The playlist universe on the streaming platforms seems to be endless. Some are created by users, some by artists, others by the platforms, or even by algorithms. So how should you as an artist know which playlists are relevant for you? In this article we clarify the different types of playlists and which ones you should have on your radar to promote your music.

These are algorithmic playlists and different for each listener. They are automatically created based on what listeners have tuned into, liked, shared, added to a playlist, but also on what they skipped. These thoughtful algorithms, which were designed by real people, also compare listening habits to others with a similar taste. They are therefore based on everyone’s unique tastes and cannot be directly influenced by you as an artist. But the more followers you have, the more of these playlists you’ll get on. Thus, get the buzz about your music out and talk about it whenever and wherever you can - e.g. on your social media.

These are curated playlists created by people for different genres, moods, activities or vibes. The tracks for those playlists are selected by experts with a certain audience in mind. To select the right music, these people rely on their great experience and sense for listening habits. Editorial playlists can sometimes also be personalised with different tracks for different users. On Spotify you can identify curated playlists by their logo on the preview image of the playlist. If you get featured one of Spotify’s editorial playlists you receive a personal link to share with your audience. This ensures that people who clicked on your unique link will always see your track at the top for the next 24 hours. You also don’t have to solely rely on being discovered by those playlist curators. You can also pitch your music to them to get featured on editorial playlists, however this process is different for every platform.

Listeners can, of course, also create their own playlists with tracks they like. Thereby they can for instance group the different styles of music they listen to. There are millions of audience playlists out there. As an artist you may not directly be able to influence what people add to their personal playlists (of course, you can always ask them directly), but you can learn a lot from them. It’s a great way to understand your fans, how your music resonates with them and how your reach grows. And the more you land on these playlists, the more likely it is that your music gets chosen by curators or the algorithm. Music by other artists that is similar to yours can also help you increase your reach. When listeners add music to a playlist, recommendations are generated which may include your tracks.

As an artist you also have the possibility to create and share playlists with tracks selected by you. You can feature your playlists on your artist profile on some of the platforms - on Spotify this is for instance called an “Artist Pick”. This way you can show your audience what you like and make recommendations to them. Other artists could also do the same for you, so, it’s always good to connect with them. You can also highlight playlists created by others on your artist profile - e.g. ones to which your music has been added. No matter what you create or highlight, it’s always good to keep your content up to date and regularly change your artist picks.

Whether created by listeners, curators, algorithms or yourself: Playlists are a great way to make your music even more popular and steadily grow your audience.