My Favorite Artists With Under 50,000 Listeners
In a time where Spotify persistently recommends the same five artists, it’s difficult for smaller, lesser-known artists to reach their intended audience. It seems that, unless you’re the rare artist whose songs are blowing up on TikTok, gaining fans and popularity overnight is hard to do. The algorithm for both Spotify and TikTok has become increasingly depended upon yet more and more selective. Therefore, it can be difficult for the average listener to form connections with smaller bands looking for an audience. The goal for this playlist is to curate artists with less than 50,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Some artists’ numbers go slightly over but I tried to mostly stay in the 50,000 realm. The genres vary, although the playlist revolves around my own taste. Below, I highlight just a couple of the artists featured, with the hope of sharing each artist’s unique style.
1. Nighttime, starring Eva Louise Goodman, is a band working in the mystical folk genre. Located in upstate New York, Nighttime is currently receiving support from only 3,385 monthly listeners. Their recent album Keeper is the Heart was released earlier this year, and my favorite song was “Curtain is Closing.” The echoey, whimsical energy of this song is aesthetically pleasing and notably unique.
2. The Reds, Pinks and Purples are a pop band located in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond District. They currently have 58,146 monthly listeners on Spotify, and their song “Running up Dead End Streets” has around 58,000 streams. Glenn Donaldson’s raspy voice carries this catchy and upbeat song, yet combined with deeply ominous lyrics, this song becomes instantly memorable.
3. Steady Holiday is a solo vehicle for singer-songwriter Dre Babinksi, located in Los Angeles. She currently has 56,169 monthly listeners, while her song “The Balance” only has around 10,000 listens. This new release is dreamy and charismatic, carried by Babinski’s light, mesmeric vocals.
4. Film Noir is an indie rock band located in Paris, France with 32,387 monthly listeners. “Demain Berlin” is understandably the band’s biggest hit, with over one million listens. The song begins atmospheric and ambient, but builds throughout to a solid head-banger. While I don’t know what their lyrics mean, I do know that this is one bop of a French song.
5. Sweet Nobody is one of the most niche and unknown groups on this playlist, with only 830 monthly listeners. The indie pop band is from Long Beach, California. Their song “Five Star Diary'' is a fun listen, giving the energy of the opening montage to an early 2000s romcom. The song has around 16,000 listens, but I’m sure I’m responsible for at least a hundred.
This playlist is a way to promote these artists, and it also provides a starting point for those wanting to discover new music. It’s easy to fall into the same patterns when it comes to music, but it's equally rewarding to branch out and hear new things. Oftentimes it just takes a good hour-long session of falling down the Spotify rabbit hole. But I would also recommend BandCamp for finding lesser-known artists. There may be a lot of bad stuff, but occasionally you’ll find a hidden gem. If you are looking for some new sounds for your spring soundtrack, hopefully this playlist can serve as a jumping-off point to find cool and catchy artists who might not be getting the attention and adoration they deserve.
— Laurel Sanders