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How-To: Spotify Playlist Pitching Guide with AI in 2025

How-To: Spotify Playlist Pitching Guide with AI in 2025

It’s no secret that your song’s playlist performance can make or break your release. How likely your song is to be picked is significantly influenced by the quality of your pitch on Spotify for Artists. That’s why we decided to create a guide on Spotify playlist pitching guide with AI.

And let’s face it: Artists are great at making music, but not everyone is great at talking about it. Let Cyanite’s AI song analysis talk the talk while you walk the walk. 

Three Types of Playlists

There are several types of playlists and you can get your track on each one of them. We distinguish between the following playlists:

  1. Algorithmic playlists (Spotify)
  2. Independent playlists (bloggers & curators)
  3. Editorial playlists (Spotify’s curators)

We’ll focus on the last two and provide a playlist pitch template using Cyanite. Independent playlists usually have their own websites, as well as contact details somewhere on the website. They host their playlist on a multitude of platforms including Spotify.

Editorial playlists on Spotify are created by Spotify editors. These playlists can only be accessed via the portal Spotify for Artists. For those who do not yet know how the portal works, here is a quick guide by Ditto.

What is Spotify for Artists?

If you’re going to pitch on Spotify, Spotify for Artists is the tool for you. Any artist can submit a track to Spotify so that Spotify editors can review it and include it in one of the playlists. The editorial team at Spotify accepts only unreleased tracks, so if your song is already on Spotify you won’t be able to submit it. Therefore, before you choose the submission date on Spotify for Artist, make sure you use the pitching option first. At the same time, editors’ review takes time, so you need to submit a song well in advance.

Tip: Submit a track on Spotify for Artists at least seven days before the release (better 2 weeks), to ensure it can be included in the Release Radar of the artist’s followers.

How to Pitch a Track?

Spotify for Artists gives you a step-by-step guide on how to pitch the song. But as with every platform, some tips and tricks can increase your chances of getting onto the playlist. 

Here’s where Cyanite comes into play with its AI song analysis, as it improves the quality of your pitch and makes things more smooth and productive. 

Our tips on how to pitch a playlist using Cyanite’s AI include:

  1. Identify the strongest emotions of the song
  2. Find the right words for the Spotify song description;
  3. Find the most suitable playlists with Cyanite’s Playlist Matching. 

Let’s explore these steps in detail.

Tip 1: Identify the strongest emotions of the song.

The Spotify for Artists portal lets you select two emotions that classify your song the best. Being limited to only two, it is very important to make the right choice here. The emotional and subjective nature of music makes this task particularly difficult.

Spotify for Artists pitching

Here is how you do it with Cyanite’s AI song analysis. Upload your song file as MP3 or via a YouTube link into your library on Cyanite. The song will be analyzed and tags such as genre, mood, energy, or instruments will be available. Also, in Cyanite’s Detail View, you will see how the moods, genres, energy levels, or instruments develop over the duration of the song. 

Here is a scheme that shows how the emotions of Spotify for Artists can be equated with the emotions on Cyanite.

A simple chart showing how the moods on Spotify relate to the moods from Cyanite.

Spotify/Cyanite Moods Translation

If you manage to find emotions that correctly describe your track, it will save time for the editors and you will make a good first impression. This is confirmed by the professionals in the music industry, who often have to deal with tons of music releases. 

Weston McGowen – artist manager at Equal Songs, used Cyanite when submitting songs to Spotify for Artists. Weston remembers that choosing emotions has always been one of the most difficult parts for him.

He says: “The objective view of  Cyanite’s AI helps a lot“. 

Additionally, some of Spotify’s playlists are mood-based, so mood match is the first criteria editors look at. Stephen Cirino emphasizes the relevance of emotion selection in his article on the pitching process:

Choosing the right moods to match your song can help get your music in front of curators for mood-focused playlists such as Mood Booster, Dreamy Vibes, Sad Indie, and more“. So Cyanite’s mood tags might be the most important tags to pay attention to when playlist pitching with AI. 

Additionally, you can choose and match genres, sub-genres, and instruments using Cyanite. Here is the screenshot of the song analysis with all the data:

Screenshot showing the Library in Cyanite's Web App interface with popular songs and tags.

Cyanite Analysis of genre & auto-descriptions

Tip 2: Find the right words for the song description.

