How to get your music on Spotify playlists: Step-by-Step Guide

Learn how to get your music featured on Spotify playlists with this comprehensive guide. Unlock key strategies and tips to boost your streaming numbers and dramatically grow your fanbase.

by Lisa Occhino from Bandzoogle

There’s no arguing that people love and depend on playlists for music discovery. With over 4 billion of them on Spotify alone — including thousands of editorial playlists — you have a great opportunity as an artist to connect with niche audiences who will truly dig your music and want to support you.

What many artists may not realize is that Spotify not only tracks a ton of metrics within the platform, but it also crawls hundreds of music blogs, keeps tabs on social media buzz, and measures it all against tastemakers on Spotify. This is the engine behind playlists like ‘Fresh Finds’ that can really move the needle on an independent artist’s career.

It makes sense to think about playlist features as one piece of a comprehensive strategy in which all of your efforts complement one another: press and social media mentions feed Spotify features, and vice versa.

Streaming stats aren’t the only thing that matter in the music industry, but solid numbers and playlist features will help with discovery from labels, agents, publishers, journalists, and new fans.

What are the 5 types of Spotify playlists?

Before we dive into how to get playlisted, it’s important to understand that Spotify has five different types of playlists — some are curated by humans, some are generated through complex algorithms, and some are a mix of both.

1. Editorial playlists

Spotify’s editorial team curates playlists based on music trends and data. Many of these playlists have several editors in different regions, sourcing music from all corners of the world.

You can tell it’s an editorial playlist by the Spotify logo in the byline, such as the ‘Hot Country’ playlist. You can pitch new releases directly to Spotify’s editors for these types of playlists.

2. Personalized editorial playlists

This type of playlist is also known as an “algotorial” playlist, and no two are the same. Spotify editors typically curate a large pool of songs first, and then they hand it off to the algorithm so that the final playlist is personalized for each listener’s individual taste.

Personalized editorial playlists, like ‘Songs to Sing in the Shower’, are marked by the Spotify logo in the byline.

3. Algorithmic playlists

Algorithmic playlists are completely personalized and there’s no human curation involved. These include ‘Discover Weekly’ and ‘Release Radar’, and they’ll say “Made for [name]” in the byline.

4. Artist playlists

These playlists are curated by artists and showcased on their artist profiles. They usually feature the artist’s own music, any collaborations they’ve done, and other songs that have inspired them. These are a great way to try to find your music new homes on Spotify especially if you spice up your playlists with other artists.

5. Fan-made playlists

Any playlist you’ve made of your favorite songs is considered a fan-made playlist. All Spotify users can create their own playlists, and they can be set to either private or public.

Fan-made playlists are more powerful than you might think: they have a hand in influencing algorithmic playlists by showing Spotify what the listener likes.

5 tips for getting your music featured on a Spotify playlist

1. Get verified

Becoming a verified artist on Spotify is easy. If you haven’t done it already, DistroKid offers free Spotify for Artists verification when you use them as a distributor.

That checkmark next to your name not only indicates that you’re legitimate, but also gives you control over your artist page, access to a wealth of fan insights, and the ability to pitch your songs directly to Spotify’s editorial team for playlist consideration (more on that below).

Make sure you fill out every section of your artist profile (photo, bio, social media links, tour dates, etc.) to be taken seriously and increase your chances.

That checkmark next to your name indicates that you’re legitimate and also:

• Gives you control over your artist page
• Offers access to fan insights
• Lets you pitch your songs directly to Spotify’s editorial team for playlist consideration

Make sure you fill out every section of your artist profile, including your photo, bio, social media dates, and more to increase your chances of success.

2. Get active on Spotify

While getting featured on popular editorial playlists is the dream for most artists, algorithmic playlists drive a staggering number of listens. The more active you are on Spotify, the more likely you are to get noticed by both human curators and the algorithm.

Make sure that you’re regularly releasing new music, even if it’s just singles. Focus on promoting your artist page and building up your Spotify following to ensure that your new tracks appear in your followers’ ‘Release Radar’. You can also make your songs stand out by creating short looping videos with Canvas, increasing visual appeal.

