How to get into playlists: FAQ’s
THIS PAGE HAS BEEN PUT TOGETHER TO PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY SO THAT ARTISTS AND LABELS CAN STRENGTHEN THEIR POSITIONS AND INCREASE THEIR CHANCES OF GETTING OFFICIAL PLAYLIST PLACEMENTS.
What is an offical playlist placement?
This is where a track has been added to a playlist that is curated by the stores own in-house editorial team. Many of the biggest playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon, Yandex, NetEase, SoundCloud and YouTube, are managed by the stores themselves. User generated playlists can also have massive followings, they are totally independent, and you can some times secure placements by speaking directly with the owners of the playlists. How to get on user generated playlists
How to get in to official store playlists
Here’s how to maximise your chances.
1. High organic consumption and engagement of that artists music on the streaming platform.
2. Undertake PR and Marketing to increase consumption and engagement of that artists music on the streaming platforms. Ensure that the information is presented to their distributor.
3. Securing user generated playlists to increase exposure. (Example UKF)
4. Have high social media engagement and hype surrounding the release, artist or label. Use tastemakers to help your music go viral using TikTok sounds & Instagram Reels.
5. Promote, engage and be fully active in the ecosystem of each store.
SPOTIFY: Pitch new music to editors for playlist consideration via the pitching tool in Spotify For Artists. This should be done 1-2 weeks in advance and focus on the story behind the music. Labels should ensure that the artist has pitched their music to editors for playlist consideration. Labels (and managers) can do this on behalf of the artist by claiming their label account after their first 3 releases are out.
6. Understand the artist and labels roles by reading this article.
What is organic consumption on a streaming platform?
High monthly play counts, listeners are playing the music in full and not skipping through it, plays are meeting the monetisation threshold of 30 seconds, the audience is adding the music to their liked songs and own playlists, other artists are adding the music to their playlists, the number of followers the artist has is always increasing, a high numbers of pre-saves in advance.
Spotify “Refer to our ever-expanding, regularly-updated Spotify For Artists Help section, Features, Blog and Vi
How will I know if my music gets playlistsed?
Spotify email you if your song gets picked. You can also check the Playlists tab in Spotify for Artists when your release goes live and explore detailed stats about it.
Pitching doesn’t guarantee playlist placement. If your song doesn’t get picked, it may still get discovered later. Stay on Spotify’s editors’ radar by building your fanbase and engaging with your audience on Spotify and beyond.
Can a distributor guarantee playlist placements?
No one can guarantee official playlist placements. Distributors can pitch the supporting marketing information provided by the label or artist, and this can add great value.
SPOTIFY: “The only way to pitch new music to our editors for playlist consideration is via the pitching tool in Spotify For Artists”. Distributors can pass on key updates via email but only if the updates are going to have or are already having a significant impact on a track’s Spotify performance. Labels should submit this information to us.
For Apple Music, Yandex, NetEase, Amazon, Deezer, Tidal, iHeart, KKBox, Pandora, YouTube, Tencent + more, these stores allow distributors to pitch for specific playlists using the supporting data provided by the label or artist.
How do I submit my supporting marketing information to Cygnus Music?
Each release that is submitted to us will receive a confirmation email with links to our resources and feature submission form.
Our feature submission form can be submitted 8 weeks pre-release or up to 2 weeks post release. Significant key updates can also be sent to [email protected].
I’m aware that Distributors and even some major labels have meetings with Spotify.
That is correct. Spotify offers marketing support & official Spotify artist partnerships for high profile projects. These projects must meet very specific criteria and can be presented to us via our feature form. These projects are presented to Spotify’s editorial team. If Spotify choose to get behind the project they may request a meeting to discuss things further.
Artist: “I feel it’s the role of the label, PR company or distributor to get me in official playlists.”
If the artist does not have high organic consumption and engagement of their music on the streaming platforms, they are unlikely to be featured in official playlists.
However, the following can significantly contribute to official playlist placements. High profile marketing campaign focussing on artist interviews, reviews, radio support, premieres etc (Note parity is essential, find out why here), exceptionally high social media engagement and hype surrounding the release, and/or the label has a large and engaged fan base.
SPOTIFY: “A strong pitch that communicates the story of the music and captures the editorial teams attention. Do not underestimate the weight this can carry! Take time to explain the story and make good use of the space provided.”
Can a label guarantee playlist placements?
Labels with a proven track record of releasing artists with high organic consumption may well help to get on their radar, however no one can guarantee official playlist placements. Labels can however secure playlists that are user generated, and these add enormous value to organic consumption. SPOTIFY & APPLE MUSIC: Labels can create their own playlists and build up followers.
Why is ‘Release Radar’ important?
Providing a track or song is pitched through Spotify for Artists 7 or more days in advance, that track can appear in the ‘Release Radar of every person that follows the artist. More info here.
Why is the number of Spotify followers a better indication of release day success than the number of monthly listeners?
Followers can receive all the artists new music and this should guarantee a certain number of plays on release day providing the music has been pitched 7 or more days in advance.
Whilst monthly play counts can look impressive, they generally apply to high performing tracks that have little relation to how many plays any new music will get. However, high monthly play counts on an artist profile demonstrates high organic consumption and adds great value to Spotify’s algorithm.
Some one is offering me playlist placements for a fee.
Steer well clear, you cannot pay to get on an official Spotify playlist. If someone or a third party company is offering placement on a playlist in exchange for money, this is considered as Payola. These go against store guidelines for music promotion.
Spotify also has an aggressive approach to artificial streams and will ban labels for life if they are found to be using these services.
A distributor says that they can get me in an official Spotify playlist.
Each month we move over frustrated labels and artists who have been promised official playlist placements by a distributor who has failed to deliver. Some companies will promise placements to secure business and lock a client in to a lengthy contract.
This page was put together to provide transparency so that artists and labels can strengthen their positions and increase their chances of getting official placements.
Distributors can send key updates to Spotify team via email, but only if the updates are going to have or are already having a significant impact on a track’s performance on Spotify.
Distributors can submit marketing information and priorities to Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon, Yandex, NetEase, Pandora, YouTube and more. Specific playlists can be pitched for but independent store curators choose what they feature based on the quality of supporting information provided.