Usually, the most important part of the Spotify playlist pitching guides out there is the song description – according also to the editors. In 500 words you need to describe what your song is about and why it is a good match to any of Spotify’s playlists. 

Yes, it is all about the context. Especially when filling in that big blank space where you can describe the song to the editors, everything that gives the editors extra background information about the song has to be packed in here. In the end, it makes their work easier and helps them to build an emotional connection to the music. 

For that, Cyanite’s state-of-the-art Auto-Descriptions and Augmented Keywords are a great choice. Elaborate full-text descriptions plus a word pool of 1,500 music describing terms featuring, genres and moods but also rather abstract terms such as contexts, situations, use cases, and activities solve the blank page problem and make sure the description is bang on. 

We give more detailed instructions and Spotify playlist pitching examples in the article: How to Write Press Releases and Music Pitches with Cyanite.

Spotify for Artists text description

The text pitch should present you as an artist and also include details about the song: your artistic approach, inspiration, collaborations, credits, and future plans can be included here. You can also mention which playlist might be a good fit for the track. 

AWAL, an artist service offered by Sony Music, writes: “It also requires self-classification, which might offer additional value to a DSP that hopes to match a listener’s mood with the appropriate soundtrack, as quickly and accurately as possible“. 

A big part of how listeners experience a song is the way it develops and what turns it takes over the duration of the track. As the name suggests, the Dynamic Emotion Analysis does not only show you what moods a song is made of. It maps the most characteristic peaks and lows and all developments in between. This gives you the data-supported vocabulary to describe certain dynamics of your song and the fine little details that let it stand out. See the screenshot below.

Screenshot of Cyanite's Detailed Song View - showing the moods over the course of the song's duration.

Cyanite detail view with dynamic emotion analysis

Pro Tip: Cyanite Mood Analysis + LLM

Feed a screenshot of the mood analysis chart to an LLM of your choice and ask it to write a description of the song’s emotional dynamic and its duration, to get further inspired. Here’s an example for the song above:

Opening Section (0:00 – ~1:00):

The track kicks off with a strong energetic presence, immediately drawing listeners in with its vibrant intensity. This high-energy start is balanced with hints of an uplifting undertone, giving the introduction a bright and driving quality. The dynamic nature makes it an excellent opener or mid-playlist highlight.

Development and Contrast (~1:00 – ~2:30):

As the song progresses, the energy remains prominent but begins to interact with subtler emotional elements. Uplifting tones shift slightly to make space for a romantic and epic feel, adding depth and intrigue. These layers create a dynamic ebb and flow, ideal for keeping listeners engaged during transitions between more contrasting tracks in a playlist.

Peak and Groove (~2:30 – ~4:00):

In this section, the energy peaks, and the track’s balance of movement and intensity shines. There’s an underlying sensual and smooth vibe, which contrasts beautifully with its punchy rhythm. This moment is perfect for playlists centered on late-night energy or danceable grooves with a touch of sophistication.

Closing Section (~4:00 – End):

The final segment maintains its energetic drive while reintroducing uplifting tones, giving the track a satisfying resolution. The consistent rhythm ensures a strong finish, making it suitable as a climactic point in a playlist or as a segue into lighter, more reflective tracks.

Additionally, to write a text pitch you can use Cyanite’s Auto-Description and Augmented Keywords. These are the keywords that characterize a song in addition to other data on moods, genre, energy level, etc.

 

Screenshot showing Cyanite's Augmented Keywords for the Song "Grow Old With Me" by Tom Odell

Tom Odell’s “Grow Old With Me” analysis – Augmented keywords from Cyanite

You can use these keywords to write a compelling text pitch or just copy and paste them into an LLM of your choice. With some human editing, current LLMs can produce compelling song descriptions and pitches. We tried using a “product description” option, and here is the result for Tom Odell’s Grow Old with Me

Tom Odell’s soothing new song is the perfect soundtrack for any emotional situation. It reminds you that beauty, love, and joy are always close by and will always be a part of your life. The acoustic guitar and piano melodies help create a calm and relaxed atmosphere where you can’t help but feel comfortable.

Tip 3: Filter out the most suitable playlists.

When you click on “Playlist Matching” on the navigation bar and select your song, you will get instant Spotify playlist recommendations – both editorial as well as independent.

