Spotify Playlist Intelligence

Spotify Playlist Intelligence helps A&R teams, playlist marketers, and AI agents analyze public Spotify playlists into one structured intelligence report per list. Paste one or more playlist links and get follower counts, artist concentration (HHI), top artists, duplicate tracks, duration stats, playcount percentiles (p50/p90), release-year histograms, an editorial heuristic, and an optional sampled tracklist. Each row is designed for editorial research, curator QA, and agent tool calls — focused on playlist analytics rather than a raw catalog export.

The Actor is HTTP-only: it uses Spotify's public Partner API with an embed fallback when the partner route is unavailable. Apify Residential proxy is enabled by default because Spotify blocks datacenter IPs. On Apify you also get API access, scheduling, webhooks, integrations, and execution monitoring. MCP-ready via apify--analyze-spotify-playlist.

For artists, albums, tracks, podcasts, or keyword search across entity types, continue with Spotify All-in-One Scraper.

Best fit for this Actor

• Editorial or chart playlist mix analysis — concentration, duplicates, playcount spread, release-year shape.
• Curator QA on public user playlists before sharing or pitching placements.
• Label and A&R scouting — see which artists dominate a chart playlist and how track playcounts cluster inside the list.
• Growth snapshots — supply previousSnapshots with earlier follower counts to compute followersDelta in the same run.
• AI agents and dashboards — one flat playlist-intelligence row per playlist with a nested analytics object.

Workflow scenario

A playlist marketer starts with RapCaviar, sets maxTracks to 50, and keeps includeAnalytics enabled. The run returns followers, analytics.artistConcentrationHhi, analytics.topArtists, playcount p50/p90, duplicate count, and duration medians in one dataset row. They export CSV, compare two editorial lists side by side, and pass handles that need full artist or track catalog data to Spotify All-in-One Scraper for deeper entity scraping. Scheduled reruns with previousSnapshots turn each report into a follower delta snapshot over time.

Quick start input

{
  "playlistUrls": [
    "https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX0XUsuxWHRQd"
  ],
  "maxTracks": 50,
  "includeTracklist": true,
  "includeAnalytics": true,
  "enrichArtistGenres": false,
  "maxPlaylists": 5,
  "previousSnapshots": [
    {
      "playlistId": "37i9dQZF1DX0XUsuxWHRQd",
      "followers": 15800000
    }
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}

playlistUrls accepts full playlist URLs, spotify:playlist: URIs, or bare 22-character playlist IDs. Duplicates merge before billing; maxPlaylists caps analyzed playlists per run.

Input reference

Field	What it controls
playlistUrls	Required. Public playlist URLs, URIs, or IDs.
maxTracks	Tracks fetched and analyzed per playlist (1–1000). Default 100.
includeTracklist	Include sampled tracks[]. Default true.
includeAnalytics	Include derived analytics object. Default true.
enrichArtistGenres	Fetch genres for up to 8 top artists (Partner API only). Default false.
previousSnapshots	Optional { playlistId, followers } pairs for delta math.
maxPlaylists	Cap on unique playlists processed and billed (1–100). Default 50.
proxyConfiguration	Proxy for Spotify HTTP. Residential recommended and pre-enabled.

What data you receive

Each successful run writes one dataset row per analyzed playlist (type: playlist-intelligence).

