Types of playlists and their differences
Editorial, algorithmic and curated playlists, what are the main differences? Learn it in this article!
October 27, 2023 / by DailyPlaylists Team
On the DSPs, a least a hundred thousand songs are released every day. Playlists have gained immense importance due to this. They are a guideline for many people who want to discover new music or want to immerse themselves in a specific mood and find the perfect music for a specific activity.
It would be extremely difficult to listen to every new song every single day in the search for your new favorite artist. So we as listeners trust certain curators, brands or systems to funnel our music consumption. We can find, in general terms, three main types of playlists:
Editorial playlists
These are curated by Spotify's in-house editorial team. These are human-made playlists where music experts select and arrange the tracks based on various themes, moods, or events.
They are updated regularly and often feature a mix of popular songs, emerging artists, and hidden gems chosen by the curators.
Algorithmic playlists
Algorithmic playlists are generated by Spotify's algorithms and are personalized for individual listeners. They use data on your listening history, music preferences, and behavior to create custom playlists.
These playlists are updated automatically and adapt as your listening habits change. Examples of algorithmic playlists include "Discover Weekly", "Release Radar” and "Daily Mix".
Third Party Curated playlists
Curated playlists are created by independent individuals or organizations - this includes artists, record labels, influencers, and regular users.
Curators have control over the playlist's content and can add or remove songs as they see fit. These playlists can be thematic, genre-specific, or based on personal preferences.
Curated playlists can provide a distinct perspective or taste in music and are often shared with a specific audience. The content is carefully selected to provide a unique listening experience.
The main differences between these types of playlists lie in how they are created and updated. In summary, each type of playlist serves a different purpose. The reality is that, if you are an artist, you don’t have much control over the editorial playlists and the algorithmic playlists; but there are platforms like DailyPlaylists where you can pitch your music to playlist curators.
You can submit your songs on our free marketplace for you to get the grasp of playlist pitching, or you can purchase Premium credits to access our vetted selection of high quality curators.
We hope this article has been helpful and that you now have a clearer understanding of the playlist environment. Start pitching your music on DailyPlaylists!
