10 Easy Tips on How To Grow Your Spotify Playlist Followers

Spotify playlists have become an undeniable force in music consumption. As of 2024, there are reportedly more than 8 billion user-generated playlists on Spotify, with over 1 billion new playlists created in 2020 alone.

The popularity of playlists has been evident for years. In 2016, a study by the Music Business Association revealed that more people across all demographics in the USA—31% to be exact—preferred listening to playlists over entire albums. Albums accounted for only 22%. Similar findings were made 4 years later in a Deezer survey of 8,000 respondents from the USA, Germany, France, and Brazil. The music streaming platform discovered that out of those 8,000 people, 40% favored playlists, and only 9% preferred albums.

Although listening habits and patterns can vary from place to place and region to region, a clear trend has emerged: people now listen to fewer albums than 5–10 years ago. Now, although we can argue that this is an incredibly sad statistic, as the album format presents a great way for artists to conceptualize their work and immerse themselves in music storytelling, the rise of playlists offers its own unique benefits worth exploring.

According to various studies, many users listen to playlists to mix up their listening experience, while others do so to ensure they stick to their favorite genre(s). It’s also claimed that people often turn to playlists because they are simply more convenient and easier than searching for an artist and their full albums.

Some argue that playlists’ appeal goes much deeper. According to a best-selling author, Jennifer Buchanan, playlists are more than just collections of songs. They can be a “bridge to something deeper within ourselves and a way to address our human need to feel, create, and connect.” In her 2022 book “Wellness, Wellplayed," she portrays playlists as an effective tool for curating and organizing music in a purposeful way, mirroring our feelings, moods, and music preferences.

As she has discovered, music playlists can support our creativity, productivity, and emotional well-being, helping with stress relief and mood-boosting. What’s more, sharing playlists with others can help create meaningful connections and encourage people to learn about each other and enrich each other lives. From a learning and discovery standpoint, listening to others’ playlists can help us uncover new artists, genres, and perspectives.

For all these reasons, music playlists are useful not only to listeners but also to artists and creators. Whether you’re a musician striving to increase their following or a music enthusiast crafting a personal soundtrack, playlist creation has become a creative pursuit in its own right. At their best, playlists offer a perfect blend of discovery, connection, and deepened appreciation for the art of music.

Now, let’s examine how you can make your Spotify playlist more visible and increase its followers!

Like any creative work, a playlist, too, should first and foremost be loved by its curator. If you want others to listen to it, you need to genuinely enjoy it yourself. Your initial engagement plays a key role in its visibility on Spotify, and in the beginning, you’ll likely be your playlist’s most frequent listener.

Consistently playing your own Spotify playlist is the first step to growing its follower count. While it may take a lot of time and patience, dedicating a few weeks to actively listening daily will signal to Spotify’s algorithm that your playlist is worth recommending to others. Over time, this can lead to a steady increase in its followers.

For long-term results and sustained growth, it’s important to remain consistent and continue to be a keen listener over time. Spotify’s algorithm is smart and quick to notice when a playlist is neglected or forgotten by its creator. The number of followers may then stagnate or even start declining. The good news, however, is that even if you happen to put your playlist aside, all you have to do to nurture it again is to re-engage with it on a regular basis. This way, its visibility will improve again, and slowly, a flow of new listeners will likely follow.

As mentioned earlier, listening to your playlist is much easier if you actually love it. Of course, it’s important to consider your target audience, competition, and emerging trends (which we’ll discuss later), but curating a playlist that genuinely reflects your taste in music and includes tracks you personally want to tune in is crucial for long-term success.

Adding tracks solely based on what you think your audience wants to hear can take a heavy toll on your unique identity and music brand. Not only will it not represent your personality, but you will likely end up crafting a list that resembles many others. This lack of originality may negatively impact your engagement and slow down follower growth.

Hot tip: Be 100% sure that every song added to your playlist is one you love. If you’re even slightly unsure about a track, leave it out.

While it’s great that anyone can create a playlist, this also means competition is intense. Even if you remain true to yourself and your personal music taste, focusing on a broad and highly popular genre can make it difficult to stand out. That’s why defining a clear niche for your playlist is essential.

One effective way to carve out your niche is by narrowing down your playlist’s focus to a particular sub-genre, theme, or mood. The ultimate goal is to be as specific as possible to have your playlist rise above others. Don’t hesitate to experiment to see what resonates with others, but stay true to the music you’re passionate about, too. Consider genres, artists, and tracks you love. Playing around with small and distinct elements of tracks and the emotions they evoke can help shape a unique playlist that captures the attention of others!

Music is constantly evolving, with new trends and subgenres gradually emerging. A playlist can also stand out by highlighting noticeable patterns that reflect current or upcoming trends. While creating such a playlist may be more difficult as it usually requires extra research and creativity, it can certainly be rewarding, providing both you and your listeners with a unique listening experience.

Remember that listening to a wide range of music across genres can help you identify uncommon patterns and spark interesting ideas. You can update your Spotify playlist at any time, so don’t be afraid of trying something new. You can always remove tracks that you don’t feel fit and add new ones that will be a better match with your playlist’s distinctive style.

Just like your playlist’s content, its title and description should stand out too! This is where keywords play an essential role—these are the terms that listeners search for when looking for their ideal listening experience.

The best playlist title is both descriptive and unique, giving potential listeners a clear idea of what to expect. It’s crucial to select a title that’s specific and allows you to truly reflect the essence of your playlist. Going for general titles like “Pop Music” or “Country Folk” will not really help you or your potential audience. You can incorporate a particular sub-genre, style, mood, theme, or even a specific time period and then combine a broad term with a more specific one to make your playlist easier to find and more appealing. If your list intersects two or more genres, be playful and opt for a catchy title. For example, titles like “90s Summer Rock” or “Winter Chill 2023” are much more engaging and more likely to attract listeners.

