30/8/2020 Spotify Playlists 101 - United States

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There was a time in history when the only known use of the word “playlist” was in relation to a DJ at a
radio station. It simply meant the lineup of tracks they had spun or planned to spin on a given program.
As tech evolved and consumer music consumption went digital, the ability to ‘build’ playlists was
handed over.

It was a pretty cool, and quite frankly underrated, feature of iTunes and other media players that
allowed fans and would-be DJs with a great collection of music to play at a party, or program to their
iPod (remember those?) to use at the gym.
Then came the streaming platforms!
Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube – all digital store partners of TuneCore, all capable of providing
their subscribers top of the line, masterfully curated playlists of new music that gets released each
week. If you’re reading this, you probably already know about the seemingly overnight thwart of
playlists into the spotlight. Suddenly it seems like some curators – official and independent – have the
power to break bands in the same fashion that popular blogs did just a year before, or like radio did a
few years before that.

As playlists like Spotify’s “Rap Caviar” became household names, it only makes sense that all types of
artists seek out that sort of real estate within their distributed streaming platforms. All genres have their
playlists – some reaching only a few hundred fans, others reaching upwards of the millions! – and
they’ve become major tastemakers. Plus, with the ease of simply ‘saving’ or clicking on an artist to learn
more within the platform, fans can take discovery to the next level.

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Countless independent artists who use TuneCore to distribute their music have witnessed their platform
followings, social followings, and most importantly, their streams all skyrocket overnight with the right
(and often random) placement on a playlist. What they lack in the personalization of a blog write up or
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up for in revenue. As such, pitching to playlist curators has become
an essential part of artists’ and labels’ marketing strategies.

So you want to pitch to playlist curators at platforms like Spotify? Whether it’s ‘Viva Latino!’, ‘All New
Indie’ or ‘Hot Country’, Spotify has decided on a centralized method of letting artists pitch their new
releases directly. While we’d all love to be roommates or relatives with one of these playlist curators, at
the end of the day these folks are bombarded with new tunes. Just like a music director at a radio
station or the editor of a trendy music blog, there needs to be a system in place. Also just like those
professionals, these professionals need a proper amount of lead time to sift through it all.

If you’re distributing your music using TuneCore, make sure to give yourself a release date of at least
three weeks out from the day you submit it. While Spotify only needs a week, there are some other
stores that prefer more time (we’ll get to that). Once you’ve distributed, you can claim your artist profile
on Spotify using their ‘Spotify For Artists’ platform. A pretty easy process once you’re in, you can lock in
a profile for fans to learn more about you and your music. Not only that, you’re also ready to use their
submission process to be considered across their official playlists! (Note: Spotify will indicate when they
own a playlist on the platform. Try having a scroll through the “Home” page of your Spotify app.)
For stores like Apple Music, Amazon and Deezer, TuneCore’s “Feature Submission Form”can put your
next release in front of thirsty editorial teams on your behalf. Here’s where that three week lead time
comes in handy – for some of these platforms, editorial teams will not consider music that is being
released in a sooner window. Our “Feature Submission Form” lets you give everyone the lowdown on
your new release, and even gives you the opportunity to inform them of your marketing efforts and
premier plans. Be sure to take full advantage of that space given – you never know what’ll catch their
eye. Please note: any release submitted without three week lead time will not be considered.

If you want to pitch to Spotify playlists, you’ll first need to do some homework, and then a lot of legwork.
Start by getting a firm understanding of the Spotify playlist landscape. Scope out goals for yourself in
terms of big, verified playlists that you hope to appear on one day. And also make a big list of unofficial
Spotify playlists and the people who curate for them. Obviously, you’re hoping to be discovered and
immediately put on the biggest playlist streaming on Spotify, but odds are that you’ll need to smart
smaller than that. That’s totally OK and normal, and you should embrace it.
When doing this research, keep a close eye on genre, mood, and the styles of music that these
playlists promote to ensure that you are within their line of sight. Keyword searches can help you find
playlists that you might have not known about before. It might even be helpful to create a spreadsheet
that helps you keep track of the playlist name, the link, the follower count, the playlist’s owner, and
contact info.

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Additionally, keep an eye on other bands or artists who you think sound like you. What does their
Spotify presence look like? What playlists are they on? It stands to reason that any playlist hosting a
similar artist would be open to including your music as well.
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Now that you have done your homework and have a good list of unofficial playlists and aspirational
official playlists, it’s time to start making sure that your Spotify exposure is as conducive as possible to
getting noticed and getting promoted. It’s extremely important to know that, in order to be considered
by some of the bigger Spotify playlist curators, you’ll most likely need to have a robust presence on the
platform.
Don’t stop at getting an artist picture and a bio up on your page. You should make sure that every
representation of your music on the internet links to your Spotify page. It’s also extremely important to
have a solid social media game. This should be the case in general, but it could also entice curators to
share your songs if they believe you have extensive social influence. Put your Spotify details in your
social media profile and regularly send followers and fans to your page. Strategize your social media
sharing with new and unique content around your music to build your follower base and increase your
attraction to curators.

