Spotify Playlist Promotion: Editorial Pitching, Marquee, Showcase, Discovery Mode and Curator Outreach Within Spotify’s Rules

Updated October 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

Spotify playlist promotion that lasts uses the tools Spotify itself offers artists, plus real listeners, never bought placements. That means pitching an unreleased song to Spotify’s editors, running Marquee or Showcase campaigns, deciding whether Discovery Mode is worth its commission, sending fans to a release through ads and creators, and approaching independent curators on the music’s merits. Spotify prohibits any service that promises streams or playlist placement for money, so this page explains what is allowed, what each tool does, what Spotify promotion for artists costs, and how we plan a release around it. Every campaign starts with a free proposal and a written scope.

How Spotify playlist promotion works today

Spotify playlist promotion is the work of putting a song in front of listeners who are likely to keep it. It starts with understanding that Spotify has three kinds of playlists and that each is reached differently. Spotify promotion in general is not one product; it is a set of free tools, paid campaigns and outside activity that all end at the same place, a listener pressing play.

Editorial playlists

Editorial playlists are curated by Spotify’s editors, who the support page describes as genre, lifestyle and culture specialists. You can pitch an unreleased song to them through Spotify for Artists, and nobody can buy a place on one.

Personalized playlists

Personalized playlists are unique to each listener and are created by Spotify’s algorithms. Spotify’s page says they look at what a person listens to and when, what they add to their own playlists and the habits of people with similar tastes. You can spot one by the line Made for followed by a username. Discover Weekly and Release Radar are examples.

Listener playlists

Listener playlists are made by people, and there are millions of them. Spotify’s page says they show how music resonates with fans and that when fans add a song to their own playlists it tells Spotify what they like and what to recommend. Playlist promotion that reaches real listeners therefore feeds the other two kinds.

Spotify promotion for artists: what Spotify allows and what it bans

Spotify promotion for artists splits cleanly into what Spotify allows and what it prohibits. The rules come from Spotify’s own artificial streaming page, which says Spotify strictly prohibits using any third-party service that promises streams or playlist placement in exchange for money, and that such services violate its Terms and Conditions of Use and User Guidelines.

What counts as artificial streaming?

Spotify defines an artificial stream as a stream that does not reflect genuine user listening intent, including any attempt to manipulate the service with automated processes such as bots or scripts. It also says fans should not coordinate inauthentic streaming, for example with extra accounts on a family or duo plan or by sharing tactics for avoiding detection.

Why paid placement and paid “consideration” are out

Spotify says marketing services that promise streams or playlist placements for a fee are scams and should be avoided, and its support article on paid third-party services says such services violate its terms and conditions. It also warns about services that charge money to be “considered” for user playlists without guaranteeing a placement, and asks artists to be highly skeptical of them. Its page adds that the only way to grow a career on Spotify is by gaining legitimate fans who engage with the songs.

What happens to a song caught with fake streams?

Spotify’s policy is that artificial streams earn no royalties, do not count toward public stream numbers or charts and do not positively influence recommendation algorithms. Depending on severity, the song can be removed from playlists, the distributor can issue warnings, charge a fee or suspend an account, and the track can be removed from Spotify altogether. Since April 1, 2024, Spotify has also charged labels and distributors per track for flagrant artificial streaming.

Spotify editorial playlist pitching, step by step

A Spotify editorial playlist pitch is the one route to Spotify’s own curators, and it is free. Spotify’s support article says you use Spotify for Artists to pitch upcoming, unreleased songs and eligible music videos to its playlist editors. This section follows the steps in order. The same article warns that pitching does not guarantee a placement.

Getting the release delivered early enough to pitch

A song can only be pitched while it is unreleased, and Spotify asks you to deliver music at least seven days before release so editors have time to listen. Your distributor delivers the release, then it appears under Music and then Upcoming in Spotify for Artists, where you choose it and complete the pitch form. Anyone with Admin or Editor access can view and edit the pitch. If the release does not show up, Spotify’s page points to its article on getting unreleased music into Spotify for Artists.

Writing a pitch editors can use

If you are wondering how to write a Spotify editorial playlist pitch, start from what Spotify says: complete the form, because more detail gives the song a better chance. The form asks about the music, and Spotify’s support page mentions genre, mood and culture tags. In a Q&A on the Spotify for Artists blog from July 2020, Spotify’s editors asked for the who, what, why, when and where of the song, and for press, music video plans, release schedules and promotions. They also said that specifics about location and cultural sound help the right local team find a pitch. You can pitch one song at a time, you cannot pitch compilations or songs where you are a featured artist, and you can edit the pitch until release day, though Spotify gives no assurance the editors will see the changes.

