How to Get Your Music on Spotify Editorial Playlists

Spotify editorial playlists are curated by Spotify's in-house editorial team and placed on the platform's homepage for specific genres and moods. A placement can add thousands to tens of thousands of streams to a release. Here is how the pitching process works and what actually influences whether you get placed.

How Spotify editorial pitching works

Spotify offers a pitching tool inside Spotify for Artists. You can submit one unreleased song per release cycle, up to 7 days before the release date. After submission, your pitch goes to the relevant Spotify editorial team for the genre or mood you have selected.

The process is:

1. Log into Spotify for Artists

2. Go to your upcoming release

3. Fill out the pitch form: genre, mood, instrumentation, language

4. Submit at least 7 days before release (earlier is better)

That is the mechanics. The harder part is understanding what influences the decision.

What Spotify's editorial team looks at

Spotify does not publish its editorial criteria, but from public information and the experience of artists and labels who have been placed, the following factors are known to be relevant:

The music quality. Editorial curators listen to the track. A well-produced, professionally mixed and mastered track has a better shot than a rough demo.

Your Spotify profile completeness. A complete profile (bio, photo, artist pick) signals that you are a serious act. Incomplete profiles are a red flag.

Momentum. If your previous releases have generated algorithmic playlist placements (Release Radar, Discover Weekly), those signals are visible to the editorial team and indicate that your music resonates with listeners.

Genre and mood tagging accuracy. Incorrect tagging sends your pitch to the wrong team. Be specific and honest about your genre.

Your release date. Pitching 7 days before release is the minimum. Pitching 3 to 4 weeks before gives the editorial team more time.

What does not help

• Having a lot of followers on Instagram or other platforms (Spotify cares about Spotify data)
• Paying for streams or followers (this gets your account flagged)
• Pitching the same song multiple times
• Pitching after the release date (the window is pre-release only)

Independent curators vs editorial

If you do not get an editorial placement (which is the norm for independent artists on early releases), independent curator playlists are the realistic alternative. Services like SubmitHub, Groover, and Soundplate connect you to independent curators who accept pitches.

Independent curator placements do not generate the same volume of streams as editorial placements, but they build a pattern of playlist appearances that algorithmic tools like Discover Weekly and Release Radar respond to over time.

The honest picture

Getting an editorial playlist placement on a first or second release is possible but uncommon. The editorial team handles thousands of pitches for each release cycle and has limited playlist slots. Most placements go to artists who have already demonstrated Spotify traction.

The strategy that works over time: release consistently, pitch every release, build algorithmic placement patterns through strong saves-to-streams ratios, and pitch independent curators in between releases to maintain momentum.

If you want help with release strategy and playlist pitching, see our digital strategy services.