Screenshot of Cyanite's Playlist Matching feature in their Web App. The Screenshot shows matching playlists from Spotify for the song "Grow old With Me" by Tom Odell

Cyanite’s Playlist Matching Tab 

Browse through up to 20 playlists and find out which one matches the vibe of your song best. If they are editorial, it is indicated by a little Spotify logo on the top left corner and it will say “Spotify” as the editor. To get to those playlists, please use your Spotify for Artists playlists pitching tool. 

For everything else, you can often google the curator’s nickname and find their profiles on other social media platforms to get in touch about your release there.  

How to best approach these indie curators is well described here and for more great tips on how to promote your music check out this article by Studio Frequencies.

Will I Be Picked?

It is impossible to tell if your track is going to be picked by Spotify. The waiting time to find out is usually from two weeks to a month. If after that time you realize that nothing is happening, don’t worry. Sometimes the track is picked later when it starts to gain traction and listens on Spotify. 

That’s why it is important to continue your promotional efforts after the release and use other platforms including social media. We explain why using ads and social media outreach is so important for Spotify editors in the article: How to Create Custom Audiences for Pre-Release Music Campaigns in Facebook, Instagram, and Google.

What's Next?

Given the continuous streaming hype, mastering the art of playlist pitching seems inevitable.

Nevertheless, because playlists have such an influence on the music industry, it’s a topic that needs critical discussion. In addition to our guide, we recommend these readings on Spotify curatorial practices and playlisting on Musically and BestFriendsClub.

Ultimately, the success with playlist pitching comes with finding the right fit and putting work into correctly tagging the song and writing a song description. You can do that manually or you can use tools like Cyanite if you’re tired of listening to the same track over and over again or if you have large volumes of music to pitch.

Use Cyanite for playlist pitching with AI

If you don’t have a web app account yet, you can also register for our free web app below to analyze music and try our playlist matching.

Cyanite Talks #3 with Josephine Geipel – Music Therapist & Researcher at SRH Heidelberg

Cyanite Talks #3 with Josephine Geipel – Music Therapist & Researcher at SRH Heidelberg

For the third part of our interview series #CyaniteTalks we sat down with Josephine Geipel, music therapist and researcher at the SRH University Heidelberg. Josephine’s insights show us the power of music far beyond its use for entertainment and leisure purposes. 

Learn more in this interview about the healing effect of music for depressive teenagers and how all of us can actively use music as a tool for emotional and mental stability. Enjoy the read.

 

CyaniteHi Josephine, you are a music therapist and teach at the SRH University of Applied Sciences in Heidelberg, to begin we would like to ask how you found your way into this profession and how can music therapy be defined?

Josephine GeipelFirst of all, thank you very much for the invitation to the interview. My journey to music therapy is actually a very classic one, which most of our students also can tell. I made a lot of music at school, went to a musical high school and when it came to choosing a profession, I thought that a social job would be nice. I could imagine myself as a pediatric nurse, a midwife, or special education teacher, and in my investigation I discovered that you can study music therapy and I thought: how crazy is that? I took a small detour, studied theatre studies and worked in cultural management. But then I realized that I needed direct contact with music again and that I didn’t just want to take care of the administrative part of the music business. Finally, when I studied for the second time, I added a master’s degree in Music Therapy on top.

There are actually only 5 universities in Germany where you can study music therapy, which is certainly the reason why the subject is not so well known. Music therapy is now also listed as a small discipline at German universities – a list of small disciplines that are particularly worthy of support and protection.

We define music therapy in Germany as: the use of music within a therapeutic relationship to restore, maintain and promote mental, spiritual or physical health. And what is very important is that this happens within a therapeutic relationship. This distinguishes music therapy from music medicine, which uses music for the same purpose, but does not do so within a therapeutic relationship. Instead, a health professional turns on the jukebox and the music plays. There is no exchange of the effect of the music with the patient and there is no playing of music together.  And this offers a good demarcation of the two areas, since these terms are often confused.

 

“We define music therapy in Germany as: the use of music within a therapeutic relationship to restore, maintain and promote mental, spiritual or physical health.” 

 

CyaniteIs music therapy already an accepted field in medicine or do you still have to fight to justify it?