What happens after the pitch?

Two things can follow. If you pitched at least seven days before release, Spotify says it adds the song to your followers’ Release Radar playlists, and if you are eligible you can pin it to your This Is playlist. Whether an editor playlists it is separate: Spotify says editors might pick a different song than the one you pitched, and you can see playlist additions in the Playlists tab of Spotify for Artists once the song is live. A song that has gone live can no longer be pitched, which matters for anyone asking how to get on a Spotify editorial playlist after release.

People often search for Spotify editorial playlist submission as though it were a form you can fill in later. It is not. The pitch is part of the release plan, and the date to remember is the delivery date.

Free Spotify promotion tools inside Spotify for Artists

Free Spotify promotion starts inside Spotify for Artists. Spotify describes playlist pitching as free and Discovery Mode as having no upfront cost, and its Countdown Pages page mentions no charge. For anyone searching for Spotify playlist promotion free of charge, these Spotify promotion tools are the legitimate answer.

Playlist pitching

Spotify’s Campaign Kit page describes playlist pitching as the way to submit upcoming, unreleased music to its editors for playlist consideration, for free. It is covered in detail above.

Countdown Pages

Spotify describes Countdown Pages as a pre-release destination on Spotify where fans can pre-save an album, preview the tracklist, watch countdown videos and shop merch. The pages appear on your artist profile, in Search, on Home and in the Upcoming Releases hub, and on release day Spotify notifies everyone who pre-saved and adds the album to their library.

This Is playlist pinning

If you are eligible for a This Is playlist, a song you pitched can be pinned to it. Spotify’s page says pinning takes about three days after the song is live, you can submit one pin request at a time, and the song stays pinned for up to 28 days after release.

Campaign Kit

Campaign Kit is Spotify’s name for its set of marketing tools: playlist pitching, Discovery Mode and display campaigns such as Marquee and Showcase. Spotify says Discovery Mode has no upfront cost and that display campaigns are paid. The sections below cover each.

Spotify Marquee

Spotify Marquee is a paid display campaign that puts a new release in front of listeners Spotify judges likely to stream it. It belongs to Spotify’s family of display campaigns, which also includes Showcase, and it is set up in the Campaigns tab of Spotify for Artists.

What is Spotify Marquee?

Spotify’s display campaigns page describes Marquee as a full-screen modal on Home for new releases, and its support article describes it as a full-screen pop-up on the Spotify mobile app. It is for new releases only and can be used within 21 days of the release date. A Marquee campaign runs for 10 days after it starts, or until the budget is spent, whichever comes first.

Spotify Marquee vs Showcase

Spotify Marquee vs Showcase comes down to timing and placement. Showcase is a banner on Home on desktop and mobile and on Browse on mobile, it works for new and catalog releases, it can be used at any time and it runs for 14 days or until the budget is spent. Marquee is the moment-of-release format; Showcase suits catalog songs and longer reminders.

Spotify Marquee requirements

Spotify Marquee requirements are published in its getting started article. Display campaigns are available to teams based in listed countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and much of Europe, and your payment card must be issued in one of them. You need at least 1,000 streams over the last 28 days in at least one target market, and for Marquee you also need at least 5,000 monthly active listeners in your selected target market. An Admin adds the payment method, and Admins and Editors can then create campaigns.

Is Spotify Marquee worth it?

Judge it on the segment, the timing and the measure. Spotify lets you aim at segments based on listening behavior: existing super, moderate and light listeners to deepen fandom, lapsed listeners to bring them back, and potential and programmed listeners to find new ones. The campaigns are priced on a cost per click basis, with clicks, including saves, billable, and the budget you choose caps your spend. Compare the cost per click with what a save and a repeat listener are worth to you, start near the minimum, and read the results in Spotify for Artists. Spotify says its forecasts are estimates and that it cannot guarantee delivery of your full budget.

Spotify Discovery Mode

Spotify Discovery Mode lets artists and labels mark songs as priorities, and Spotify adds that signal to the algorithms behind personalized playlists. It is a trade: you accept a commission on streams in certain contexts and get a better chance of being recommended there.

How Discovery Mode works

Spotify’s page says the signal increases the likelihood that selected songs are recommended but does not guarantee it, and that Spotify takes note when a listener is not engaging with a song and factors that into later recommendations. The contexts where it applies are Spotify Radio, Autoplay and Spotify Mixes, such as Daily, Artist, Mood, Decade and Genre Mixes. Spotify charges a commission, a percentage of revenue, only on streams of the selected songs in those contexts during the campaign, and all other streams are commission-free. The cost is deducted from future Spotify statements, so there is no upfront budget.

