Spotify Playlist Submission
Three ways to get your song in front of playlist curators for free: pitch Spotify’s editors, find bot-free playlists and contact their curators yourself, or let SubmitLink run the campaign.
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Three Ways to Submit Your Music
There’s no single “submit” button for Spotify playlists. Depending on the playlist, you get your song in front of its curator in one of three ways:
- Pitch Spotify’s own editors through Spotify for Artists. Free, but only for unreleased songs, and the editors decide.
- Contact independent curators yourself. Find playlists that fit your sound with artist.tools, then reach each curator by email, Instagram or the submission platform they use. Free, manual, and nothing is guaranteed.
- Let SubmitLink run the campaign. Pick from vetted, bot-free playlists and SubmitLink sends your song and tracks the replies. Free for two playlists a day, or paid for bigger campaigns.
Most artists do all three for each release.
Pitch Spotify's Editors First
If your song isn’t out yet, start in Spotify for Artists. You can pitch one unreleased song per release to Spotify’s editorial team, at least seven days before it comes out, with its genre, mood, instruments and the story behind it. It costs nothing.
Editors pick a tiny share of pitches and don’t send feedback, so treat it as a free bonus, not a plan. Pitching on time also puts the song on your followers’ Release Radar.
Getting Started with artist.tools
Independent curators run most of the playlists you can realistically get on. artist.tools helps you find them: search more than 32 million Spotify playlists by keyword, genre or mood with the Spotify playlist finder, and keep only the ones that are active, in your style and free of bots.
Then use the Contacts filter to keep only playlists you can reach: curators with an email or Instagram, or a page on SubmitLink, SubmitHub, Groover or DailyPlaylists. That’s your pitch list.
From there, outreach is up to you. artist.tools doesn’t send your music anywhere: you write to each curator yourself, or submit through the platform they use. It’s cold outreach, it takes time, and curators owe you nothing, which is exactly why a well-chosen list matters.
Why Use artist.tools for Playlist Submission?
- Bot-risk ratings on every playlist: every playlist carries a bot-risk rating, so you can skip the ones likely to put fake streams on your release and get it taken down.
- Curator contacts in one place: 158K+ curator emails and socials, plus the submission platforms each curator uses, alongside the playlist’s numbers.
- History before you pitch: see each playlist’s follower growth and the tracks it added and dropped, so you can tell a living playlist from a dead one. The playlist analyzer goes deeper.
- Free to start: playlist search and its contact and quality filters work on the free plan.
Step-by-Step Guide to Free Spotify Playlist Submission
- Pitch Spotify’s editors: in Spotify for Artists, at least seven days before release.
- Build your list: search playlists by your genre or mood in artist.tools, hide botted ones, and keep only those with contacts.
- Check each playlist: open it to confirm it’s growing, adds songs like yours, and keeps them.
- Pitch each curator yourself: a short, personal message with the song link, why it fits that playlist, and one line about you. Use the curator’s preferred route: email, Instagram or their submission platform.
- Add a SubmitLink campaign: send the song to two more vetted playlists for free every day, or run a paid campaign.
- Follow up once: curators get a lot of music. One polite follow-up after a week or two is enough.
Let SubmitLink Run It
If you’d rather not run the outreach yourself, SubmitLink, our sister platform, does it for you. You choose from playlists whose curators accept submissions, SubmitLink sends your song, and you follow every response in one place.
- Free campaign: one song to two eligible playlists every 24 hours, with no submission fee.
- Paid campaigns: reach more curators at once. You pay for a curator’s time to consider your song, never for a guaranteed placement, and curators who don’t respond within seven days are credited back.
- Bot-free guarantee: every playlist on SubmitLink is checked with artist.tools bot detection, including those accepting free submissions.
Tips for Success
- Quality over quantity: ten well-matched playlists beat a hundred random ones. Curators remember artists who send them the wrong genre.
- Personalise every pitch: mention a song already on the playlist and why yours sits next to it.
- Never pay for placement: a guaranteed add breaks Spotify’s rules, and those playlists are often botted. Paying for a review is fine.
- Check before you pitch: run any playlist you’re unsure about through the free bot checker.
- Be patient: independent curators often take weeks. Keep releasing and promoting in the meantime.
For a side-by-side look at the platforms, see our 12 best free Spotify playlist submission sites. Or browse curated, bot-free playlists by genre, like lofi, afrobeats and metal.
Thinking of paying for promotion? Read our reviews of services like members.media and Rise.LA, and of the ones we flag, such as Real Playlists and the Emily Arnault Agency.
FAQs
Plainly answered
Is Spotify playlist submission free?
It can be. Pitching Spotify’s editors through Spotify for Artists is free, and so is contacting curators yourself. SubmitLink’s free campaign sends one song to two eligible playlists every 24 hours. Paid campaigns on submission platforms cost money, but you pay for a curator’s time to consider your song, never for a guaranteed placement.
Do I have to pay curators?
No. Many curators accept free submissions. Never pay for a guaranteed placement: Spotify’s rules forbid it, and playlists that sell placements are often botted. Paying a platform for a curator’s review is allowed.
How do I pitch to Spotify’s editorial playlists?
Through Spotify for Artists. Pitch one unreleased song at least seven days before release, with its genre, mood and story. It’s free, editors choose what to add, and you won’t get feedback.
How often should I submit my music to playlists?
Pitch each release to a focused list: a handful of well-matched playlists every week beats hundreds of random ones. Keep going for a few weeks after release, while the song is new.
Can I submit the same song to multiple playlists?
Yes, and you should. Just make sure each playlist fits the song, and write each pitch for that curator.
How do I avoid botted playlists?
Check a playlist before you pitch it. artist.tools rates every playlist’s bot risk, the free bot checker checks any single playlist, and SubmitLink only lists playlists it has verified as bot-free.
Is your music on a botted playlist?
- Free to start
- No credit card
- Unlimited artists