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Comprehensive Guide to Playlist Pitching
Martina
05 September 2025, Friday
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Playlists have become one of the most powerful tools for music discovery and artist growth. A spot on the right playlist can boost your streams, grow your fanbase, and attract industry attention. But with millions of tracks uploaded every month, how do you get yourself noticed? That’s where playlist pitching comes in. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know: the differences between different types of playlists, how playlist pitching works across platforms like Spotify and Beatport, and best practices to maximize your chances.
What is Playlist Pitching, and Why Does it Matter?
Playlist pitching is the process of submitting your unreleased tracks to playlist curators to get featured in one of their playlists. It helps artists grow streams and reach new audiences.
At its core, it’s all about getting your music in front of the right people (often at the right time). These curators — whether they are official editorial teams or independent curators — decide if your song fits the mood and genre of their playlists and meets their audience’s needs and expectations.
They often consider multiple factors when selecting a song for playlist placement, such as track quality, originality, momentum, and audience engagement – but we will dive deeper into these later in the article.
To fully understand playlist pitching, it helps to look at playlists themselves. A playlist is simply a collection of songs grouped by a given criterion, such as theme, genre, mood, style, artist, or release date. Each major streaming platform hosts thousands of playlists of various types, offering — at least in theory — countless chances to be discovered and connect with new listeners. But with so many tracks released every day, getting on a playlist can be challenging.
As described at the beginning of the article, playlists have become one of the most powerful drivers of music discovery and artist growth on streaming platforms. A single playlist placement can make a real difference for artists, helping them build credibility, boost their fan engagement, maximize stream counts, reach new or larger audiences, gain industry recognition, and potentially achieve long-term streaming success.
Massive Exposure: Playlists, especially editorial ones, can put your music in front of listeners who can truly champion your music—they are already interested in your genre, listen to similar music, and therefore have the greatest potential to become long-term fans.
Boost in Streams: A key benefit of exposure is streams. Playlist placement can skyrocket your streams, often adding thousands (or even millions) of new streams.
Credibility: Being playlisted signals to fans, curators, and industry players that your music is high-quality and worthy of paying attention to.
Fan Discovery: Playlists introduce your music to listeners who might never have found you otherwise.
Momentum: A strong playlist push can amplify everything else you’re doing, from social media campaigns to press coverage to booking shows and festivals. It can also open doors to more industry or label opportunities. Once you’ve been playlisted, your chances of landing on future playlists also increase.
Editorial vs. Algorithmic vs. User-Generated Playlists
Not all playlists are created equal. To understand playlist pitching, it’s important to know the three main types of playlists and how they differ in value and accessibility:
1. Editorial Playlists
Editorial playlists are curated by professional human editors and curation teams at platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and Beatport. They are responsible for handpicking unreleased submissions and selecting tracks based on genre fit, music trends, quality, and artist suitability.
The key thing to understand about editorial playlists is that, among all types of playlists, they are the hardest to land on, as the competition is the most intense. Since editorial playlists are curated by experts, they are often seen as a trusted source of new music for fans and have millions of followers. At the same time, the impact of an editorial playlist can be huge, with the potential to significantly change an artist’s trajectory.
Examples: Spotify’s RapCaviar, Apple Music’s Today’s Hits, Beatport’s Best New Techno.
2. Algorithmic Playlists
Algorithmic playlists, also known as personalized playlists, are generated by each platform’s machine-learning algorithms. They are customized for every listener based on their listening habits, follows, likes, and skips. For some playlists, editors contribute by selecting a pool of songs for the algorithms to choose from for each listener. Such playlists are sometimes referred to as “algatorial” playlists.
Since algorithms run these playlists, you can’t pitch directly to them. However, strong engagement on your tracks (high saves, long listen times, or steady growth) can trigger placement on these playlists.
Examples: Spotify’s Release Radar and Discover Weekly.
3. User-Generated or Curator Playlists
User-generated playlists (or curator playlists) are made by individual listeners, influencers, DJs, or tastemakers — in other words, by independent accounts on the respective streaming platform. These can range from small personal playlists to larger independent lists with thousands of followers.