Spotify Discovery Mode requirements

Spotify Discovery Mode requirements are set out on its support page, which describes the feature as in beta. A team may be eligible if it has at least three eligible songs, at least 25,000 monthly listeners and an active Spotify for Artists team registered in a listed country that includes the United States. A song must have been on Spotify for at least 30 days, have been streamed at least 20 times in Discovery Mode contexts in the last 28 days and have met Spotify’s monetization eligibility criteria, and it must come through a participating distributor on Spotify’s list. Campaigns are set up between the 11th of a month and the last day of that month and start at 12 AM UTC on the first of the next.

Is Spotify Discovery Mode worth it?

The honest answer is that it depends on the song. The trade-off is a commission on the streams Discovery Mode helps create against the new listeners and saves those streams may bring. Test one track with a clear reason it should do well, check whether those listeners keep coming back outside Discovery Mode contexts, where Spotify says streams are commission-free, and compare the commission with what the listeners are worth. Spotify says it recommends songs for the tool using signals such as recent performance in Discovery Mode contexts, but also that it cannot guarantee any result.

How algorithmic playlists pick up a song

Algorithmic playlists build themselves from listener behavior, so the practical goal is real listeners who save and replay a song. Spotify’s pages describe three that matter to a new release.

Release Radar

Spotify’s support article says Release Radar is a playlist of new releases that updates every Friday and that listeners get new music from artists they follow, artists they listen to and others Spotify thinks they will like. Each listener gets one song per artist per week, a song stays for up to four weeks if the listener has not heard it, and songs a listener has already played are not included. Pitching at least seven days before release lets you choose which song reaches your followers.

Discover Weekly, Radio and Autoplay

Discover Weekly is one of the personalized playlists Spotify names, built from what each person listens to and what similar listeners enjoy. Radio and Autoplay are two of the contexts where Discovery Mode applies. Spotify says artificial streams do not positively influence its recommendation algorithms, so the only dependable input is listening that is real.

What you can do to help

Send listeners who actually want the song: fans on your list, people who watched a video, followers of creators who like it. When they save, replay or add it to playlists, that is the signal Spotify’s own page says it uses. Your Spotify for Artists data then shows which source brought them.

Organic Spotify promotion: real listeners from outside Spotify

Organic Spotify promotion means bringing listeners to a release through work that does not touch Spotify’s placements: ads, creators, short video, email and live shows. It is the part of the plan that makes every Spotify tool work better, and it is the heart of any honest campaign. We plan it alongside the release, and our creator campaigns and TikTok ads pages cover the channels in more depth.

• Short video aimed at people who like similar music.
• Creators who already cover the genre, with paid posts disclosed.
• A pre-save or Countdown Page link in every post.
• A fan list for release-day email.
• Shows, merch tables and QR codes on posters.

Meta and TikTok ads that send fans to a release

Paid social can send people who like a sound to a release page, a pre-save or a short video. The targeting follows the music: fans of similar artists, people near a tour date, lookalikes of existing listeners. The goal is a listener who stays, so the page they land on should make saving the song the easy next step.

Creators and short video

Creators can introduce a song to audiences who trust them, from short videos to long reviews. Where a creator is paid or receives something of value, the FTC says that connection should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, and its guidance calls for plain wording near the endorsement rather than a vague tag. See the FTC’s endorsement guidance for the examples. For long-form video and channel work, see our YouTube marketing page.

Pre-saves, fan lists and release-day email

A pre-save page or a Spotify Countdown Page turns early interest into a library add on release day. A fan list gives you a direct line that does not depend on any algorithm, and a release-day email reaches the people most likely to listen at once.

Independent playlist curators: outreach without paying for placement

Many playlists are made by people outside Spotify. Pitching them is fine when you do it on the music’s merits. What Spotify prohibits is paying for placement or for being considered, and our own rule is the same: we pitch on merit and never pay for a placement or for consideration. Real Spotify promotion and cheap Spotify promotion are not the same thing, and the difference is often the price of the promise.

Finding curators who run real playlists

Look for playlists with a clear genre focus, an owner you can contact and follower growth that matches actual listening. A curator who posts about the music they pick, answers messages and updates the list regularly is more likely to be real. Approach them with a short note, a link and a reason the song fits, and do not offer money.

Signs that a playlist is run by a real curator include:

• A clear genre or mood focus rather than a mix of everything.
• An owner or team you can contact by name.
• Follower growth that fits the amount of listening the songs get.
• Regular updates and songs chosen for a reason.
• No offer to sell a place on the list.

Red flags in a Spotify promotion service

Be wary of any service that guarantees streams or playlist placements, sells stream packages, or charges to be considered for a list. Spotify says services that guarantee streams, followers or placement for money are not legitimate, and that signs of trouble include a sudden spike followed by a drop, a sudden spike in a place where your tracks have not been active, or a short burst of follower growth. If you see these, Spotify says to tell your label or distributor and share the details of any service you hired.

