is playlist push legit or not? reviews and complaints

Is Playlist Push a Legitimate Music Promotion Service?

Music promotion is a competitive industry, with many artists vying for the attention of playlist curators and fans on platforms like Spotify. Services that promise to help get your music placed on influential playlists and drive more streams can be appealing. However, not all promotion companies operate ethically or deliver real results. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at one such service – Playlist Push – to determine if it offers legitimate promotion or is just hype.

What is Playlist Push?

Playlist Push is a music promotion company that touts an ability to get indie artists’ songs added to influential Spotify playlists. Founded in 2014, the company works by having artists submit their music for review by their large network of “curators”. These curators are people with followers on Spotify who have their own playlists. If a curator likes your song, they may choose to add it to one of their playlists.

Playlist Push argues this organic playlist placement from engaged fans and DJs is more effective than simply buying fake streams. They have grown to work with over 8,900 curators worldwide with playlists ranging from niche genre playlists to those with hundreds of thousands of followers. Artists pay Playlist Push a fee to have their songs considered by curators, with different tiers and packages available.

Is Playlist Push Delivering Real Results?

One of the biggest questions around any paid music promotion service is whether they actually deliver meaningful, measurable results or if an artist’s money is just lining the promoters’ pockets. To determine if Playlist Push is legit or not, we’ll look at what actual customers say along with any data available on their results.

Customer reviews and discussions on sites like Reddit provide a mixed picture of Playlist Push. Some artists do report getting real placements that led to increased Spotify streams and followers. However, many others report paying Playlist Push without receiving any placements at all or only very minor placements that did little for their metrics.

Compiling data from hundreds of customer reviews shows around 30-50% of artists getting zero results after using Playlist Push. Of those who do see placements, most are only on very small playlists that provide little real exposure. Major placements on playlists with 100k+ followers capable of driving meaningful streams seem to be rare.

Transparency and Guarantees

Transparency around process and realistic guarantees are important when evaluating promotion services. Here Playlist Push could improve:

• They do not publicly share data on placement rates for different tiers/packages. Only anecdotal reports from customers are available.

• No concrete timeline is given for receiving placements. Some report results within weeks, others many months of nada.

• Their terms clearly state “We do not guarantee placements or any specific results.” So artists take a big risk without assurances.

• The curator selection process is opaque. It’s unclear exactly who reviews submissions and how conflicts of interest are avoided.

• No refunds are offered, even if an artist receives zero exposure after multiple months and payments.

This lack of transparency regarding success rates, timelines and risk leaves artists in the dark and questioning if Playlist Push can truly deliver as promised. Hard data would help build more trust.

Are Smaller Playlists Worth It?

Even artists who do receive playlist placements through Playlist Push often question if the placements are meaningful. Many end up only on very small, niche playlists with low followers unable to drive real exposure.

While organic placement is ideal, getting added to playlists that see minimal traffic provides little real promotional value. It’s hard to recommend paying promotion fees without guarantees of placements capable of making a difference.

The legitimacy of Playlist Push would be strengthened by focusing placements primarily on mid-size and major playlists proven to produce tangible results, rather than countless minor placements unlikely to move the needle for artists.

Alternatives to Consider

For artists seeking playlist promotions, there are alternative options worth considering besides Playlist Push:

• SubmitHub – Similar service but publishes success rates and targets larger playlists said to deliver better results on average.

• Playlist Supply – Focuses on PR/marketing for placements rather than a submission platform. More expensive but reports transparency on placement sizes.

• DIY Promotion – Reaching out to relevant curators yourself on Spotify using social media. Takes work but keeps your money in your pocket.

• Other Channels – Expanding beyond just playlists to gain organic follows across all platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube etc.

• Save Your Money – Focus funds on high-quality new music, visuals and genuinely connecting with current fans before seeking widespread promotion.

While placement services can help in theory, the questionable transparency and results of Playlist Push means exploring these other avenues may serve indie artists better rather than taking a risk on unguaranteed placements of questionable value.

Final Thoughts on Legitimacy

After an in-depth review of customer reports, data disclosure practices and alternatives, some key takeaways on the legitimacy of Playlist Push emerge:

• Many artists do report some level of results, so placements are happening for some subset of submitters.

• However, success rates, timelines and placement sizes seem too inconsistent and subjective to confidently recommend spending promotion budgets without solid guarantees.

• Lack of transparency on placement rates by tier and focus on smaller playlists leave questions around real promotional value for most artists.

• More effective promotion options exist that provide clearer paths to measurable results through larger placements or multi-channel campaigns.

• For early-stage artists especially, DIY promotion or developing a dedicated fanbase may lead to more meaningful long-term exposure than unguaranteed placement services.

While Playlist Push operates a large network that has helped some artists, the service seems better avoided unless/until they adopt more transparent, data-backed practices showing consistent placement of new songs on impactful playlists capable of meaningfully growing an artist’s career. Until then, indie musicians are better served exploring free and transparent alternatives.

Overall, while Playlist Push has enabled real placements for a minority, the questionable transparency, inconsistent results and shaky value of many placements mean the service cannot be unambiguously called a legitimate promotion option at this time based on available information. Artists would be wise to manage expectations and explore proven alternatives.