How to Submit Your Music to Spotify Playlist Curators
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Short answer
Find independent playlists that already program your subgenre and tempo, then send one short pitch with the Spotify track link, genre, BPM, two reference artists and one line on why it fits that specific playlist. Never mass-email identical messages, never attach files, and never offer payment for a placement.
Key facts
- A pitch should be under 120 words, with the Spotify link in the first line.
- Reference the playlist by name — generic pitches are deleted instantly.
- Send the Spotify URL, not a WAV or a download link.
- Offering money for a placement gets you blacklisted and breaches Spotify's terms.
Step by step
1. Build a shortlist by subgenre
Search Spotify for your subgenre plus terms like 'peak time', 'melodic', 'liquid'. Keep playlists whose last update is within 30 days and whose tracks match your tempo range.
2. Find the curator, not the playlist
Most independent curators list contact details in the playlist description or on a linked profile. If there is no contact route, skip it.
3. Write one specific pitch per playlist
Name the playlist, name the two tracks in it your record sits between, and add the Spotify link, BPM and key.
4. Follow up once, then move on
One polite follow-up after ten days is fine. More than that costs you the relationship.
Why manual outreach stalls
Doing this properly takes about fifteen minutes per playlist, and a realistic campaign needs fifty to a hundred of them. Most independent artists run out of time long before they run out of playlists, which is why the response rate on DIY outreach collapses after the first twenty emails.
A campaign platform does the matching and the delivery, and the trade you make is money for hours — not money for guaranteed placements.
What a good pitch looks like
Subject: Melodic techno, 122 BPM — for [Playlist name]. Body: one line on who you are, one line on where the track sits between two records already in that playlist, the Spotify link, BPM, key and release date. Nothing else. Curators decide in the first ten seconds of reading, exactly like they do when listening.
Frequently asked
- Can I submit music directly to Spotify playlists?
- You can pitch unreleased tracks to Spotify's editorial team through Spotify for Artists, and you can contact independent curators directly. There is no way to submit to algorithmic playlists — those are generated automatically from listener behaviour.
- Is Spotify playlist submission free?
- Editorial pitching through Spotify for Artists is free, and contacting independent curators yourself is free. Paid services exist to cover the matching and outreach work, not to buy the placement.