Tag: Spotify

How To Get Playlisted On Spotify

How To Get Playlisted On Spotify

For as many that are interested in featuring on Spotify Playlist, the process just got easier and candid. The platform now allows for a public process of getting on or suggesting an unreleased song to the curators and editorial team on Spotify. Gone are the days where artists and labels have to go out of their way to pitch new releases, hunt for hidden web forms or source for email contacts to submit for opportunities..

A little while back, Spotify announced the launch of a more formal and transparent process for submission. All you need is; a ‘Spotify for Artist’ account, and you need to deliver your song (scheduled for release) to Spotify within a specific timeframe.

Hints on Song Submission for a Higher Chance: 

  • You are eligible to submit only unreleased songs.
  • You are eligible to submit one unreleased song at a time; once the song is released, you can then submit another unreleased track.
  • It also guarantees that your Spotify followers will have the unreleased track added to their customized Release Radar playlists on Friday, should in a case where they haven’t listened to the song earlier in the week.
  • Songs can only be submitted on Desktop. It is NOT supported on the mobile version of Spotify for Artist.
  • You can only submit songs at least, seven (7) days before the song is released. It would also serve you better to submit your songs way before the seven days’ mark.
  • The process is free!! You need not pay for placement.

How to Submit Song(s):

  • Log in to Spotify for Artists on desktop, and find any unreleased music at the top of the Home or Profile tabs.
  • Select GET STARTED next to the release you want to submit. Or, go to Profile, right-click any unreleased music, and select Submit a Song.
  • Choose a song from the release to submit.
  • Fill out as much info about the song as possible. The more info we get; the better chance it has!

 

As soon as your song gets placed in a playlist, Spotify will notify you via email. Also, it’s good to keep checking the Playlists tab in your Spotify for Artists account.

 

How To Make Your Song More Playlist–Friendly

HOW TO MAKE YOUR SONG MORE PLAYLIST–FRIENDLY

For your song to make the listeners’ playlist, it has to be play-worthy, in that, it must satisfy the need of your listeners as well as leave them wanting more. However, getting your song to be added to the playlist isn’t just about making good music or promoting the sound through all channels, there are certain technicalities that can aid your song and make it more playlist friendly. It is along this line that we shall briefly discuss certain fundamentals to achieving this.

As an artist, you must have it in mind that your music must have playlist features i.e short and straight to the point. For instance, to make a radio playlist, certain edits are done. The process of making those ‘edits’ could be burdensome, hence, the radio stations leave the song off their playlist. Having shorter versions of the song is good, especially for radio listeners, who are not as patient to listen to the whole song. It is therefore advisable to make a song for the playlist short and straight to the point.

Before we proceed, it is important to state clearly that this is not to dissuade the creativity of artists or restrict their musical expression, what we have discussed thus far is for the sake of musical playlists, especially on the radio. It is to this that we say it is advisable to make the original version of the song before making ‘playlist edits’. Have it in mind that the edited version of the song shouldn’t be so different from the original song, just a little extraction from different parts will do.

In editing your song, you can take note of the following:

  • Song Length: Make sure the length of your edited song does not exceed 4 minutes. It might begin to bore your listeners after the 4-minutes mark.
  • Song intro & outro: Ensure this does not exceed 15 seconds. Make it captivating and exciting.
  • Song Structure: Be sure to communicate what the song is about with a captivating hook or vocals. Keep your listeners in the groove of what you are singing. 

Also, you must ensure to grab the attention of your audience such that, they won’t be eager to skip your song. In doing this, the song must have a fantastic intro and the body of the song must captivate them to want more. Failure to do so will reduce your chances of making money from your music on music streaming platforms. Before a song is considered streamed, the listener must have listened past the 30-second mark. Anything less than the 30-second mark will mean the song wasn’t streamed, hence, reducing your chances of making money off the song.    

In a nutshell, musicians should make their songs playlist-friendly. To do this, musicians should, after making the original version of their songs have edited versions of their songs. The implication of this is that it relieves the radio stations the stress of editing your song for a radio playlist as well as it is designed to capture the attention of the listeners, within the 30-second mark, on a music streaming platform.

Music Distribution 101

One of the fundamentals for music artists to get discovered and thrive digitally is through Music Distribution. It is the entry point into the digital earning space for artists. It affords artists opportunities that can be instrumental to achieving success with their music. In this article, we will be discussing all there is to know about Music Distribution.

Music distribution is the act of making music content available for public consumption. Our emphasis here is on digital. Music distribution affords listeners buy/listen/download music online. Although some platforms allow direct uploads from artists, the most lucrative way yet is to upload/distribute through a content aggregator/distributor. 

A distributor/aggregator is an industry term for companies that help artists put their music on digital stores like Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, etc. The ultimate goal for digital distribution is to earn money from your music. There are a ton of distribution companies around the world and Freeme Music is at the forefront of Music Distribution and Label Services in Africa.  

Most Music Streaming platforms don’t interact with artists directly, hence the need for a distributor. 

There are certain benefits artists can enjoy from their distributor, apart from just the distribution of their songs. The distributor can help with editorial pitching to get marketing support from the DSPs. Some distributors also partner with specific artists on specific projects. Some even offer marketing support and cash advances. All of these largely depend on the deal on the table.

For artists to earn money from distribution, the song(s) have to be streamed or bought. The more the streams, the more the money. With playlisting services, artists have higher levels of exposure. Playlisting is a digital curation of music based on mood and quality. It aids content discovery. The competition is high and playlisting is incredibly important to have a better chance of thriving.

To get playlisted, artists have to pitch for considerations. A safe period is 14 days before the song’s release. Playlist pitch can only be submitted by music distributors, except for services like Spotify and Audiomack that allows artists to pitch directly through platform apps.

It’s also important to know that most platforms provide data for every artiste. These data show fan interaction with their music (location, age groups, genders, and time, etc). The analytics are made available to either the distributor or through the platforms’ artiste app. These insights should inform the artist’s decision when making and marketing a new release. Analytics also help artists to track, measure their growth and the impact their music is making.

You can also learn more on Music Distribution on our Freeme Academy Series here: Content Distribution, Pitching, and Analytics – Freeme Academy