4 Spotify Playlist Pitching Strategies

  One of the most important pieces to getting our songs heard is through streams. How do we get streams? Well it comes through a few ways but one of the best ways to get streams on your music is through playlist placements. Playlist pitching, submissions and promotions are one of the biggest topics in music. So how do you get your songs on playlists?

NOTE:  For these strategies I am referring to Spotify playlists placements as currently Spotify is the largest streaming platform and makes it the most accessible to getting playlist placements.

  I wanted to focus in on 3 key strategies I have used over the passed few years to gain nearly 2M streams and counting. Also, there are marketing agencies that focus on helping artists get traction on Spotify as well, so I wanted to include this as it may be a good option for your music although I have not personally done this myself.

1. Pitching To User Generated Playlists
2. Using Playlist Pitching Services
3. Using Facebook Ads
4. Hiring a Music Marketing Agency

  I have used a combination of the top 3 but my most significant impact has come through pitching directly to user generated playlists.

Pitching to user generated playlists

  First thing, this can be a long process and it definitely takes time to seem momentum but when it begins to work it can greatly increase streams and followers.  For this strategy you will go to Spotify, search for playlists that you feel your song would fit. Then look to see who the playlist curator is (typically you can see their name right under the playlist description on the top left of the screen. Next, find them on social media (Facebook first then others if you can’t find them there.) Lastly, send them an engaging message letting them know who you are, what your song is about and  have you think your song would be a good fit for your their list. TIP:  I recommend sending out 3-5 messages a day to not burn yourself out and make gradual impact. (if you’d like a sample message I use, send me a message and I can link you to one I have created)

Using Playlist Pitching Services

  Disclaimer: There are many services that claim you can pay a certain amount to receive a certain amount of streams, these are not what I am talking about. Not only will these services only generated fake bot streams but may jeopardize your accounts so please don’t use them, it’s not worth it.

  A couple of playlist pitching services I have used are www.soundplate.com and www.submithub.com. These are websites that give you direct access to legit playlist curators that will playlist your music and get you in front of real potential fans.  Sound Plate is a free services while  Submithub offers different pricing options to purchase credits to be able to pitch your music. Soundplate allows you to pitch to playlists only while submit hub has options to pitch to playlist curators, influencers and record labels. 

  There is no guarantee that when you pitch your songs will get placed so it is important to carefully look through to make sure your song would fit the list you are pitching towards which will give you the best chance to get placed.

Using Facebook Ads

  One of the most talked about topics in music right now is whether you should or shouldn’t use Facebook ads to promote your music. My opinion, it depends on your strategy and budget. Facebook ads can be very difficult and confusing to understand which can result in less than desirable results.  There are entire businesses based around helping people use Facebook ads which speaks to how technical it is. 

  There is a work-around however and something I’ve experimented with and that is using services like www.toneden.com . Essentially these are websites designed to make the Facebook ads process a bit more manageable because they gear the ads specifically towards music promotion.

  I personally used Toneden the passed and i did  have positive results. Their site basically allows you to link your Facebook ads manager and you can use their simple interface to create, launch and manage your ads making the process much more streamlined and user friendly. With that, you are paying for your ad spend along with a monthly fee to use their service so depending on your budget, this may or may not be a good solution for you.

NOTE: ToneDen uses ads to get you more followers on Spotify, not streams. Of course, the more followers you have the more streams you will gain overtime but the initial push is to get more followers.

Hiring a music marketing service

  As i mentioned, I have not done this but I wanted to mention it as many people I know have found success in this. In this process, you would hire a company who specializes in music marketing to help you get your songs streamed. Many of these companies are playlist curators themselves so they can offer promote placements on their playlists. Many of them also have experience in running Facebook adds geared towards music as well. 

  My opinion is to ask around to artists and songwriters in your community to see if anyone has recommendations based on their own experiences. Just like with the second and third option, this will depend on your budget but it may be a good fit for you and your journey.

  So these are 3 strategies I have personally used to get more streams on my music. Like I mentioned, pitching to user generated playlist has been by far the best and most consistent growth. The more people I’ve pitched to that have placed my music has ultimately lead to songs reaching new audiences and this is what starts the algorithm to work for you.  No matter what strategy you use it is important to stay consistent with it. You could start pitching your songs to user generated playlist or www.soundplate.com now as they are both free services. Playlist pitching is a skill that can be learned and developed so getting started with it is the best way to get better and get your music out there!