How we collect playlist data

Data source

Our curation system runs a weekly data pull using Spotify metadata. The export records playlist names, owners, follower counts as observed at the time of the pull, track counts, cover references, and track metadata used in the analysis.

What we track

For each theme, we track a sample of the strongest public playlists we have identified in that scene. External playlists remain the work of their own curators. For analysis, the system stores the top 50 tracks by Spotify popularity from each external playlist; that is a consistent comparison window, not the playlist’s complete history.

Definitions

Presence is the number of tracked playlists in a theme sample that contain the same Spotify track ID. A track counts once per playlist even if it appears more than once in the exported data.

Track highlights are drawn from our own theme playlists. Each visible Spotify track ID appears on exactly one playlist page across the site. When a track belongs to several theme playlists, a deterministic assignment based on playlist position, track popularity, and slug order selects its page.

Known limitations

This is sample-based editorial research, not a full market analysis. Public playlists can be added, removed, renamed, or reordered, and follower counts change after the snapshot. Spotify popularity is a platform metric, not an independent judgment of musical quality. External playlists belong to their curators; inclusion here does not imply ownership, endorsement, or a commercial relationship.

Update cadence

The pull and page generation run automatically each week. Snapshot dates on playlist pages show which export supports the displayed follower counts, sample sizes, and presence calculations.