{
  "type": "playlist-intelligence",
  "id": "37i9dQZF1DX0XUsuxWHRQd",
  "uri": "spotify:playlist:37i9dQZF1DX0XUsuxWHRQd",
  "url": "https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX0XUsuxWHRQd",
  "name": "RapCaviar",
  "description": "New music from Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Future and more.",
  "owner": {
    "name": "Spotify",
    "username": "spotify",
    "uri": "spotify:user:spotify"
  },
  "followers": 15842100,
  "followersDelta": 42100,
  "format": "editorial",
  "totalTracks": 50,
  "coverArt": "https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273example",
  "analytics": {
    "analyticsVersion": "1.0.0",
    "trackCount": 50,
    "totalTracksDeclared": 50,
    "uniqueArtists": 41,
    "topArtists": [
      { "name": "Drake", "count": 4, "share": 0.08 },
      { "name": "Future", "count": 3, "share": 0.06 }
    ],
    "artistConcentrationHhi": 0.0421,
    "duplicateTrackCount": 0,
    "durationTotalMs": 10245000,
    "durationAvgMs": 204900,
    "durationMedianMs": 198000,
    "explicitShare": 0.76,
    "playcount": {
      "sum": 8420000000,
      "p50": 98000000,
      "p90": 420000000,
      "missing": 0,
      "available": 50
    },
    "releaseYears": { "2026": 18, "2025": 22, "2024": 10 },
    "genreMix": null,
    "editorialHeuristic": {
      "isLikelyEditorial": true,
      "reason": "format_or_owner_spotify"
    }
  },
  "tracks": [
    {
      "name": "Example Track",
      "uri": "spotify:track:6DCZPtHk3ywpFa5FAdVice",
      "playcount": 245000000,
      "durationMs": 203000,
      "explicit": true,
      "artists": ["Example Artist"],
      "releaseDate": "2026-03-01"
    }
  ],
  "popularityDataAvailable": true,
  "dataSource": "partner",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-17T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Field	Description
type	Always playlist-intelligence.
id / uri / url	Spotify playlist ID, URI, and canonical link.
name / description	Public playlist title and description when exposed.
owner	{ name, username, uri } owner metadata.
followers	Public follower count.
followersDelta	followers − previousSnapshots.followers when a snapshot matches.
format	Spotify playlist format string when available.
totalTracks	Declared total track count on the playlist.
coverArt	Cover image URL.
analytics.trackCount	Tracks sampled in this report (≤ maxTracks).
analytics.uniqueArtists	Distinct primary artists in the sample.
analytics.topArtists	Top 10 artists with name, count, share.
analytics.artistConcentrationHhi	Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (0–1); higher = more concentrated.
analytics.duplicateTrackCount	Repeated track URIs in the sample.
analytics.durationTotalMs / durationAvgMs / durationMedianMs	Duration stats from sampled tracks.
analytics.explicitShare	Share of explicit tracks (0–1) when known.
analytics.playcount.p50 / p90	Playcount percentiles when Partner API data is available.
analytics.playcount.sum / missing / available	Aggregate and coverage counters.
analytics.releaseYears	Histogram { "2024": 12, "2023": 8, … }.
analytics.genreMix	Optional top-genre mix when enrichArtistGenres is true.
analytics.editorialHeuristic	{ isLikelyEditorial, reason } — heuristic signal from public metadata.
tracks[]	Sampled track rows when includeTracklist is true.
popularityDataAvailable	false when embed fallback omits playcounts.
dataSource	partner or embed.
scrapedAt	ISO 8601 collection timestamp.

Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML. OUTPUT and RUN_SUMMARY in the default key-value store include outcome, itemsPushed, and chargedEventCounts.

Pricing

This Actor uses Pay per event (PPE) with platform usage pass-through. Confirm current prices on the live Pricing tab — that tab is the source of truth if this README ever lags.

Event	Price	When charged
apify-actor-start	$0.00005	Once per run (minimum one event per GB memory).
playlist-analyzed	$0.02	Once per successfully persisted playlist report.

Cost examples (result events only):

• One playlist at 50 tracks: about $0.02 plus platform usage (typically a few seconds of compute and residential proxy transfer).
• Ten playlists in one run: about $0.20 in playlist-analyzed events plus usage.

maxTracks, tracklist inclusion, and analytics depth add no extra PPE — only analyzed playlists are billed. Empty matches receive no primary event charge. Residential proxy usage passes through to the caller.

Use through the API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~analyze-spotify-playlist/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "playlistUrls": ["https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX0XUsuxWHRQd"],
    "maxTracks": 50,
    "includeAnalytics": true
  }'

Poll the run, then fetch dataset items from the default dataset URL returned in the run object. Read OUTPUT for terminal outcome and billing reconciliation.

