How to Get Your Music on Spotify Playlists

The following information on playlisting is excerpted from the Berklee Online course Music Marketing 101 authored by Christopher Wares, which is enrolling now.

Spotify has largely taken over the beloved but time-consuming task of curating playlists. After all, there’s a playlist for just about every genre, subgenre, decade, mood, and vibe imaginable (“Chillin’ on a Dirt Road” anyone?). Because playlists are a huge music discovery tool now, learning how to get on these playlists is a music marketing tactic that artists now need to consider. 

What is Playlisting?

Playlisting, or playlist promotion, is the process of getting your music included in playlists on digital service providers (DSPs) like Spotify. Playlists are essential for music discovery, helping artists gain visibility and streams by reaching new audiences. Whether through algorithmic suggestions, editorial curation, or user-generated content, playlists can significantly influence the popularity of a song or artist. Let’s explore various strategies for maximizing your chances of getting placed on playlists, including best practices for playlisting, learning about the different kinds of playlists on Spotify, and the best methods for outreach to the various kinds of curators. 

IMPORTANT

Do NOT, under any circumstances, pay to have your music placed in a playlist. This goes against the policies of nearly every DSP, and can result in your music being completely removed from the platforms. 

General Best Practices

To get placed on Spotify playlists, whether algorithmic, personalized, editorial, or user-generated, artists should follow these general best practices:

• Optimize your profile: Ensure your artist profile is complete with high-quality images, a compelling bio, and makes use of all of the available Spotify features and tools. This makes a strong first impression on curators and algorithms alike. Here are some more tips from Spotify. 
• Engage with your audience: Actively promote your music and interact with your listeners. Encourage fans to follow you on Spotify, save your music, and add your tracks to their personal playlists.
• Release consistently: Regular releases keep your audience engaged and provide fresh content for playlists. Aim to release new music every four to eight weeks to stay relevant, especially for emerging artists. 
• Leverage data and analytics: Use insights from Spotify for Artists to understand your audience and refine your strategies. Track engagement metrics and adapt your approach accordingly.
• Optimize your music metadata: Ensure that your music metadata (information associated with a music file that helps identify the track) is as complete and accurate as possible. Including multiple descriptors like genre, subgenre(s), mood(s), related activities, etc. will create more opportunities for your music to get placed. 
• Network and build relationships: Engage with playlist curators and influencers on social media. Building genuine relationships can increase your chances of being considered for playlists.
• Utilize Spotify for Artists: Leverage Spotify for Artists to facilitate playlist pitching.
• Apply integrated marketing strategies: Editorial teams and individual curators also look for music outside of Spotify—social media, media outlets, radio, live performances, and more. Make sure that you are implementing integrated marketing strategies in order to increase your chances of being noticed and considered for playlist inclusion.
• The Follow button: The Follow button is vital for building your audience, as it ensures fans receive updates about your new releases and activities. Encourage fans to follow you by sharing on social media, offering exclusive content, running contests, etc.

Algorithmic Playlists

These playlists are generated by algorithms based on streaming data, listener engagement, and popularity metrics. They include charts and top lists that reflect the most-streamed songs on a platform. Created entirely by computer software without human intervention, these playlists respond to trends and user interactions on the platform. Artists cannot pitch their music directly to these playlists, as inclusion is based on listener data.

Examples: Spotify’s Top 50 – Global, Top Songs – USA, Viral 50 – Global 

Personalized Playlists

Personalized playlists are unique to each listener and are crafted by algorithms that take into account individual listening habits, preferences, and behaviors. These playlists evolve based on user interaction. Customized for each user, personalized playlists reflect a blend of user-specific preferences and broader listening trends. They are dynamic and update regularly to provide a fresh listening experience. 

Examples: Spotify’s Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Indie Mix.

Encourage fans to follow you, save your music to their libraries, and add your tracks to their personal playlists. High engagement signals to the algorithm that your music is popular and worth recommending.

Editorial Playlists

Curated by Spotify staff (read: real human beings!), editorial playlists are designed to highlight new releases, trending tracks, and specific themes or moods. Curators are genre, lifestyle, and culture specialists who select music to fit each playlist’s concept.

Editorial playlists are typically marked by a Spotify logo and are considered highly influential. Most established record companies have direct relationships with Spotify label reps that consider music for inclusion on these large playlists, whereas independent artists must usually pitch their music through the Spotify for Artists editorial playlist pitch tool.

