How to Get on Spotify Playlists: Complete Guide for Music Artists

You got your music on Spotify — now you want it to reach new listeners.

Playlists are the answer.

Playlists are the lifeblood of Spotify’s new music discovery process; here’s our complete guide to get you on them in no time.

Why Getting on Spotify Playlists Matters for Artists

If you want to know how to get on Spotify playlists, you need to understand how and why getting on Spotify playlists matters.

Spotify’s playlists are the most trusted DSP source for new music discovery. According to Spotify, Discover Weekly alone ignited more than 56 million new artist discoveries, with 77% coming from emerging artists in the last ten years.

There’s more: getting on a Spotify playlist like Discover Weekly or New Music Friday increases your music’s engagement with the Spotify algorithms that power music discovery. That means an increased likelihood that Spotify cues your track up for a listener that’s primed to find you.

While an up-to-date statistic isn’t available, a 2018 revealed that playlists account for 30% of listening time on Spotify. Bottom line: you need to get your music on them.

The Different Types of Spotify Playlists

There are three different types of Spotify playlists:

Editorial — playlists curated Spotify’s editorial team..
Algorithmic — playlists assembled by Spotify’s patented algorithms
User/Independent — playlists created by casual listeners, music websites, and more

Editorial Playlists

Spotify’s Editorial Playlists are some of their most famous and coveted. From Today’s Top Hits to Rap Caviar, these playlists tend to be genre-driven and draw a massive listener base.

They’re likely to have the highest impact on your career but are the most competitive to get on.

Algorithmic Playlists

Some of Spotify’s most popular playlists are algorithmically driven, including the all-important Discover Weekly, plus Release Radar and Daily Mix.

These playlists are driven by listener behaviors like streams, saves, and follows — which means you can take actions to optimize your chances of getting on them.

User/Independent Playlists

Community and influencer-driven playlists are easier to access placement on than Spotify’s traditional playlists — you can even create one yourself!

They’re valuable for traction and social media strategy if you use them effectively.

How to Submit Your Song to Spotify Editorial Playlists

Use Spotify for Artists to Pitch Your Songs

If you want to submit your song to Spotify’s editorial playlists, here’s the step-by-step process you must follow.

Log into Spotify for Artists → choose unreleased song → “Pitch a Song.”

Furthermore:

You must pitch 7 days before your song’s release.
Follow Spotify’s best practices when pitching: Spotify’s tastemakers are human and transparent about wanting to know the personal story behind your release. The pitching tool allows you to specify:
- Your location
- What the song means to you
- What mood you want it to strike.

Our advice: imagine what you would tell one of your most trusted friends or collaborators about the track you’re pitching. You’d be vulnerable. You’d be confident. You’d be thrilled to share the details with them. Start there.

How to Increase Your Chances of Getting Playlisted

Remember how we mentioned you can take actions to get playlisted on Spotify’s algorithmic playlists? We’re going to cover those actions now, specifically:

Profile optimization
Fan engagement
Data tracking

Optimize Your Spotify Profile

There are simple steps you can take to stand out on Spotify and get playlisted faster.

Create Clips: Spotify’s Clips feature allows you to showcase your music through short-form, creative vertical videos. These drive pre-release hype and amplify the songs your trying to playlist.
Link Events: Spotify’s Events tab lets you share upcoming concerts, meet and greets, and any other IRL engagements. Crucially: this separates you from the recent glut of AI artists (which also helps get you playlisted)
Merch: music and merch are like PB&J — they always go well together. If you have even one item to sell, your Spotify profile looks richer and more optimized with it listed.

Encourage Fans to Pre-Save and Follow

When it comes to getting playlisted, your fan base is one of your best and most fervent assets.

Pre-saves massively boost first-day traction and the chance that Spotify’s algorithms find and playlist your music. Encourage your fans to pre-save and notifications on.

It’s simple, but it works.

Monitor Data in Spotify for Artists

Knowledge is power; listening data gives you knowledge.

Your Spotify for Artists dashboard can help you track which playlists are driving streams and which tracks of yours are trending. This lets you adjust your pitch and promotion strategy based on real trends, not speculation.

Alternatively, with the TuneCore Trends and Analytics Dashboard, you can even see where your music’s most popular and pitch to playlists that draw steady listens in that region.

Create and Share Your Own Playlists

Think of self-created playlists as a “RIYL” to help new fans love your music faster.

For example: if you make widescreen pop music, add artists like Robyn, Arianna Grande, and Air Supply to place yourself in excellent company and get Spotify’s algorithm cooking.

Share those playlists on social media with your fans to boost streams and visibility — it’s a win win.

Submitting Music to Independent Spotify Playlists

Short answer: yes, you can submit music to independent Spotify playlists.

Longer answer: there is a difference between free and paid submission Spotify playlists (which you should submit to), and fraudulent bot farms (which you shouldn’t).

Three networks we’ve confirmed as legitimate are SubmitHub, PlaylistPush, and Soundplate — each submits your music to a network of curated blogs for you to save you the time and energy of doing so yourself.

If you’re not utlilizing independent services, try to find blogs and content creators local to your area and start by submitting there. Thinking locally can lead to global impact.

Can You Pay to Get on Spotify Playlists?

No, Spotify does not allow artists to pay for editorial playlist placement.

Paying for playlist placement (as opposed to playlist consideration) is one of the surest signs you’ve stumbled upon a bot farms, which create their own playlists and flood them with thousands of illegally generated streams.

So while you can pay for playlist placement, doing so is one of the quickest ways to tank your career.

Building Long-Term Playlist Success

Playlist success on Spotify starts with using Spotify's own tools effectively, from the pitch tool to your own artist page.

It continues by constantly connecting with your fan base through Clips, prerelease countdowns, and regular releases you can pitch.

Consistently releasing and engaging with your fan base means more opportunities to pitch to editorial and engage Spotify’s algorithm.

Maximizing the reach of Spotify’s algorithm is why TuneCore created Accelerator, a platform that helps position your music for playlists more effectively and boosts your streams and fanbase.