Spotify’s Editorial Playlist pitch tool emerged in 2018 as a way to connect Spotify editors and artists who might not have a huge platform, notoriety, or access to get their music in front of the DSP’s tastemakers and placed on notable Spotify playlists. 

Contrary to what you might think, there are actual, real human beings who are listening to individual songs and determining whether they would make sense in one of Spotify’s editorial playlists. The Spotify release playlist pitch is one of the best tools that independent musicians have to get their music included on playlists.

 

What is the Spotify Editorial Playlist Pitch?

The playlist pitch is actually a tool that you find in your Spotify for Artists profile, where you can provide essential information about your track and get it heard by Spotify playlist editors to be included on a playlist.

The editorial playlist pitch is every artists’ opportunity to make the case for their song, EP, or album’s inclusion on coveted “editorial” playlists. This is actually a really cool feature where artists of all backgrounds, audience sizes, genres, etc. are on the same playing field as the big boys and girls. No other DSP offers this tool – it’s unique to Spotify.

It’s important to understand the impact that placement on an editorial playlist can have on an artist’s career.

Some things you can expect from a Spotify editorial playlist placement include: 

• Increased streams
• Increased revenue cut
• Increased monthly listeners
• Increased monthly followers
• Interest from music industry professionals

Because artists stand to see such amazing benefits, it’s important to take every opportunity to make sure you give your track(s) every shot to be placed on those editorials.

If you’re an unknown artist, the best way to get your song on an editorial playlist is with a compelling, well-written pitch. 

This guide is designed to walk you through the Spotify pitch process and give you tips and tricks to get the most out of this important part of your single release plan.

Before The Pitch: Doing Your Research

What Are Spotify Playlist Editors Looking For?

Ultimately, Spotify is looking to create playlists that keep their listeners engaged. They want songs that go together that their listeners are going to like, follow, and save.

Because there are so many different types of editorial playlists, there’s really an opportunity for artists from every genre to find a home on a playlist.

In a recent “Share Your Screen” podcast, Sulina Ong, Head of Editorial at Spotify, shared some advice for new artists on getting placement on Spotify editorial playlists. Here are her main pieces of advice:

• A staff member reads every pitch – It’s not filtered before it’s actually read by a real human being.
• Do the editor’s job for them – With so many songs going up every day, the more context and insight you can provide them, the easier it is for them to figure out if you’re a good fit for an editorial playlist.
• Put your song in the context of the day – Her best piece of advice, recommending that artists really paint a picture of how their song would be experienced by listeners on the platform.

 

Research Your Ideal Playlists Using Spotify

Before you pitch, you should also get a good idea of what Spotify playlists your song could fit on. If you can identify 3 – 5 playlists where you know your music would fit right in for mood, production, or style, that’s a big help to give Spotify editors where it could potentially work. During the pitch process, you can reference those playlists.

To find appropriate playlists, here are some tips:

In most cases, Spotify playlist experts recommend that you target smaller, localized, or more niche playlists as a newer artist.

Give Yourself at Least 7 Days Before Release Day

You need a pre-release window of at least 7 days in order to pitch your song to Spotify editors. The more time in advance, the more time you can spend crafting your pitch, but it’s not unheard of to have a song placed on a playlist within that 7 day window.

Each song pitch is different, but we’d recommend giving yourself plenty of time to focus on promoting your release and crafting that perfect pitch.

Building Your Release Pitch

Before you actually submit your release pitch, you’ll want to go in fully prepared. Here’s everything you need beforehand to build a great release pitch:

Song Quality

Ensure your song’s production meets the standards of quality of the rest of the songs on your target playlists.

We’re not saying that you need to work in a fully pro studio and have everything professionally mixed, but your song needs to sound and feel finished, polished, and complete.

Put yourself in the shoes of the playlist editor: you’re listening to your own song for the first time. Does anything stick out that might make them bristle? Anything that’s going to take them out of the mood of your song?

Up to Date Spotify Artists Profile

Before you submit your pitch, make sure you’ve got an informative biography and great artists photos in your “About” section. While this doesn’t have a HUGE impact, a good artist’s profile can help you stand out.

Here’s a video for tips on how to optimize your Spotify Artists profile:
 

 

Song Canvas

A song canvas is a short video clip that plays in the background within the Spotify app. While editors don’t place based on your canvas, having an engaging and unique Spotify canvas will give your song pitch an edge over others that don’t.