The other most effective way to get your music featured on editorial playlists is to generate a lot of buzz around a release and have members of the editorial teams (curators) find you. This could be from media coverage, a festival performance, radio play, a viral moment on socials, etc.  

Examples: Spotify’s RapCaviar, Hot Country, and Viva Latino

How to Pitch Editorial Playlists

Use the Spotify for Artists tool to pitch your music directly to editorial teams. Spotify receives tens of thousands of pitches per week, so you should ideally submit your music at least three to four weeks before the release date—not the common minimum of seven days—to maximize the chance of your music getting heard. 

• Optimize your metadata: Make sure to clearly define genre, subgenre(s), mood, related activities, etc. to maximize the number of potential placements (and chances of your pitch being selected). 
• Highlight unique aspects: In your pitch, emphasize what makes your music and story unique. Provide context and reasons why your track should be included, as well as your plans for promoting it.
• Work with your distributor: All of the digital distributors have relationships with the editorial teams and label reps at Spotify, but obviously cannot offer pitching services to all of their clients. If your music is buzzing or there is something really special about an upcoming release, reach out to your distributor to explore options. 
• Promote outside of Spotify: Again, editorial teams also look for music outside of the Spotify—social media, media outlets, radio, live performances, and more. Make sure that you are implementing integrated marketing strategies in order to increase your chances of being noticed and considered for playlist inclusion.

Listener Playlists (User-Generated Playlists)

Created by individual users, artists, influencers, or tastemakers, listener playlists often cater to specific niches, genres, or moods. These playlists are publicly available and can be followed by other users. The Artist Playlist feature on Spotify for Artists falls into this category. Spotify hosts hundreds of thousands of listener playlists. While the majority are small, personal collections, some users create playlists with the intention of gaining followers and becoming sought-after curators. 

These playlists are typically a lot more accessible than editorial playlists (artists can reach out directly to users and there are several companies that offer independent playlist promotion), which can significantly impact an artist’s visibility and popularity. They are highly diverse, reflecting the tastes and preferences of their creators. Some of the more popular and influential listener playlists can drive significant streams and engagement.

Examples: Playlists created by individual users, influencers, tastemakers, or artists like Khruangbin’s playlists from around the world, *JBREKKIE PLAYLIST* by Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, and Homemade Dynamite by Lorde. 

• Research and targeting: Use tools like Chartmetric to identify playlists that match your music style. Look at playlists where similar artists’ music has been placed and target those. Another useful tool is Spotify’s Discovered On feature, which can be found on an artist’s profile page and showcases playlists where new listeners are finding them. 
• Direct outreach: Find contact information for curators and send personalized pitches explaining why your track fits their playlist. Engage with them on social media to build relationships. If the playlist does not have contact information for the curator, you may be able to find other ways to DM them by searching for their name on socials. 
• Playlist directories: Companies like Indie Bible offer directories of user-generated playlists (typically categorized by genre) with curators’ contact information and instructions on how to pitch music for placement consideration. 
• Playlist promotion services: Consider using services like SubmitHub, Groover, Playlist Push, and SongTools to pitch releases to user-generated playlists. These platforms streamline the pitching process by facilitating the research and outreach process so you do not have to reach out to curators directly. It is important to note that these services do not guarantee placement, only that your music will be sent to curators for consideration. Again, do not engage with any service or individual guaranteeing placement for a fee.   

How to Pitch Listener Playlists

When pitching your music to curators of user-generated playlists, it’s important to follow a few best practices to increase your chances of success. 

• Keep your messages concise and respectful of the curator’s time, while providing enough context about your song to grab their attention. 
• Personalize each message by referencing the playlist name and why you believe your track is a good fit. 
• Always include a direct link to your music (preferably through a one-click streaming platform like Spotify or a Linktree) and avoid attachments. 
• Be professional, polite, and appreciative, even if the curator does not respond or accept your song. Building genuine relationships with curators can lead to long-term playlisting opportunities. 

Successfully getting your music placed on playlists involves a strategic approach that includes understanding the types of playlists, optimizing your profiles, engaging with your audience, and leveraging the right tools and services. By following these best practices and staying informed about the latest trends and features offered by DSPs, you can significantly increase your chances of being discovered and reaching a broader audience. For the most up-to-date information, regularly visit the DSP websites and stay engaged with the music distribution community.

And Just So We’re Clear: Never Pay for Play

Before we wrap up this article, we would be remiss if we didn’t state this one last time: do NOT, under any circumstances, pay to have your music placed in a playlist. This goes against the policies of nearly every DSP, and can result in your music being completely removed from the platforms.