Video by Indie Music Academy via YouTube
Read how we vet Spotify playlists: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19f7qxmCba4xHG3OGhgLVNKVZLcPH0Tg-HGQbcGSCrZo/edit
How can you tell whether a Spotify playlist has real listeners—or just inflated numbers?
In this video, I show you how I use artist.tools to evaluate Spotify playlists before working with them. We’ll look at playlist reports, historical follower growth, sudden drops, and rapid rebounds to understand which patterns deserve a closer look.
Using examples like Guardians of the Galaxy and Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits, I explain why a follower dip doesn’t automatically mean a playlist is bad—and why the context behind the numbers matters.
You’ll learn:
• How I read historical follower-growth charts and playlist risk indicators
• Why repeated follower losses followed by rapid rebounds raise concerns
• How comparing playlists can help put account cleanups into context
• Why Spotify search visibility matters when evaluating how listeners discover a playlist
This video is not sponsored. I pay for my artist.tools subscription.
🔗 Links and resources mentioned
How we vet Spotify playlists — the Google Doc from this video:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19f7qxmCba4xHG3OGhgLVNKVZLcPH0Tg-HGQbcGSCrZo/edit
artist.tools — the playlist research tool I use:
https://www.artist.tools/
Explore Indie Music Academy and our services:
Spotify playlist promotion — campaigns managed for you:
https://www.indiemusicacademy.com/start-campaign?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=yt_how_i_use_artisttools&utm_content=description_promotion
Spotify Follower Growth Ads — grow your artist following:
https://www.indiemusicacademy.com/spotify-follower-ads?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=yt_how_i_use_artisttools&utm_content=description_follower_ads
All other services:
https://www.indiemusicacademy.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=yt_how_i_use_artisttools&utm_content=description_homepage
👋 Connect with Ryan
On IG: https://www.instagram.com/ryanwaczek
Email: support@indiemusicacademy.com
