Have you just released the best song of your career, only to see it not receive the streams you were hoping for?
First and foremost, it may be time to re-think your marketing and promotional strategy, but on top of that, this blog will provide you a completely free way on how you can get organic streams, the right way, without your songs being placed on a single playlist (that is not your own).
For the purpose of this blog, we are going to make the assumption that your music is already on popular streaming services, such as Spotify.
Okay, so what’s the secret? It is too…
Create your own playlists
I’ve tried that, but I don’t have enough followers, or a budget to promote it?
YOU DO NOT NEED EITHER! Let’s explain.
First of all, as you know, there is no doubt that playlists provide some of the best ways to increase your streams, however getting your music on playlists, (and especially popular playlists), which will actually provide you a decent amount of streams is no easy task.
So while getting on Spotify’s editorial playlists would be amazing, we’re going to take a more practical approach, to ensure that you can guarantee to increase your streams, without getting playlisted by anyone!
The way to do that is by creating your own playlists. Sounds simply enough, but we can hear your skepticism through the screen, that “creating a playlist does not magically bring listeners to it,” and you’re right, so how can you create successful playlists, with no budget?
The solution may me easier than you think. In addition to your song(s) on the playlist, feature artists with a similar style of music, that have a following size similar to yours, or a little larger (for the best and most realistic results).
If you add Taylor Swift’s songs to you playlist, we can practically guarantee you that she will not share it, however if you support artists in a similar stage of their career to yourself, they will be appreciative, and share your playlist in return.
You can even message them on social platforms first, build a relationship, and have them share the playlist (but we’ll get into this later, and share with you how you can do it without coming across as “pushy”).
So why does this work? Let’s assume you have 1,000 followers, and you connect with 100 artists (that also have 1,000 followers), and add a song of theirs to your playlist. When they share your playlist, you’re now reaching 100,000 people (instead of just your following of 1,000).
That’s an audience size 100X of what you currently have, but wait, there’s more!
Playlists are meant to be updated continuously. Let’s assume you update songs every 2 weeks, you’re now reaching 100,000 people every 2 weeks, or about 2,600,000 people a year, WOW, right?
The power of collaborating with artists cannot be overstated. It’s free, allows fellow artists to not only support each other, but also receive mutually beneficial results.
If you’re not already doing this, it is time to start! But how do you get started, and how can you actually make this a reality?
Begin by searching social media, streaming platforms, forums, and anywhere else artists “hangout” online. When doing this, look for artists whose music you not only like, but also is similar to yours.
When you have found those artists, reach out to them, tell them that you have a playlist, and would love to feature their song on it. They will be grateful for your support, and once you show them your playlist (and prove it’s real), there is no chance they say no to your offer.
So that is the value you give them, but now you need value back (which will be in the form of a share).
Before we get into that though, give yourself a pat on the back, because you have done the hard part.
Alright, so now it's time for you to receive some value. When you add their song to your playlist, most artists will share it right away, but let’s assume worst case scenario, which is, they don’t!
The last thing you want to do is potentially ruin a long-term relationship by coming across as pushy, and asking them to share it, so what can you do instead?
Post it to your instagram story for example, tag the artist, and say something like, “just added ______ to my playlist, have you not checked it out yet? Click here.” Along with a link to it.
Now instead of them having to take the time to create their own post, or story, they can simply re-post yours in 2 clicks. This works 99% of the time (okay that statistic was made up, but in reality, given how easy it is for them to share, the odds are seriously in your favor).
So this all sounds great, but we do have to warn you, it is no secret that this will take some hard work (and a lot of time initially), to actively seek out artists, that you believe fit well on your playlist.
With that being said, it will only get easier each week that goes by, as your playlist will receive more exposure, which means that more artists will reach out to you with their song, asking to be placed on your playlist.
This will result in less outreach for yourself, more followers of your playlist, and more streams on your song(s), (which for best results, we recommend you prominently feature your song(s) on the playlist, after all, it is your playlist).
In other words, and to summarize this blog, if the curators do not find or accept your song, become a curator, and do it better!