How similar artist search works
- Open Similar artist next to Search playlists and type an artist who sounds like you. Pick them from the suggestions; each shows the artist's Spotify followers, so you choose the right one when names overlap.
- PlaylistLookup reads that artist's genres and shows them above the results, for example "lo-fi house".
- It compares those genres with the genre mix of every playlist in PlaylistLookup and lists the playlists that match, best match first. A playlist that has not been active for a while ranks lower, and a playlist that already plays the artist always counts as a match.
- Each result shows the playlist's genre mix in percentages, followers, tracks, last activity and the curator's contact: email, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, a website or a submission link.
Which artist to search for
Similar artist search works best with an artist whose sound is close to yours and whose genre on Spotify is specific.
- A comparable artist, not the biggest name. A peer with a similar sound gives playlists that fit you better than a global star in your genre.
- An artist with a narrow genre. An artist listed as "lo-fi house" returns tighter matches than one listed only as "indie" or "soul", which also match playlists that share just that word.
- Three to five artists. Search several similar artists and save the playlists that keep coming back to one list for your release.
What you can do with the results
The results work like a normal PlaylistLookup search. On Premium and Pro you can filter by contact type, follower range and last activity, or sort by followers, recent activity or number of tracks. From a result you can open the playlist on Spotify and run a playlist health check to estimate whether it has real listeners. On Premium and Pro you can also save it to a list in the pitch tracker and send your pitch from your own Gmail.
Limits of similar artist search
- The match is on genre. Most results are playlists in the same style as the artist, not a list of playlists that already play that artist. Playlists that do play the artist are included and rank first when their match is equal.
- Broad genres give broad results. When an artist has one wide genre on Spotify, such as "indie", lower results can come from other scenes or languages. Check each playlist's genre mix before you save it.
- New artists often have no genres. Spotify assigns genres to established artists first. When an artist has none, PlaylistLookup uses the genre mix of the playlists in its directory that already play the artist. When there are none of those either, the search only finds playlists that play the artist.
- Up to 1,000 playlists per search. Use the filters to bring the best ones to the top.
- A daily limit on new artists. Looking up artists on Spotify has a daily limit per account. When you reach it, artists PlaylistLookup already knows still work, and the limit resets at midnight.
What similar artist search does not do
- It does not send your music anywhere. You contact curators yourself, and whether a curator replies or adds your track is up to them.
- It does not analyse your own tracks. It matches on the artist you enter.
- It does not reach Spotify's editorial team. Editorial playlists are pitched through Spotify for Artists before release.
- It does not show an artist's monthly listeners or which playlists drive their streams.
Who can use similar artist search
Similar artist search is part of every PlaylistLookup plan. On the free plan it uses one of your 2 free searches per week, the same as a keyword search, and only when it finds playlists. A free search shows the 24 best matches, with the curator's contact details on the first 6. Premium and Pro show every match, up to 1,000 per search, and add the filters and sort options. See PlaylistLookup pricing for the plans.