Another aspect of this social hustle is publicly supporting Spotify playlists on which you hope your
music to appear. Sending your social followers to smaller, unofficial playlists is a smart way to gain the
attention and appreciation of some playlist curators, and it just might help sway them to feature your
music.

Although many Spotify playlist curators can be hard to get a hold of, there are plenty of avenues out
there to find and contact the gatekeepers.
Many curators have their Spotify accounts linked up to their Facebook pages. Other social networks
like Twitter or Instagram are great ways of finding the same usernames or ways to direct message the
curators. There’s also good, old-fashioned Google searching.
Once you have contact information for curators, you need to craft your message. It’s in your best
interest to strategize how to build a relationship with a curator, rather than simply sending out scatter-
shot, copy/paste emails out there. Your messages should be tailored to each curator individually. You
should try to connect with them by complimenting their playlist, asking how they find the music they
choose, and just generally build a rapport. They are probably used to receiving daily, generic emails,
so it’s important to stand out. And don’t forget, they are people as well, so be sure to treat them with
respect.

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It’s probably a smart approach to pitch your music only after the initial connection has been made and
a dialog has begun. Curators are definitely always on the lookout for new music, and so it’s important to
remember that you are offering them something they’re looking for. The creation of a relationship
between PLAYLISTS
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you both need each other. So look at pitching as a way to
make valuable contacts that will benefit both people.
Not only is it harmless to follow up if you don’t hear back, we heartily recommend it. As long as the
follow up message is respectful and not intrusive, there’s nothing wrong with trying to stay on a curator’s
radar.
After you get your music on a playlist, be sure to return the favor by making it public on social media,
linking to the playlist and tagging the curator. Talk the playlist and the curator up, and let everyone
know how appreciative you are for the exposure. That’s a great way to let the curator know that you’re
supporting them and it also lets future curators know that if they scratch your back, you’re likely to
scratch theirs.

Once you’ve been accepted into a few unofficial, or smaller, playlists, you can begin to leverage that
into pitching to bigger playlists, and that’s how you can build momentum.

Be Careful Out There

Just as there are many people out there who would potentially promote your music, there are also many
scams out there willing to tell you what you want to hear for a price.

Paying for plays is a very classic and very dark part of the music industry. If you are being very vocal
and public about wanting to be included in Spotify playlists, you’re most likely sure to be noticed by
many scammers out there who say they can get your music heard as long as you pay them enough.
Don’t be shy about asking questions when approached with opportunities, especially if they reach out
to you first. Keep track of all the agreements you make and always read the fine print.
There’s an old rule of thumb that applies to this as much as it applies to anything else: If something
seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Keep Pitching and Don’t Get Discouraged

Unfortunately, there are no hacks or shortcuts when it comes to pitching to playlists on your favorite
streaming platforms. Getting your music seen by as many people as possible on streaming platforms
often comes down to good ol’ fashioned hard work. You need to put in the hours if you want to see the
results.

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But along with hard work, you’ll also need to understand that the playlist landscape is constantly
changing, so your tactics may have to change with it.

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in creating a lasting, successful music career five years ago, and
it’s entirely possible, maybe even likely, that something new will dominate the landscape in the months
and years to come. It’s not only important to keep pushing out those pitches as much as you can, it’s
also vital to keep up on all of the new opportunities that emerge for you to spread the world about your
music.
Staying on top of trends in the music industry will ensure that you won’t be late to the party and may
actually give you a headstart on relatively unknown avenues to promote your music.

Most importantly, no matter what, don’t get discouraged. The process to find the success you want to
see in your music can take a long time and it can feel like even longer. It can be exhausting work that
may very well feel demoralizing from time to time. Your pitches will most likely be ignored and they will
mostly likely be rejected before anyone even hears your music. That’s all part of the process as well.
It’s important to enter into pitching your music to playlists, fully with the expectation that pitching your
albums and songs may take a while before anyone even hears them. That’s totally okay. The most
important thing you can do is not stop believing in your work and don’t let the process wear you down.
This is also where TuneCore comes in. We want to be a partner in this process that always has your
back and provides you with the services you need to make the most of your music. We not only make
distribution easy and affordable, we also regularly bring new and valuable advice to our artists on our
blog and in our guides.
We’re
MUSIC confident that our artists, with the help of TuneCore, can find the success they hope to see in
DISTRIBUTION
their music. So don’t give up, and good luck!
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