Compared to editorial playlists, landing on a curator playlist is usually much easier. While they are often less impactful, they can still generate a significant number of streams, especially if you land on a popular indie playlist.
However, since they are user-generated — meaning anyone can create one — it’s essential to be aware of fake playlists curated with bots and click farms to generate artificial streams for musicians. The number one precaution is never to pay for playlist placement or for plays. That’s always a red flag and can risk your release being taken down (along with other serious implications).
How Does Playlist Pitching Work Across Platforms like Spotify and Beatport?
Playlist pitching primarily applies to editorial playlists, since they require a formal submission process. While it is common to say that individual curators, too, ‘accept pitches’ for their user-generated playlists, networking and personal outreach often play a bigger role there than official submissions. For this reason, this section focuses primarily on editorial playlist pitching.
Although every streaming platform has its own pitch requirements, as well as internal review process and deadlines, they all have one thing in common: an official track submission process for editorial playlist consideration.
Most major streaming platforms only accept editorial playlist pitches via an artist’s label or music distributor, such as iMusician. Some platforms also allow artists to pitch directly — like Spotify (through Spotify for Artists) or Amazon Music (through Amazon Music for Artists) — but the success rate here is typically lower than when using a professional playlist pitching service provided by a distributor or label.
The reason is simple: distributors and label teams have years of experience, direct relationships with playlist editors, and insights into the criteria curators use when reviewing tracks. They know how to refine your pitch so it highlights your track’s strongest qualities and meets each platform’s requirements.
Here’s how the pitching process usually works:
Track upload – During the release upload process, an artist can indicate that they want their track considered for editorial playlists. Important: all major streaming platforms accept unreleased tracks only for playlist consideration.
Distributor review – The distributor’s playlist pitching team listens to the track, evaluates its potential, and decides whether it should be pitched to editorial curators.
Official pitch submission – If selected, the artist is usually asked to complete an official pitch form. Some distributors, like iMusician, go a step further and optimize the pitch details (genre, mood, story, instruments, etc.) to highlight the track’s unique strengths and improve its chances of playlisting.
Pitch delivery – The distributor submits the official pitch on the artist’s behalf directly to the platforms’ editors.
Editorial review – Playlist editors review the submission, listen to the artist’s track, and decide whether it fits the mood, audience, and quality of their playlists.
As you can imagine, playlist editors receive thousands of pitches every day. This makes placement highly competitive — and also means both editors and distributor teams need sufficient lead time to review submissions properly.
To maximize your chances, it’s recommended to submit your track 3–6 weeks before release. Most distributors also require at least 20–21 days lead time before the release date, to meet platforms’ internal deadlines and give every track the best possible shot at placement.
While this describes the general process, each platform has its own unique requirements and timelines. Let’s have a look at some of the most important ones:
Spotify Playlist Pitching
Pitch submit deadline: at least 7 days before release
With over 600 million users, Spotify is the largest streaming platform globally, which often makes landing on an editorial Spotify playlist the top priority for artists.
As already mentioned, Spotify is also one of the few platforms that let artists pitch their tracks independently through Spotify for Artists; however, using a professional pitching service often improves your chances of success.
It is said that, when reviewing pitches, Spotify curators often look beyond genre and sound quality. They also consider an artist’s momentum and engagement, including metrics like listener retention, audience growth and fan engagement, and play-to-skip ratio.
Important note: Spotify pitches can also influence algorithmic playlists. Even if your track doesn’t land on an editorial playlist, pitching can trigger placement on Release Radar for all your followers.
Apple Music Playlist Pitching
Pitch submit deadline: at least 10 days before release
Apple Music may have a smaller user base than Spotify, but it still plays a huge role in music playlist promotion. Apple’s editorial team has a reputation for highlighting both global superstars and emerging talent.
Unlike Spotify, artists cannot pitch directly. Instead, submissions must go through direct playlist pitching channels.
Beatport Playlist Submission
Pitch submit deadline: at least 3 weeks before release
For electronic artists, landing on an editorial Beatport playlist can be game-changing. Beatport dominates the DJ and producer scene, making its playlists a prime channel for discovery in the field.
