Spotify’s curated playlists have become prime retail for artists trying to reach a larger audience. The only issue, of course, is getting there.
The old way seemed to be a mix of success and pure luck. The guess is that your song would have to perform well among Spotify’s audience, but there was also the matter of getting it front of the eyes, or ears, of those playlist curators.
To make it a bit easier, Spotify is launching a new tool that will put artists in communication with those playlist editors. It’s a new beta feature, part of Spotify for Artists and Spotify Analytics. Artists, labels, managers, and members of an artist’s team can log into their Spotify for Artists account, go to Spotify Analytics, and choose an unreleased song for playlist consideration. Even if the song isn’t selected, the single gets put on each of the artists’ follower release radar playlists once it is released, as long as it’s tagged and submitted at least a week in advance.
Spotify also advises that people provide as much information about the artist and song as possible, along with the submission. In the release, Spotify also emphasizes that playlist inclusion is not a pay-for-play deal. However, there’s little information as to what works for a playlist other than saying, “Our editors pick tracks with listeners in mind.” The feature could also change as time goes on, especially since it’s still in beta mode.