How to Submit Your Music to Spotify Playlists

how to submit to spotify playlists

A placement on one of Spotify’s Editorial Playlists can take you from zero listeners to thousands, all in just a few days. But until recently, it was nearly impossible for an artist with no major label backing to land their song on one of these coveted playlists.

Last month, Spotify opened their new playlist pitching feature to anyone with a Spotify for Artists account. Today, I’m showing you exactly how it works.

Step 1: Upload Your Single to Spotify

Spotify’s Playlist Pitching feature only works for unreleased music, so you’ll have to start by gearing up a song for release. You can use one of the digital aggregators (CD Baby, TuneCore, DistroKid) or upload directly at http://artists.spotify.com. Depending on your upload method, it could take a few days for you to see your song in the Spotify for Artists Dashboard.

Note: In order to give Spotify enough time to review your submission, it’s important to set your release date at least 7 days away from your submission date. For best results, you’ll want to allow up to 4 weeks.

Step 2: Submit from Your Spotify for Artists Dashboard

To take this next step, you’ll need a Spotify for Artists account. You can create your account on their website, or you can go through your music distributor for quicker access. Once you’re logged in and Spotify has accepted your song for distribution, you should see it in the “Catalog” section under “Upcoming”.

Find your single, and click the green “submit” button. You’ll be asked a bunch of questions about your release. You’ll pick the genre, sub-genre, mood and even location. There will also be a space where you can say whatever you want to describe your song. Be sure to be a detailed as possible. The keywords you use may be used by Spotify’s algorithm to match you up with the best playlists.

Have you used Spotify’s new Playlist Pitching feature? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.