Diplo and the Major Lazer crew’s track with MØ, “Lean On,” has undoubtedly broken plenty of boundaries since its release one year ago. From awards and nominations to record-breaking play counts, the track has become the ultimate soundtrack for 2015. But according to a recent report from Billboard, the group received a substantial amount of help from streaming service Spotify in garnering its initial attention.
After the song was released in March of 2015, its play count was some 800,000 clicks away from the #1 global track at the time. Spotify took notice, Billboard writes, and decided to take action in order to raise it even higher. During the subsequent months, the streaming service reserved around 20 home-page takeovers for the song, in addition to including it in many Spotify playlists. The most popular of these playlists are often controlled by the site itself, making its decision to include “Lean On” on the roster a crucial strategic move in increasing its number of plays and interactions.
After a collaboration with Major Lazer’s management company TMWRK and an incentive with Mad Decent to share the track on social media to win tour tickets, the song entered another echelon; it amassed 2.5 million global streams in May. For two whole months, the track rested at the very top of the global charts, granting it a whopping 38 million streams during that time. 
These efforts, combined with Diplo’s “Diplo and Friends” Spotify playlist led users to more frequently interact with the track and artist profile behind it. The playlist now has 138,000 followers to boot.
It’s an interesting and eye openingly modern tactic, but something that will likely continue to influence the community’s favorite tracks for a long time. To listen to the track that dominated the last year, check below.
Source: Billboard
