How do you make a tag for a playlist?
Write the address of the playlist to the tag and stick it to something worth handling. The writing takes a minute; the choice of object decides whether anybody ever taps it, and a tag on a card in a drawer is a tag nobody uses.
What to write
The address of the playlist, taken from the sharing option of whatever application you use, written as a single record. Nothing else is needed.
Test it by tapping once before committing the tag to an object, because an address that opens a web page rather than the application is the usual disappointment and it is easier to discover now.
Leave the tag unlocked. Playlists get renamed and remade, and a locked tag turns a two minute correction into buying another tag.
The object is the design
A tag on a bare sticker on a shelf is a tag nobody notices. A tag inside something you already pick up gets tapped.
Cards work because they are handled, stack, and can be printed on. So do coasters, wooden discs, and the sleeves of records you own.
Print what it is on the outside. Nobody taps an unlabelled tag to find out, and a set of identical blanks is a set that goes unused within a week.
A set rather than one
One playlist tag is a novelty. A dozen, in a box by the speaker, is a physical interface, and that is the version people keep.
Write them in one sitting. Writing a batch is the same gesture repeated and takes far less time than doing them one at a time over a month.
Keep a note of which tag holds which address as you go, because a box of cards whose printing has worn off is a box you have to read one by one.
What breaks over time
Not the tag. The address, when a playlist is deleted or a service changes how its addresses are formed.
If you intend the set to last, write addresses on a domain you control and redirect them onward. Then a service change is one edit rather than a box of dead cards.
That is more setup than most people want for a shelf of music, and it is the difference between a project that survives a service change and one that does not.
Frequently asked questions
Should the tag hold the playlist or trigger an automation?
The address, unless you need extra steps. An address works on any phone in the house with nothing configured.
What do I put the tag on?
Something you already pick up. Cards, coasters, record sleeves. A sticker on a shelf gets ignored.
Should I lock the tags?
No. Playlists change more often than tags wear out, and locking removes the ability to correct them.
What happens if the playlist is deleted?
The tag opens nothing. Writing an address you control and redirecting it onward is the way round this.