How to Submit Music to Spotify Playlists

1. The two routes to a playlist

Submitting music to Spotify playlists means one of two different things, and they work in different ways:

• Spotify's editors. Spotify's own editorial team runs the editorial playlists. You cannot email them. You pitch one unreleased song through Spotify for Artists, before the release date, and Spotify decides.
• Independent curators. Other playlists are run by people, labels and brands outside Spotify. You reach them through the email address, social account or submission link they publish, after the track is live.

Do both for every release. The first route has a fixed process and a deadline; the second is where your own research and pitches make the difference.

2. Route 1: pitch Spotify's editors

Spotify for Artists is Spotify's own tool for artists, and Spotify describes it as free to join. Pitching to the editors is done inside it. Spotify's instructions are short:

1. Log in at artists.spotify.com.
2. Go to Music, then Upcoming.
3. Choose a song and complete the pitch form.

Spotify asks you to deliver your music at least 7 days before release so its editors have time to listen. Only a song that has not gone live yet can be pitched, and you can pitch one song at a time; once that song is released, you can pitch the next. Spotify also says that a song pitched at least 7 days before release is added to your followers' Release Radar playlists. Pitching does not guarantee a placement. Release Radar is one of Spotify's algorithmic playlists, which you cannot pitch directly; the guide how to get on Spotify algorithmic playlists explains what you can influence.

Source: Spotify for Artists: pitching music to playlist editors and Spotify for Artists: get started, checked October 8, 2026.

3. Route 2: contact independent curators

An independent curator adds tracks to their own playlist, so the only way in is to write to them. Curators usually publish their contact details in the playlist description: an email address, an Instagram or other social account, or a link to a submission form. Some publish nothing, and those playlists are not open to pitches.

An independent curator can only add a track that is on Spotify, so this route starts on release day. Finding the contacts takes the most time: the guide on how to find Spotify playlist curator contact info shows where to look by hand.

4. How many curators publish a contact

As of November 13, 2026, PlaylistLookup tracks 401,000+ Spotify playlists, and 115,000+ of them have at least one public contact channel on record. 28,000+ list a public email address and 86,000+ an Instagram account; many list both, so the two numbers overlap.

These numbers describe the PlaylistLookup database, not all of Spotify: most playlists in it were found because their description shows a contact. What counts as a contact channel is defined on the Spotify playlist curator statistics page.

5. Submitting to independent curators, step by step

1. Wait for the release. Curators can only add a track that is on Spotify, so start once the track is live and you have its Spotify link.
2. Build a list of playlists that fit. Listen to a few tracks on each playlist and keep only the ones where your track would sit naturally. A quick way to start is a search by a similar artist: enter an artist you sound like and see playlists with the same genre mix.
3. Check that the playlist is active. Look at when tracks were last added. A playlist that has not changed for many months is unlikely to add yours.
4. Find the published contact and the curator's rules. Many descriptions say how to submit: email only, a form, or genres the curator does not want. Follow them.
5. Write one short, personal pitch per curator. The guide How to pitch Spotify playlist curators covers what to write and when to follow up.
6. Keep a log. Playlist, contact, date sent and result, so you never pitch the same curator twice for one release. A spreadsheet works, or the pitch tracker, which keeps a list per release with a status per curator.
7. Follow up once. If there is no reply after 10 to 14 days, send one short follow-up with the link again, then move on.
8. Note who added the track. Thank those curators, and write to them first when your next single is out.

6. A worked example

The artist, track, playlist and addresses below are made up. Velour Atlas, an electronic artist, releases the single "Night Ferry". Eight days before release, Velour Atlas pitches the song to Spotify's editors in Spotify for Artists. On release day, they write to the curator of a playlist called Harbor Lights Chill, whose description says "demos: demos@harborlights.example".

The pitch names the playlist and one real detail about it, puts the link in the second sentence, says what the track sounds like in one line and asks for nothing more than a listen. Eleven days later, with no reply, Velour Atlas sends one short follow-up and then moves on to the next playlist on the list.

7. Offers to pay for a placement

You will see offers to put your song on a playlist for a fee. Spotify's position is clear: "Any service that claims to offer guaranteed placement on playlists on Spotify in exchange for money are in violation of our terms & conditions, and they shouldn't be used." (Spotify for Artists: artificial streaming and paid 3rd-party services that guarantee streams, checked October 17, 2026). Paying for tools, or for a service where a curator reviews your track without a promised placement, is a different thing; the guide on how much Spotify playlist promotion costs compares those routes.