As the platform is genre-specific, targeting electronic music, its editors, too, are experts in the electronic field. It’s therefore important that your pitch is top-notch, representing your track as well as it can. The production quality is also very important as Beatport playlists are often curated for DJs and must be club-ready.
Similar to Apple Music, playlist pitching to Beatport can happen through distributors like iMusician.
How to Increase Your Chances of Getting Playlisted
While you can’t control every aspect of playlist pitching, there are several steps you can take to stand out to curators and boost your chances of getting placed. Here are some of our top tips.
1. Focus on Creating Quality Music
Sound quality is the primary factor a curator considers when listening to a song. A track that’s poorly mixed or mastered will almost always be rejected. For this reason, it’s crucial to invest time and effort into quality recordings, mixing, and mastering to ensure your music meets industry standards — or better yet, exceeds them.
2. Perfect your Metadata
Your pitch is essentially your track’s “resume.” Make sure all metadata — genre, mood, instruments, release date, and barcode — is accurate and complete. Clean metadata not only makes curators’ jobs easier but also increases the likelihood that your track ends up in the right playlists.
3. Deliver a Compelling Story
Your editorial playlist submission is more than just technical details and sound properties. It’s your elevator pitch; a chance to showcase your story and journey as an artist. This doesn’t mean you need to write a full essay on this — unfortunately, editors don’t have the time to read it — but it should inspire you to infuse your personality into the pitch, showcase your achievements and recent milestones, and highlight why this release matters.
4. Build a Strong Online Presence
A curator’s decision on which track gets playlisted isn’t only based on the quality of the track and the pitch. Curators often check beyond the track itself. Are they active on social media? Do they have a clear promotional strategy? Do they come across as a serious musician?
A professional online presence, active social media channels, and a clear promotional campaign can make all the difference. Momentum matters, and curators want to see that their playlist support will be further enhanced by your own efforts.
5. Build Pre-Release Hype
Speaking of momentum, nothing signals it better than creating a buzz around your track before it drops. Playlist curators want to see that your release already has an audience waiting for it. Create pre-saves, share teasers and behind-the-scenes content on social media, and engage with fans to build anticipation. The more energy you create ahead of release day, the more attractive your track becomes to curators.
6. Submit Your Track Early
We’ve discussed this earlier, but we'll repeat it to emphasize its importance. Timing can make or break a playlist pitch. Remember that curators need time to review your track,along with thousands of others that are pitched every day. To maximize your chances across all platforms, submit your release for a pitch 3–6 weeks before your release date.
Do Playlist Pitching Services Really Work?
The short answer: yes — but with important caveats. Professional playlist pitching services offered by distributors and labels can give artists a significant advantage, thanks to their expertise in playlisting, insider knowledge, and direct relationships with editors. They also save you time — instead of navigating multiple platforms yourself, a professional service handles the submissions across multiple platforms on your behalf.
It’s been estimated that, based on industry standards, most artists have about a 1–5% chance of getting playlisted, with the success rate decreasing even further if you pitch your song yourself. In contrast, artists working with iMusician typically achieve an average placement rate of 6–7%, with peaks reaching 15–17% in the strongest months.
That said, playlist placement can never be guaranteed, even with a professional pitching service. Ultimately, it is the editors and editorial teams that make the final decisions about which song gets playlisted.
The key is persistence. We encourage you to follow our best practices and, more importantly, not to get discouraged if your track doesn’t get selected. The competition really is intense. The good thing is that each new release offers a fresh chance to catch the ear of playlist curators and land a spot on an editorial playlist.
Final Thoughts: Playlist Pitching as a Path to Growth
Playlist pitching has become one of the most powerful ways for artists to boost streams, reach new fans, and build long-term momentum. While competition is fierce and no placement is ever guaranteed, following best practices — from submitting early and perfecting your pitch to maintaining a strong online presence and building pre-release hype — can significantly increase your chances.
Think of each release as a new opportunity. Even if one track doesn’t land, the consistency of your efforts can catch the attention of curators over time and strengthen your presence on streaming platforms.
And remember, you don’t have to do it alone. A professional playlist pitching service like SavyCore's Editorial Playlist Pitching can help you maximize your chances of landing on Spotify, Apple Music, and Beatport playlists by combining industry expertise with direct access to editorial teams.