JosephineIt is actually a very, very old field. Music has been used in medicine for thousands of years. Both with indigenous people and with the advanced ancient civilizations like the ancient Greeks. It is not so much anchored here in our Christian culture. Illness was long seen as God’s punishment and music was used to proclaim the word of God. Only since the 17th/18th century has ‘music as a remedy’ been discussed again. And that is why it is not yet as deeply rooted in our culture as it is in other parts of the world. Nevertheless, today’s music therapy is present in many guidelines for the inpatient care of patients and is an relevant part of the treatment of psychiatric and psychosomatic illnesses. Psychiatric and psychosomatic clinics are the places where most Music Therapists work. However, they are also found in acute medical areas or in rehabilitative institutions. In Germany neurological music therapy, for example, is a growing field where music is used very functionally, e.g. to improve the postural control of stroke patients who have lost certain bodily functions or Parkinson’s patients, where rhythm is used to restore motor functions.

Further, I also work practically in the field of neonatology, i.e. with premature and sick newborns and their families. Here, the main aim is to encourage parents to hum and sing for their child to strengthen their relationship and promote relaxation. Other areas of application are in oncology, palliative care and also in curative education context or in the field of community music.

” In many hospitals music therapy is a relevant part of the treatment of psychiatric and psychosomatic illnesses.” 

 

© Photo by George Coletrain – Unsplash

 

Cyanite: What can music do that other forms of therapy cannot? What makes music so special in therapy?

Josephine: Well, I think the most pronounced thing is that music therapy is one of the therapy methods that also enables the treatment of non-verbal patient groups that cannot come to psychotherapy. These can be people who, due to a limitation, can no longer understand or produce speech, e.g. after a stroke or disability. Or people who no longer have the strength, e.g. in palliative care at the end of life. For them, music can be a different approach to thoughts and feelings that they are dealing with. Or groups of patients who have literally lost their power to speech, e.g. after traumatic experiences or people with depression and anxiety disorders who find it difficult to talk about their feelings and thoughts – to put them into words at all. 

I am mainly researching music therapy with depressive teenagers. Young people are already going through such a difficult phase of change. The brain is being remodelled and might lead to slight mood swings; if an illness such as depression is added, they often find it difficult to access, express and regulate their emotions. Active music-making is a great way to express those feelings that cannot be expressed verbally and then find the words to express them. Music is a kind of opener.

If we look at the symptoms of depression – people withdraw, have little social contact, a depressed mood, low self-esteem and a low level of activity – and then look closely at what actually happens when I make music with a young person; write a song and then record it: We have a common activity in a social relationship. It is something active to make music, it increases the level of activity and music is fun. We make music because we enjoy music. And in the case of a depressive mood, it is doing something that is fun and encourages people to open up. Music picks people up quite well, especially young people. There is no age group that listens and creates music as much as young people. 

Active music-making is a great way to express those feelings that cannot be expressed and then find the words to express them ” 

© Photo by Hans VivekUnsplash

CyaniteWhat does music do to us, that it touches our inside, that it can trigger us or bring certain things to light?

JosephineWell, I am not a neuroscientist who can explain this in detail. But the regulation of mood or one’s own activity level is one of the most important reasons for people to listen to music. Music activates many different areas of the brain that are important in terms of emotional reactions. It directly addresses the limbic system, which is responsible for processing emotions: The body’s own reward system is activated. Music can therefore cause the release of dopamine and endogenous opioids – similar reactions we see with sex or certain drugs. These substances increase our drive, motivation and mood. 

 

CyaniteCan we then also generalize that certain music triggers a positive mood and a high energy level? Or does it differ from person to person?

Josephine: Well, there are certain musical parameters that cause similarities. Music can trigger certain emotions in us, but there are many, many different mechanisms that can underlie this. Some are universal and some are individual. Universal would be the mechanism of musical contagion, i.e. when a song is in a very slow tempo and in a minor key and perhaps the song also has a sad lyric. Through musical contagion, the mood in the music can be transferred to our mood. Scientist discuss whether this really happens via the mirror neurons. Imagine I have a patient who had a car accident – therefore a traumatic experience, and during the car accident ‘Dancing Queen from Abba’ was playing. It’s a very positively charged upbeat song, which most of us would perceive as a happy song, and therefore puts many people in a good mood. However, for the patient who experienced the accident listening to this exact song could trigger a flashback which could brings them directly back into the difficult emotional state experienced during the accident. Then playing this song would be absolutely contraindicated.

There is no music that works the same for everyone, but it depends on the situation you are in, what your current state is, what experiences you have had and so on. There are multiple variables at play in this process, which makes the process highly complex.

