A playlist is a carefully selected list of audio or video files played back on media players either in sequence or in a shuffled order. The term ‘playlist’ has various specialized meanings in radio broadcasting, television broadcasting, personal computers, and mobile phones. A playlist is also a list of recorded titles on a digital video disk. For most media players, you can easily create a custom playlist from your media library. Finally, the word playlist signifies a list of the tracks to be played that day on a particular show.
- Why Create A Playlist?
- Creating A Playlist Outside A Streaming Platform
- How To Download Videos From YouTube
- How To Convert Youtube Videos To MP3
- How To Convert Youtube Videos To MP4
- How To Create The Perfect Playlist
Why Create A Playlist?
There are numerous reasons why you would need to create a playlist. Let’s take a look at some reasons to create a playlist.
For Promotion
There are specific playlists, especially on music streaming platforms, that are specially created to promote musicians. DJs, Radio Stations, and other music influencers create promotional playlists for the sole purpose of getting a song or an artist to a broader audience. Some of these playlists are paid for, while some are free.
To Match or Enhance a Mood
Sometimes, you are having such a great day, and you’ll just feel like listening to songs that enhance that happy feeling. But, of course, you want everything around you to match with what you feel on the inside. But, there are also times when all you want to do is snuggle in bed and cry your eyes out. Days like these call for more solemn and self-reflective songs.
To Fit A Special Occasion
Whether birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, or Christmas, whatever the occasion is, a specially curated playlist adds to the fun and excitement in the air.
To Listen To Your Favorite Songs
Curating a list of favourite songs could come in different ways. For example, it could be based on your favourite genre, musician, date of release, and so on. It could also be a blend of two or more categories.
As A Gift
Gifting playlists has become “a thing” in recent times. Although it rarely comes as a solo gift, it is widespread to find friends creating special playlists for each other’s birthdays or special moments. In addition, it has become a trend for partners to create playlists as simple gifts in romantic relationships.
Creating A Playlist Outside A Streaming Platform
With the advent of streaming platforms, many people have access to their favourite songs on the go quickly, which makes playlist creation somewhat seamless. However, some of these streaming platforms come with their cons. For example, a video streaming platform like YouTube comes with a series of ads that interrupt your viewing experience. Sometimes, these ads are unwanted, and they take up substantial viewing time, especially with longer videos on the platform. But if you were to download the videos from the platform and curate your playlist outside of YouTube, you stand to enjoy a few things.
- You are free from pre-roll ads or annotations.
- You can backup your favourite videos in case YouTube or the creators remove them.
- You can convert videos to MP3 audio files which are compatible with your audio player.
- You have unlimited access to your multimedia even when offline, saving you the cost of data for restreaming.
How To Download Videos From YouTube
YouTube is undoubtedly the most popular video streaming website out there. Millions of people stream YouTube videos every day, and some prefer to save the videos for offline play. In contrast, some others desire to download them for various reasons, like to re-use the videos or clips from the videos under the fair use provision. It can be difficult for some people to achieve such desires, and that’s where tools like Viddly come in. You can easily download your desired videos as MP4 in 720p, 1080p, 4K, or 8K formats with such tools. You can also convert the videos to MP3 formats for music and podcasts. All you have to do is get vidd.ly on your Mac or Windows device. As soon as that’s done, simply copy and paste the URL of the selected YouTube video into the designated field, and then hit the download button! It’s that simple. You also get to choose the quality of the video you desire before downloading it.
How To Convert Youtube Videos To MP3
As mentioned earlier, tools like Viddly help you easily convert YouTube videos to MP3, and the process is seamless. Viddly is equipped with built-in search functionality, so you don’t have to worry about copying and pasting video URLs. All you have to do is to enter the song title or playlist you’d like to download and watch the song pop up on your screen in real-time. Once that’s done, select your desired quality and then hit the download button. Unlike other video downloaders that support only MP3 format, Viddly supports AAC or Vorbis formats too. Thus, giving you more options at a faster downloading speed.
How To Convert Youtube Videos To MP4
It’s important to note that, on its own, YouTube has some download restrictions. It allows you to download specific videos for offline viewing within their Android or iOS app. But you’ll need to own a YouTube Premium account, and you can only watch them on the same device that they were downloaded on. This is where Viddly comes in. Simply copy and paste the YouTube video URL, use the built-in search functionality by inserting keywords and searching the list of populated videos, or you select an existing file already on your hard drive. Once you have the desired video, select the format. By default, all MP4 videos are downloaded in 1080p, but you have the option of downloading in 4K and 8K if you wish for higher quality videos. Finally, hit the download button.
How To Create The Perfect Playlist
Now, you have all your favourite songs (including videos that converted to MP3) on your device, it’s time to put them together. It’s time to create that ‘perfect’ playlist. Here are some tips to consider.
Variety
Variety in any playlist is very vital if you want it to be highly captivating. Certainly, cohesion is an essential factor, but you can still have a diverse playlist that flows smoothly. Have a mix of artists, speeds, genres, instruments, beats, and so on in your playlist. It rids the playlist of redundancy.
Theme and Purpose
A playlist with a theme and purpose is an excellent starting point for creating a distinct and cohesive playlist. Specifically, considering themes and purposes for playlists is a perfect way to direct your song choice. You can opt for a single theme or purpose or multiple themes or purposes. You may also combine them if you please.
Love The Music
This is quite an obvious point. Incorporating music that you love into your playlist automatically makes your playlist way more engaging for you. In addition, since you are most familiar with the music you love, you can make a more cohesive playlist with them.
Structure
The music is essential, but so is the structure. Unless this is what you are going for, you would not like to play too many songs that sound similar or too many songs by one artist. On the other hand, you also might not enjoy playing too many new songs or too many songs that you’ve played countless times. In addition, after you pick your songs, there’s a need for you to arrange them appropriately for the sake of diversity and cohesion. Balance on all sides is essential in any perfect playlist.
Number of Songs
The number of songs on your playlist should not be too few or too many. For playlists created for sharing, 10 tracks will not cut it anymore. It’s just too short! Similarly, some limitation is needed. No one will listen to a gigantic 1000-song playlist. Instead, aim for a collection of between 30 to 50 songs. Somewhere in that range is the perfect number.
Be Creative
Do not ever be afraid to get creative with your playlists. Doing this will always help with engagement. Think outside the box! Play with a mix of genres, musicians, release dates, and all that. The idea is diversity and cohesion; always remember.
Keep It Updated
This works best for shared playlists. You always want your playlist to stay relevant and fresh for its listeners. This is not to say that you should switch all or a majority of the songs every time. Simply by adding new songs and taking some out, you keep the playlist sounding new and fresh. Also, consider rearranging them at intervals as it will keep your playlist consistently updated.
Have An Element Of Surprise
One of the greatest thrills for creating and sharing playlists is introducing its listeners to new music. But it’ll be best to snuggle these in with some already known songs. Doing this will give you more freedom to go in with your surprise element, the new music. But, of course, ‘new’ doesn’t always have to be new. It could mean finding an old gem or a widely unheard song or artist. Either way, the perfect playlist needs to have an element of surprise that elevates it beyond just a compilation of good music.
Finally, creating the perfect playlist is a form of art. You have to get in the right mood and the right songs. After all, a playlist is your soundtrack before a daunting test, your companion during an intense gym session, or on a lonely cross-country trip. Song after song, it needs to compel all the right emotions. It’s all well and good, making the perfect playlist. However, if no one listens to it, it may seem like all that great work for nothing. Feel free to share with family and friends and use social media to reach an even wider audience. Sharing is caring.