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The playlist is arguably one of the most important parts of any event. So, as South Africans prep for summer, thinking about your party playlist, and making sure the most popular mood songs are on it, are essential to ensuring an awesome party vibe.
Hiring a DJ is not only costly, it can also end in disaster as soon as the DJ stops ‘reading the room’ and starts spinning those golden oldies that lost their sheen decades ago. Avoid the awkward silences, beats that fall flat and set your own vibe with Spotify’s handy tips below on how to get your guests moving to the best summer tunes.
The many viral dance challenges that have taken the music scene by storm over the past year also make the best ice breakers. There is no way you won’t get your guests moving to Drake’s In My Feelings with everyone yelling, “Kiki do you love me…!” at the top of their lungs.
So now you’ve gotten the party started and want to keep it going with an amazing playlist of the biggest local and international songs, what do you add to your list? Well, according to Spotify’s list of the most streamed songs and artists by South African audiences since launch*, if you’re going to include any artist on your playlist Drake is a must, as he is both the most popular artist, and has the most popular for South African audiences. (Drake was also the most streamed artist on Spotify’s Top Global Songs of Summer 2018, in the northern hemisphere.)
If you’d like to add some local flair to your playlist, Spotify recommends some of the top South African house, hip hop and pop artists. The most-streamed SA artists since launch, broken down by streams in South Africa and the rest of the world, are Nasty C, AKA and Jeremy Loops as the top three artists, respectively. Local favourites, Shekhinah, DJ Maphorisa, Lady Zamar, Black Coffee and Distruction Boyz also made an appearance on the top 20 list.
Now that you have an idea of where to start when creating your playlist all you have to do is sign up to Spotify, for free, at spotify.com. Once you’ve completed the first step below, you’re well on your way to a great party with nothing but the best songs to keep it going. Let’s get started!
- Make your selection
Whether your event is a small relaxed affair or a highly polished event, your choice of music will have the largest impact on the overall mood of the event and guests. Knowing what your guests will like and the type of atmosphere you want to create is essential for striking the perfect musical balance.
To create a playlist, go to www.spotify.com and follow these simple steps:
1. Sign up (if you haven’t already)
2. Click new playlist on the bottom left hand corner
3. Use Spotify’s browse feature to explore different genres & moods
4. Tap the ‘more button’ (…)
5. Tap add to playlist
6. Repeat step 4 and 5 until you are happy with the selection you have made
- Let the music play on
No one likes awkward silences, so ensure you give your playlist that professional DJ touch by making use of Spotify’s crossfade feature. Crossfade lets you eliminate the silence between tracks so your music never stops. Simply turn this feature on under advanced settings on your app. To enable Crossfade:
1. Click on the menu next to your name
2. Go into settings
3. Scroll down and click show advanced settings
4. Under playback, switch crossfade songs on – button will turn green
5. Move the slider to select the desired crossfade length
- RSVP Collaboration
Get your guests involved right from the beginning by having them RSVP with their top three favourite tracks and add these to the playlist. This way everyone will have a moment at the event when their song come on. You can achieve this by creating a collaborative playlist. To create a collaborative playlist: Click the ‘more button’ (…) and select collaborative playlist – make sure there is a tick next to it. You have the option to share your playlist as a link, which you could include in your e-invite, or use on your favourite social media platform.
- Co-DJing
Everyone loves making a special request, so when that time of the evening comes and some other tracks spring to mind, or the evening takes a nostalgic turn, why not give your guests access to a tablet or two. They can then browse the song they want to hear and add it to the collaborative playlist you created as part of the RSVP process.
- Personalise your collaborative playlist
Personalise your playlist by uploading a picture of your event invitation as well as adding important information about it in the description box. This guarantees that your guests don’t end up on the wrong playlist – in case there is another one that is similarly named.
Best of all the party playlist lives on - you can add the link to the thank you mails or pass onto guests after the event as a memory of an incredible occasion.
Download the Spotify app via the Android or iOS app store or by heading to www.spotify.com - to embed Spotify into a website - right click on any playlist, go to 'share' and copy embed code.
#SpotifySouthAfrica - Facebook: @Spotify |Twitter: @SpotifySA | Instagram: @spotify
