Pitching Spotify's playlist editors: what to write in the 500 characters

Spotify's playlist pitch is free, and it is the main way in: Spotify's own editors say the Spotify for Artists tool is where all of them go to look for new music. You get one written note, a set of tags and no reply. This guide covers the rules as Spotify states them today, what to put in the note, and what to expect back.

What are the rules, exactly?

From Spotify's pitching help page, as of this writing:

• You can only pitch unreleased songs. Once a song is live, you can't pitch it.
• You pitch one song at a time. When that song goes live, you can pitch another.
• You can't pitch compilations or songs where you are only the featured artist.
• You can edit the pitch up to release day, but editors may not see the changes.
• Spotify asks you to deliver music at least 7 days before release so editors have time to listen. Pitching doesn't guarantee placement, and editors may pick a different song from the one you pitched.

The page gives no character limit, and its 7-day figures are tied to delivery and to Release Radar (below). CD Baby's July 2026 guide says you must pitch at least 7 days ahead. Plan to that; it's the safe reading.

Where does "500 characters" come from?

From distributors, not from Spotify's help page. CD Baby's guide refers to the 500 characters Spotify allows, and a 2020 TuneCore guest post on Hypebot gave the same limit and called it about five or six sentences. We couldn't find the number on any Spotify page, so the counter in the form is the final word. In practice it's 80 to 90 words.

How far ahead should you pitch?

Seven days is the floor, not the target. The TuneCore post advised getting the release into Spotify for Artists at least 3 to 4 weeks ahead. CD Baby says at least four weeks and claims Spotify recommends 4 to 6 weeks, a figure we couldn't find on Spotify's own pages.

Work backwards. Your track shows in the Upcoming tab only after your distributor delivers it, and Spotify says that can take around 48 hours. So send the release to your distributor five or six weeks out, not one week.

What does Release Radar actually guarantee?

This is the part you can count on. Spotify says that if you pitch at least 7 days before release, it adds the song to your followers' Release Radar. Its Release Radar page says that if you don't pitch, Spotify picks the song. Pitching lets you choose.

The same page sets limits. A listener who has already played the song won't get it. Each listener gets one song per artist per week. A song stays eligible for up to 4 weeks for listeners who haven't heard it, and acoustic, karaoke and live versions may be left out. So "guaranteed" means your chosen song reaches followers who haven't heard it yet. Pitch your strongest single, not the album track you're quietly proud of.

Which fields matter?

The tags come first. Spotify's page mentions genre, mood and culture tags in the pitch, and CD Baby adds instrumentation. In 2020 Spotify's editors called the mood and genre answers "incredibly helpful" for getting music in front of the right editor. Pick the tags that describe the track, not the ones attached to the biggest playlists.

Use the note for what the tags can't carry. The same editors asked for the who, what, why, when, where and how of a song, plus press, video plans, release schedules and promotion. Every pitch goes to the whole global editorial team, they said, so naming your location and cultural sound helps the right local team find it. Follower counts and monthly listeners, they said, don't factor in.

How to pitch, step by step

1. Deliver the release to your distributor 5 to 6 weeks before release day.
2. Log in at artists.spotify.com and open Music, then Upcoming.
3. Choose the song. You'll see a pitch form with tag questions and a free-text description.
4. Answer every tag question accurately.
5. Write the note (template below) in a text editor, count the characters, then paste it in.
6. Submit at least 7 days before release, ideally 3 or more weeks before.
7. After release, check Music > Playlists to see where the song landed.

Three example pitches

These are invented examples: the artists, songs and details are made up. Square brackets mark where you'd name real, checkable things.

Example 1, indie folk (456 characters):

"Salt Year" is the second single from Hollow Ferns' debut EP, out 5 September. Our singer wrote it the week her father sold the family boat in Kochi. Recorded live in one room: nylon-string guitar, harmonium, two voices, no click. Quiet, warm, a little sad, for late nights and long drives. For fans of [reference artist] and [reference artist]. A video shot on the same backwaters drops on release day, and we play six dates across South India in October.

Example 2, club electronic (456 characters):

"Pressure Drop Theory" is a 124 BPM club track by Mirella Daw, a Pune producer whose last single was played on [named radio show]. Built around a field recording of the Deccan Queen train, chopped into the kick and hats, with a rolling acid bassline. Made for peak time, not the warm-up. Her debut EP follows in November with a remix from [named producer]. She has a release-week set at [named venue] and a short documentary on the recording for Instagram.

Example 3, Hindi-language band (411 characters):

Rafi & the Late Shift recorded "Overtime" in a Mumbai rehearsal room at 2am after a wedding gig: Hindi lyrics, brass, and a drummer who plays tabla patterns on a kit. It's about working three jobs to keep a band going. Upbeat, sweaty, funny. Lyrics are on the release, with an English translation on our socials. We are booked on [festival] in December and our pre-save link is live on every channel from today.

Each gives a story, a concrete sound, a mood and a plan. None calls the song a "banger".

A template

[Song] is [what it is: single/EP track, genre in plain words] by [artist, city]. [One sentence: why or how it was made.] [One sentence: the sound, naming instruments, tempo or production detail.] [Mood or use: when someone would play it.] [One real, checkable proof point: radio, press, a remix.] [The plan: video, shows, release-week activity.]

Checklist

• Release delivered to your distributor 5 to 6 weeks ahead
• Song visible in Music > Upcoming
• Pitching your strongest single (it becomes your Release Radar pick)
• Every tag answered accurately
• Note under the form's limit, written and counted offline
• Every claim in the note is true and checkable
• Submitted 7+ days before release (aim for 3+ weeks)
• Next song's pitch scheduled for after this one goes live

For the rest of release week, see our guide to Countdown Pages, pre-saves and Canvas. For Spotify's paid tools, see Marquee, Showcase and Discovery Mode compared.

What we think

Pitch every release, but be clear about what you're getting. The editorial placement is the lottery. The Release Radar slot and the tags are the sure return. The last public number Spotify gave is old: in 2020 it said that since pitching launched in 2018 it had playlisted 20% of pitches and 72,000 artists as of February 2020. We couldn't find a newer figure from Spotify, and we wouldn't assume the rate has held. An artist can't judge a channel whose success rate is six years old.

Two rules shape how you should plan releases. One song at a time means a single every four weeks gives you more pitches than an album dropped all at once. That's a structural nudge toward singles. And Spotify lets labels and licensors make a pitch label-only, where the artist and manager can see the song but can't view the genre, mood and culture tags. CD Baby notes that pitch details feed Spotify's recommendations even without a placement. If you're signed, ask in writing to see them.

Last, the pitch is free, and anyone who sells you placement is selling something Spotify's editors say you can't buy. Paying someone to polish 500 characters is your call. Paying for a promised playlist add breaks Spotify's rules.