Use with AI agents through Apify MCP

Connect via https://mcp.apify.com. Tool namespace: apify--analyze-spotify-playlist.

Analyze the public Spotify playlist at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX0XUsuxWHRQd with maxTracks 50. Return playlist name, followers, analytics.artistConcentrationHhi, analytics.topArtists, analytics.playcount.p50, analytics.playcount.p90, analytics.editorialHeuristic, popularityDataAvailable, dataSource, and scrapedAt. Read OUTPUT.outcome and itemsPushed if the dataset is empty. Cost scope: one playlist-analyzed event plus platform usage.

Agent prompt card

Goal: Produce a Spotify playlist intelligence report for a public playlist URL.

Input:
- playlistUrls: one or more open.spotify.com/playlist/… URLs (required)
- maxTracks: 50 for a quick editorial scan, up to 1000 for deep analysis
- includeAnalytics: true (default)
- includeTracklist: false when you only need the analytics block
- enrichArtistGenres: true when genreMix is needed (Partner API only)
- previousSnapshots: optional [{ playlistId, followers }] for followersDelta

Return from each dataset row:
- name, url, followers, followersDelta
- analytics.uniqueArtists, analytics.artistConcentrationHhi, analytics.topArtists
- analytics.duplicateTrackCount, analytics.durationAvgMs
- analytics.playcount.p50, analytics.playcount.p90, popularityDataAvailable
- analytics.editorialHeuristic, dataSource, scrapedAt

Interpretation:
- HHI near 1.0 = one artist dominates; near 0 = very diverse.
- popularityDataAvailable=false means embed fallback — playcount percentiles omitted.
- editorialHeuristic is a public-signal estimate from owner and format metadata.

On empty dataset: read OUTPUT.outcome (VALID_EMPTY, INVALID_INPUT, UPSTREAM_FAILED).
Pricing: $0.02 per playlist-analyzed plus platform usage. Billing is per playlist, per track depth.

Connect the workflow

• Playlist analytics report (this Actor) → editorial mix, concentration, duplicates, playcount spread.
• Artist, album, track, podcast, or search scraping → Spotify All-in-One Scraper.

For artist, album, track, show, and episode inputs, continue with the sibling Spotify All-in-One Scraper; this Actor returns INVALID_INPUT with routing guidance for non-playlist URLs.

Best results

• Pass public playlist URLs, URIs, or 22-character IDs; keep Apify Residential proxy enabled for stable Partner API access.
• Set maxTracks to match your analysis depth — analytics apply to the fetched sample up to the cap.
• Supply previousSnapshots when you store prior follower counts and want followersDelta in the same row.
• Enable enrichArtistGenres when you need genreMix on Partner API routes.
• When dataSource is embed, expect baseline metadata with popularityDataAvailable: false and playcount percentiles omitted.
• Pair this Actor with Spotify All-in-One Scraper when the next step needs full artist, album, or track catalog rows.

Builder's note

I built this Actor around Spotify's public Partner API path with a self-healing TOTP token flow — the web-player secret and version rotate, so the runtime extracts fresh credentials from the bundle each run instead of pinning stale values. When the partner route is unavailable, the embed page supplies baseline playlist metadata; a deleted or unavailable playlist that returns embed "Page not found" finishes as VALID_EMPTY with zero playlist charges. In my testing, datacenter IPs hit Spotify's edge block immediately, so Apify Residential is required by default for reliable yield on public playlists.

FAQ, legal, and responsible use

Do I need a Spotify developer app or API key? No. The Actor works from public web-player routes without login.

Is this affiliated with Spotify? Spotify is a trademark of its owner. This independent Actor is not affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by Spotify.

How should I use the output? This Actor retrieves publicly visible Spotify playlist metadata and derived statistics available without logging in. You are responsible for complying with applicable laws, Spotify's Terms of Use, and your own data-governance policies. Use the output only for purposes you are authorized to pursue. Before production use, review the Apify Exclusion Policy to confirm your playlist research workflow stays within platform rules on excluded content and use cases.

Issues and feature requests: use the Actor Issues tab on Apify Console.