How to Get Your Music Featured on Spotify Editorial Playlists
Spotify is one of the most powerful platforms in the music world, and editorial playlists, which provide artists with great visibility, are an excellent way to reach millions of listeners. So, how can you get your music included in these prestigious playlists? Here are the step-by-step ways to enter Spotify editorial playlists.
Introduction to Spotify Editorial Playlists
Spotify editorial playlists are carefully curated by professional music editors working on the platform. These playlists typically focus on a specific genre, mood, or activity. Being included in these playlists can significantly increase an artist’s stream counts and provide an opportunity to meet a new audience.
Why Are Editorial Playlists Important?
- Large Audience Reach: Songs that enter Spotify editorial playlists can reach millions of people.
- Automatic Discovery by Listeners: Being featured on editorial playlists helps your songs reach more listeners and gain new fans.
- Strengthens Your Music Career: Getting featured on editorial playlists allows you to be more noticed in the music industry and creates new opportunities for you.
Understanding the Spotify for Artists Platform
Spotify for Artists allows artists to manage their music, access audience data, and submit their tracks to editorial playlists. As the first step, you should sign up for this platform and optimize your profile correctly.
Profile Optimization:
- Visuals and Biography: Your profile photo, album covers, and biography should be up-to-date and professional. Make your artist biography stand out; choose a description that reflects your music and style.
- Discography: Make sure all your music is fully available on Spotify. Ensure that your album and single covers have a high-quality and artistic appearance.
The more professional and engaging your Spotify profile is, the more likely you are to grab the attention of editors.
Pitching Your Music
To enter Spotify editorial playlists, you need to pitch your music through the platform. Spotify for Artists allows artists to do this, but it’s important to act strategically to make a successful pitch.
Step-by-Step Pitch Guide:
- Submit the Music at the Right Time: When promoting a new song, it is recommended to pitch it at least 2 weeks before the release date. This gives editors time to review your music.
- Writing the Pitch: The pitch should tell the story of your song and explain why it should be part of that specific playlist. Share the song’s genre, mood, lyrics, and creation process. Clearly state your target audience.
- Provide Accurate Information: Give information about the emotional themes your song addresses and the environments it would be suitable to listen to. To capture the editors’ interest, explain the mood and concept of the song well.
Planning Your Release Strategy
Entering editorial playlists is not just about pitching. To succeed in the music industry, you need to have a good release strategy.
Tips for a Successful Release Plan:
- Pre-save Campaign: Launch a pre-save campaign before your song is released. This allows listeners to save your song and ensures they listen to it as soon as it’s released, increasing first-day streams.
- Promotion Campaign: Promote your song through social media. Actively use platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to reach a wider audience.
- Collaborations: Collaborating with other artists or music curators can help your song gain more visibility.
Criteria That Editors Pay Attention To
Spotify editors review thousands of songs every day. So, what should you do to make your music stand out?
Main Criteria That Editors Pay Attention To:
- Quality and Innovation: Your song must have high production quality and carry a unique sound.
- Listener Engagement: It’s important to have an active audience on Spotify. The number of streams of your songs, follower growth, and the level of engagement attract the attention of editors.
- Compatible Style and Mood: Your song needs to fit a specific editorial playlist. For example, submitting a party song to a chill playlist can reduce your chances. Being on the right theme increases your chances.
Suggestions to Increase Your Chances
Getting featured on Spotify editorial playlists doesn’t happen by pitching just once. To increase your chances, you need to keep trying.
You Can Increase Your Chances By:
- Networking: It’s important to connect with music curators and other professionals in the industry. Being in touch with these individuals on social media or at music events can increase your chances.
- Consistency: Being consistent in producing quality music attracts the attention of editors. Regularly release new music and continue to improve yourself.
- Use the Data: By analyzing the audience data on Spotify for Artists, understand what your audience likes. Showing the performance of your songs increases your growth potential.
Essential Elements for a Successful Editor Submission by the Label on Your Behalf
Strong Artist Profile and Brand Image
When submitting to Spotify editorial playlists, the label must first ensure that the artist’s Spotify profile and overall brand image are professional and compelling. Editors want to quickly understand who the artist is and assess the quality of their music.
It is important for the artist themselves to pay attention to these details. The artist should provide a press kit to the label, which must include high-quality images and a biography. Artist photos are always required for submissions, and for cover images, the photos must be full upper body and uncropped.
Visuals: The artist’s profile photo, album covers, and other visuals must be professional.
Biography: The artist’s biography should be captivating, unique, and engaging.
Social Media and Website: The artist’s social media accounts and official website, if available, should be active and convey a professional image. It is essential for artists to share this information with us so that we can use it in our submissions.