Blackmarket: The best Spotify playlists for music discoverers and emerging bands

Mia’s Soundcheck Sessions (Interview)

Interview: Mia Lada-Klein

Blackmarket is not a normal playlist but a small universe for music discoverers. Behind it is Thomas who personally curates and maintains every single playlist without bots without AI and without paid pitching tricks. Everything that plays here is handpicked fresh and off the mainstream.

The music ranges from punk to shoegaze and indie rock to metalcore and other niche genres. Thomas has a clear goal not just to listen but to support. Bands that would otherwise go unnoticed get their stage here.

The playlists are available mainly on Spotify but also on Apple Music YouTube Music Deezer and SoundCloud.

In my interview, I talk with Thomas about his work at Spotify, the fine line between talent and professionalism, AI in music, and I explore the all-important question: who is the man behind Blackmarket?

Thomas let us start at the very beginning. Who are you what do you do and how are you doing right now?

Thomas: I curate playlists on Spotify which are synchronized once a month to other streaming platforms as well. I have been doing this for two or three years now and my focus is clearly on bands and artists flying completely under the radar. Many of them are new or hardly known at all. My playlists are organized by theme or by country and are meant to give exactly these acts a stage.

That sounds like a lot of work How much time do you actually invest. You pick the bands yourself.

Thomas: Yes it is all completely handmade. I really listen to every single song. By now bands from all over the world write to me through my website. There is a free song submission form. I listen to everything and personally reply to every single email. Additionally I search myself on social media on Spotify or even through other playlists for interesting new stuff. The songs come from very different directions.

How many playlists do you manage now?

Thomas: Currently there are almost 90 playlists all curated by hand. Content wise I focus a lot on the shoegaze scene really worldwide. Then there is punk indie rock from England Ireland and Germany and a few smaller niche playlists. Altogether that is already a huge amount.

That sounds like constant stress.

Thomas: Yes it is. When I was on vacation I once counted and realized that on average it is about 50 emails per day. And bands do not only write by email. They contact me via Instagram Facebook TikTok sometimes even directly under posts in the comments. Then it just says My band has to be on the playlist too.

That honestly sounds pretty exhausting.

Thomas: It is. I have even made special posts asking people not to put song suggestions in the comments because otherwise it just escalates. Often people simply do not read properly. If it is clearly stated in the description that only songs from 2025 will be accepted and someone comes with a track from 2023 that is already annoying.

Rules attitude and a sense for quality

You are quite consistent then.

Thomas: Absolutely. I never put songs on a playlist out of sympathy. It always has to fit the content. I cannot put anything on a shoegaze playlist just because someone thinks their song is shoegaze. At the same time I am not a purist. I am not the type who says only My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive count and everything else does not. That is why many playlists are deliberately called New Punk or similar. New does not just mean new in terms of the release year but also newly interpreted. Modern styles are important to me. Listening only to old stuff gets boring very quickly.

How did you get into music and specifically playlist curation. Why not start your own band?

Thomas: I cannot sing. Laughs. But seriously I have listened to music my whole life. At some point I also managed a band which actually helps me today. I got them on Spotify back then and that gives me an artist profile now so I can really understand where the listeners are and how playlists perform. Tracking that is extremely exciting.

When did the playlists really take off?

Thomas: After Corona. I felt that small bands had almost no chance during that time. Many were ready to go before wanted to perform and then nothing happened for two or three years. At first it was just a private playlist. Eventually I posted it on Reddit and got my first proper reality check. Comments like This is not punk This is not shoegaze or Female fronted is not a genre appeared. I realized how toxic it could be sometimes.

Did that discourage you?

Thomas: Not really because it was never about me. I just love listening to music but at the core it is about the bands. About acts that almost nobody knows but make really good music. Supporting them was and still is the only motivation. The fact that it has grown this big only really developed last year.

Was there ever a clear concept behind it?

Thomas: Yes there was. I quickly understood how Spotify and social media work and where the niches are. There is no point making the thousandth Best of Pop 2024 playlist. Everyone does that. So I asked myself what I personally like to listen to and came up with these country specific playlists. They are meant as a kind of springboard. Not a star maker but a help for small bands to become visible connect with others and maybe play concerts together. That connecting is extremely important to me. That is what the playlists are for.

You already hinted at it but it is very clear you make deliberate choices. You actually listen to the songs and decide whether something fits or not.

Thomas: Exactly. If it does not fit I say so. Of course not in a way where I tell someone they should take up knitting. But if a song simply does not fit the playlist it does not go on. Period. Conversely if I see the approach is right the genre fits and the song works in the playlist context I will include it. Even if it is not my personal favorite.

So your personal music taste does not always come first?

