How to Get More Spotify Playlist Followers

You get more Spotify playlist followers by making each visit end in a follow: a name people search for, a cover that reads at thumbnail size, a description that promises more music, your strongest tracks at the top, and a steady update rhythm. Getting people to the playlist in the first place is its own job, covered in how to promote a Spotify playlist. This guide is about what happens once they arrive.

Where playlist followers come from

Most follows start in one of three places:

• Spotify search. Someone types a genre, a mood, or an activity and scrolls through the playlists that come up.
• A shared link. From an artist you added, a fan, or a thread about the genre.
• Your profile. Everything public you've made sits there together, so one good playlist sends people to the others.

Whichever way they arrive, they decide in a few minutes whether to follow. Everything below is about those minutes.

Name it with the words people search for

People search in plain words: a genre, a mood, an activity, sometimes a season. "Indie folk for rainy mornings" gets found by strangers. "Bangers vol. 4" only gets found by people you already sent it to. Spotify doesn't publish how it ranks playlists in search, so the dependable part is using the words people actually type.

• Put the genre in the name. It's the word almost everyone starts with.
• Add one word or phrase for who it's for or when to play it: study, gym, driving, late night, Sunday morning.
• Keep it short. Long names get cut off on a phone, and the words at the end are the ones that disappear.
• Keep it honest. A name that oversells brings people in for one play and loses them by track three.

Write a description that promises more

Two lines is plenty. Say what kind of music is inside, who it's for, and how often you add to it. "New indie folk, updated every Friday" gives someone a reason to follow today, because they know more is coming. Use the words a listener would use for the genre, since those are the words they searched.

Make cover art that reads at thumbnail size

Your cover shows up small: in search results, in a library, on a lock screen. One clear image or one big word holds up at that size, and busy collages with small type turn to mush. Pick a look you can keep, and when you refresh the art, keep the same colors and type so people still recognize it in a list.

Put your strongest tracks first

Most people press play at the top and make up their mind within a couple of minutes. Your first five tracks decide the follow, so put your strongest and most typical music there, in an order that flows. If the best track on your playlist sits at number 34, hardly anyone who's deciding will ever hear it.

Update on a rhythm people can count on

A follow is a bet that your playlist will still be good next month. Adding music every week or every other week pays that bet off. Keep the size steady. Around 40 – 60 tracks is a good rule of thumb for most genres, enough to play for a while and few enough that new additions get heard, and when you add five, retire five from the bottom. There's more on timing in how often to update a Spotify playlist.

Pick a rhythm you can hold for a year, then put it in the description.

Give people music they can only find with you

The reason to follow a smaller playlist is the music the big ones haven't found yet. New and unsigned artists in your genre give listeners something they get from you and nowhere else. They're also the artists most likely to share the link when you add them, and their fans already like your genre.

Digging them up is the slow part. The usual way is a submission queue: hours of tracks that mostly don't suit your playlist, for a few dollars per review. Being paid just to consider tracks also breaks Spotify's rules, which puts your playlist at risk. On Soundmango, artists in your genre come to you. You listen first, take on the campaigns you want, and get paid for each one. What goes on your playlist stays your call. Apply with your playlist and start hearing from artists in your corner of the genre.

Why bought followers backfire

You can buy followers, and the number jumps overnight. It also breaks Spotify's User Guidelines, which ban artificially increasing follow counts, including by paying for them, and Spotify can remove content or suspend accounts that do it.

The listening stays flat, too, and the gap is easy to spot: thousands of followers and almost no streams per track. Follow-for-follow swaps end up in the same place, with followers who run playlists of their own and never press play on yours.

Frequently asked questions

How many followers does a Spotify playlist need?

There's no magic number. What matters is whether the followers listen: a playlist with 800 followers who come back every week does more for the artists on it than one with 40,000 who forgot they followed.

How often should I add new tracks?

Weekly or every other week suits most genres. Pick the rhythm you can hold through a busy month, and say it in the description.

Do I lose followers if I remove a track?

No. People follow the playlist itself, so swapping tracks changes nothing about who follows it. What keeps them is the playlist still sounding like the one they chose.

Can I make money from my Spotify playlist?

Yes, as long as nobody pays you to add a track or to consider one. On Soundmango you're paid for the campaigns you take on for artists in your genre, and adding a track is always your own call. How to make money from Spotify playlists covers the options.

Get paid for the playlist you already run

You've done the hard part: a playlist people follow and trust. On Soundmango, artists in your genre bring you their tracks, you take on the campaigns you want, and your earnings reach your bank account every month. What goes on the playlist stays your call. Start earning from your playlist.