Spotify promotion services: how to judge one

Spotify promotion services range from honest agencies to sellers of fake streams, and the difference is in the answers to a few questions. Spotify itself suggests researching a service and its methods and asking other artists who have used it. Searches for the best Spotify promotion or Spotify promotion companies tend to return lists of sellers, so judge a company on the method it describes, not on its rank.

• Ask how the service reaches curators, and expect an answer that involves the music.
• Ask whether it pays anyone for placement or for consideration; the answer must be no.
• Walk away from any promise of a number of streams, followers or playlist spots.
• Ask where listeners will come from and how they are targeted.
• Ask what the data in Spotify for Artists should look like if the work is real.
• Ask how the engagement ends and what you keep.

A release plan built around Spotify

A release plan puts each tool where it works. The timeline shows one way to lay out the weeks from six weeks before release to four weeks after. It leaves out stream targets because no honest plan can promise them.

Before release

Deliver the release early, pitch while the song is unreleased, publish a Countdown Page and make the assets creators and ad platforms will need. The release also needs a home outside Spotify: our musician branding and musician website design pages cover the identity and site that tie it together.

Release week and after

Release day is for the email, the posts and the first read of the data. A Marquee window, if you chose one, falls inside the first 21 days. By week four, decide whether Discovery Mode earns a test, write down what each source brought, and plan the next release with that evidence.

Apple Music playlist promotion and other platforms

Apple Music playlist promotion works differently, and Apple’s own pages should lead. Apple Music for Artists has a Promote section that lists tools such as shareable promo posts, a Set List playlist built from a tour’s live set, a single link to share a song across streaming services and embedded players. The pages read for this guide do not describe a way to buy placement, and we would not use one if it existed.

YouTube has playlists of its own, and a video with a steady audience can feed a song’s listening everywhere else. Treat each platform’s own artist tools as the first stop, then add creators and ads that reach real people.

Working with music PR and radio

Press, radio and podcasts are a separate discipline from playlist promotion. They build the story around a release and often send listeners to the platforms. Our music PR page explains publicity, the electronic press kit and the rules that apply to radio, and it is where payola questions belong.

What does Spotify playlist promotion cost?

Spotify promotion cost depends on which tools you use and who does the work. Pitching is free, Spotify’s paid tools are priced by Spotify, and agency fees cover planning, creative and media management. The tables keep our prices, the market’s figures and Spotify’s own charges apart.

Our prices

Progression’s published social packages are $850 a month for Presence, $1,850 a month for Growth and $3,400 a month for Program, listed on our social media pricing page. Release campaigns with paid media and creator work are quoted after a written scope. We do not charge for, price or promise placements, streams or followers.

What the market charges

Other providers publish the ranges below, shown from the typical low through the published high. They are market figures, not a Progression quote, and they do not include ad spend.

What Spotify charges for its own tools

Spotify sets these itself. For Marquee and Showcase, Spotify’s budgeting article says you choose a budget between $100 and $10,000 in US dollars, that the minimum is $250 for a Marquee campaign booked through its local representatives, and that campaigns are priced on a cost per click basis and billed only for the clicks they receive. Prices vary with audience and target market. For Discovery Mode, Spotify charges a commission on streams in the contexts described above, with no upfront cost; the pages read do not state the percentage. Pitching is free. Ad spend, display campaign budgets and any Discovery Mode commission are paid to the platforms and sit on top of agency fees.

How we run Spotify playlist promotion with you

We run Spotify playlist promotion as a release plan rather than a package of placements. We start with the release date and the distributor, agree what is allowed, and work back from the date. It sits inside the work we describe on our music marketing agency page.

What we need from you

We need the release date and distributor, access to Spotify for Artists as a team member, the assets (artwork, audio, short video) and links to your profiles. We also need to know what you can spend on ads and what the song is for.

• The release date, the song titles and the distributor you use.
• Team access to Spotify for Artists, at Admin or Editor level.
• Finished artwork, audio, short video and any lyric or story material.
• Links to your Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and social profiles.
• A budget for ads and creators, and a view of what you can spend.
• A named person who can approve posts and campaign changes.

What we do not do

We do not pay for streams, placements, followers or consideration, we do not use services that do, and we do not promise playlists or streams. If a song already shows signs of artificial streaming, we help you read the data and talk to your distributor.

More pages on promoting music:

• Music marketing agency
• Music PR agency
• Musician branding agency
• Musician website design
• Influencer marketing agency
• TikTok ads agency

Frequently asked questions