by Dj RootsQueen There are many steps to take before hiring a PR firm to get you on Spotify Playlists. 1. Educating yourself on the very nature of Spotify playlists. The majority of Spotify is owned by major labels. They dominate what is on the most-followed playlists. It’s not a level playing field for indie artists. According to The Secret Lives of Playlists The good news is that Spotify has algorithms and rewards artists who spend time on their platform. Spotify built an algorithm that is derived from the footprint of an artist. Start learning how to use it at a pro-level before trying to get on Spotify playlists.  Remember that it’s not always about playlist placement. How many people follow you and your playlists on Spotify and consistent streams are what’s important. The number of saves a song or album gets is just as important as stream counts and follows. The platform values engagement and interaction with the music or artist over casual consumption.  Some artists perform well and do not have any major playlist placement. It gets into people’s weekly suggestions, they stream it, and it grows on its own organically in the Spotify ecosystem. This is the new music economy. 2. Don’t focus only on Spotify and Spotify playlists. You have to have a plan in place to build your audience. You must build meaningful engagement in order to succeed on Spotify. An overall marketing plan is needed. This includes: Social Media Brand Tone Public Relations Fanbase Building Live Shows Releases Merchandise 3. Finding your narrative. Create your signature story with a recognizable brand, tone, and content strategy that fits your narrative and brand archetype on social media. When you buy playlist placements and you skip these steps, you may get a spike in streams, but it falls flat because you are unable to take advantage of the momentum that was created. 4. Social media interaction is key. Focus on engaging with real fans and build your audience authentically. Fake numbers will work against you when your engagement numbers are low compared to your follower count. Your audience must be built prior to releasing music. The only list that an artist without a fanbase should be worried about is a mailing list. 5. Music Blog and PR is fundamental. Many Spotify playlists are curated by influential music bloggers. In order to get considered for these playlists, you need to be featured on key music blogs. PR is an essential part of your music strategy. Steps 2-4 must be taken before music bloggers will take you seriously. 6. Building your own playlists. Start creating and sharing Spotify playlists that include your music. Create playlists of your own music and things you love. Your objectives are to create, reach, and influence streaming. Ask yourself: “What is my unique point of view? Try curating a journey of how you put together playlists. Having a DJ help you do this will create a better result than just putting 20 songs on a playlist. How to create your own playlist: Within the Spotify app, click “(+) New Playlist” Give your playlist a name and description. Be sure to use rich keywords that mention the style of music, specific artists within the playlist, or other organizing principles for the songs contained within. Upload a custom image for your playlist. Add a URL to the “insert link” field linking to a pre-order page or music store. (Be considerate and don’t link to a competing streaming service.) Click “Create.” Add songs! You can do this by searching for the song on Spotify and dragging it into your playlist in the left-hand sidebar, or by clicking the ellipses next to any track and selecting “Add to Playlist.”. Playlist best-practices for Spotify: There are millions of playlists on Spotify. Every user has the ability to create multiple playlists. So understandably, Spotify doesn’t want EVERY single playlist on their platform to be publicly searchable. In order for your playlist to grow as much as possible, you’re going to want to show up in a search on Spotify to ensure your reach extends beyond your existing fanbase. Here’s how to make a search-friendly playlist. Build playlists around your interests: If you’re enthusiastic about your playlist, you’ll make it awesome. If not, you’ll lose steam and neglect it. Update your playlists on a regular schedule: To make a playlist that’s worth following, it should be dynamic and change over time. Otherwise a user can just listen once and be done with it. Choose a day to make updates each week and keep it consistent to build expectation among followers. Seed your own songs: Nestle your song perfectly among a bunch of great tunes by other artists. But remember: just one song per playlist, unless it’s a playlist organized around your music alone. Playlists should have between 20-60 songs: Spotify’s algorithm favors playlists with more than 20 songs and less than 60. Aim for 25-30 when you first create the list, and then add more songs on a regular basis. Once you’re approaching 60 songs, shuffle the oldest tracks off the list. (You can even create an archive playlist to house all the songs that have been moved off the primary playlist). Cover artwork: It’s not make-or-break, but seeing one of those default playlist covers with the four smaller images is a little disappointing. You’re curating a musical experience; why not also provide a custom visual that helps listeners enter your world? Use smart keywords in your description: You should describe your playlist using words, phrases, genre descriptions, and artist names that listeners will be searching for. Promote your playlists: Share the playlists you create with your fans on social, email, etc. Ask them to follow your playlists, and ask for their suggestions for songs or artists you can add to your playlists in the future. The more followers your playlist has, the more likely it will be served up in a search on Spotify. Embed your playlist: Spotify also