There are many ways Spotify can help up-and-coming artists gain exposure. One of the more notable ways is to get your music featured on one of Spotify’s playlists – each of which have thousands of followers and devotees. Many people rely on Spotify to introduce them to new artists, so getting a feature on a Spotify playlist is a pretty big deal!
There are three types of playlists on Spotify: individual playlists, which are personalized playlists for individual Spotify listeners, editorial playlists, which are playlists created by Spotify, and user-generated (listener) playlists. Although you can’t force your new single onto user-generated playlists, Spotify has given you the ability to pitch your unreleased song to its playlist curators–so that you can share the music you are so proud of with the rest of the world.
To make sure you are featured on Spotify-curated playlists, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve made an Artists for Spotify profile. Then, from your desktop, you can either navigate to “Home” then click “Pitch a song;” or navigate to “Music, click “Upcoming,” then “Pitch a song.” Make sure you don’t gloss over the metadata–the more you fill out, the more likely you are to get on a playlist.
It is important to note that you can only submit one song at a time (for example, you can’t submit an entire EP). You’ll want to make sure this song has the highest potential, as this may be many Spotify users’ first impression of you. Additionally, you can only submit music that has yet to be released. The earlier you submit the song before its release date, the more likely that Spotify editors are going to listen to it; don’t forget that the song must be submitted at least one week before its release date. You also cannot pitch a song that you are a featured artist on.
This should probably go without saying, but it is imperative that the song you choose to submit actually sounds good – it must have a fairly high production value. To see where your production value stands among bands or artists similar to you, listen to your song sandwiched between two songs that are already on a Spotify playlist you are trying to get featured on. If they are of the same caliber, then go ahead and pitch it to Spotify. If not, don’t be afraid to get some outside help or opinions!
It may take a few tries before you are featured on one of Spotify’s playlists, but it’s important to not get discouraged. Even by submitting your unreleased song, you are immediately featured on all your followers’ “Release Radar” playlist!
Also, you should not ignore user-generated (listener) playlists. These are playlists created by Spotify users, who could be fans, music bloggers, other music artists etc. Simply do a Google search for “Spotify playlist” along with your genre and you will find hundreds of Spotify playlists curated by users who would happily include upcoming and independent artists in their playlists.
In order to maximize the possibilities of getting into these user-generated playlists, you should try to build a relationship with those playlist curators first, follow and engage with them on social media and so on, and only then pitch your song to them.
Although you may not necessarily see immediate results by getting your music on Spotify playlists, you can always improve your artist credibility through completely filling out your Spotify profile, directing listeners to your Spotify profile through outside links, and encouraging fans to follow you. The curators of Spotify’s playlists are more likely to add you to playlists if they see that you already have engagement.
Patience is key when trying to get a feature on a Spotify playlist, so be persistent and don’t give up!
