Spotify's editorial playlists — the ones carrying the platform's branding, the genre flagship playlists, the mood playlists, New Music Friday, Fresh Finds — are chosen by real people who work for Spotify. That one detail accounts for almost everything else you need to understand about how they operate. There's no algorithm to beat, there's no one to get friendly with, and nothing to purchase. There is one gate, and it is completely free, but most artists walk straight through it without preparing. This is about going through correctly. If you don't yet know where editorial sits in relation to algorithmic and independent playlists, start with the three ways you can get a track onto Spotify playlists — this article is about the editorial route and expects you to know which one you are trying to get into.
The odds, according to Spotify themselves
Spotify's editors have said publicly that about 20% of submitted tracks will end up on at least one playlist. This is a statistic worth holding on to, because it puts the entire process into perspective. One in five isn't a coin toss. It's more like applying for a job, where weak applicants get filtered out for reasons they could easily have fixed, and the applicant pool is limited enough that decent people get noticed.
There are two other things the editors have told us directly, both of which go against the grain of what most artists believe:
Neither your follower nor your monthly listener count matters. They don't care about your stats. A musician with 300 listeners who submits a good pitch is not at a disadvantage compared to someone with 30,000 who leaves the note blank.
All pitches are seen by the editorial team at Spotify globally. You aren't pitching one person, or one territory. Your tags will send your track to the editor who listens to music in your genre.
The non-negotiables
Fail to meet any of the criteria and your track won't even be considered, regardless of how good the song is:
- It needs to be pitched at least seven days ahead of its release date. Spotify say this is because they want their editors to have time to listen to your song. Seven days is a bare minimum, not a target.
- Only one track can be pitched at once. After the song you've pitched has been released, you can pitch another.
- The song has to be unreleased. As soon as it has been released, it cannot be pitched anymore.
- The track cannot be on a compilation, or a song where you are a feature.
- You need Admin or Editor access to the artist profile. If the artist profile is controlled by your distributor and you can't log into it, then you won't be able to pitch at all.
The form, field by field
This is where the winnable margin is. Each field is a routing signal; most artists treat them like bureaucracy.
Genre/subgenre
Be precise to the point of embarrassment. "Indie folk" routes better than "alternative"; "alternative" routes to no one in particular. Editors run genre desks, and a nebulous tag will land your song with a person who doesn't curate your sound. This is the single most common way a great song gets lost in the queue.
Mood
Selected from Spotify's preset list, and it matters more than it appears, because editors make a lot of playlists based on mood instead of genre. Melancholy, euphoric, aggressive, tender — choose what the song is, not what you wish it were related to.
Instrumentation
Describe what a listener hears. Acoustic guitar, analog synthesizer, live drums, electronic drums. When an editor is creating a thematic list, those are the tags they're searching for.
Language, culture, city
Often overlooked and quietly useful. Spotify maintains a large number of regional and cultural playlists, and these fields are how you get added to them. If you recorded in Kyiv, mention it. If your vocal isn't in English, state what language you used. This is the cheapest real estate on the form for non-US/UK artists.
The description
You have 500 characters, and Spotify's editorial team has been refreshingly direct about this one: never submit a blank note. Their own framing is that the best descriptions tell the story of your track's who, what, why, when, where, and how.
Here's what that means with 500 characters at your disposal:
- What the song is, summarized in one factual sentence. Not "a deeply emotional experience" — what the song sounds like and what it means.
- Why now. Your rollout strategy, any marketing efforts underway, any activity already in progress.
- What's already happened. Press quotes, music videos posted, a sync license, a pre-save campaign, upcoming tour dates. Editors say these boost a pitch.
- Where it belongs. Identify two or three playlists you really fit on. It shows you've done your homework.
Don't use adjectives. Nothing in the description should make any claims about quality — your editor is listening to the track while reading, so saying it's gorgeous wastes space that could be spent on things they can't hear.
What the editors care about
In their own words, it's about music, not math: BPM, tempo, arrangement, key signature, and how the song fits in with the rest of the tracks on the list. One editor summed it up by saying that music speaks in more ways than numbers, and that they prioritise listening.
There's a practical side to this. A playlist is a series, not a dump bin. If a song is excellent but doesn't fit with what's already on the list, it will be passed over — and that has nothing to do with the song itself. Checking out the playlists you're submitting to will teach you more than checking analytics.
When to submit
Seven days is the shortest lead time. Two to four weeks is typical. Editors have lots of tracks to process, so the sooner you get on their list, the more chances you have to be heard.
The lead time also serves a purpose outside of editorial curation: if you submit a song at least seven days before its release, it will appear in your followers' Release Radars when the song drops. This occurs regardless of whether an editor chooses to add your song to a playlist. This is the single most likely benefit of the submission form, and one more reason to submit even if you feel the odds are low.
That means you shouldn't wait until release week to submit your song. Think of it as choosing a release date, rather than making a final submission. You'll want to give yourself plenty of time. Discovering the seven-day limit four or five days before you plan to drop your song isn't going to be fun.
What doesn't work
Paying for placement. Spotify's editors have stated plainly that paying third-party services for playlist placement goes against their rules. There is no such thing as an editorial playlist that is for sale, because these playlists are made by employed people — there is nothing to sell. So any company that offers you an editorial placement is either lying or putting you on an independent playlist with an official-sounding name.
For the sake of clarity, the service we offer is independent curator pitching, which is a separate arena — these are independent playlisters, not Spotify's editors. We can't put you on an editorial playlist. Nobody selling an editorial placement can either.
Contacting editors. Again, they say: building relationships isn't part of how playlists are created. Sending emails and DMs is a waste of energy.
Pitching again after you've already released your track. They won't let you do this on the form. The better move is to focus on the next single instead.
If it's not selected
You're not without options.
Release Radar. Followers get the song when it drops if you pitched before the deadline.
Discovery. Spotify points out that songs that weren't chosen during the pitch process may be selected later. It's not a cold call where you only have until Friday to impress someone — if a song begins to gain traction after it's released, it could still get programmed weeks later.
Fresh Finds. This runs as more than a dozen genre-specific lists focused on rising indie artists. If you're not signed, the Fresh Finds in your genre might be a better target than the big one your genre is known for. It's not a compromise, it's focusing on the playlist that is designed to feature artists in your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many editorial playlists does each pitch reach?
Each pitch reaches Spotify's editors worldwide, and will be considered for any editorial playlist that the tagging directs it to. There is no separate submission for each playlist, and you can't target which editors see your music — it's the tags that determine this.
Should I pitch every new release?
Yes, and one benefit is unrelated to the editorial team: if a pitch is submitted on time, Spotify automatically includes the song in Release Radar for your followers. The editorial consideration is the upside, not the whole point.
Do I need a distributor that offers playlist pitching?
No. The playlist pitch functionality is built into Spotify for Artists at no charge. The only thing you need from a distributor is Admin or Editor permission to edit your artist profile. Paid pitch services offered by some distributors will not get your music in front of Spotify's editors.
If a song was previously placed in an editorial playlist, does this increase my chances for future placements?
Not in the way you'd expect. A previous placement does not act as an endorsement for the next pitch. What helps is the performance it produced — if a song has strong organic engagement, it's much easier for an editor to justify programming it.
How soon will I know if my pitch is selected?
You will receive no email notification either way. You won't know unless you check your analytics in Spotify for Artists and observe how streams come in over the first few days after release.