 

Have a Compelling Artist Story

You should be able to have a quick, to-the-point, and engaging artist’s bio that tells where you’ve been, where you’re going, and why people should care.

Know Your Genre, Mood, and More

One of the components of the playlist pitch is choosing your musical genre, providing a mood, and having all the pertinent information about your song so that editors know what playlist might be applicable. They have a predetermined set of these options for you to choose from so be sure to choose the ones most accurately fit your song.

The Spotify Playlist Pitch: Step by Step

Here’s a step by step walk through of the Spotify pitch process.

Step 1: Finding Your Song in Spotify for Artists

Once you have a song submitted for distribution to Spotify, you’ll see it show up under your “Music” tab in your Artist profile. If eligible for pitching, you should see the option to “PITCH A SONG” to the editors.

If you’ve released a song before or you don’t have permission to pitch a song, then you may not see the “PITCH A SONG” option available.

Step 2: Choosing the Artist Location

Once you choose your song, Spotify will then confirm the location details of the artist you’re pitching for, asking for a “Hometown” and where the artist is “Currently based.”

No tips or tricks here, just correctly add in the information, then move on.

Step 3: Choosing Your Genre

Next, Spotify will ask you to choose a few genres for your song. This choice is especially important because it will really guide Spotify editors towards the most appropriate playlists for your song. Spotify has a list of predefined genres that you can choose from. Simply start typing your song’s genres and see if they populate.

If you don’t see a genre that you’ve already chosen, try to pick one similar or adjacent to it.

Step 4: Choosing Your Music Culture

Spotify is looking to connect music to their listeners in a meaningful way, and one way they do that is by aligning cultural touchpoints to new music.

If your music aligns with one of Spotify’s preset culture categories, select it. If not, select “None of these.”

Don’t make a cultural connection if you don’t have one.

Step 5: Choosing Your Song’s Mood

In addition to culture, Spotify is also looking for a “mood” to help place your song. If you’re unsure what your mood is, there are tools out there that can help you figure that out.

Step 6: Choosing Your Song Styles

Song styles further help Spotify editors classify your song and identify what type of playlist it would be a good fit for.

Step 7: Choosing the Instruments On Your Song

In addition to all the genre/mood/style classifications, Spotify also uses the types of instrumentation you have on your song to help place it. List any and all instruments that are on your song.

Step 8: Recording Information

Last but not least, you need to tell Spotify a little bit about the recording and writing process of your song. Let them know if it’s a cover, remix, instrumental and whether it was recorded in a studio or a live performance.

Step 9: The PITCH

The final step in the process is the written pitch itself. You’ve got 500 characters to write a compelling pitch about your song.

To be honest, it’s an impossible task to pack all of the information you need to have into that 500 character limit, so you need to be prepared to trim away and really focus on what is the MOST compelling for your song for the editors.

The description should be short, sweet, and try to include some of the following details:

• Story behind the song
• Ideal listening setting/mood/feeling
• Creative approach
• Previous success
• Promotion plans, Tour info, Industry partners

Spotify Playlist Submission Template

If you’re looking for help writing your spotify pitch, here’s a template that you can follow:

[SONG NAME] is a [GENRE] single written and recorded [LOCATION/RECORDING STYLE].

This song came from [STORY BEHIND SONG]. It’s the perfect song to put on when [IMAGINE A SCENE OR SETTING WHERE YOUR SONG WOULD PERFECTLY FIT THE MOOD]. It would fit perfectly in [MENTION 1 OR 2 SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS].

So far we’ve had [PREVIOUS SUCCESS] with our last release and are planning to [PROMOTION PLAN] for [SONG NAME].

What Role Do Spotify Editorial Playlists Play in Your Overall Success Trajectory

A placement in a Spotify editorial playlist can have a huge impact on an indie artist’s career. Playlists like Pollen and Indie Fresh Finds are places where active listeners, industry luminaries, and tastemakers are going to discover new music, find their new favorite band, and scout new talent.

 

 

It’s important for any independent artist to use every tool available to get their music out there and grow their audience. Check out our 100% Organic Spotify Playlist Promotion Services to get your music on SEO-ranked playlists!