Thomas: No. I cannot like every song that would be completely unrealistic. The important thing is whether the song fits the genre and the playlist. Especially with shoegaze there are many variations. If a song clearly goes in that direction I will include it even if I think it is not my absolute favorite. The playlists are not just for me but for the listeners and for the bands.

Are there requests where you know immediately that it will not fit?

Thomas: Absolutely. Sometimes the profile alone is enough. If an R&B artist writes and asks if their song fits a shoegaze playlist I know immediately it will not. That is no longer a question of taste but simply of genre.

Does that happen often?

Thomas: Surprisingly not. I would say 95 percent of submissions basically fit. Of course sometimes it fails due to the release year or formal criteria but completely mismatched submissions are not constant. Luckily I do not have people sending disco or completely irrelevant music.

You already said in the preliminary talk that you’ve developed a sense for whether a band really wants it. What do you base that on?

Thomas: By the complete package. If the music is good quality properly produced maybe a good video is included and you can see that someone puts in effort you notice that immediately. Even if a band has only 500 monthly listeners. And you see the opposite just as fast. If there is nothing coming no development no ambition then it is just the 100 friends who listen.

You even have special playlists just for debut songs?

Thomas: Yes three. One for shoegaze one for punk and one for indie rock from England and Ireland. Only bands with their very first release go on. There you can see the differences very clearly. Some have a polished profile working social media links presence. With others you click on Instagram and think I want to link you but cannot find you. Wrong links dead accounts nothing happens.

I know that myself and it says a lot about a bands future.

Thomas: Exactly. I often know already that if this band leaves the playlist in a year nobody will care. Then there are the others who really want to connect play concerts grow. You develop this sense over time.

That matches my experience from interviews Attitude professionalism and awareness of what you are doing are extremely important Creativity and talent are the base but intelligence is also crucial for success.

Thomas: Exactly. There is this term from advertising 360 degree marketing. Today every band should be able to do it. With four or five people it should be clear who does what otherwise it does not work. At the same time it is also legitimate if a band does not want more. If someone is happy playing three or four times a year in their hometown that is perfectly fine. Some have families jobs other priorities. Music is a hobby and that is just as legitimate.

You just should not complain about Spotify algorithms and lack of success. This constant saying The algorithm is to blame is repeated all the time. But in most cases it is not the algorithm. It is the complete picture that matters. Let’s be honest you are not 13 anymore and just bought your first record. You have been around for a long time managed bands and know the structures. You see potential but also know that talent alone is not enough. Intelligence is an extremely underestimated factor. In interviews you can easily get yourself into trouble. And the bigger you get the more likely it is that you will encounter people who do not have good intentions.

Thomas: Yes but honestly I have no clue about social media for example. I just post. Sometimes people say you should only post Monday mornings then I post Monday morning something from a shoegaze playlist from the Philippines. Another time I post a new cover a band sent me on Saturday and it suddenly explodes. Thousands of likes. The next day I post something similar from France and nobody cares. Same content same idea completely different response.

Does that frustrate you?

Thomas: Not at all. Honestly I do not care. It is not about me. It is about the bands. I mention them link them make them visible. What the post does is secondary.

Spotify visibility and the moral compass

You do not really come across as someone who sees Spotify as the enemy. Many are very vocal about it.

Thomas: I have not really heard a solid argument against Spotify at least not in the area I work in. I work almost exclusively with bands that have zero to very few monthly listeners. Absolute underground bands. Shoegaze is a genre hardly anyone knows. For these bands Spotify is above all one thing visibility.

How do you feel about the moral debates around Spotify investments weapons and similar issues?

Thomas: That has nothing to do with the music for me. Should I not support a band because the Spotify CEO invested years ago in a company that is now seen critically? If you think that through consistently you should not be on any social media platform. The same financial investors are also behind Meta Google and many others. For me Spotify is above all extremely easy to use.

You also have your playlists on other platforms.

Thomas: Yes YouTube Amazon SoundCloud. But honestly on Amazon you cannot even upload your own covers. On SoundCloud nobody cares. If someone asks me if I have another link besides Spotify I send YouTube. And after a few weeks I see that hardly anyone listened anyway. There is a lot of fuss but little realistic observation.

You take a very relaxed approach overall.

Thomas: Yes because everything always has two sides. Many people forget that. In the past people said you should never buy on Amazon. Today everyone still buys there because it is still better than other alternatives. A little more thinking would do many people good.

Let’s talk about time. How much do you invest daily in curating listening and communicating? It almost seems like a fulltime job.

Thomas: A day has 24 hours. If you subtract five to six hours of sleep and eight hours of work, you still have about ten hours left. That does not mean I spend all ten hours on music. There is family hobbies and free time. But yes, music is a big part of my daily life.

