6 Tips for Finding 3rd-Party Spotify Playlists
I’ve seen artists lose it over Spotify. To consumers, it’s just another streaming service in the rat race, but to music artists and professional’s, it’s a land of analytics and opportunity. Playlists are currently the leading way that fans are discovering new artists.
The big appeal with artists and Spotify is getting playlisted. Getting placed on large playlists with thousands, even millions, of followers is the dream, but few know how to actually navigate their way and do so. Spotify prefers to keep the actual people behind their playlists a secret, requiring you to be connected to someone there to get placed in say a Rap Caviar. However, there are dozens of third-party playlists, or playlists not connected to Spotify professionally, that are waiting to place your music.
Here are six tips to help you find third-party playlists.
- Learn to Navigate Spotify
The first tip may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many artists don’t actually know how to use Spotify. Spoiler alert, it’s because they don’t use Spotify. Once you learn to navigate the site, finding playlists becomes a thousand times easier. Learn the landing page and where everything is placed. Learn how to find your saved playlists. Learn how to find the bio section of a playlist. Learn everything there is to learn about how it functions, and I promise you it’ll speed up the process of finding playlists. The last thing you want is to get flustered and give up just because the platform confuses you.
2. Find Your Niche. Go Search Bar Digging
This is going to sound like another “duh” tip but bear with me here. Sometimes what seems like the simplest things are actually what we overlook the most. Using the search bar can help you narrow down playlists by style, artists, and even mood. The key is to search using keywords that fit your niche and sound. I’ve found dozens of playlists by typing in things like “sad rap” or “workout music,” and digging through the playlists in the search results. You can also search artists similar in style to your music and find playlists created around that artist. These are usually fan created and are easily accessible. Once you find these playlists, navigate over to their bio and see if they have an email to contact. If not…
3. Social Media is Your Friend
I’ve found probably 90% of my playlist network in some shape or fashion because of social media. I’ve searched playlists and found their curators through Instagram, Twitter, and even YouTube. Luckily for us, playlists (for the most part) are created by people, and finding these people isn’t hard if you don’t mind doing a little work. Often, if a playlist doesn’t have an email in the description, they’ll have a social media handle that you can reach them at. If the playlist is connected to a brand, like a blog or a personality, you can easily find them through Twitter or Instagram and contact them that way. Searching music channels on YouTube is also a good rule of thumb, as many of these are attached to a Spotify playlist.
One social media network that is powerful in contacting playlist curators is Facebook. There was a point early on in Spotify’s history where they highly encouraged you to create an account with your Facebook profile. Because of this, a lot of playlist curators have their real names out in the open. Even outside of that, everyone has a Facebook right? If you find a playlist that doesn’t have an email or social media handle but has a name, try typing the name in on Facebook and matching up profile pictures. Once you find the person, you can contact them through Facebook Messenger. It’ll be tedious, but it’s more worth it in the long run because you’re building up a connection with an actual person. Hopefully, you’ll make a fan of them.
4. Find Communities
I wasn’t sure if this next tip fit in with the social media section, so I decided to give it it’s own part. There are numerous online communities dedicated to playlist curators and their playlists. Reddit has a few threads where playlist curators promote their playlists. Facebook also has many groups created for the same reason. Spotify even has its own community where it let’s playlist curators network and promote their playlists. It’s called Playlist Exchange. Finding, joining, and engaging with these communities is a surefire way to find dozens of curators who are actively looking for submissions. You’ll have to sift through and find the ones that are worth the trouble, or you can take a gamble on a playlist in progress. Which brings me to my next tip…
5. Don’t Neglect the Little Guy
I know the dream of every artist is to get placed into the really large playlists. Ideally, every playlist you placed would have thousands of fans and followers right? While the large playlists usually have the most impact, that doesn’t diminish the impact that smaller playlists can have as well. By small I mean a few hundred followers to less than 10k. I’m sure a 400 follower playlist doesn’t sound appealing, but if you manage to get 10 of those then you’ve made a serious dent. You also have a better chance of getting a response, as the curator probably isn’t getting hundreds of submissions a day like the larger playlists. This gives you a chance to get in and establish a relationship early on with a growing playlist. One of my go-to playlists is one I found back when they were just at 2k followers. Today the playlist has over 10k followers and is growing pretty rapidly. Lucky for me right?
6. Use 3rd Party Sites
There are 3rd party sites with directories of playlists that you can contact, or their own specialty playlists. A few of my personal favorites are Soundplate and Indiemono, but there are others out there. The problem with these is that some are free, but many of them charge you a fee just to pitch your song. That’s right. Not to have it placed, but just to have them listen to the song. Whichever route you choose you’ll have to comb through the playlists and find ones that are worth it. Just be wary of any site guaranteeing placements, and be sure to do your research, especially for the ones that charge.
So to recap:
- Learn to navigate Spotify.
- The search bar is a powerful tool.
- Use social media sites to find playlists and contact curators.
- Find communities centered around playlist curators.
- Don’t neglect the smaller playlists.
- Use third-party sites to find playlists.
Have fun!
Jacorey Barkley is a freelance Digital Music Marketer based in Atlanta. He specializes in getting music heard through Spotify, Instagram, and YouTube campaigns. You can reach him on Instagram @kohreydasavior
