Are you looking for an answer to the question: Why your songs are not getting on playlists on digital streaming platforms like Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, and other music services? If you’re anything like most songwriters and publishers then the answer is probably ‘yes’. You may be questioning whether it is worth your time to try to turn things around by making changes to establish a more positive outcome in the future.
Every musician aspires to be featured on editorial playlists, getting on playlists with large followings; some of these playlists are curated and often updated with new music. Using Spotify as an instance, the list for New Music Friday, for instance, is updated every week, so your song may only be included for the first week after it is posted to Spotify. For weeks, months, or even years, other editorial Spotify playlists, like Afro Vibes, Soul Lounge, or RapCaviar, can still feature your tracks and provide you with a ton of exposure to subscribers.
One option for an artist to reach a new audience for their music is to appear on editorial playlists. While some artists are greatly appreciated by the DSPs(Digital Streaming Platforms), others struggle to garner the DSPs’ attention to increase their music listenership.
Here are various explanations for why you don’t appear on many playlists or get playlisted:
You Don’t Prioritize your Social Presence
DSP editorial teams and third-party curators generally pay attention to your audience engagement across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Artists with show-and-prove marketing drivers increase their odds of placement, as engagement reflects fandom both online and off. So you must work on your social media platforms to market your music before getting on playlists.
You Don’t Pitch on Time
These days, unless you’re a superstar artist, you can’t decide to release music the next day and expect support from the DSPs. But since these A-list artists still adhere to the guidelines of getting on playlists by pitching ahead of time, why can’t you? It’s ideal to submit your song at least 2-4 weeks before the release date.
You have a Red Flagged Profile
The majority of DSPs have a zero-tolerance policy for users who engage in malicious activity or stream fraud (buying streams). If you are found out, there is a good chance that they won’t support you when you release your next project. I mean, this is a no-brainer, so don’t expect too much if you are found out. If you solely use ethical marketing strategies, it might eventually be withdrawn.
You Don’t Have a Strong Pitch
Reach out to these distros to assist with that as there are several distros out there with better relationships with the DSPs than the others. A promotional strategy and an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) should always be submitted, as these will assist them to become familiar with your brand and take the appropriate action. Make sure your streaming profiles are up to date or else it would affect getting on playlists.
Before you consider getting Playlisted, prepare and think about the following:
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Requesting Playlist Placements for your song.
Many musicians believe that submitting new music alone will lead to their discovery. Nope. You must seek out playlist curators and speak with them about getting on playlists. Most of them are eager to hear your newest song and interact with other musicians. All you have to do is ask. Naturally, it’s simpler said than done. Getting in touch with playlist curators makes most musicians nervous. Rejection is indeed awful.
However, you will end up with lot more people supporting you and your music if you can offer it with confidence.
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Keeping your Pitch concise.
There is no need for bribery or a secret recipe. As long as a pitch is pertinent, it can all be comparable. Asking someone to listen to your song is just being courteous.
Here is an illustration of how a Good pitch appears:
Hi, Playlist Curator.
I just discovered your “Afro Pop vibe” Spotify playlist, and I adore it! You might want to add my brand-new Afrobeats song, “Soft Baby,” to your playlist.
{ATTACH LINK TO YOUR SONG ON SPOTIFY}
Tell me what you think! Enjoy your week. — Tayo
The pitch is not too complicated. You introduce yourself, tell them why you enjoy their playlist, and then invite them to listen to your music. This method can be adopted and applied each time you pitch a playlist. Another thing to keep in mind is that the playlist’s platform should match the URL to your songs. Send a link to Spotify, for instance, if you’re presenting a Spotify playlist. Why is this important for getting on playlists? Make it simple for playlist creators to find you so they may include you in their playlists.
They cannot listen to your music and add you immediately away if it isn’t yet available on their platform. You’d have to captivate their attention once more, which can be challenging.
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Searching for playlists in your Genre
This is quite significant. You must organize your music into categories and select appropriate keywords:
- What kind of music do you play?
- Who is your music’s audience?
- How does it feel?
- From where do you hail?
- When people hear your music, what are they doing?
You can find the appropriate playlists by providing answers to these kinds of questions.
3B. Discovering Playlists
It’s time to go locate playlists after you have your list of playlist keywords! Two methods are listed below for finding playlists:
Option 1) Directly search for playlists on streaming services.
Devote time to looking for Spotify playlists with the words associated with your genre, for example, Let’s say you’re an Afrobeats musician you can use words like “Afro,” “Naija music,” or “African sound.” If you utilize the search bar, a lot of information can be found!
Option 2: Use Chartmetric to look for playlists.
Do you know what Chartmetric is? A service called Chartmetric provides streaming and social media statistics on artists, playlists, and other topics.
3C. Making a List of those playlists
Make a list of those playlists. Add new playlists to your list as you discover them. And be sure to locate the playlist curator’s contact information.
How? You’ll be pleased to learn that locating the contact information for these independent playlist curators is not difficult. You only need to do a little research online.
For instance, Spotify playlists will show the curator’s complete name or username. Then, you can discover them online by searching for their complete name and the playlist’s name in Google. If a quick Google search is unsuccessful, copy the playlist’s link and enter it in the search forms on Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, etc. Because they are proud of their work, serious curators will share links to their playlists. You can locate their playlists online more easily the more they advertise their content. From there, all it takes is a tweet, email, or direct message! This is not too much of a task if you’re considering getting on playlists.
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Sending a Music Pitch to the Editorial team.
You never know what could occur!
Since Spotify editorial playlists are the most popular ones, they can significantly aid in growing your fan base. Although anybody can apply to Spotify, many independent musicians think that to create one of these playlists or getting on playlists, they must be signed to a label. That is FALSE!
Conclusion
Finally, get in touch with music blogs or other sites that have a respectable following and frequently curate playlists. Tell them why they should add your music to one of their playlists or a future project. Showing how it will help THEM, not just YOU, is important.
This also applies to playlists on other platforms. Don’t only concentrate on Spotify; everywhere you can get your music in playlists across all platforms. Make sure everyone is aware of your song when you do get it on a playlist by sharing it everywhere.
Now that you’ve prepared and thought about getting on playlists, You need to take action on that, Check this out https://kevineze.com/ways-to-get-your-music-playlisted/
