More reach for your music: using remixes & playlists

The way in which music is discovered, distributed and consumed has changed dramatically in recent years. While music compilations used to play an important role, today personalized playlists, remixes and viral TikTok sounds are crucial for the success of songs and artists.

In this article, you will learn how remixes and Spotify playlists influence the German music charts, why pop music and rock music benefit from them and how you can remix music yourself or use playlists for better visibility.

Remixes: New hits from old songs

A remix can give a song a completely new dynamic and help it gain new popularity. In pop and rock music in particular, remixes often ensure that older songs re-enter the German music charts or that a new hit is even more widely recognized.

Remixes offer several advantages:

• Greater reach: a successful remix not only reaches fans of the original, but also new target groups.
• Cross-genre experiments: rock music meets electronic beats, pop music gets a danceable house upgrade - creative remixes open up new worlds of sound.
• Streaming successes: Remixes often have a longer lifespan on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music than the original, as they end up in new playlists and are rediscovered time and time again.

Spotify playlists: the key to the German music charts

Spotify playlists are one of the most important ways for musicians to become known today. While in the past it was mainly radio stations and MTV that decided the success of a song, today it is curated playlists and user-generated lists that catapult songs into the music charts.

• Official playlists: Spotify creates its own lists such as "Today's Top Hits" or "Rock Rotation", which reach millions of listeners.
• Algorithmic playlists: "Discover Weekly" and "Release Radar" help to automatically play new music to interested listeners.
• User-generated playlists: Many playlist curators have built up a large reach and can influence the success of a song through their selection.

Tip: If you want to build a larger audience as a musician, you should actively work on landing in thematically relevant playlists. This not only increases streams, but can also help to remain visible in the German music charts in the long term.

Spotify playlist download: What you should know

Many users download playlists so that they can listen to their favorite songs offline. For musicians, this means that a song is not only streamed once, but can be listened to more often through downloads.

Why are playlist downloads relevant for artists?

• Higher playback rates: Songs that are saved and downloaded in many playlists have a longer lifespan.
• Better chart placements: Repeated listening to a track - whether online or offline - improves streaming performance.
• Increased fan loyalty: Those who store music offline have a stronger connection to a song and artist:in.

TikTok sounds: How viral trends are dominating pop music

TikTok has become one of the most important platforms for music marketing. Many of the current hits owe their success to the app, on which users add music to clips and thus trigger viral trends.

• Short and catchy: a striking hook or a single song excerpt is often enough to make a track popular.
• Challenges and memes: A remix or a certain sound effect can receive millions of views through challenges or memes.
• Chart success through TikTok: Songs such as "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus or "As It Was" by Harry Styles were first massively shared on TikTok before they entered the official music charts.

Remixes, playlists and viral sounds shape music charts

The days of classic music compilations are over - instead, remixes, curated playlists and viral TikTok trends determine which songs end up in the music charts. Pop and rock music in particular benefit from old hits being rediscovered by new trends. If you want to be successful in the music industry, you should not only publish your own songs, but also actively use playlists and platforms to increase your reach.