Understanding Spotify Playlists:
Editorial, Algorithmic & Listener Playlists
🎧 When it comes to Spotify, one of the most powerful tools for artist growth is playlist placement. However, not all playlists are created equal, and understanding the differences between Editorial, Algorithmic, AI-Mix and Listener (or “User”) playlists can help you navigate the best ways to get your music in front of listeners. Here’s a breakdown of each type, their key characteristics, how they work, and how to get on them.
Editorial Playlists
Editorial playlists are the holy grail for many artists. These playlists are curated directly by Spotify’s team and include well-known collections like RapCaviar, New Music Friday, Lorem, Fresh Finds, and mint. What makes them unique is that they’re the same for every user – they don’t change based on individual listening habits like algorithmic playlists do. If you land on RapCaviar, for example, every user who follows or listens to that playlist will be able to hear your track.
How to Get on Editorial Playlists:
There’s no backdoor into these playlists. The only way to land on one is to pitch your track using the Spotify for Artists dashboard. To pitch, you need to set your release date at least five days in the future, but ideally, you should aim for two weeks to give your submission a better chance of review. The pitching process is largely unknown – no one knows exactly what Spotify’s curators are looking for, and being signed to a label doesn’t guarantee placement, despite rumors to the contrary. About three years ago, Spotify addressed these rumors, stating that labels don’t “own” spots on editorial playlists.
Key Takeaway:
🧠 Editorial playlists are highly competitive, and the only way to get on them is by continuously pitching your tracks. No service or person can “get” you placement on these. Users do not make these playlists. Spotify is the publisher of all Editorial playlists. There are huge, active, organic playlists, made by people other than the curators at Spotify. But those are NOT editorial. And they should be treated with greater scrutiny as such. Editorial = by Spotify.
Algorithmic Playlists
Unlike editorial playlists, algorithmic playlists are tailored specifically for each user, based on their listening habits. These playlists are unique to every listener, meaning that your Release Radar won’t look the same as mine. Popular algorithmic playlists include Discover Weekly, Release Radar, Daily Mix, Your Time Capsule, and Your Summer Rewind.
How Algorithmic Playlists Work:
Spotify uses its recommendation system to decide which tracks end up on these playlists. If your song ends up on someone’s Release Radar, it’s because they’ve listened to you in the past. Discover Weekly, on the other hand, can feature your track if the algorithm determines that a user might enjoy your music, even if they’ve never heard of you.
While no one fully understands the mechanics of Spotify’s algorithm, certain metrics like saves, playlist adds, and week-one streams seem to play a role in how much the algorithm pushes your music. It’s important to avoid sketchy promotion tactics like bot playlists, as bots can’t take meaningful actions like liking, saving, or following. The algorithm relies on this data to match your music to real listeners. If bots are your primary listeners, your song will be shown to other bot accounts – which won’t help your growth.
Key Takeaway:
🧠 Your goal for algorithmic playlists should be to foster organic, non-bot listeners. Good week-one performance can increase your chances of getting a bigger algorithmic push. Avoid services that claim to “trip” the algorithm – these are often hype and guesswork. Getting on these playlists and getting a good algorithmic push out of them will happen automatically, provided you set your release date for some time in the future when you distribute, and provided you have good listener data free of confusing bot-traffic. No one can place you on these playlists. It happens automatically, and there’s no human behind the wheel. There are no human curators of these playlists, so anyone who says they can put you on one is scamming you. Every Spotify user has a unique, different set of algorithmic playlists. My Discover Weekly won’t look like yours. The quality and integrity of your audience matters here. Algorithmic = automatic.
AI-Mix Playlists (DJ, Mixes, etc.)
AI-Mix playlists are Spotify’s next step in leveraging algorithms, but with an added layer of AI to create personalized, real-time playlist queues. Examples include the DJ feature, which dynamically adjusts to user preferences, and Spotify Mixes, which are tailored to mood, genre, or artist preferences, such as Chill Mix, Happy Mix, or Pop Mix.
How AI-Mix Playlists Work:
These playlists are still algorithmic, but the AI personalizes them more dynamically. For example, Spotify DJ creates a live queue that adjusts in real-time based on user interactions. Mixes are crafted using mood-based parameters and are continuously fine-tuned based on user engagement.
Key Takeaway:
🧠 AI-Mix playlists are personalized for each listener, much like algorithmic playlists. They offer a more tailored listening experience, and while artists don’t directly pitch for these, healthy organic engagement with your tracks will increase your chances of being featured in a listener’s custom playlist.
Radio Playlists
Spotify also has radio-style playlists, which are somewhat algorithmic. Radio playlists automatically generate a mix of songs similar to the track, artist, or playlist you’re currently listening to. If you’re added to an artist radio playlist, it’s because Spotify’s algorithm believes you share an audience with that artist.
