YouTube has become a very versatile option for music lovers to enjoy their favorite tunes and discover more artists. With the latest updates, you can add a song to one of your playlists with the click of a button. Users have the option to create as many playlists as they want. These lists can be set to private, and will only be visible by the user, or they can be set to public and will thus show in the search results for other people. If you’ve been meaning to make an impressive playlist, here are some tips on how to do that.
Think of a Theme
The more specific your theme is, the more popular your playlist will be. For instance, instead of making a list of popular eighties music, go for punk rock eighties music, or any other genre you listen to. Setting a specific theme to your list will help you stay consistent, and will encourage people with the same taste to discover your playlist.
You may also want to be visually consistent. All music added to your list could be a music video or a lyric video. This way, people know what to expect when they put your playlist on. On the other hand, you can think beyond the genre by instead thinking of the target audience. A playlist could be made to cater to readers or people looking for relaxing music to listen to while they study. Some users even go as far as making playlists meant for pets, so the possibilities are endless.
Go Offline
If you want to make a playlist for a party, it’s best that you download your playlist for offline use to avoid ads from interrupting your groove. One way you could do that is by using the YouTube app to download your playlist, but unfortunately, copyrighted videos cannot be downloaded, so the feature can be very limiting.
On the other hand, there are computer programs that help capture any video from your browser and download it in the quality you choose; desktop programs like Viddly work seamlessly and quickly, and can convert the video in many audio formats. Going offline will also help you backup your playlist to your drive and allow you to play them on occasions where you do not have access to the internet.
Privacy Settings
YouTube’s latest privacy settings allow you to remove your video from search results. This way, only people with the link would be able to view the video. This can come in handy if you want to make playlists for professional purposes, where you can share your playlist with specific people or clients rather than the world.
If you want your music playlists to be shared around, then make sure to double-check your privacy settings and have the word ‘public’ ticked. On the other hand, you can also set it completely to private if you want to use the list for only yourself. However, this option doesn’t allow you to send your playlists to friends.
Tags
Tagging allows your playlist to be recommended to users who have listened to a similar genre or watched a similar video. You can add as many tags as you want and be as specific or as general as you feel like. If you’re not sure what to add, think of what the audience would write in the search bar if they wanted to find the kind of music you have in a playlist.
You can categorize your lists by environments as well; for instance, you can have playlists for parties, and others for meditating. Of course, you don’t have to add tags if you don’t care about your lists being circulated. However, if you’re a professional or an aspiring YouTuber, you’ll want to pay attention to how tags affect the YouTube algorithm and thus the ranking of your videos in the search results.
Pay Attention to Quality
You should avoid adding music with high noise levels, and those with low volume. If you’re creating a playlist for a gathering or a party, make sure no track is significantly louder than the rest.
Most artists upload studio versions of their music to their Vevo channels as simple lyric videos that you can add to sing along with. On the other hand, if you’re concerned about streaming speed, your best bet is to set the quality of the video to 480p, which will sound crisp, but may not look the best.
Creating a good YouTube playlist can be a little time-consuming, but once you have made the perfect list for your outing or party, you can download it for offline use to prevent ads from interrupting your tunes. If the YouTube app won’t allow you to download certain songs for copyright reasons, there are third party downloaders that you can legally use to store your music to your drive, just make sure not to distribute it.
