Surely many times you have thought about how great it would be to enter a Spotify playlist and how powerful your music would get. It is an action that cannot be missing in your musical Marketing Plan. For that reason, in this post, we want to give you the necessary keys so that you can be part of those lists so coveted by so many artists, given the exposure that being part of some of them entails.
As reported by the streaming music platform itself, by the end of 2020 they already had more than 320 million active users worldwide. Of which 144 million are payment. What does this mean? That Spotify is the largest music streaming platform in the world and the one with the most premium users. In other words, there are many people on Spotify wanting to listen to music and discover new talents.
On the other hand, it is important to take into account the listening habits of the public. Every time they listen to less complete albums. However, playlists are increasing their prominence. In fact, it is the platform itself that encourages listening based on playlists.
There are lists based on musical genres, according to moods, news, Top 50, and even the most viral songs from each country.
For all that has been said, one of your main objectives when releasing a new song should be to enter one of these official lists to achieve a greater reach and attract the attention of an audience eager for news.
Before explaining how to enter a Spotify playlist, you should know what types of lists exist on the platform, how they are configured, and who they depend on. So you will know how you can choose each of them.
Types of playlists on Spotify
In Spotify, there are 3 types of playlists. Each one with specific features that we tell you about below.
Editorial Playlists
They are those made by the platform’s own team. They are the ones who will assess your proposal and decide if they will fit it in a list and in what position it will appear.
If you are reading this post, it is probably because you are looking for how to enter these particular lists, as we will explain below.
These official playlists are divided by genres, moods, and news for each Friday.
If you want to give your song a good boost and get a good handful of plays in no time, these are the places where your new single should be. And from there it will jump to the custom lists.
custom playlists
Custom playlists are those generated based on user tastes. They are different for every listener.
They are configured through the algorithm, so you can also find them on the internet as “algorithmic”. That is, they are automatic lists that Spotify produces according to the artists you listen to and others of a similar style that might be to your liking.
When you save a song, skip it or repeat it, you are giving Spotify information about what you want to listen to and compiling lists accordingly.
These are the Weekly Discovery, News Radar, and Daily Mix lists.
Listener Playlists
Finally, there are the playlists that users make.
When we talk about users, we mean anyone who may have a Spotify Premium APK account. From a private listener to a specialized magazine, reputed journalists or influencers, brands, or an artist who groups their favorite songs to have them compiled, organized, and presented to the world.
Here your facet of public relations is fundamental. Get in touch with those who have lists with a good number of subscribers and encourage them to include you on them. Once you reach your potential audience, the algorithm will take care of the rest.
How to enter a Spotify playlist
Once we are clear about what type of lists there are and that what we want is to enter an editorial list, the process to submit a song is simple. Follow the steps below:
- Upload the song to Spotify at least 7 days in advance. Be careful, we are talking about uploading it, not publishing it. If you publish it, you will no longer be able to opt for an editor to choose it to be part of an official playlist.
- Once uploaded, go to your Spotify for Artists profile (or Spotify Analytics if you are a record company), go to the ” Music ” tab in the top menu and go to ” Upcoming “.
- Choose the song you want to propose to be part of a playlist and click on ” Pitch a song “.
- A form will open that you will have to complete so that the Spotify curators understand your proposal and assess its suitability for inclusion in an official playlist.
In the Pitch a song form:
- Classify your song within a musical genre among which it will show you a drop-down.
- Select 3 subgenres that fit your musical proposal.
- Select which musical culture you belong to, what mood your song suggests, style, and instruments that have been part of the recording. This is not mandatory, but the more data you provide, the more facilities you will give editors to include you in the most appropriate playlist. Do not close doors.
- Indicates if it is a cover, a remix, if it is an instrumental song if it has been recorded in the studio or live, and the language in which it is.
- Indicate the city with which you think your song is best identified. Where it can be influential. That is, aim where your target audience is. If it is a trap theme, you can indicate your city or a large capital such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, or Seville. Or, if it’s a ranchera, you might be interested in targeting Mexico. For example.
- Talk about your song so the curators know what it’s about and how it came about. Give them context. Tell them where it was recorded, who produced it, if another artist collaborates, etc.
- Press « Next » and check that everything is correct. That you have not left any information behind and, when you have everything ready, click on ” Pitch ” to finalize the proposal.
- If your song finally enters a playlist, Spotify will inform you via email. You can also see it from the ” Playlists ” section of your Spotify for Artists.
- From this section, you can also copy a single link (« unique link «) that you can share on your social networks. All those who access the playlist from it will see your song at the top of the playlist. And that’s cool, admit it, because it packs a punch.
