Landing your music on a Spotify or Apple Music playlist can mean a huge boost in listeners, but how do you do it? Submitting your music to playlists isn’t as complicated as it seems, and with artists always looking to take advantage of ways to get their music heard by a wider audience, playlist submission is at the top of the list. We’ve broken down the process to make submitting your music to Spotify or Apple Music playlists as easy as possible.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR MUSIC TO SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS
First of all, you’ll, of course, need to claim your Spotify for Artists profile
Spotify now has a process for submitting your music to their playlists directly through your Spotify for Artists account, as long as your song has already been delivered to Spotify and scheduled for release. (submitted with a future release date).
It’s SUPER important to set a future release date when you set up the release. To pitch a release, you need the song delivered at least 3 weeks before the release date. We recommend at least 30 days (more if you can) before your intended release date. If you’re unsure of what date to select, pick a Friday that’s 6 weeks in the future.
Once your music is in Spotify, you can get started with playlist submission. Here’s what you’ll see once you’ve set up your profile and have a new release distributed to Spotify:
Just follow the submission process by clicking the link next to your release. When filling out the form (which must be done on a desktop, not mobile), be sure to provide a killer description with any information that will bolster your release. Spotify uses this information to choose artists and match them with playlists and curators, so the more accurate information you give characters, the better it can see where your music fits in, upping your chances of a placement.
Spotify will send you an email if your music gets chosen, but you can also check the playlists tab of your Spotify for Artists account. Seriously, it’s that easy.
Remember that you can only have 1 song at a time under consideration, so if you’re releasing weekly, you probably won’t be able to submit every song. Plan ahead; don’t submit next week’s track right if you think the one arriving in a few weeks is more likely to land a playlist spot! Put some real thought into which tracks have the most potential and submit only those.
Learn more via our DIGITAL MUSIC EDUCATION SERIES PODCAST below
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR MUSIC TO APPLE MUSIC PLAYLISTS
Apple’s platform is fairly private, so it doesn’t offer a lot of options for promotional opportunities. Each public playlist viewable on the platform has either been curated by the experts on Apple’s editorial team or partners working with Apple. They don’t allow third party curators like Spotify does, which makes it nearly impossible to pitch your music to their playlists unless you have a direct connection to their editorial team. Even though Apple Music does not offer direct submissions, there are steps you can take as an artist to improve your chances of landing a spot on one of their playlists.
1. Verify your profile with Apple Connect
Make sure that you claim your profile on Apple Music for Artists.
2. Build your following on Apple Music
Building your followers on Apple Music will help attract curators to your profile, increasing your chances of being included in their playlists. Use social media, blogs and other outlets to promote your profile and grow your following.
