We live in a very different world to 20 years ago. Now days a Spotify playlist can bring in a few hundred thousand plays in a few weeks. A great example is the band below.
The Gallowgate Murders. They have only 6,000 monthly views, one song with 30k listens and one with 300k listens. Now we see track one with hundreds of thousands of listens is part of Spotify “Celtic Punk” playlist.
They have gotten 300k plays with just two songs and this also shows how to get on playlists.
Release schedule:
In the Good old days an album was an real recording, it was either a vinyl, cd or cassette, at the most it was 20 tracks or an EP. To save money and get music into the hand of fans an album was best. Now days With the power of a playlist, the best way to release music is in the form of a single. We still recommend recording in bulk, but a good release schedule is 4-6 weeks per song.
Playlists:
There are two kinds of playlist you can get a new track into. “release radar” of your followers. Everyone who follows you gets a release radar and your new tracks get put in it. “Curated genre” whatever your genre try get into the playlist for it. If your a punk band, maybe “politcal punks” by spotify. A spotify list is free and will only take you effort to pitch your track.
How to pitch?
The easy way to pitch is via Distrokid or a distributor and setting the release date for a months time. Then go into your spotify for artists. In a few days go to Music/upcoming and your new release will be there.
If you’re doing music D.I.Y, make sure you claim your Spotify for artist profile and try to get as many followers as you can.