Spotify has cleverly disguised its most recent self-promotion as an entry on its Insights blog, which track listening trends among members. The last entry notes how well Slipknot did as a result of its Halloween "takeover," or the band's curation of the popular "Rock Right Now" playlist. The metal band saw a distinct spike in listeners as a result...also-known-as Spotify wants you as a major label act to know that you'll reach so many new people if you host a takeover on their site (and garner them some attention in the meantime). The stats are hard to deny however.
Slipknot had two major peaks during a two-week stretch: The first occurred when the band's new album .5: The Gray Chapter debuted on October 17 and the second when Slipknot took over the Spotify playlist.
It would appear that nothing brought in more new listeners for the group than the album's release. Spotify and Echo Nest measured "new listeners" by counting users who had been registered with the site for more than a month and had never previously listened to the band on the service (to rule out fans who got accounts with the primary intent to listen to the new album). In this case, Slipknot still got a significant boost in terms of new listeners thanks to its singles being featured in rock playlists sponsored by the service.
It gets more interesting when the number of total listeners in considered however. Obviously the peaks remain around the same time periods. However it turns out that the band's takeover actually led to more listens around Halloween, taking both old and new fans into consideration. The moral, if Spotify is to be believed: You work with us and it'll pay off.
As for the playlist itself, Slipknot shows more range than you might expect. In between its own songs are some punk standouts (Refused and Gallows) as well as lighter fare such as The Gaslight Anthem.