Plus interviews with annoying journalists.

Thomas: Exactly (laughs). Otherwise I would just be sitting in front of the computer listening to music. So it’s all good.

Do you still listen to music privately beyond the playlists?

Thomas: Yes I do. I have a personal playlist. It is mostly classics from my youth. Not many songs maybe forty. Each one has some meaning for me. You once said you rarely give a ten out of ten. When I read that I could think of only one album that fits that category for me Rain Dogs by Tom Waits. It has been with me since my youth. It is simply incredible.

For me it was recently the new album by Tanita Tikaram musically lyrically emotionally. It changed my life. After that I saw and approached some things in my life differently. An album must achieve something like that to get a ten from me or the full score depending on the scale.

Thomas: I remember one evening in a bar. We were sitting with friends drinking beer and suddenly Nirvana played. We just looked up and thought what is this? Those awakening moments you never forget. They happen rarely but when they do you know immediately. I am also not a fan of extreme pigeonholing. This “I only listen to this” or “I am a metal fan and just nod along at Wacken and nothing else.” Next week I am going to see Sarah Larsen here in Düsseldorf. Pop queen from Sweden why not? She plays nearby the songs are nice it could be a poppy evening.

You once mentioned there is also a small social aspect.

Thomas: (laughs) Yes to be honest as an old man I am sometimes glad my daughter comes along. Then it does not look quite so strange. Total nonsense really but you still think about it.

I understand. You know my stance on concerts. Honestly I do not go to many concerts anymore. I actually prefer concerts from bands I know personally. Where I know I can talk to them before or after. Sometimes it is less about the music than about being together. I am very selective. I feel extremely demanding. It is not easy to satisfy me.

Thomas:  Fair to say you live in Fulda. Not exactly a concert hotspot.

True but I travel a lot. I am regularly in Berlin for the editorial office or also in Leipzig. I get around.

Thomas: Then there is really no excuse. If we are in Berlin at the same time we can just meet at a concert. I also do not go to concerts of old guys. That “I heard this twenty years ago and still listen to it” and then there are half dead people on stage I do not need that. Mostly I go to young artists. Small clubs small halls. No stadiums no AC DC and so on. I saw all that when they were young and fresh. I do not want to watch them age. That is simply not my thing.

Let’s get to a fundamental question. What makes a good band for you?

Thomas: That’s a difficult question. I do not know most bands personally, so I can’t really answer that fully. Still, you notice a lot. You see how people write, how they communicate, how likeable they seem. Likeability is important to me, even if you only sense it between the lines.

How can you tell specifically?

Thomas: Some bands keep reaching out. They write when a new song is out, tell me that the last track helped them, or that they met other bands through the playlist and made new contacts. That honestly makes me happy.

Because you can see that something real is happening.

Thomas: Exactly. It is not about me, but I am glad if the band takes a step forward thanks to the playlist. When people give that feedback it automatically makes the band more likeable. And if the music also fits, I think: Yes, this is deserved.

And beyond communication?

Thomas: In the end it is just one thing: good music. Honest music. You can often tell from band photos, from their biographies. Whether it is really four people standing together in a studio making music, or something completely constructed.

You mean the new production methods.

Thomas: Yes. There are many solo artists now who maybe just provide their voice and have the rest built with AI. Honestly, I am out there. That is not my thing.

That brings us directly to the next big topic AI. But before that I want to touch on another point that concerns a lot of people. There are many bad actors. Not everyone who hangs a guitar around their neck is a musician. Not everyone who takes photos is a photographer. Not everyone who does something is automatically what they claim to be. And the same goes for music magazines, playlists, etc. A privately run magazine is not automatically a real editorial office. Even in your area there are bad actors. People who want to be creators, offer playlists, take money, and pretend they are really supporting bands. Do you notice that, or do you completely stay away?

Thomas: I completely stay away. Honestly, it’s all bullshit. I notice it, of course, especially on Instagram, because I follow almost exclusively music accounts, mostly bands. So all these pitching tools pop up constantly. “For 100 euros you can get on playlists,” that kind of thing. It is all nonsense. Every bit of it.

You ignore all of that consistently?

Thomas: Yes. I actually only follow other playlist curators whose work I trust. People who maybe once reached out to me, or whom I know from Facebook groups, who do it out of love for the music. That’s where I keep discovering exciting bands myself. But everything else—those bought playlists, bots, artificial reach—that’s not for me. We could easily do a second interview just about that, it’s that absurd sometimes.

I’m sure you’ve also seen playlists where you thought: This can’t be serious.

Thomas: Absolutely. Sometimes I see playlists where someone charges 60 euros and the music is just awful. Nothing fits together, no concept, no thread. And yet they act like it’s a career booster. Then there are bought followers, bots, artificial saves. That’s not my thing; I stay completely away.

