Spotify Playlist Follower Count Returns Zero

Other Questions Spotify
1

I’m having trouble getting the correct follower count for playlists through the Spotify API. The count always shows as zero unless I open the playlist manually in the app first. Has anyone found a way to load playlist data programmatically so the follower count appears correctly? I tried using libspotify too but ran into the same issue.

var playlistUri = "spotify:user:testuser:playlist:5xKmeyc9DFck2BEM3k8IDx";
spotify.Playlist.fromURI(playlistUri, function(playlistObj){
    myPlaylist = playlistObj;
    setTimeout("console.log('After delay: '+myPlaylist.data.subscriberCount)", 15000);
    myPlaylist.observe(spotify.EVENT.CHANGE, function() {
        console.log("Updated: "+myPlaylist.data.subscriberCount);
    });
    console.log(myPlaylist);
    console.log(myPlaylist.data.subscriberCount);
});
2

The zero follower count happens because Spotify lazy loads subscriber data - it’s not there when you first create the playlist object. Skip the timeouts and polling. Instead, combine the playlist’s loaded state check with the change observer. After calling fromURI, immediately call load() on the playlist object. Your change observer will fire once the full metadata comes in. The key is explicitly calling load() right after creating the object - this forces Spotify to grab everything including subscriber counts. I’ve found this way more reliable than waiting for automatic loading, especially with playlists that haven’t been hit through the API recently.

3

This happens because Spotify’s API sends metadata in chunks, not all at once. You get basic playlist info first, then subscriber counts come later in a separate fetch. Skip setTimeout and use a proper polling mechanism that checks the playlist object’s isLoaded property instead. You can also hit the Web API directly with HTTP requests - sometimes that gives you complete data right away. I’ve noticed active playlists cache their subscriber counts better than dead ones. Just wait for the playlist object to fully load before grabbing subscriber data.

4

skip libspotify and hit the web api directly - GET /playlists/{playlist_id} gives u the follower count right away without any extra loading. libspotify’s pretty buggy with this stuff

5

had the same prob! u need to do a .load() before checking the subs count, or else it won’t give the right number. also, make sure your Spotify app permissions are good, might be blocking that data.

6

Yeah, this is a classic Spotify API quirk - subscriber counts don’t show up right away. The API sends you cached data that’s not fully loaded yet. You’ve got to manually trigger a refresh after creating the playlist object. Call the playlist’s load method, then wait for the loaded event before checking subscriber counts. Don’t use fixed timeouts since network requests are unpredictable - event listeners work way better. I’ve noticed this happens a lot with playlists that haven’t been hit through the API recently.

7

If you want a simpler, no-code solution to handle playlists without worrying about API refresh quirks, MusConvtool is perfect. It lets you transfer your playlists, liked songs, and entire library seamlessly across platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, and more ensuring your playlists are fully migrated and ready to use, without needing to manually trigger API events or deal with cached counts.