 

Cyanite: Algorithms try to make exactly such generalizations. To what extent do you come into contact with artificial intelligence in your profession, and where do you see the greatest potential for integrating this technology into music therapy and medical applications?

JosephineIn my practical work as a music therapist I have less contact with artificial intelligence, but of course both patients and I are surrounded by our environment and therefore also by AI. Patients use health monitoring apps with sleep and movement trackers and are reminded by the app: ‘Now is the time to get up to benefit your health’, so we are already getting in touch with AI. If you look at research projects in the field of psychotherapy, it is also very exciting for the field of music therapy. For example, an embodied AI – like a robot, can be useful for interactions with elderly people who often suffer from social isolation, or for children with autistic children to practice social interaction. Also apps that are used as virtual therapists can, for example, chat with people with depression and thus simulate a therapeutic conversation. AI development is not directly affecting my work, but I can see its presence in fields around me: Research projects are also taking place in our sister disciplines of music medicine and psychology. 

For example, there are many who try to explore the correlation between psychological and physiological parameters to music listening behaviour – that they then analyse and implement in machine learning models. I think that we are still at the beginning, and there is certainly potential for us music therapists to be open to – or at least we should know about what is being developed. In the end our patients will use the products that are developed with the help of these research results, so we have to stay informed. 

There are very exciting projects. There is a research group in Finland at the University of Jyväskylä that is developing a machine learning model to support affect regulation of young people through listening to music via an app. And this is, of course, a topic I am very much involved with, because I often develop playlists with the young people who are in therapy with me. Not based on AI, but completely human. I also believe that in the long term such apps could be included as a support for music therapy treatment. But as with the use of AI in the diagnosis of cancer, in the end the doctor has the last word. And I also think that in music therapy treatment, the music therapist and the patient should participate in the process and have the last word on what is being listened to. Think of the example before with the car accident and the woman, the machine didn’t know the individual case. 

 

CyaniteWhat do you wish for – from a music therapy point of view, for the developers of modern algorithms?

Josephine: Keep the human being in mind.

From my own dealings with technology I know the enthusiasm of: “Wow, what you can do with it!” I think you just have to be careful not to get carried away, to put the machine above the human being. Apart from the fact that the machine does not know the individual case, there are also ethical and social aspects, and social consequences which are not yet foreseeable. We do not yet know how we – humanity – will react to them. With machine learning, it’s madness the speed at which it is developing. If we look at how slowly evolution is proceeding, the question is ‘how quickly we can adapt to these new developments?’.  And I think we have to take a good look at this and, despite all the research in the technical field, we must not lose sight of the ethical, social and data protection issues.

© Photo by Fixelgraphy – Unsplash

CyaniteAs a last question:  What are your tip for everyday people on how to use music at this moment in time where isolation, home office, and lockdowns are still realities for a lot of us?

Josephine: Well, I found the balcony music which has taken place in many cities very nice, because it makes a typical music-psychological phenomenon visible: making music together creates a feeling of community, solidarity and cohesion. I find highly exciting that in such an exceptional situation, we humans intuitively use music functionally as social cement.

For personal listening to music: pay attention to what you put on your ears! Pay attention to what the music you listen to triggers in you – especially in times when you are not feeling so well. Take care that you do not get into a loop. I see this often with depressed patients, that when they are not doing so well, they listen to songs that relate the depressed mood they are in. They have to be careful not to get caught up in this and end up in a rumination loop with musical accompaniment.

And for all of us: start where you are right now and make a playlist that gets you out of a bad mood. The first song can be a song that picks you up out of a depressed mood and then think about what kind of mood you want to be in? Search for a song that reflects this mood, put it at the end of the playlist and then gradually fill it up. 

Thank you Josephine for sharing your insight with us and for your valuable contribution in the field of music therapy!

If you are interested in knowing more about music in relation to therapy, psychotherapy and brain functions, here’s a list of recommendation on the topic: 

Books:

“This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession” 

by Daniel J. Levitin

” Good Vibrations”

by Prof. Stefan Kölsch

“Handbook of Music, Adolescents, and Wellbeing”

by Katrina McFerran, Philippa Derrington, and Suvi Saarikallio

Podcasts:

Clinical BOPulations

Instru(mental)

Musical Health

The European Music Therapy Confederation

Deutsche Musiktherapeutische Gesellschaft

Article on Playlists

Music Therapy ( M.A) – SRH Heidelberg