Playlist Push Review: Can This Help Musicians Get Recognized?

We’ve already covered the many job opportunities that the music industry has to offer in a previous article. But we haven’t really covered how you can still make money from music if you’re not an artist, you don’t have the skills or creativity to create, or you don’t have the education or connections to land a job in this sector.

We also only skimmed the surface of what you can do to promote yourself as an artist if you feel like your music should be heard but record labels haven’t shown enough interest in your work. One platform that caters directly to indie artists and people that want to discover new talent and monetize their flair for putting together awesome playlists is Playlist Push.

What Is Playlist Push?

Playlist Push is a platform that caters to artists and playlist curators. It can help put artists on the map and allow playlist curators to monetize their work. The concept is simple but getting things done can be slightly awkward or slow at times.

This comes as no surprise since getting recognized is all about knowing the right people or getting heard by the right people. And as always, some genres will be more accessible than others, though not always more lucrative.

Here’s a simplified version of how Playlist Push works for both artists and curators.

Playlist Push for Artists

As an artist, you can apply for a campaign to promote your album or a single song. You choose your targeted audience by selecting genres you want to be associated with. Bear in mind that the campaigns may be more expensive in some genres than others depending on the popularity.

What you get in return is detailed reports on who added your song to their playlist. You also get information on how popular your song is based on the number of plays and replays. Another important metric is the reach or followers of the curators.

You can also receive positive or negative feedback from curators. But sometimes people may listen to your song and not say anything. Feedback is not guaranteed.

Your song gets sent to independent playlist owners. They listen, rate, sometimes give feedback, and then they may choose to add your song to a playlist. Some might give positive feedback but point out that your tune is outside their covered genres.

Of course, what you really gain is a chance to be heard by people that may not be able to find you on YouTube or Spotify unless they know what to look for. What’s also important to note is that Playlist Push doesn’t promote established artists or artists that are signed by a record label.

Playlist Push for Curators

What exactly are playlist curators? Think of them as expert reviewers. Playlist curators are essentially paid to listen to songs submitted by artists. They can rate, leave feedback, and even upload the song to one of their playlists, which would guarantee a certain number of plays on Spotify.

The maximum amount of money you can make on Playlist Push as a curator is up to $12 per song review. It doesn’t matter if you add it or not, but your work will be valued based on your experience and reputation.

If you’re a newcomer, you’ll have to work your way up the ladder. Of course, among the perks, you get to be one of the first to listen to some potential new hits. You can be the one that discovers a new platinum artist or internet sensation.

That all looks great on paper. However, not everyone can qualify as a curator. Before even applying for a position, you need to present some credentials. Playlist Push wants curators that already have at least 400 followers on popular streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer.

One or more popular playlists are also preferred. The cool thing about landing a curator position is that you are not obligated to upload a reviewed song to your playlists. You will still be paid for putting in the work and reviewing the artist’s work.

Why Use Playlist Push in the First Place?

Getting your work to the ears of a Spotify curator is next to impossible these days. If you’re not an established artist, the chances of you getting heard are slim to none. You have to realize that official curators get assaulted by thousands of emails and tweets. And messages and good pitches too, of course.

How can you compete? – Running a targeted campaign that sends your work to proven curators is a more reliable option. While it costs money, you might not make it in this highly competitive industry based on just brilliant pitches or even brilliant songs.

Curators want compensation for discovering new talent. And they’d appreciate some compensation upfront before even playing a new song. That’s what Playlist Push offers.

Campaign Pricing

There are many layers to the pricing practices. As mentioned, Playlist Push charges based on how many genres you want to be listed under and the popularity of those genres.

If the average campaign cost is about $450, that doesn’t mean that it will be enough to get you all the exposure you need. You can spend upwards of $1,000 if you’re in a niche genre or worse, in a highly competitive genre like hip hop or pop.

The good news is that you can pay even less and get exposure. Country, for example, is known for its low campaign costs. You may be able to pay as little as $250 and get added to quite a few playlists if your song is good enough.

Another cool thing about running campaigns on Playlist Push is that you can get all the pricing information before launching your campaign. You can get your quote checking options, customizing your campaign, choosing your target audience.

You won’t have to pay for any of that until you decide to actually launch the campaign. At that point, you can use PayPal or a credit card to make an online payment.

