Part of the topic guide Pre-Save Links and Release-Day Promotion

How to Pitch Your Song to Playlists

By WBBT Records· Published 14 May 2026· Updated 25 October 2026· 10 min read· How we write our guides

A pitch is a short, honest request to someone who decides what goes on a playlist. There are three routes: Spotify’s own editors, independent curators who run playlists you can find in the app, and, on some WBBT plans, the pitch tools in your account. They suit different moments and they all have the same limit: a pitch is a request, it can be declined without a reason, and nobody can promise a placement.

This guide is about writing the pitch, choosing the playlists worth asking, keeping a record and using WBBT’s tools without confusing them with Spotify’s. It leaves the set-up of the profile to the Spotify for Artists guide and the timeline and launch plan to the release-day pillar guide.

Pitching to Spotify’s editors

The pitch is made in Spotify for Artists, from the Music tab and then Upcoming, once your unreleased song has been delivered. Spotify’s help page sets the rules: deliver at least seven days before release, one song at a time, no compilations and no songs where you are only a featured artist, and edits allowed until release day with no guarantee that editors see them. Admins and Editors on the artist team can send and edit a pitch.

The Spotify for Artists blog published a Q&A with its playlist editors in July 2020. It is old, so treat it as the editors’ stated approach at that time and not as a current rule. They said:

Give context: the who, what, why, when, where and how of the song. Do not leave the note blank.
Include anything that explains the release: press, plans for a music video, the release schedule and your linked social accounts.
Answer the mood and genre questions fully, because they help editors find the music.
Say where you are and what cultural sound you work in, so that the right regional team can find you.
Any recording is welcome, studio or live.
Followers and monthly listeners do not factor into their decisions, and neither does your distributor or a relationship with anyone at Spotify.

A weak pitch and a better one

Both examples below are invented for illustration. The artist, the song and the details are not real, and no result is implied.

Weak. “Glass Harbour is my best song yet and I think it is going to blow up. It has huge potential, so please add it to your playlists. Thank you!”

What is wrong with it: it says nothing about the sound, so an editor cannot place it. It predicts a result, which is a hope and not evidence. It asks for an outcome instead of describing the music. It has no date, no link and no context.

Better. “Glass Harbour is a four-minute dream-pop single with a female lead vocal, layered analogue synth pads and live bass, recorded in a bedroom studio in Leeds. The mood is reflective and late-night. It is the lead single from an EP due in March, and a lyric video is planned for release week. We are a two-piece from West Yorkshire, and our live session and Instagram are linked on the profile. The sound sits between UK indie and electronic pop.”

What works: it names the genre, vocal, instruments and mood in plain words. It gives a place and a sound, which Spotify’s editors asked for. It mentions a release schedule and a video plan without exaggeration. It makes no claim about numbers. An editor can read it in under twenty seconds and know where the song might fit.

Choosing tags and details honestly

The forms ask you to choose a genre, a mood and sometimes more. Pick the single genre that a stranger would give after one listen, not the biggest genre nearby. Choose the moods that are true of the recording and not of the video. Add the instruments that define the sound, the language of the vocal and any cultural influence that matters. A pitch tagged with a genre it does not belong to wastes the editor’s time and yours. WBBT’s editorial form asks for the same sort of detail, as the next sections show.

Independent curators

Many playlists on Spotify are made by people, not by Spotify. Some of their owners accept submissions. The work is the same each time: find playlists that suit the song, check that they are real, read the rules, and write a short message.

Find the right lists. Search Spotify for the genre and mood of your song and look at what sits on lists near your sound. Write down playlists where artists like you already appear.
Check that they are real. Open the list. Is it updated, and do the songs fit together? A list that mixes unrelated genres, or is padded with tracks that have nothing to do with each other, is a warning. The follower count alone tells you little.
Read the submission rules. Follow them exactly: the contact route, the link format, one track at a time. Do not send an unsolicited audio file where a link is asked for.
Send a short message. Use the shape of the sample below and send a private link, not a download.
Never pay for a promised placement. Spotify says paid services that guarantee streams or playlist placement are not legitimate and may lead to your music being removed. A fee for a considered listen or written feedback is a different arrangement from a fee for a result, but if a price depends on the result, do not pay it.

Sample message (invented). “Hi Sam, I am Ana, an indie-electronic act from Leeds. Your list Late Trains includes two artists whose sound is close to my single Glass Harbour: reflective, synth-led, a female lead vocal. Private link: [link]. It is out on [date]. I understand if it is not a fit. Thank you for listening. Profile: [link].”

