You have heard 1,000,003 times that you need to get on a playlist for Spotify! And there are literally thousands of columns on how to get your songs on a playlist, getting 1,000,003 plays.
The number of the day is 1,000,003.
Sure, you see that your buddy has thousands of spins, and somehow they got on a playlist, and you’re wondering how the hell they do it!? Deserving or not, there are ways to get on the playlist, and it comes down to the same thing that always does, a little extra preparation and a lot of luck.
Spotify makes a massive deal about promoting that they do not take pay to play songs. Meaning if somebody comes up to you and says, “Pay me, and I’ll get you on a Spotify playlist.” They are lying to you.
Let me clarify, they might be able to get you on a playlist with a lot of listeners, but it’s not a Spotify playlist.
Although nothing is guaranteed, the best way that you can get your song on a playlist is to give them the music well before it is released. I’m talking weeks to a month. I know this is really hard because when I get the music, I want to drop it as quick as possible. But I’ve written a song that reminds me that I have to pre-release the song… Ahem, it goes something like this.
“I’m over-eager and a piece of shit! I got a wait for it to come through.”
- You have to tag the right way.
Typically when you tag something, you want to hit it with just about everything you got! We’re gunning for the best search engine optimization! But when it comes to Spotify, we have to be calculated with our tagging.
An example – I have put my music under the tag of “pop” because I’m not quite sure that I would be considered indie rock (or because “pop” is the most consumed genre of music, so I should be where all the people are, right?). But, I’m not pop, and I will never be on a playlist where my song is played right after the newest Lady Gaga song.
Damn, that would be cool, though.
Who did it better? Vote in the comments!
You have to be extremely thorough with the tag! Spotify gets thousands of songs submitted every day. It’s like when you interview for a job, if you show up to a job interview five minutes late, you’re not gonna get the job. I don’t care how great you are. Make sure you give the tag that the song deserves! If you’re a hip-hop artist and you drop a moody indie alt track, you list it as an indie alt track!
Let me go on record saying I hate the word indie. It’s a bull shit umbrella that covers WAY too much ground. Just remember that you’ll have to be thorough passed the point of just saying “indie.” It’s worth the time it takes to find out what everyone else would call your music.
If you need help, follow this link!
There are more playlists available than you think.
There is a Christmas playlist, we have a Saint Patricks Day playlist. A Netflix and chill playlist (really? How can you watch a movie and listen to music at the same time?) playlist for studying, working out, dancing, birthday’s anniversaries… you name it, it’s out there. You don’t have to just aim for the “Indie rock Genre” page. You’ve got options!
2. Getting the music to them early.
The earlier you get your Music to Spotify as a pre-release, the better your chances are! Nothing is guaranteed, but your chances really go up if your pre-release is about a month in advance (past that it doesn’t matter). Remember this my child, 1 month in advance.
3. Success is in the details.
You know all those boxes that have filled out? How did you get this song? Where did the inspiration come from? What language is it in? These are the things that we normally speed passed. Well, we can’t do that anymore. You have to pay attention and write something beautiful about this! It doesn’t have to be prepared as long, but it has to be good! Win them over with these boxes.
A couple weeks after the song has been released, it really lowers the chance of getting onto a playlist. I’m not saying it will never get our playlist, but your chances have dramatically decreased. Just another reason to give it extra time to get to the ear of the people that curate these playlists.
4. Make your own playlists (and get your fans to do the same)
The more personal playlists your song is on, the better for you.
Seriously, for some reason, the Spotify algorithm really digs when the song is on a lot of person playlists! I mean, it really loves it! This means we should be putting our songs in the playlists we make for other occasions! Ask your fan base to do the same! You should have one of these for the other local bands in the area (don’t be a dick). Urge everyone you know to make a playlist with your song on the playlist in the first couple weeks of release! Get it hot off the press!
There is one more thing you can do (and you’re probably already doing it).
5. Sharing is caring!
It’s pretty basic, but you gotta make sure that you’re sure the shit out of your song for the pre-release and as soon as it drops (duh). Share, share, share! Remember the golden rule, playlist others so they will playlist you.
I honestly didn’t know this stuff till recently, and it’s pretty cool to learn something like that. Guys, life is pretty cool.
Not sure how to submit a song? Log into your artist profile on Spotify and have a song re
From the Spotify website! If you don’t see where that is, it’s because you don’t have a song about to drop! Remember, you have to give yourself some extra time! More time with pre-release, the better.
Hang in there! It’s a long road, some people will get lucky the first time and you might feel angry or jealous. Remember that music works better as a community! If a band from your area gets a lot of attention, that’s only helps you in the long run!
If the song you submit doesn’t get selected, don’t worry! Just keep cranking out your songs and your chances go up!
Lastly!
There are many other places you can submit your music to be heard by playlist curators! If you’re interested, check out this wonderful website Garrett Bowers from Juniper Ridge showed me.
It’s called Submit Hub. There are alot of huge playlist out there to get invovled with. Submit Hub has a pay for tokens policy, you can also submit for free! These will not get you on a Spotify verified playlist, but it can still get you in front of a lot of people.
Here’s a link to that
Dean Nelson 