how to get your music on spotify playlists
how to get your music on spotify playlists

How To Get Your Music On Spotify Playlists

While there are countless streaming services out there, Spotify remains at the top with 345 million users. To put that into more perspective, Apple Music only has about a third of the amount of users.

This may largely have to do with the way Spotify is set up as a sort of social media on top of being a streaming platform. Users are able to follow artists and each other, plus they are also able to make playlists that they are able to share and have other users follow. This is a feature that you should be taking advantage of as an artist.

Read this guide to learn how to get your music on Spotify playlists, without having any special connections.

There’s multiple types of playlists: user curated, artist curated, algorithmic generated, and editorial playlists.

There are also a hybrid between editorial and algorithmic which curates personalized playlists for individual users.

Over the recent years, this feature has exploded. Now it seems like everyone has a playlist to promote. It’s important to first understand the differences between all of the different types of playlists before you learn how to get your music on them.

Editorial Playlists

These are the playlists that you will see the most of. These playlists are curated by Spotify’s in-house team of curators. There are thousands of these playlists covering virtually every genre, mood, topic, culture, and more. Examples of these playlists include “Rap Caviar” and “New Music Friday.” The majority of these playlists hold hundreds of thousands to millions of followers, so these are the ones that would be most beneficial to get your music on.

User Playlists

These playlists are curated by users that pay for Spotify premium. These playlists are able to be showcased on the users profiles allowing other people to follow them. There are many huge playlists that are curated by normal users. For example, the playlist “emotional motion sickness” by audrraaa has almost 2,000 followers. These type of playlists can also be curated by companies. For example, the media company Pigeons & Planes has many playlists with large followings. Their biggest being, “Pigeons & Planes” with over 42k followers. These prove the power of user curated playlists.

Artist Playlists

As you could probably guess, artists playlist are curated by artists. Artists have an option to showcase these playlists on their profile, and most artists do. This is a great way for them to showcase their inspirations and similar artists, as well as giving their music a place amongst other songs. These playlists have become really popular over the recent years and is a great way for the artist to have their song consistently streamed.

Algorithmic Playlists

Algorithmic playlists are generated by Spotify’s algorithm. These playlists include “Discover Weekly” and “Missed Hits.” These playlists are generated based off of what each individual user listens to. No two users will have the same exact algorithmic generated playlist which is the coolest aspect of this type of playlist. The most popular algorithmic generated playlist is “Your Top Songs __” which takes your top 100 songs from the year and places them all together in a playlist for you.

how to get your music on spotify playlists
End of the year “Wrapped” algorithmic playlist
Personalized Playlists

Personalized playlists are interesting. They are a mix of algorithmic and editorial playlists, also known as “Algotorial Playlists.” These playlists have a set of tracks chosen by the editorial team that are then mixed with tracks chosen by the algorithm based off of what each individual user listens to. These types of playlists are typically updated consistently. While this is still a newer concept, it has proven successful with high engagement rates.

“So how do I get my music on Spotify playlists?”

The process to get on each type of playlist varies, so I’m going to walk you through how to get your music on each individual type of Spotify playlist.

Editorial Playlists

While the process to get on editorial playlists is simple and straightforward, these are the hardest playlists to get your music placed on. But nonetheless, worth submitting your music for consideration. Spotify suggests submitting your song at least 2-3 weeks prior to the release to give the editors enough time to listen. Follow these easy steps to pitch your music to the Spotify editorial team:

  1. Log in to Spotify for Artists
  2. At the top of Home, select “PITCH FROM NEXT RELEASE.” (If you are on web, you can also pitch from the Music tab under “UPCOMING.”)
  3. Choose your song and fill out all of the information. The more info you give them, the easier it is for them to decide what to do with your song, and the higher chance you have to be placed.

Things to note:

  • If you are the featured artist, you can not pitch the song.
  • You can only pitch one song at a time. You cannot pitch an album or compilation.
  • Editors may decide to use a different song of yours.
  • High production quality is an important factor when the editors are deciding which music to place.
User Playlists

These playlists are likely the easiest to be placed on. Largely due to the amount of users and the amount of playlists each user curates. You probably are already on plenty of user playlists, although they may not have many or any followers. You must do some digging to find playlists with followers. While there are countless paid services now that will submit your music for user playlist consideration, it is easy enough to do yourself!

First you need to start with finding playlists you believe your music would fit well in. Create a database to keep track of all of these playlists along with the users name and contact information. My favorite place to keep track of this information is on the digital workspace platform, Notion. Larger user playlists typically tell you in the description how you can submit music for consideration. This is usually an email or instagram to direct message.

Next you will have to come up with a brief pitch. You need to give them a reason to want to check out your music! They probably get sent countless pitches every day so keep it brief and straight to the point. Make sure to give them some sort of compliment on their playlist, profile, or music taste.

Below is an example message you could send to a curator. Make sure to send the link to your song! I didn’t do that as this is just a mock message.

how to get your music on spotify playlists
How to Get Your Music on Spotify Playlists
Artist Playlists

There’s really not much to artist playlists, no need for searching and pitching. These are going to be the easiest playlists to get featured on because you, as the artist, curate them! This is a great place to showcase and engage with similar artists and those that have inspired you. You are able to pin which playlists you would like visible on your profile through Spotify for Artists.

Algorithmic Playlists

Algorithmic playlists are typically responsible for the most amount of plays as these playlists are curated specifically towards each individual user. Users are likely to play these on constant repeat since they are catered to their music taste. Because of this, the listener of algorithmic playlists are more likely to become a fan of you than if you were in a different type of playlist. Listeners pay more attention to the songs and artists that are in these playlists because they are so personalized and highly accurate.

There is not much of a process to getting on these playlists. Spotify suggests that you submit your song to Spotify for Artists at least one week prior to the release to be considered for playlists like “Discover Weekly.” What helps your chances getting on these playlists, is having a “buzz” surrounding your music on Spotify and even elsewhere like social media and blogs. The more you grow and get promoted as an artist, the higher chance of appearing on algorithmic playlists.

Personalized Playlists

Because this type of playlist is a mix of editorial and algorithmic, you can follow the same guides as both of those to help your music get placed. There’s no specific place to submit your music for these playlists, but anything pitched through Spotify for Artists can be considered. The editorial team is likely choosing a mix from submissions as well as songs they find on their own search, which are then mixed with algorithmic chosen music based on the users listening behavior.

The cool thing about these playlists is that if you are featured on one, you get a unique link for sharing. Your song will appear at the top of the playlist if opened through your link.

Now you have all of the information you need to get your music on all of the different types of Spotify playlists, without having any special connections! This will greatly benefit your growth as an artist and your fanbase. With higher numbers on your Spotify profile, you are more likely to be discovered and to be feature elsewhere on the internet. This in-return creates a buzz surrounding you as an artist, and it’s all about the buzz!

Want to be featured in any of our playlists?

Submit your music HERE or email us at info@respectmyregion.com.

respectmyregion via Spotify

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