Spotify’s algorithm favors artists who drive listeners to their platform. Link your artist page and encourage pre-saves of upcoming releases everywhere you can, such as on your music website, social media channels, fan newsletter, email signature, and at your live shows.

3. Write a compelling pitch to independent curators

First, set aside a chunk of time to do some listening and research. Search for independently curated playlists for which you think your music would genuinely be a perfect fit. Find out who created those particular playlists (the username will be linked right at the top, under the playlist title and description), and whether they’re open to pitches.

If you’re on good terms with any sort of publicist, manager, label executive, or other industry person who knows a relevant curator, work those connections. Otherwise, track down the contact info for the curators on your list who accept submissions, and try your best to build a relationship with them through social media. Then, write each of them a personalized pitch explaining why your song would be perfect for their playlist.

The guidelines for this are essentially the same as when you pitch music journalists, talent buyers, or anyone else. Put yourself in their shoes, and figure out why they should care about this message from an artist they don’t know. It’s clear what the benefit is for you, but what’s the benefit for them? Outline those details.

Communicate your authenticity and that you’ve actually taken the time to listen to their playlist. Keep your message fairly brief, but be specific about what you’re asking. Paint a clear picture of the mood, vibe, or activity that your song is perfect for. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to say “yes.”

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4. Submit your new music directly to Spotify’s editorial team

With a verified Spotify for Artists account, you can go through Spotify’s formal (and free) process to submit your unreleased song for playlist consideration.

Spotify has playlisted 20% of pitches since launching the submission tool in 2018. And regardless of whether your song gets selected for an editorial playlist, submitting the form guarantees that it’ll get added to your followers’ ‘Release Radar’ playlists, which in turn sends positive signals to the algorithm.

Read all of the details here about how to pitch your song to Spotify’s playlist editors, and follow this advice to make your submission stand out:

• The earlier, the better. Pitch your song at least one week ahead of its scheduled release date (two or even three weeks early is ideal) so that editors have a chance to listen.
• High production value is a key factor.
• Don’t leave anything blank. Fill in every part of the submission form as completely and accurately as possible. The questions about your track’s mood and genre are especially important for routing your submission to the right editors.
• Focus on context and community. “Give us the who, what, why, when, where, and how of your song,” Spotify’s playlist editors explain. “If there’s an interesting story around you and/or the song, please let us know. The music is key but context is also extremely helpful to us.” They also love when artists include “any press, music video plans, release schedules, and promotions, as well as the social media accounts linked in your artist profile.”

Spotify will email you if your song has been selected, but you can also check the ‘Playlists’ tab in Spotify for Artists to see all of the playlists you’ve been added to.

5. Keep up your online presence and broader PR efforts

If you do manage to snag a playlist feature, no matter how small, do everything you can to leverage it and keep that momentum going. Shout it from the rooftops on all your channels, and thank the curator to show them how much it means to you.

Use Spotify’s Promo Cards tool to easily create customizable graphics for social media, and be sure to tag @spotifyforartists when you share the news about your playlist placement.

If you haven’t gotten any traction yet with playlist features, don’t panic or give up. It may seem like artists go viral overnight, but honing your craft and building real buzz takes time. Remember that playlisting is just one part of your overall music marketing strategy; maintaining your online presence and working on your big-picture PR efforts will all feed information into Spotify’s algorithm.

Bonus: make your own playlists!

As you build your Spotify presence, don’t forget that you can also create your own public playlists and feature them on your verified artist page. It’s a great way to engage with your fans and also show support for fellow independent bands.

You’ll want most of your playlists to feature other artists’ songs, with just a couple of your own tracks thrown into each. Aim for at least 25 songs, but no more than 100.

You can curate playlists around just about any theme, but we recommend starting simple (and searchable) with a genre, mood, or activity. You can even collaborate on playlists with other artists, and multiply your efforts by cross-promoting it to each other’s audiences — that’s a win-win all around!

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Lisa Occhino has worked in the music industry for over a decade as a digital marketer, content strategist, writer, editor, consultant, and entrepreneur. Her passion for educating, connecting, and supporting music creators lies at the heart of everything she does. She’s spoken at top music industry conferences such as SXSW and Mondo.NYC, as well as at Berklee College of Music (her alma mater) and Brandeis University. She’s also a lifelong pianist and award-winning songwriter.