Getting your song in front of the right listeners on Spotify doesn’t happen by chance — it starts with a well-timed, well-crafted pitch. Spotify for Artists gives every independent musician direct access to the platform’s editorial team, but with hundreds of thousands of submissions coming in each week, knowing how to pitch strategically can make the difference between a placement and a pass. Here’s everything you need to know to give your next release its best shot.
Step-by-step: The Official Pitch Process
First, verify your artist profile at artists.spotify.com. Your distributor can assist with verification. Then upload your track through your distributor at least seven days before the release date — Spotify requires the track to be delivered and live in their system before you can pitch.
There are two ways to start the pitch once you’re logged in: go to the Home tab and choose “Pitch a song to our editors,” or navigate to the Music tab → Upcoming → then “Pitch a song.”
You’ll complete a detailed pitch form covering: the primary genre and sub-genre, the mood and theme of the track, the instrumentation used, any cultural context, and a message to the editorial team (up to 500 characters).
Timing matters a lot
Tracks pitched 14 or more days early see roughly 2x the editorial consideration rate compared to those submitted at the 7-day minimum. A good timeline is: 4 weeks before release — upload to your distributor with the release date set; 3–4 weeks out — the pitch appears in Spotify for Artists and you submit it; 2–3 weeks out — the curator review window.
Writing your 500-character description
Use the message field strategically — don’t write generic praise. Mention specific context: the story behind the track, live momentum, a notable sync placement, or the reaction from a preview audience.
A strong description sounds like: “Atmospheric alt-pop track with dreamy synths, haunting vocals, and cinematic beats. Perfect for night drives or reflective moments.” Then add context like the story behind the song, or any social proof like “Track preview got 50K views on TikTok.”
Key rules to know
You can only pitch one song at a time. Once your pitched song goes live, you can pitch another. You can’t pitch compilations or songs where you’re a featured artist. You can edit your pitch up to release day, but there’s no guarantee editors will see the changes.
If you pitch at least 7 days before release, your song will automatically be added to your followers’ Release Radar playlists t — so even without editorial placement, you get guaranteed exposure there.
After you pitch
No response means no placement — Spotify does not notify you if your pitch is declined. Placement can also arrive late; some editorial placements happen after release day. Check your status under Music → your song → Playlists.