Since December 2025, Stulyo has been recording the Spotify search ranking of over 1,000 keywords every single day, and following the follower counts of 250,000 living playlists. Not estimates, not one-off snapshots: the same measurement, every day, for eight months.
Nobody else has this dataset. Here is what it says.
Finding 1: the ranking changes every single day
Across 7,752 daily observations over the last 30 days, an average of 8% of the top 20 changes hands every day. On a typical keyword, one or two spots open up daily.
This is the single most misunderstood thing about Spotify search. Curators treat their rank like a verdict. It is not a verdict, it is a race that restarts every morning. If you are #14 today, nothing about that is permanent, in either direction.
Finding 2: you do not need to be big to rank #1
The median #1 playlist on a keyword has around 21,000 followers. So yes, size helps, follower count remains one of the strongest signals.
But here is the number that should change how you think: 12% of all #1 positions are currently held by playlists with fewer than 1,000 followers. One first place out of eight belongs to a small playlist. Zoom out to the full top 20 and 22% of ranked playlists have under 1,000 followers.
How do they do it? They pick keywords where they can actually compete, and their titles and descriptions match what people type. Relevance beats raw size more often than anyone assumes.
Finding 3: 88% of playlists are standing still
This is the one that surprised us. Of the 240,081 living playlists we measure month over month, 88% are stagnant: their follower count moved less than 5% in 28 days. Only 11% are actually growing. A tiny 1.3% are exploding, with growth above 50%.
Read those three findings together and the picture is clear. Spots open up every day. Small playlists take the #1 spot regularly. And yet almost nobody grows, because almost nobody treats their playlist like something you optimize. The 11% who grow are not lucky. They are simply playing a game the other 89% do not know exists.
What this means if you run a playlist
First, check where you actually rank. Most curators have never searched their own keyword. The result is usually a surprise, in one direction or the other.
Second, pick fights you can win. If the top 20 on your dream keyword averages 40,000 followers and you have 300, move one niche over. Our data shows adjacent niches with a fraction of the competition and real search demand.
Third, measure weekly. A ranking that refreshes daily rewards the people who watch it. A title tweak, a better description, a more consistent update rhythm: each takes minutes, and you will see the effect in days, not months.
Methodology: daily ranking sweeps on 1,000+ keywords (US market, neutral results, algorithmic and editorial mixes excluded), daily follower tracking of 250,000+ playlists, December 2025 to August 2026. Data collected and maintained by Stulyo.
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