Independent Playlist Curators and Why They Are Needed

Spotify has changed the game of music streaming forever. Not only has it greatly helped artists release music, but it has also helped make the music industry a lot more accommodating due to its playlist ecosystem. There are many Spotify playlists such as algorithmic playlists, editorial playlists, and so on. So what job do independent playlist curators have?

In this article, we will be answering a few questions:

1. How are independent Spotify playlist curators different?
   
   
2. Why are they important in the playlist ecosystem?
   
   
3. Our Final Thoughts
   
   

How are independent Spotify playlist curators different?

When we say the word, ‘indie’ (short for independent), it means that they aren’t associated with the company Spotify, itself. These are curators who have made public playlists on Spotify and curated them based on their tastes. As the term suggests, these curators make playlists and curate music outside of major record labels and editorial teams of Spotify. 

One of the major defining factors is that they are individuals or groups of curators who have a certain expertise and personal taste for the music they listen to and manually curate for other users on Spotify. This ability helps them pick music that bots or algorithms cannot pick up on. 

Since they are independent, they are also not bound to commercial or corporate influence because such curators usually prioritize the quality of the playlist rather than the commercial aspects, something that representatives from record labels or editorial teams have to consider. Such independent curators look out more for the ‘discoverability’ factor in the music they curate rather than the ‘popularity’ of the track, which is again, something editorial playlisters and other corporate giants cannot do.  

Algorithmic playlists on Spotify, as the name suggests, are curated by the algorithm based on the user’s listening habits, and these differ from user to user. However, independent curators understand listeners’ tastes a lot better, making them curate music that they genuinely believe their followers will enjoy and will sit better with their listening experience, by adding a personal touch. Their ability to handpick music for every genre, mood, and theme sets them apart. Yes, they’re probably the only people who’d know music exactly similar to the one artist that you like. :)

Why are they important in the playlist ecosystem?

Music discovery 

Have you ever wondered why there is a ‘Discovered On’ section under every artist’s profile on the desktop version of Spotify? 

It is to keep track of how many playlists include the music that made you gain visibility, and these playlists could be editorial, or made by independent playlist curators. The link between the ‘Discovered On’ feature and independent playlist curators stems from the fact that these curators frequently have a direct influence on how consumers explore new music. When a listener or user streams your track frequently or saves it, Spotify will display the playlist that added your music in the first place, under the ‘Discovered On’ section of your profile.

This translates to the discoverability factor we mentioned earlier. The music streaming industry is a competitive one so when an independent playlist curator adds a track from an emerging or upcoming musician, that artist gets a real-time chance at visibility - people would ‘discover’ the artist once they end up streaming the track while listening to the playlist. Hence, independent playlisters play a crucial role in the development of emerging artists and musicians. 

Bridging gaps

Hoping that Spotify playlists would get you closer to your listeners is a little far-fetched, mainly because they are not always manually curated. That’s where independent playlisters come in. 

Independent playlist curators play an important role in connecting artists with their prospective audiences. They operate as tastemakers, as they meticulously choose songs that appeal to their fans. Curators assist in showcasing a musician’s work to a larger consumer base, boosting the probability of being discovered. This exposure has the potential to transform a musician’s career, resulting in new supporters, partnerships, and even contracts for recordings.

Once the listener streams the track in the playlist and comes to like it, they are more likely to explore the catalog or discography of the artist on Spotify - which ultimately leads to building your fanbase as a musician. 

Pssst…come here: Independent curators actively support and seek music from independent musicians who are struggling to make it in the music industry. This openness and accommodating nature of independent curators makes a lot of difference for musicians. 

Stream counts and royalties

Getting your music playlisted on independent curators’ playlists can help you increase your stream count for your tracks, which ultimately helps you gain more streaming royalties from Spotify. At the moment, the distribution is 7:3, that is, you get 70% of the total streaming revenue and Spotify takes the rest 30%. With up to $0.005 pay per stream on Spotify, you could make more by getting your music playlisted. Use, artist.tools free Spotify royalty calculator to check yours now!

Since independent curators have a knack for handpicking music and maintaining the quality of a playlist in terms of its mood and theme, they are bound to be extremely popular amongst their followers and active listeners.

This increased visibility has the potential to enhance revenues while also attracting the interest of record companies and other music industry experts in the playlist ecosystem like A&Rs, looking for new talent.

Influence larger playlists

User-generated playlists (the term referred to as playlists made by independent curators and listeners for their personal listening as well as public) play an elemental role in understanding what listeners like to stream and identifying music streaming trends. 

Let’s give you a small example. 

Many users and smaller independent curators who curate music for the hobby of it, started making playlists with the tag: pov. For example, playlists such as ‘pov: you’re in love,’ or ‘pov: you’re hot’ were first made by different users on Spotify. Soon, Spotify caught on and made editorial playlists very similar to these! Just check this out:

Independent playlists curated by playlisters help shape the trends of bigger Spotify playlists in the streaming world and for all the right reasons! 

Our Final Thoughts

We believe that independent playlisters make a huge difference in the functioning of the ecosystem. This playlist ecosystem has 3 major stakeholders. The music listeners, the playlist curators, and the musicians/artists themselves. Without the curators operating in the system, the other two would not benefit from each other. 

We at GreaseRelease, have a bunch of curators on our network who are looking for new & exciting music to push on their massive playlists. If you make music and want to reach a wider audience, check out our submission platform and get a chance to reach millions of listeners! Submit your tracks now!