Spotify’s Playlist Mafia: The £280 Secret Menu Your Indie Artist Can’t Afford

Watch Spotify’s Playlist Mafia: The £280 Secret Menu Your Indie Artist Can’t Afford - Rizzle on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Spotify's Playlist Mafia

00:02The £280 secret menu your indie artist can't afford

00:06Indie artists are paying £280 for obscure playlist spots

00:11while major labels get prime placement for free

00:13Spotify's playlist game runs like a restaurant with two menus

00:17one for the powerful, one for everyone else

00:20Spotify claims it doesn't allow pay-to-playlist schemes

00:23but the reality tells a different story

00:26674 out of 1,000 indie curators

00:29will send price sheets before even listening to your music

00:32Playlist placement has become a pay-for-play market

00:36with curators openly charging £30 to £280

00:39for 28-day slots and offering tiered positions

00:42Some rely on bots, risking artist penalties

00:45Indie musicians face harsh choices

00:49Pay third parties, give up royalties via Spotify's Discovery Mode

00:53or compete with labels that control up to 87% of playlist space

00:57Here's the harsh truth

00:59Top playlists like Rap Caviar and New Music Friday

01:02are packed with Universal, Sony, and Warner artists

01:05No £280 fees involved

01:07They skip the middlemen thanks to direct ties with Spotify's editorial team

01:12Independent artists are stuck battling shady middlemen

01:15and Spotify's own stock music under Perfect Fit Content

01:18which fills playlists with cheap, anonymous tracks

01:21The system leaves indies choosing between lost income for exposure

01:25or losing out to major labels dominating key playlists

01:28This goes beyond money

01:30It's about how music discovery is shaped

01:33When deals outweigh merit

01:35personalized playlists reflect corporate agendas

01:37not creativity

01:38Streaming promised access for all but built-new gatekeepers

01:42letting major labels skip the line

01:44while indie artists pay to get in