist and ignore it.
If someone, a promotional service or a curator, promises you a placement and asks for money, disagree. Same with Spotify promotional services that promise X placements on playlists, or X streams for your song. It’s illegal, and they just can’t do it. It will not pay off.
Keep your money for real promotion campaigns.
How to choose a Spotify promotion service
If you’re looking to promote your music on Spotify, You’ll find over a dozen of playlisting campaigns and playlist promotion services. It might be a bit confusing to find the right one for you, so let’s discuss some important features that are required to have an effective playlist campaign.
Saving time and work
When you choose your playlist promotion service, you expect it to do the marketing work for you. The more the service gives, the more time you have to make music. Different Spotify promotion services offer different campaigns, and you should look into them and find what best suits your needs.
Transparency – where does your music go?
Some campaigns just take your music and submit it to playlists. This way, you don’t always know what playlists you might get on, who will listen to your music, and are they even your audience.
You as an artist have the right to know your music is promoted right. Fifty playlists with two followers each won’t help you, same with a playlist with 4k followers but in the wrong genre. Look for transparency and make sure you get your music to the right place.
Control
Having control over your playlist submissions is just as essential. Your track must be sent not only to the right playlist curators, but with an appropriate message and in the right way.
For example, you shouldn’t email an Instagram influencer, and in any case you’ll have to write your messages professionally and respectfully. Seek a playlist promotion service that will connect you to the right Spotify curators, in a way that makes them listen.
Uniqueness
Thousands of artists submit their music to playlists every day and you don’t want to be another drop in the ocean. Your message must be noticeable and unique so that the curator will listen to your track unlike other tracks. That might make the difference between a denial and a placement on a huge playlist.
Why PlaylistMap is a game-changer
Spotify playlist promotion with PlaylistMap is the game changer we were waiting for.
Using advanced AI, PlaylistMap does the hard work for you and gives you full control at the same time. With smart filtering, professionally written emails and an always-growing pool of playlist curators, PlaylistMap makes your music louder and exposes you to the world.
Let’s take a quick look over the main features:
Filtering
With more than 20,000 playlists in the catalog, you can use different search filters like artist name or genre to see only the playlists that match your music. No need to check if a certain playlist fits your music – we do this for you. You can even use the platform to scan your music and find relevant playlists using AI (more on that in the next paragraph).
AI-based platform
PlaylistMap is an AI-based playlist promotion service. That means saving tons of time and work, and making technology do it for you, the artist. Our AI is able to integrate with your Spotify artist page, scan your music and give you a list of relevant playlists in a few clicks.
Professionally written Emails
After finding the playlists that suit your music, unlock the Spotify playlist curators’ contact info so you can message them directly. To simplify things, we have dozens of professionally-written templates you can use to submit your music to playlist curators. This will help you stand out from the rest. All for being better, all for getting your music the exposure it deserves.
A chance for a relationship
After Sending a message to a curator, and maybe even getting your music onto a playlist, it’s not over at all. It is important to establish a relationship and maintain it. Having a friend in the right places could only benefit you, and you might also help him and be a better artist. Being friendly and professional and making trades where both sides benefit will pave the road to greater exposure to your music and greater appreciation from the industry.
