There are around 3,000 Editorial Playlists all curated by Spotify’s editorial team. If you land a single on one of these playlists you are guaranteed as much as 25,000 streams and upwards per day.
Getting into these playlists is not easy. You have to pitch your tracks to these editors while competing with 60,000 other new releases every day. And let's not forget that every person at every Major Label is competing for those spots too. Something to keep in mind is that it is really hard to get into Spotify Editorial Playlists and if you do get in it, it will be difficult to get back into it again.
Also, according to ToneDen, followers on these playlists are less likely to follow artists.
Spotify editors often test out new tracks on smaller “feeder” playlists. Tracks that perform well on a playlist like “New Noise” (289K followers) might be promoted to “Rock This” (4.3M followers); songs that gain traction on a playlist such as “Most Necessary” (1.8M followers) might eventually end up on “Rap Caviar” (10.3M followers).
The songs on these playlists are determined by algorithms. It is relatively easy to get placements on these playlists; you just need to crack the code. As long as your song fits into a clear-cut box for Spotify, they’ll find a place for you (people also must be enjoying your song when they listen to it).
<aside> 📌 Release Radar is heavily influenced by the artists a user has followed. Discover Weekly seems to be almost entirely dependent on the algorithm.
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So you have an idea, there are around 3,000 Editorial Playlists (curated by real people that work at Spotify) and there are 200 million discover weekly playlists, and 200 million release radar playlists created by the algorithms.
Additional algorithmic playlists include: Daily Mix, Radio, On Repeat, Repeat Rewind, & Your Top Songs
“Discover Weekly and Release Radar, are based on your listening habits (what you like, share, save, skip) and the listening habits of others with similar taste.” - Spotify
Many large “independent” playlists on Spotify are actually owned by major labels. They prioritize songs from their own labels and most don’t allow submissions. They’re great playlists but are usually not available to you. When Spotify launched, the major labels had to sign deals to license their content, and part of those deals were specially branded playlists. These playlists get priority in Spotify’s search results. Labels can add any of their songs to their owned playlists and get instant interactions with listeners which drives their songs into algorithmic playlists. They have it easy.
<aside> 📌 The only real workaround to getting on major label playlists is by trading playlist placements. This requires your own playlist with a substantial following. We’ve found that if your contact information is available, A&Rs from the label will reach out to get songs on your playlist in exchange for you getting on their label-owned playlists. When they submit music to your playlist, reply with something like: “Hey! Thanks for sending this release over! We will find it a spot on our playlist. Do you guys have any playlists that could fit our release? [Spotify Song Link] Thanks!”
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