When do you consider a playlist too short or too long? (#of songs)

[hydnj]

Created this playlist almost a year ago:

https://open.spotify.com/user/hydnj/playlist/78tCRdiiH81yr7Tti2vMOj

Slowly it has gained around 300 followers. 

My question:

With about 9 hours of music I've started replacing old songs with new ones so that the playlist does not grow any larger. Do you get annoyed by playlists with say 100 hours or do you prefer that?

Curious what most listeners prefer. 

Thanks for any feedback you can give. 

[JordanOakley]

I think there's a role for each size playlist. The huge ones can be great collections of really enjoyable music that you can listen to on shuffle heaps without them getting old.

Smaller ones (around 50-100 songs) can be a selection of songs from artists on a particular record label. These can be a great way to 'get to know' a label.

I'm also a fan of 8-20 songs on a playlist that is designed to be played in order, and you can treat it kind of like a well-curated mix.

[user-removed]

As a fellow playlist creator, I find this question really funny because I’ve been asking myself the same thing for awhile now. My conclusion was this: When it comes to a playlist’s length, the theme of the playlist should determine how long it is as to satisfy the basic, initial requirements of said playlist. Perhaps your theme is complete with one or two songs or even a hundred. You decide.

Here’s a playlist that I think is at a perfect length. https://open.spotify.com/user/oliviatawzer/playlist/3a8BDfC04i4LIlof2fmVOO?si=3k3MOsWTTpCjh7OzOB8R2w

[Zeke13]

Maybe I'm not as organized as everyone on here, but I have four main playlists with certain themes. Sleep/chill music being an example, and with that I don't really have a set number I stop at for hours or songs. One of my playlist is about 43hrs of music, with 741 songs, but they all correspond with the theme (kpop) so I really don't have a number restriction. 

[MadmanOnWheels]

Also good for having 10 hours or more of music is, a playlist for bikers, like mine. It's very themed, so it's not for background, because it makes sense for and sets the mood for the rider. I also have a rock and metal instrumental playlist that could be used on a ride, too. Yeah, I don't like feeling like I just want to get to the end of the playlist, when I'm scrolling through, just to check it out. To me, that's when it's too long. How about this for a short playlist, though? Now, keep in mind, the reason that I made it was that one song answered the other, and that was that. It was meant to be funny.

https://open.spotify.com/user/madmanonwheels/playlist/2X7yLfLMGQCfnLctsraYjK?si=9VjJWsVyRWuBf7bzjC-_...

[TheMightyJimmy]

I usually don’t shorten my playlist unless it is a song I don’t like so my playlists will get well over 5, 6 hours.(not 56)

[SethPlummer]

If all the songs are good in the playlist, I say make it as long as you want to. It’s all personal preference. For me I have a variety of short and long playlists.

[MushySusan]

I hoard my songs. I only really use 1 playlist which has all the songs I've collected from the past couple of years. I've reached about 1300 songs (80 hours) and this is probably going to keep growing. I find that I need to consistently add songs to remain interested but do not like removing my older songs. This length of playlist is fine for me. I could make smaller and more organised playlists but I'd rather just have the one - I can add songs to queue if I want. If I had more than a couple of thousand of songs I'd probably need to organise my music better but I wouldn't say that would be too long either.

[SethPlummer]

You do you, keep growing or creating new playlists if you want. That’s the beauty of music streaming services as a whole

[Craigk101]

I try not think about it too much although it depends on what type of person you are. I have one playlist which I named favorites and everything I like gets shoved in there. 

Additionally I have other playlists for gym, dance, ambient music etc. As long as you can get to what you like easily then it's no problem. 

[Sebasty]

Yep I also have one large playlist that holds my favourites. I have it downloaded on my mobile and I listen to it on longer car trips. Have to admit it is quite unsuitable for driving as one song lulls you to sleep and the following one shakes you awake. Perfect for drawing tho!

That said, I do have smaller playlists with more specific reason, and when it comes to needing a 25+hr playlist for long trips, I'll probably just filter out the beatless tracks from that playlist. :'D

(or use those Amon Tobin mixsets I have downloaded)

[Toastedmango]

I think longer playlists are great I listen to a lot of music through out my day and I like a lot of generas and just to have all the songs I enjoy on one playlist makes it easier. I can jump from mood to mood so listening to like 3 different genres in 5 songs really doesn’t bother me. 

When I think a playlist is too short is when it’s less than 50 songs but that’s just me 

[musicorumgenius]

A playlist max should be 100 songs in my opinion.  I have a playlist that literal has 7 songs at a time.  Every day I put a new song that I'm feeling.  I then take out the oldest song so it always stays fresh.   

Amazing that you got 300 people to follow your playlist.  I can not seem to get any of my playlists to that level.  I can barely get 3.    I guess I just don't have a music taste like the vast majority of people on here.  

I know my last.fm shows that I am always around the 90th percentile when it comes to discovering new music or listening to music nobody else scrobbles.

https://open.spotify.com:spotify:user:peppaface2?si=iW1Suq-jSVWtLeEG_8tsMg

[feyri]

agree with JordanOakley . 

Most of mine are huge playlists that are useful for shuffling and collecting music. Though spotify's cap is quite annoying, i couldnt even fit in 1 song from every artist i listen too 😵

But i also have a lot of mid-size playlists with 300-1000 tracks in them as well as specifically created 2hr-6hr theme based mixes. 

[tabethaelise]

personally, i dont mind constantly switching vibes and genres so i have a playlist with every song i listen to, no theme or organisation to tge playlist. because of its nature, i do have to keep it shuffled. it consists of around 2150 songs, so i prefer longer playlist so you never know what song is gonna pop up next