WBBT’s pitch tools

The Promotion area of a WBBT account holds three request forms. The pricing page lists “All pitch & playlist tools” on the Pro and Label plans only. What we can confirm about them:

Editorial pitching is for unreleased tracks whose release date is at least seven days away. That limit is WBBT’s own rule and not Spotify’s. The form asks you to describe the song, its type, a primary genre (and a second genre and subgenre if you want), up to three moods, the sound character, the vocal style, the main instruments, the language and any cultural influence. It also has fields for similar artists, target playlists, earlier editorial placements and anything else we should know.
Radio pitching and playlist pitching take approved tracks. The radio form asks for a song story and, if you have one, a radio edit to upload. The playlist form asks for a mood and genre tags.
Every request is reviewed by our team and shows a status of Pending, Approved or Rejected, with a note or a reason once it has been decided. Approved does not mean placed.
Before you can send any of the three, the form asks you to accept the promotional services terms. Read them first, including anything they say about costs and how they are recovered.

Keep the two systems apart. A WBBT pitch is a request to our team. Spotify’s form is a request to Spotify’s editors, and you can use it as well whatever your plan is. An approval in your WBBT account tells you nothing about whether a Spotify editor has seen your song.

Keep a tracking sheet

A simple table keeps you from pitching the same person twice and tells you what worked. Use one row per pitch.

Date	Where	Type	Track and link	Sent via	Reply	Follow-up	Notes
3 Nov	Spotify for Artists	Editorial	Glass Harbour (example)	Pitch form	None yet	None, edit until release day	Genre: dream-pop, mood: reflective
5 Nov	Late Trains (example)	Independent curator	Glass Harbour, private link	Email	Waiting	12 Nov	Playlist updated weekly

Add columns for what you would change next time. After a few releases you will see which kinds of list reply and which kinds do not, and that is worth more than any rule of thumb.

When to pitch what

When	Pitch
While the release is in review	Write the pitch text and choose the tags. Gather press, plans and links.
When the song appears in Upcoming	Send Spotify’s editorial pitch. On Pro and Label, send WBBT’s editorial request if you want one.
About three weeks before release	Start messaging independent curators.
Release day	Spotify’s form has closed for this song. Share the live link.
One to four weeks after	One polite follow-up per curator. Keep the sheet up to date.

Mistakes that cost a pitch

Tagging the song with a genre because it is popular, not because it is true.
Writing about yourself at length and about the song in one line.
Promising numbers or a result.
Sending the same message to every curator, with the wrong playlist name in it.
Leaving the pitch note empty.
Chasing a curator who has said no.
Paying anyone who guarantees a placement.

A pitch routine in seven steps

Finish the metadata so the genre, credits and artist profile are right. The metadata checklist shows how.
Write two sentences about the sound and three about the story, in plain language.
Choose one primary genre and up to three moods that are true.
Send the Spotify editorial pitch from the Upcoming tab as soon as the song shows there.
On Pro or Label, decide whether to send WBBT’s editorial, radio or playlist request as well, after you have read the terms.
Pick five to ten independent playlists that really fit and write each message by hand.
Record every pitch in the tracking sheet and review it a month after release. How Spotify recommends music helps you read the results.

Frequently asked questions

How long before release should I pitch to Spotify’s editors?

Spotify says to deliver the music at least seven days before release so editors have time to listen. In practice send the pitch as soon as the song appears in the Upcoming tab, which Spotify says can take around 48 hours after delivery, and allow for our review first. The release-day timeline in the pillar guide suggests about two weeks.

Can I pitch a song that is already out?

Not through Spotify’s editorial pitch form, which is only for unreleased songs. Independent curators can add songs that are already released, so a song does not stop being pitchable on release day. Keep your tracking sheet going for a few weeks afterwards.

Is it acceptable to pay a curator?

Paying for a listen or for feedback is a different thing from paying for placement. Spotify says paid services that guarantee playlist placement are not legitimate and break its terms, and its playlist editors said in 2020 that you cannot pay to get on an official Spotify playlist. If a price depends on a result, walk away. See artificial streams and what to do.

What if a curator does not reply?

Assume it is a no after one polite follow-up, usually a week or two later, and move on. Most curators receive more submissions than they can answer. A pitch is a request and it can be declined without explanation.

Does Spotify’s pitch guarantee that editors will listen or add the song?

No. Spotify’s own help page says pitching does not guarantee placement, that editors might choose a different song from your release, and that there is no guarantee they will see changes made after you submit. A song that is not picked may still be discovered later.

Which plans include WBBT’s pitch tools?

The pricing page lists “All pitch & playlist tools” on the Pro and Label plans, and not on the Free or Basic plans. Spotify’s own pitch form is free and open to anyone with Admin or Editor access to the profile, whichever distributor you use.