Blog / Music Marketing
The Complete Guide to Playlist Pitching
Playlist pitching is still one of the highest-leverage marketing activities an artist can do. It’s also one of the most misunderstood — and the vertical with the most bad actors.
The three kinds of playlists
1. Editorial playlists — curated by Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc. These are pitched through the platforms’ own tools (Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists) and are the highest-value placements.
2. Algorithmic playlists — Discover Weekly, Release Radar, Daily Mix. You don’t pitch these. Your streaming data earns them.
3. Independent playlists — curated by labels, blogs, individuals. Quality varies wildly.
How to pitch editorial
Pitch through Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists at least 4 weeks before release. Keep the pitch short, specific, and honest. What’s the song about? What’s the sonic reference? Why does it belong on a specific playlist?
Do not pad the pitch with marketing copy. Editors can see through it in three seconds.
How to pitch independents
Build a targeted list. Research which curators actually fit your genre. Send short, personal outreach. Offer them something useful — early access, exclusive content, a quote for their blog.
Volume is not the strategy. Relevance is.
The scams to avoid
If someone guarantees Spotify editorial placement for a fee, they’re running a scam. If a playlist has 200K followers but 400 monthly listeners, it’s bot-farmed — don’t touch it. If a “curator” asks you to pay for a slot, your streaming revenue will get clawed back when Spotify’s fraud detection catches it.
What playlisting is worth
A good editorial placement can drive 100K+ streams in a month. A good independent playlist placement can drive 5K+. A bot-farmed placement can drive your royalties to zero when Spotify flags the account.
We pitch playlists every week for our artists. See what that looks like.