Appearing with a song on the Spotify playlist "Modus Mio" is probably one of the most decisive events in the career of a German hip-hop artist. With over 1.8 million followers, it is one of the most influential playlists in Germany. The Swedish design studio Studio Herrström collaborated with the Spotify team to rebrand the playlist and create an associated cross-media campaign.
Text: Paula Schneewind
The rap and hip-hop scene has become indispensable in Germany. It is one of the most successful genres for German youth culture and is omnipresent. This can also be seen in the streaming figures on platforms such as Spotify.
"Modus Mio" is the hip-hop playlist with the widest reach in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It is not without reason that it is the destination for many up-and-coming hip-hop artists. Being represented with a song on this playlist is definitely an accolade for your own skills. The 50 songs on the "Modus Mio" playlist are updated weekly to keep the 1.8 million followers up to date.
The visual communication of "Modus Mio", which means both "My Mode" and "Modus Million", goes hand in hand with reflecting on what hip-hop can actually stand for. It can be loud and self-confident, but also quiet and reserved. Sometimes it's about being different and special, sometimes it's about being part of the crowd. Hip-hop can do many things and this is reflected in the visual realization through the dynamically slanted typography, which has a clear presence. The typography lockups are set in Circular, Spotify's house font. The main colors black and white allow the individual artist images to be uniformly incorporated in the same contrast. This developed brand identity presents the influence of hip-hop in a self-confident and strong way and thus offers the genre a visual stage.
The rebranding was first shown at the Splash! festival, one of the biggest hip-hop festivals in Europe, and was duly celebrated by the Berlin artists performing there, including 1019, Badmómzjay, Dante YN, 01099 and Juju. Since then, the playlist cover and the "Modus Mio" Instagram channel have been updated with new visuals every week.
If you liked this article, you might also be interested in this one on the subject of music: "Vinyl! The comic covers"
