How To Submit Your Music To Spotify Playlists: A Quick and Easy Guide for Musicians
So you have a song, you wrote the lyrics, produced the music, mixed and mastered. On top of that, you most likely utilized social media to promote the release and make your audience aware of new content; posting it to all of your accounts and having friends share with their followers as well. Yet, you still might not see the streaming numbers you had hoped for. So what’s missing? Submitting music to playlists is a great way to gain new listeners for your releases and get yourself discovered. Spotify playlists are one of the key tools artists use to boost traffic to their music and luckily, the process is very simple. If you are interested in more background, feel free to read What are Spotify Playlists and How are They Formulated? However, once you have the foundational knowledge, the question is: how exactly do you submit your music to playlists?
1. Log Into Your Spotify For Artists Account On Your Desktop Or Computer.
Songs can only be submitted on the desktop version of the website. If you do not have an account you can claim your artist profile when visiting the website for the first time, however keep in mind your artist profile is created when you put music out on Spotify. Therefore, you must already have some music on the platform to claim your artist profile, meaning you cannot use the Spotify Playlist submission feature for your very first release. Special conditions do apply for artists that are signed to labels and have direct access/communication with Spotify or their distributor.
The Editorial playlist submission feature is found in Music > Upcoming > Pitch A Song
2. Select The Unreleased Song To Be Submitted To Playlists.
You may only submit one track at a time to be reviewed by Spotify curators. Therefore, if you have a whole album or EP set for release, you must choose only one song to submit. Submissions are accepted only for unreleased music and should be sent in at about 28 days (recommended by EAR) before the release date. This is a great opportunity to work on that pre-release campaign to get pre-saves, and promote the drop of your new song, EP, or album.
3. Fill Out The Submission Form, Including As Much Detail As Possible.
Spotify playlist curators are looking for songs that will best fit their listeners genre and preferences. The more information you can give about your track -whether it be the genre, production style, lyrical content, or background story and inspiration- the better. The data you share through this form will go along with the information Spotify already knows about you and your listeners, such as what your fans already listen to, or what other playlists you have appeared on. Anything you can give to music experts will help them develop a better idea of where you would fit and boost your chances of earning a spot on a playlist.
4. Make A Short Pitch.
Write up a few sentences about what sets your music apart and why people will want to listen to your track. You can describe any featured artist, your drivers for releasing the song, and even your marketing plan for the track’s release. Make it known to these curators that you are also working towards your music’s success. Signed artists usually don’t have to worry about this part, but as an independent artist you’re your own manager, so be sure to handle this as soon as it becomes available.
An important thing to note is that submitting to these playlists does not guarantee you a spot. However, it serves as a huge source of exposure if you are to find yourself on a playlist. If Spotify selects your song, you get an email notification saying so, however if not there are still many ways to get your song on a playlist! Third party submission services such as SubmitHub are great ways to get your music out there. You can also pitch to independent playlist curators. If all else fails, you can put your music onto your own playlist and make sure that they can be found in search, or collaborate with friends, fellow artists, and fans to share your music on playlists. Regardless of how your song gets placed, Spotify playlists are a helpful promotional tool that all artists show know how to navigate when releasing new music.