If you need inspiration, there are various websites that can help you explore and discover relevant genres for your playlist. For instance, platforms like Last.fm and Chosic allow you to search for artists and see the genres and subgenres they are most commonly associated with. Google Trends can then help you measure and compare the popularity of particular genre names and choose the most effective ones.

Joining forces with other playlist curators can create something truly special. By sharing ideas and inspiration, you can craft playlists that will benefit both parties and their respective audiences. You can directly reach out to independent playlist curators—often influencers, bloggers, media outlets, or organizations whose work you’ve been following.

Approach them via email, their official website (if they have one), or even social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. Be sure to present yourself as a professional curator who is reliable, great to work with, and can meet important deadlines. You can also explore platforms and services like Playlist Pump or Indiemono, which can help boost your playlist’s visibility on Spotify.

Speaking of working with others, you can also get in touch with artists whose music you include in your playlist. As mentioned earlier, playlisting plays a key role in music promotion, making it a win-win for both artists and curators. Reach out to featured artists and encourage them to share the playlist with their fans, increasing its visibility and engagement. You can either contact them directly via email or social media (depending on how big they are) or go through their management team.

Images have the power to grab attention and set the mood for your playlist. Research suggests that the human brain can process visual data 60,000 times faster than text, making your cover art a key element in luring potential listeners. Striking cover art can spark curiosity and entice users to explore the playlist to see what’s inside and what the image represents.

Each music genre, subgenre, and mood call for a distinct visual aesthetic. Looking at album covers from artists you admire can provide inspiration, as can visually-focused social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram. Making cover art is a creative endeavor, and if you enjoy graphic design, creating your own cover can be a lot of fun. Tools like Canva, Figma, or VistaCreate offer both free and premium features to help you craft professional-looking designs.

Alternatively, you can find artwork by a designer or artist that fits your playlist. In such a case, we recommend contacting the artist for permission to use the artwork and then crediting the author in the playlist description. If you use someone’s art without consent, they may eventually ask you to take it down.

Last but not least, there are plenty of websites with high-quality, royalty-free images, such as Pexels, Unsplash, or Pixabay. These may be especially useful if your playlist revolves around a specific theme or mood.

It’s crucial to be selective about the tracks you include in your playlist. While there is no limit to the number of songs you can add, quality matters far more than quantity. It’s easy to claim your playlist simply follows a particular music genre, style, or mood, but sticking to that vision—especially as the playlist grows—can be rather challenging.

Creating a unique and well-curated playlist is vital, but keeping your audience engaged over time is just as important. That’s why it's so important to regularly listen to your own playlist.

Make sure that every song in the playlist is intentionally selected to fit the overall theme and represent your unique musical identity. Incorporating songs just for the sake of filling space may dilute the playlist’s character, making it feel inconsistent and poorly managed. If listeners sense this, they may be very quick to move on to other playlists instead.

Additionally, with thousands of new songs released every day, listeners have become more selective about their music choices. Playlists serve as a great way to navigate this vast selection, making it easier now than ever for users to find a specific genre, subgenre, style of music, or musical era

Humans are also naturally curious. Playlists that allow the audience to explore and discover new and exciting music are more likely to hold their attention longer. Additionally, if your selection is carefully curated, listeners are more likely to return and listen to your playlist again and again.

While it’s true that many listeners seek out new music, including timeless classics adored for years or decades can actually enhance your playlist and attract more followers. That’s because music has the power to evoke strong emotions and memories, creating a deeper connection with listeners.

People remain passionate about their favorite songs even after listening to them for the millionth time, and they can get very excited if they see some of them in the playlist you’ve created. If there are some iconic tracks that you love and fit your playlist’s theme, don’t hesitate to include them. Considering that there are about 640 million monthly active users on Spotify, chances are that other listeners will appreciate those classics just as much as you do.

The beginning of your playlist can be considered an introduction to the selection of tracks you’ve curated. Although now you don’t necessarily have to listen to a playlist in the order it’s been created, the first few songs are crucial—they set the tone and shape the listener’s first impression. If they like the opening songs, they are likely to stay; if not, they will move on to another playlist.

To maximize engagement, the first 10 songs of your playlist should be chosen extra carefully. These should represent your strongest selections, showcasing the best of what your playlist has to offer.

The official Spotify Community can be a valuable place to promote your playlist. By logging in with Spotify username/password, you can post your playlist on the Spotify Playlist Exchange, making it visible to a wider audience. When sharing your playlist, include a brief yet engaging description—explain the inspiration behind it (why you decided to curate it), the genre, and how often you update it.

To increase discoverability, make sure to add relevant tags in the description, especially for the genres included in your playlist, so that users looking for particular music through the Exchange can easily find it. You can also engage with posts from other curators, rating their playlists, commenting on their threads, and starting conversations. You can also use this opportunity to encourage other curators to stream your playlist.

Another powerful platform for playlist boosting and promotion is Reddit. As of 2024, Reddit has around 500 million Reddit accounts, so the potential audience waiting for your music collection can be quite vast. There are various subreddits—niche communities on the Reddit platform—hosted on the platform, where you can share your playlist and gain listeners.

Give Recommended communities include Spotify Playlist, Music Recommendations, Weird Spotify Playlists, or We Are The Music Makers subreddits. Some of these, like Spotify Playlist or We Are The Music Makers, even host regular competitions where curators compete for the best playlist within a specific theme. These competitions give you a chance to stand out, foster engagement, and encourage interaction through comments and playlist exploration.