At the same time, you just said how hard it is to get attention.

Thomas: Totally. And as a playlist curator, I don’t really see myself as different from a band. Getting attention is incredibly hard. For bands, just as for playlists. For example, I have a shoegaze playlist that hovered around 200 or 300 saves for a long time. Then I made a single post and suddenly it jumped to 800 saves. Just like that.

And the bands benefit directly from that.

Thomas: Exactly. The band on the cover wrote to me right away, completely thrilled, thanked me. I personally hadn’t done anything special except make the post. But when interest suddenly sparks, you see how fragile and at the same time how powerful visibility can be. And still, it’s extremely hard to maintain that level permanently.

That’s why you’re active on so many platforms?

Thomas: Yes. Facebook groups, Instagram, occasionally TikTok. You try everything to get attention. And still, there are playlists that just sit there and no one notices them at first. But that’s fine for me, as long as the music is good. Maybe the moment will come eventually.

AI, authenticity, and thinking critically

If you had to give bands clear advice regarding bought reach, pitching tools, and bots, what would it be?

Thomas: Don’t do it. Purely organic growth is the only thing that really works. Everything else will backfire sooner or later. You can’t buy a real fanbase. You see that most clearly live.

Do you have concrete examples for that?

Thomas: Especially in the metalcore scene, I’ve seen it quite a few times. Bands with high monthly Spotify listeners, supposedly lots of fans in Germany. Then they play a club show with space for 200 people, and maybe only 100 show up. Something doesn’t add up. It can’t be that everyone says, “I love this band,” but no one goes to see them. That discrepancy is a huge warning sign.

Let’s move on to another big topic: AI. You’ve already made your position clear.

Thomas: Yes, but I approach it with nuance. I’m generally open to new things. I’m not someone who says, “Everything was better before.” On the contrary, a lot was just more complicated and worse back then. I actually find AI useful, for example for translating texts. It helps me post better English texts, which is really practical.

At the same time, there is a lot of skepticism, especially in the cultural field.

Thomas: I understand that too. You have to learn to deal with AI. If Google gives you answers directly, you can’t just trust them blindly. That comes back to thinking for yourself. If something interests me, I check whether it’s actually correct. That applies to AI just as much as to TikTok or Instagram.

And in music? Can you tell if a song is AI-generated?

Thomas: Sometimes, yes. At some point, I decided that I don’t want completely AI-generated music in my playlists. There are signs: artists who release a new album every week, everything sounds the same, clinical, soulless. No human could manage that. I don’t like it.

But you don’t rule out AI entirely.

Thomas: No. There was, for example, a German metalcore artist who wrote to me openly. He said lyrics and voice are extremely important to him, but he uses AI for the music. He thought it through, it was his personal content. I listened and thought: why not? He works alone, uses AI as a tool, not a replacement for personality. That’s the difference for me.

So it’s not about the technology, it’s about attitude.

Thomas: Exactly. To say “AI is bad” in general is just as wrong as accepting everything blindly. You have to look at what’s behind it, how honest it is, and whether a human with thoughts and emotions is still involved.

In the end, it all comes back to the Spotify topic. Everything has two sides, and you can’t take the easy way out.

Thomas: Exactly. You can’t take it all too easy, and above all, you can’t fool people. That’s extremely important. Because I personally write to bands and don’t use a robot or tool, I also take the risk of being fooled. But completely AI-generated music hasn’t made it into my playlists, not even in the niche. It eventually becomes obvious. Who does punk with AI? Or complete mainstream pop productions without a real core? Luckily, I hardly encounter that.

Critical thinking is key, and that’s something many people are losing. At first, I was very skeptical of AI music myself. But I openly admit: I’ve heard individual songs that I really liked. Not albums, not entire artist careers, just single tracks. And I’m generally open to everything, from schlager to metal. If I like something, I like it. Period.

Thomas: That’s exactly how I see it. You can’t demonize everything, but you have to use your brain. Simply saying “everything is crap” is just as dumb as celebrating everything blindly.

Thomas, thank you for your insights and your time. I really enjoyed it.

You can find more about Blackmarket on their socials.

Instagram · Website · Facebook · Spotify · YouTube

You can find more Soundcheck Sessions on the website.

FALSE LEFTY: Substance over mainstream – the pursuit of real art

Angelo Bissanti and the Language of Metal

Kevin Hein: Between Drumsticks and the Spotlight

You can find my written review of Tanita Tikaram on the Sounds & Books website.

Mia Lada-Klein is a journalist and editor with a focus on music, culture, and media. In addition to analytical texts, she regularly conducts interviews with musicians and creatives and explores topics such as identity, creative processes, and media perception.