In this day and age, playlists are becoming the new radio. Nowadays, more and more people are discovering and developing a deep appreciation for emerging talent through playlists, and that trend shows no signs of stopping or slowing anytime soon.
Millions of music lovers all over the world use Spotify to discover new artists, so as an up-and-coming artist, no matter what genre, it’s vital to get your music on Spotify playlists and in front of legions of potential fans. But as a smaller artist without a major label backing you, you’re probably asking yourself “how do new artists get featured?” Here are some tips that we think can help you secure a spot in a playlist.
Sign up for Spotify for Artists
Creating a Spotify for Artists account will get you verified, which can only help boost your credibility. Plus, you’ll get access to all kinds of cool features like analytics and notifications when your music is added to playlists. Keep track of this data as much as you can and try to notice trends. What causes you to get more streams? What causes you to get more followers?
Direct Fans to Spotify to Get Some Activity Going
The easiest thing you can do is to promote your music on Spotify and encouraging your fans to follow you and listen to your songs on the platform so you can boost Spotify plays.
Remember, many Spotify playlists look at data like plays, finishes, skips, and listen duration, and many individual playlist curators will want to use tracks that are already getting some love, so anything you can do to get some social proof behind your songs can only help you in the long run.
Maintain a Consistent Online Presence
When you’re trying to get your music onto a Spotify playlist, or any other playlist in general, to make a good first impression, it’s important to make sure your online presence looks as updated as possible. That includes updating your website, social media accounts and any artist bios across the web. You need to be consistent with how well you present yourself online. You can’t go on a month hiatus and expect your fans to potential listeners to keep up with you.
Pitch Your Songs to Independent Spotify Playlist Owners
Before you start pitching, you need to figure out what playlists you’re going to target. Do some searches with keywords that fit your genre and musical style.
You’ll be more successful with this strategy if you start small and work your way up the ladder. Someone with a playlist with a few thousand listeners will be much more open to your pitch than someone who has hundreds of thousands of followers. Once you get a successful track record you can start moving up.
Pitch Your Tracks to Swidlife’s SWIDCURATED Playlist
Swidlife accepts submissions for our SWIDCURATED Spotify Playlist which features the hottest new and independent tracks. Make sure to submit something!
Share Any Playlists You’re Featured On
This one is very important. If your music does ends up being included on any Spotify playlist, no matter how small, share it as much as possible to start racking up more and more streams. If you want to take it a step further, you can also tag the playlist curator in your posts too. What this will do is show them you’re invested in their playlist and from there, you can build your relationship with them. This will open more doors for you in the future. Plus, it’s cool to show love back.