There's a new playlist curator in town and they're slowly shaking up Houston's music scene! We got a chance to speak with Davis Mendoza Darusman, the founder of Houston's only weekly-curated playlist service dedicated to featuring new music by Houstonian artists & musicians: Houston Playlists.
The playlist curating process is more strenuous than most people imagine - there isn't a magical music database of Houston-based/raised artists, so all talent is personally discovered by Houston Playlists through several mediums such as social media, online communities/forums, press releases and more.
"Hashtags are actually an artist's easiest & cheapest marketing tool, we're surprised more local musicians don't utilize hashtags on their social media," Darusman informs us. "Tags like #HoustonMusic, #HoustonRapper and #HoustonSinger don't just help us discover local talent, they could help millions of other Houstonians become fans of their music!"
Elevating local artists is Houston Playlists' mission, which is why they vow to never charge for placement on their curated playlists unlike many other for-profit services. The only criteria Houstonian musicians need to meet is for their music to be available on Spotify and/or Apple Music - once their music is streaming on these sites, artists are encouraged to submit their music to get featured on a playlists!
