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There are a number of “hacks” out there on how to get your music playlisted without details on how to go about the process.
Some artists get handpicked by curators they have personal relationships with on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, etc. and over the night they’re sure to get a spike in their revenue from being heavily streamed due to being on these playlists.
But it’d be a lie to tell you that there’s a guaranteed, fast and seamless way to achieve that. In fact, you should be very careful with pay-for-play schemes that generate fake streams on streaming platforms because this can result in your music being taken down. Hence if you want to get your music playlisted, you need to do it organically.
Once your music is released, you have to promote it organically before trying to get your music playlisted. All good music promotion kicks off organically, especially if your music is really great and gives a true feeling or emotion.
While discovering new music or new artists, there’s been a change in the whole process as algorithms are now heavily involved. These algorithms serve users personalized playlists- this means the playlists are served with respect to the kind of music the user listens to.
So if you create good music, and you get your music playlisted in your respective genre, you will be suggested to tons of listeners who are fans of your specific genre thereby exposing and broadening your fan base.
Artists with data to back up their success aren’t really considered by these algorithms but are considered by playlist curators. So it’s important to remember the human element hasn’t totally disappeared.
That’s why playlist curators still make the best playlists because they do not use algorithms to create their playlists. And your fans are also real humans so, the algorithm is just a plus to your great music. This is why you need to know ways to get your music playlisted as a new musician or an already established one.
As an independent Musician, when you’re releasing new music, a playlist marketing strategy should not be overlooked and you don’t have to implement just one marketing approach to playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
There are plenty of options and ways for you to get your music playlisted. In this article, I’ll list out 9 ways to get your music playlisted on Spotify and Apple Music.
9 ways to get your music playlisted
The following are the ways you can pitch your music to playlist curators and get your music playlisted:
Pitching Curators
As an independent artist or aspiring music artist, it’s understandable that you may not have the resources available to connect with people actively seeking new music for playlists, but this shouldn’t stop you. You can put in the sweat to pitch your music to playlist curators and get your music playlisted.
All you just need is to be smart and efficient in maximizing the time you spend doing this. Here’s a process- try finding a playlist in your music genre, see who the curator is and then send them a DM on Instagram or any other social media platform.
You can learn to write a cold message and send them one. Show them you took your time to research their playlist, and why your music may be a good fit on their playlist. Structure your message and do not make it seem like spam. Also, try to personalize it the best way you can.
MySphera
As an independent musician, you may not have access to a network of influential people. This is where MySphera comes in as they help you with all of this and get your music playlisted.
With MySphera, you can get your music to bloggers, influencers, and playlists through a simple campaign and they also make sure authenticity is key with the campaigns. The goal is to connect with people who can add tangible value to your playlist promotion and help you convert new fans to expand your fanbase.
OmariMC
OmariMC, according to its reputation, is a “no-nonsense” professional music promotion agency and music marketing blog. They support clients including independent musicians of all genres on playlist promotion.
The platform has amassed a solid network of playlist curators to help you get your music playlisted hence if you’re looking for promotions on specific platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, Omari can be a great solution.
Spotify For Artists
Spotify for artists helps get your music playlisted by giving you the ability to have your tracks on playlists once you’ve uploaded and slated them for release.
To access this all you need to do is to create your account and verify your Spotify artist’s profile, and also allow yourself sometime prior to the release date of your project for proper consideration to be added to the playlists after you release them.
Musosoup
This one differentiates itself from the popular playlist curators because they listen to your music before you make any payments to them for their services. This has helped them beat the competition in the music playlisting industry.
If your music isn’t up to the quality required to make a particular playlist, then you do not need to make payments upfront before you get denied. If your music is up to the required standard, then you’ll have playlist curators come to you if your music is a good fit for their playlist. This is when you make the required payment.
Soundplate
Soundplate provides a free platform for playlisting if you’re on a budget. If you have enough time to submit your tracks to various playlists yourself, then soundplate is for you.
The website has countless playlists that are listed and organized by genre, making it very easy to find the best playlist for your type of music and submit it for free.
The playlists are always constantly updated, so you’ll need to always keep checking for newly updated playlists that relate to your genre.
Curator’s Free Submission Form
There are instances where famous playlist curators have their own playlist submission forms built into their website or blog. While trying to pitch these curators, it’s important to also follow their due processes to be more effective and have them not miss adding your tracks to their playlist.
A lot of playlist curators have a personal website or blog with a form to help you get your music playlisted. You can use this to your favor and also pitch to the respective playlist curators.
Daily Playlists
Another very considerate and free option for independent musicians like you to get your music playlisted is the Daily Playlists. Daily Playlists allow free submissions to multiple playlists. This is mainly on Spotify though.
All you need to do is to create an account, then connect it to your Spotify profile and begin making your submissions. It’s as easy as that.
This doesn’t work 100% as there’s no guarantee it works every time but it’s a great platform to use to get your music playlisted at zero cost.
Start Your Own playlist
This is a very underutilized method by independent music artists. Starting your own playlist in a genre your music easily fits into can be a great way to get your music playlisted and also leverage what playlists bring to your music by expanding your reach.
The best way to do this is to create a search engine optimized playlist name to be able to cut through. For example, if you’re an Afrobeat artist, consider making a playlist like- best afrobeat songs out of Africa.
The keywords should be in the playlist name so your songs can fit into the playlist. In addition, always remember to keep the playlist updated frequently as new music comes out every time.
The Aftermath
After adhering to these 9 effective ways of getting your music playlisted, you’ll need to shift gears to integrate other marketing strategies into your marketing plan. Here’s an article on effective music marketing strategies for independent musicians like you.
These strategies will help you leverage using social media and all other music marketing tools to market your music increase your reach and broaden your fanbase.
You can begin to leverage the present social media sensation, TikTok, as it’s been a very great tool in marketing independent musicians’ works and publicizing them to the mainstream media. TikTok has proven to have huge effects on increasing music streams on all platforms by making the music go viral amongst the users. You can leverage this to get your music viral and get it on mainstream media with millions of users using your music as a background song for their TikTok videos and sharing them with their respective audiences from all over the world.
Getting your music playlisted will help you get your music to different kinds of audiences from different parts of the world that listen to the kinds of music drafted in the respective playlists. Coupling this process with an effective music marketing strategy is sure to take your music career to the next level.
