You create a track, get amazing production, provide the metadata on TuneAfrique, have the song released unto over fifty digital music stores, then it is time for the ultimate task - to get as many people listening as possible.

One brilliant hack has been to put the song in a track list that features other songs, possibly of like genres and featuring a few mainstream artistes whose songs are likely to get listeners interested in exploring the entire track list. This hack is what we call playlisting, and it has served as a way to introduce new songs and sounds to the music audience. Has it worked though? Or does it work you may want to know.

Many artists wait on their labels, management and/or distribution companies to playlist their songs, and this usually is done at the discretion of the team, but as musicians, have you explored the option of playlisting using your own artist profiles? On every digital music platform - Spotify, Pandora, Boomplay, Apple music etc - you can validate and confirm your Artiste account and verify your profile, giving yourself an opportunity to explore various tools that are available to artistes to promote their brand and songs, including creating artists playlists. To identify verified accounts on all platforms, you see a blue tick on the artiste account, you too can get a blue tick on your account by claiming your Artiste profile.

Did you know that artistes playlists are a good way to get noticed by new listeners? By creating a playlist, you tell your listeners the kind of sound that interests you, the artistes you listen to, and by so doing, you convert new listeners to your corner. These listeners in turn can create their own playlists and because your music interests align with their music tastes, they can include your song in their playlists. These playlists can be promoted via social media to get as much engagement as possible.

Listener activities are considered a factor in playlisting, many are likely to listen to music while engaging in various activities like driving, doing laundry, in a club etc or it could be a business like a bar, restaurant and clubhouse creating a tracklist to engage their customers; getting listed on playlist then allows listeners explore all the tracks on the list. If your song interests a listener, then they can take note of your profile and add you up on their music radar and the digital platform will keep them posted when you have a new releases.

Did you know that TuneAfrique offers playlisting as a music promotional tool for artistes on the platform? This feature is offered to verified artists only. You can feature on Spotify, Deezer, Apple, YouTube music, Amazon music etc playlists by verifying your Artiste account on TuneAfrique - the simple verification process involves you logging into your account and confirming the email address you listed on your account, as well as filling in basic information including your social media handles, soundcloud ID etc Here are the basic steps to follow to verify your account

1 Log into your TuneAfrique account

2. Fill in all social media IDs

3. Confirm your location

4. Upload a clear profile pic

5. Update your bio

6. Click on request verification after the above info has been saved

 If you haven't verified your account, sign in today and do so to enjoy the playlisting benefits.

Will you explore playlisting? Let us know how that goes. Have you been recently playlisted by TuneAfrique? Share the benefits you think this gave your music, send us a mail [email protected] If you've tried playlisting, tell us your experience and share one or two hacks to featuring on the right playlists.

Hembadoon is a Singer, Songwriter and Artiste & Label Services Director for Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa with TuneAfrique Distribution. With the team, she is currently on a drive to get as many artists in the inner cities of Nigeria to take advantage of the DIY opportunity available on TuneAfrique.com to monetize their music. Her music "Lady", "Hey Lover", cultural single "Odo Aye" are distributed through TuneAfrique and available on all digital music platforms. FB @hembabubba | IG @hembabubba | T @hembabubba