How to Get Featured on Spotify’s Editorial Playlists
In This Video You Will See How to Get Featured on Spotify’s Editorial Playlists
One of the big challenges experienced by today’s artists is getting featured on editorial playlists (those created by the staff at music streaming platforms). There are important playlists across streaming services like Apple Music, Youtube Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, and Napster (to name a few) but in this article, we’ll focus specifically on how to promote your music on Spotify playlists.
Spotify’s editorial playlists are all about music discovery and careful curation, providing an easy way for listeners to consume music and find new songs to listen to. So, let’s discuss how to snag a spot on one of Spotify’s coveted editorial playlists.
How to Get Your Music Added
Pitch Through Spotify For Artists
Spotify for Artists is the dashboard used to pitch music to the platform’s editorial team, so create your profile if you don’t have one already. Once you’ve been approved on the platform, you’ll be able to see any unreleased tracks in your catalogue that you’ve submitted to your digital distributor. There may be some delays between uploading your song to your distributor and seeing on Spotify for Artists – don’t worry, this is normal!
Fill in the necessary information about your upcoming release and pitch your song directly to the editorial team. The “pitch” is the text you will write to introduce your music to them. If you want the curators to listen to and really understand your music, you have to write an attention-grabbing pitch.
Playlist Pitch Walkthrough
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to write a good pitch and increase your chances of getting into Spotify’s editorial playlists:
Verify Your Spotify Profile
It’s important that your Spotify profile is verified (has a blue check mark next to your name) in order to use all the tools in Spotify for Artists. Spotify allows all artists to be verified, you just have to claim it!
Submit Your Song to Distribution
If you’re signed, your label will take care of making your music available for the release date you’ve set. If you’re independent, you’ll need an account with a distributor like Distrokid or TuneCore to submit your work. You will not be able to pitch until it’s been submitted, so upload your track at least 3 weeks, if not 1 month before your scheduled drop day. Make sure that you are uploading a lossless file to get the best audio quality possible. As soon as your release is scheduled, you will be notified and can then pitch your song to the editorial playlists on Spotify.
Fill Out Information About your Music
When pitching time comes, head to “unreleased tracks” from your Spotify for Artists dashboard and begin the pitching process. You will be asked multiple choice questions about your song so the editorial team knows how to categorize it best. Make sure you can answer the following things about your song:
📌 Instruments used
📌 Type of recording: studio or live?
📌 Mood
📌 Style
📌 Culture (Latin, African, Celtic, etc.)
📌 Is it a cover, a remix or an instrumental piece?
📌 Location
📌 3 Subgenres (for example, hip-hop, classical music, beats music)
It is essential to fill in this information carefully. It will direct your music to Spotify teams that are receptive to your kind of music. Therefore, giving them accurate information will make their job easier and increase your chances of being featured in Spotify’s editorial playlists as you’ll be associated with the best music similar to yours.
Write a Good Pitch!
Important: If your goal is to export your music internationally, consider writing your pitch in English.
Last but not least, write the description that Spotify staff is going to read before listening. The pitch must be no more than 500 characters, which means you need to be concise and to the point. What should they know about your track to best understand where to place it? Here are some tips to keep in mind:
📌 Don’t write a bio! Focus on the music, not yourself as an artist
📌 Write in the language you want your main market to be (write in English if you’re not quite sure or want to thrive internationally)
📌 Tell a story: in one descriptive sentence, explain what the song is about and what inspired it
📌 Outline your promotion strategy: publicity on social networks, press, music videos, merchandising, gigs, etc.
📌 Include relevant accolades or statistics (streams, followers, awards, previous playlist placements, co-signs, etc.)
📌 Present your music project in the best light, but don’t exaggerate either
Finally, don’t forget that Spotify for Artists receives thousands of playlist requests per day. If you already have certain editorial playlists in mind that you think your song could be a good fit for, let them know.
Best Of Luck 👍🏻
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