Radio playlists are meant to put you on a playlist with other artists who are about the same size as you are. Think of this as like pooling your fanbase with other similar artists. Fans of an artist similar to you is likely to listen to their radio playlist if they see their favorite indie artist on it. When the fan listens to it, they might hear you on that playlist too, and they’re much more likely to become a long-term fan of you as well when they discover you alongside an artist they already like.
That’s the idea anyway. It doesn’t always work out that way, as, when you’re just starting out, sometimes Spotify doesn’t have enough data about your audience yet to group you with other artists in a way that makes sense. Try not to take offense to this. Build up your audience over time through safe and trusted means of advertising, and Spotify will find your niche soon enough.
Key Takeaway:
🧠 Radio playlists are algorithmic, but work a little differently than Release Radar or Discover Weekly. This is a broad target algorithm. Meaning, it just tries to put you on a playlist with artists who are similar in size to you (in terms of monthly listeners) and who share a similar audience to yours. When you’re just starting out or if you’ve been botted, the algorithm might add you to radio playlists with unrelated artists. This is usually because Spotify doesn’t have enough data yet to make good decisions about who to put together in a lineup. But if you’ve been botted, you’re going to be on Radio playlists with weird, unrelated artists because the bot’s behavior messed up the algorithm’s understanding of your fan-base. Check your Fans Also Like section on Spotify for Artists to see which artists the algorithm is linking you with. These artists will indirectly influence which radio and algorithmic playlists you’re placed on. To see more about this, scroll back up to the Algorithmic section and check out the slide show.
User-Curated Playlists
Finally, there are user-curated playlists. These are also called “Listener Playlists” by Spotify, but that’s confusing to most people, so we are going to call them “user playlists” as that’s exactly what they are.
They can be created by anyone with a Spotify Premium account, and could be made by a casual listener wanting to save his favorite workout tracks for his gym lineup, to serious playlist curators (who are usually veterans of the blog era, finding a way to continue their work through playlist curation instead).
Some large user playlists can rival editorial playlists in terms of follower count and influence. However, not all user playlists are created equal. Some are organic, while others are filled with bot plays.
Key Takeaway:
🧠 Be cautious when added to large user playlists, especially when you haven’t been submitting to playlists through services like SubmitHub. If you don’t know why you’re on some insanely-active playlist, alarm bells should be going off. Always check the playlist’s authenticity using a tool like Artist.tools to ensure it’s not botted. Bot playlists cross-contaminate data, which is bad for your algorithmic health. Spotify operates under a 90/10 rule, where they will remove your track if they detect that 90% of your streams come from bots.
Final Reminders:
• Editorial Playlists: Curated by Spotify’s team. You have to pitch through Spotify for Artists, and no one can “get” you placement.
• Algorithmic Playlists: Personalized for each user. Organic engagement is key to unlocking a healthy algorithmic push.
• AI-Mix Playlists: These playlists use AI to create dynamic, personalized queues for each user.
• Radio Playlists: Based on artists or tracks with shared audience overlap.
• User Playlists: These are made by regular Spotify users. They vary in size and quality; always vet large user playlists for bots. These are never editorial, as only Spotify can curate an Editorial Playlist. If they say “we’re a record label and this is our Editorial playlist” just know that that’s not a thing, and they’re scamming you.
More On Editorial Placements
If you’re put on an Editorial Playlist by Spotify, you’ll find out when your stream count goes through the roof, and when you check on your Spotify for Artists dashboard, you’ll see “Rap Caviar – by Spotify” as the source of all the activity.
Note that it won’t actually be Rap Caviar though – you have to work your way up the Editorial rank to get on one of their top tier playlists. No one starts there. But, if it says “by Spotify” next to the playlist, congrats! You’re on an Editorial Playlist. If it says anything else, that’s alarming, and you should check the playlist URL on Artist.Tools right away – because it’s probably a bot attack. Report the playlist to us if that happens.
Final Thoughts
As you navigate your playlist strategy, remember that organic growth will always outperform shortcuts in the long run. Protect your data, focus on genuine listener engagement, and keep pitching for those editorial spots! It only takes 2 minutes to do it, and eventually you will get on one. It’s a matter of time, but you have to put in that time and not force yourself to start over every time you get antsy and fall for scammy promo. It’s okay – most of us (if not all of us) have been there. But, moving forward, be patient and avoid those get-famous-quick schemes. They simply will not work in the long run. Keep pushing the right way, and you’ll get there.
Stay in the loop,
– Music Scam Alert Staff
don’t get duped.
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