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Part 2/2: Real Pitch Examples and the Submission Process That Gets Results

You know the three elements of a great Spotify pitch from Part 1. Now let's look at how these actually come together in real pitches I've written with musicians, then I'll show you the submission process and what to do when things don't go your way.

Real Pitch Examples

Here are some actual pitches I've written with musicians from the video:

High. (the band)

A few things to note: we start out trying to create some curiosity and use some of the micro-genre terms that show we are familiar with the community. You want to show the playlist curator that you get the genre. In the second sentence, we name-drop cosigns to show they are part of this community. The third sentence identifies traits and target playlists—we made sure these were all playlists where the artists were in the early part of their playlist journey. The last sentence does a laundry list of promotions they're doing, including dropping the name of the label they're on, since it shows they're part of a community.

Incel Hypebeast

Since I want to show you some examples of a route you can go if you have no cosigns, here's what I did:

In the first sentence, I tried to create curiosity with a strange proposition. In the second sentence, I abbreviated the song title to make sure I get below the 500-character limit. Since the song title is "Bud Chasing the Woke Mind Virus," that takes up 7% of the characters of the pitch, so I got a nice shortcut. I don't love describing the song as much as I try to keep stimulating curiosity to listen, since that's all I got—I can't use cosigns here.

Another Example

In this one, I had such a strong curiosity, and a cosigns pitch, I skipped the promotions part since it's the least important part of the pitch.

The Five Rewrites Rule

Now that you have this pitch written, show it to other people and rewrite it five different ways.

I know you're thinking there's no way you're going to write a Spotify pitch five different ways after graduating high school. But the reason you need to do this is that every one of those distributors and major labels has a team—a manager, an A&R person, a marketing person, someone at the label, and a publicist who are going to go through this pitch and make sure it's solid.

The hardest part of this is getting it below 500 characters, and that often takes work. Not only are you going to write it five different ways, but you're also going to show it to a couple of trusted people. Exaggeration and selling are good. Don't let the outside eyes convince you to be modest. Be excited and slightly oversell yourself and even bluster a little bit. The curator is not assuming you wrote it and is used to managers and A&R overselling their artists.

That's why Ben from The Dillinger Escape Plan managed himself—it's good to be bold here and really sell it.

The Submission Process: Strategic Choices Matter

Open Spotify for Artists, click that upcoming tab, and submit it for consideration.

Choosing Your Genre

First, choose a genre. It may be helpful to look around at some of the playlists that you may want to be on and consider genres if you border on some of the different ones. Think about this strategically.

This isn't just about accuracy—it's about opportunity. If you're a rock band with electronic elements, should you submit as "Rock" or "Electronic"? Look at which genre has more active editorial playlists in your style. Check which genre playlists are actually adding new artists right now. Sometimes the less obvious choice is the smarter move because there's less competition or more curatorial activity.

Choosing Your Style

Next, choose a style. Going for what's popular is not always the move. There are different strategies here. You should know your playlist landscape. Since you can choose up to two, I would always do so. But if it's a total lie for the second one, don't waste the curator's time and click on something that's not appropriate for the music because they're just going to skip you.

Mood and Song Style

Choose two moods and two song styles. You don't always need to choose a culture if you don't feel comfortable with it.

This is where understanding your playlist journey matters. Go look at the playlists you want to be on and see what tags those artists are using. If every artist on your target playlist tags "Chill" and "Melancholy," those tags clearly work for that curator. Don't get creative here—get strategic.

The Location Advantage

Location is also important since Spotify is really going in on location-based playlists right now. There are tons of them all around the world and in different cities and regions. I see them popping up more and more.

If you have a choice of where to identify as an artist by location—whether it's your hometown or a city you border—make sure you do some research and see if they're going hard on the playlists around your local area, and if you'd fit better on one.

Here's the trick most musicians miss: some cities have way more active regional playlists than others. If you're from a suburb near a major city that has a thriving playlist scene, claim that city. If you split time between two places, pick the one with more playlist activity in your genre. This isn't lying—it's being strategic about how you present yourself.

Submit Your Pitch

Paste your pitch and submit it.

Now you wait. But that doesn't mean you stop working.

If You Don't Get Placed: The Recovery Strategy

If you fail and don't get on any playlist, all that work wasn't for nothing. You now know so much more about yourself and how to pitch yourself for tons of other things.

Keep pushing yourself to put out singles so you build momentum for your next release, because each song sets up the next song for success. Keep in mind, you could use a nearly identical pitch each time, but I would tweak something small each time, specific to the song.

Here's what actually moves the needle for your next submission:

Enjoying this? Forward it to a music friend you’d like to be closer to and start a discussion!

Build Your Playlist Resume

Do everything you can to get more followers and build up your streams so the next pitch goes through well. Especially do pitches to independent curators who aren't Spotify—the more independent playlists you get on, the more likely you are to get an editorial playlist placement the next time.

This is crucial. When a Spotify curator looks at your artist profile before listening, they're checking if other curators believe in you. Three placements on respected independent playlists in your genre carry more weight than 10,000 streams from playlist-for-pay schemes. Quality cosigns matter.

The Momentum Strategy

Every release should be slightly better positioned than the last one. If your first single got you on two indie playlists, your second should aim for four. If you got 500 streams on the last one, push for 1,000 on this one. Spotify's algorithm notices upward trajectories. Curators notice artists who are building rather than stagnant.

Use the same pitch structure for your next single, but update it with any new wins. Got featured on a blog after your last release? That goes in the pitch now. Picked up 100 new followers? Your momentum is growing. Played a show with a bigger artist? That's a new cosign.

What Actually Changes Between Submissions

The core of your pitch—what makes you exciting or curious—probably stays similar across releases. But these elements should evolve:

Your cosigns get stronger with each release. The playlist suggestions you make should reflect your growing presence. The promotion list should show escalating ambition. Even if you're still DIY, "Second single building on 2,000 streams from debut" shows progress.

The Long Game

Getting on a Spotify editorial playlist is rarely a first-try success for DIY artists. It's usually the result of consistent releases, growing streams, expanding playlist presence, and refined pitching. Each rejection is data—what worked in your pitch, what didn't, where your music is actually finding an audience versus where you thought it would.

Some artists get placed on their fifth single. Some are on their fifteenth. But the artists who get there are the ones who treat each submission as part of a larger campaign, not a lottery ticket.

Keep releasing. Keep refining your pitch. Keep building your independent playlist presence. Keep growing your community. The editorial placement usually comes after you've proven you don't need it—which is exactly when Spotify wants to amplify you.

You now have everything you need to write a Spotify pitch that actually represents your music well and gives you a real shot at editorial placement. Most musicians never learn this skill and wonder why their great songs go nowhere. You're not most musicians anymore.