Important Campaign Notes for Artists

If you’re trying to make it on your own as an artist or if you’ve had trouble landing a record deal, Playlist Push may be a solid choice to get your name out there. But running a campaign doesn’t guarantee eternal presence on a playlist.

A campaign typically runs for two weeks and can be broken down into three stages:

1. Stage One

During this phase, your song gets sent to various curators that fit your genre. Some of them may listen to it while others may pass.

2. Stage Two

The second stage could be considered the review stage. During this period, curators listen to your work and send you feedback as well as rate the work between one and five stars.

3. Stage Three

Stage three of the campaign involves whether or not you make it to a playlist. Whenever your song gets added, you will be notified with a link to that playlist.

This is where things get a bit murky. A campaign typically lasts for 14 days. But there’s no telling when a curator may get to listening to your song and determining whether or not it’s a fit. Also, there’s no obligation for curators to keep your song on their playlists until the 14 days are up.

A curator may decide to keep a song only for a few hours if the feedback from the followers is bad. But you may also make something out of it. If your song’s a hit, you can expect it to bring in revenue well after the campaign is over.

Impressed curators may keep your song up for months if it generates enough excitement. So, in a way, pitching your work on Playlist Push can set you up for some nice income and feedback long after a campaign is over.

What to Do to Increase Your Chances

As always, there are some potential shortcuts. Some people are either desperate or very determined to get exposure. Therefore, offering incentives to curators to listen to and play their songs is not an uncommon practice.

Should you do this?  As an artist, you may have every reason to want to do this. But it’s still a risky procedure. Some curators may find it offensive, some may even take your money and leave you hanging.

It is a big risk and there’s no protection against it. But what about as a curator? What if you want to make money from playlists, listen to fresh ideas, and make it in the music industry in this way?

As a curator, you’re risking a lot more by taking side money. Most pitching platforms and streaming platforms have rules that advise against this type of favoritism. If you’re caught taking bribes to promote an artist, you may very well lose your affiliation with the streaming service.

The same goes for using follower bots, buying or selling playlists, and similar shady practices.

Is This Legal?

The legality of pitching services is not a grey area. However, the need for pitching services is another matter entirely. The launch of Spotify and other online streaming platforms was like a breath of fresh air for music enthusiasts and indie artists around the world.

The fact that these platforms don’t have the infrastructure to cater to artists directly is somewhat concerning. It would be a lot easier and cheaper to make it if Spotify would actually listen to your song for free and then decide whether or not it’s worth adding to a playlist.

But, the obvious difference in the number of artists and curators is what created the need for pitching services. Whether or not this is actually intended is up for debate. You can spend days of your life discussing the conspiracies surrounding the music industry on Reddit subthreads if you really want to.

However, for the time being, pitching services are a reality and quite a necessity most of the time. At the end of the day, it makes you think long and hard if music is really a viable career path. If you’re willing to invest in production and pitching/promotion then you really believe in your work and you’re willing to follow your dream.

If you don’t value your work at all, then maybe you’re not cut out for this.

A Few Words of Caution

Even with Playlist Push, you’re not guaranteed success as an artist. An ad campaign might work well for you or you might need two or three to get on enough playlists or in the right genres. And, some bad apples will always fall through the cracks.

In addition, there have been reports of curators using fake followers. There’s a reason why they’d do this. Having more followers means higher compensation per reviewed song. But for the paying artists, this can be very bad.

You’re paying for a campaign and getting on playlists, but no one actually listens to your music. So, is there some gambling involved with using a pitching service? – Yes. There always was and always will be.

A Final Overview

As anti-fraud algorithms get better so do those that trick the system. Does this mean that pitching services are more trouble than they’re worth?  No. Considering the alternative of pitching in the dark directly to Spotify, you’ll be better off.

At the very least, a platform like Playlist Push offers objective feedback that may benefit you as an artist. What if your songs are actually not good enough to make money? Are you going to base your work on the words of your friends or your own taste?

Most curators know what they’re doing. They have huge followings for a reason. They know how to pick winning songs that people want to listen to. The followers listen to them hard enough to want to follow those guys and trust them to deliver more great content.

Therefore, whenever you receive feedback, whether it’s positive or highly critical, you can at least expect it to be very detailed more often than not. This will allow you to know what areas need improving in your composition and music production so that you can take that into account for your next production and campaign.