How to Get on Spotify's Algorithmic Playlists (2024)

As a music lover, how do you discover music when there are millions of songs to sort through? Typically, it’ll be through playlists, and because of them, music discovery has never been easier.

There exist three major types of playlists on Spotify: listener playlists, editorial playlists, and algorithmic playlists. Listener playlists can be made by anyone with a Spotify user account and vary in influence. Just as being added to a popular playlists can get your name out there, creating and promoting your own Spotify playlists can help you gain followers and engage with listeners, too.

Editorial playlists are made by the Spotify team and often have millions of listeners. Some examples include: Today’s Top Hits (34.7 million followers), RapCaviar (15.9 million followers), and New Music Friday (4.2 million followers).

In this article, we’ll focus on algorithmic playlists: playlists that are automatically created by Spotify’s software algorithm. They are personalized depending on a listener’s music habits.

Here are the seven different types of algorithmic playlists on Spotify, and how to get on them:

Submit your music to Spotify playlists ⬇️

1. Types of algorithmic playlists on Spotify

Daily Mix

Daily Mix is a playlist that is updated daily and contains songs and artists a user already listens to. The algorithm examines listening patterns and creates up to 6 different daily mixes that are grouped by genre or vibe so users can choose what mood they’d like to tap into.

Discover Weekly

Discover Weekly is the algorithmic playlist that contains music the listener has not yet heard, and it changes every Monday.

If a listener likes indie pop and chill music, they will not find heavy metal on their Discover Weekly playlist. Unlike the Daily Mixes, Discover Weekly is all about showing a user new songs that fit in with their listening habits. The playlist can be very hit or miss, but is usually where people discover their new favorite song or artist.

Release Radar

Release Radar is the algorithmic playlist that includes new releases from artists that a user follows or listens to. If users are following your artist profile, your new music will automatically show up in this playlist when it is released. Release Radar is updated every Friday.

On Repeat

On Repeat compiles a user’s current favorite songs – a.k.a what they’ve been listening to the most over the past 30 days. It combines genres and moods and regroups songs that the listener has been playing nonstop.

Repeat Rewind

Repeat Rewind playlist is like On Repeat, but it goes further back in time. It’s a playlist created by Spotify’s algorithm that compiles the user’s most played songs from further than just a month back.

Spotify Radio

Spotify Radio is playlists are generated on the spot by a user. They can be created by using a song, artist, album, or playlist as inspiration. Users can click on the three little dots next to a song, artist, etc, click “radio”, and will be led to a personalized Spotify playlist containing about 50 songs similar to whatever source the listener used to generate it.

Your Top Songs

Your Top Songs is the Spotify algorithmic playlist that contains the top 100 most played songs for a listener in that calendar year. Listeners can see their statistics and listening habits from a whole year using this feature of the Spotify Wrapped campaign.

2. How to get on Spotify algorithmic playlists

Now that you know the types of algorithmic playlists that exist, how do you get your songs onto them? Unlike editorial playlists that are pitched to directly using Spotify for Artists, songs get on Spotify algorithmic playlists organically. You cannot buy or pitch your way into these playlists.

Spotify’s algorithm creates personalized playlists based on user behavior, such as number of streams, user engagement, playlist relevance, and listener demographics. Thus, the likelihood of getting into them is up to the listener. Here are a few things to do that can help:

Invite your friends and listeners to follow you on Spotify

When a user is following your profile, your new music will automatically show up in their Release Radar playlist. This is the easiest way to be placed in an algorithmic playlist. It also is a simple technique to keep your community up to date with your projects. You can incite fans and followers to pre-save your track before it is released so it automatically appears in their Spotify library as soon as it comes out. This is great for data on your initial streams.

If you already have a substantial following and your artist profile appears on other artist’s “Fans also like” section, the chances of your song being placed in algorithmic playlists are much higher as well.

Pitch your songs to listener playlists

Pitching music to user-generated playlists can help gain followers among Spotify users, and in turn, boost your chances of landing in an algorithmic playlist. When your music is added to a playlist, Spotify keeps tabs on what other artists are in it as well. The more often you are grouped in with similar artists, the more the algorithm with associate you with them. Your music may then show up in the Discover Weekly and Spotify Radio playlists of users who listen to those artists.

The best way to pitch your songs to influential listener playlists is by using Groover – we have a ton of playlist curators to look through and submit to!

Work on getting streams directly upon release

Spotify’s algorithm notices when songs are getting attention, and the quicker a song gets streams upon release, the more streams it will generate down the line.

The best strategy is to promote your song as much as you can before and after it is released. Announce it on social media, create a pre-save link, make fun content surrounding it, put the pre-save and eventual stream links in your bio, and encourage friends to share. The more other people share your song, add it to their personal playlists, and follow your artist page, the more attention it will get from the algorithm.

Release music regularly and keep your audience engaged

Regular releases increase your chances of being featured on Spotify’s algorithmic playlists, helping you reach new listeners and boost your discovery potential. The more often you release music, the more listeners will visit your profile. It’s becoming more and more popular to release singles nowadays with no larger project on the horizon, so go for it.

3. How long does it take to get on Spotify algorithmic playlists?

New releases will show up on Release Radar playlists on the Friday following its release. If you release your music on a Friday, it should show up on the same day.

It can take a couple weeks for Spotify to gather sufficient data to place your new track in the other algorithmic playlists. Once you start getting a sufficient number of streams on your music and thus listeners, the algorithm will identify similar artists that your fans are also listening to and the process will speed up naturally.

4. How do you trigger the algorithm on Spotify?

Certain techniques should be kept in mind to trigger the algorithm on Spotify and have it work in your favor:

The first 30 seconds

If a listener gets past the first 30 seconds of your song without skipping it, Spotify considers this as positive data. If a listener skips the song within the first 30 seconds, this is bad for the algorithm. To trigger an algorithmic boost, your song should captivate the listener from the very start.

Confirm and customize your Spotify for Artists profile

If you’re just starting out, make sure to claim your Spotify for Artists profile and customize it (heading photo, artist bio). This is important in building your identity, but is mostly to show Spotify that you are active on the platform.

Using Spotify tools like Canvas

Spotify has created tools like Canvas to add visuals to your music, as platforms are leaning more towards video content. Check out our full article on how to use Spotify Canvas here.

Pitch your song to editorial playlists

Pitching your song directly to Spotify’s editorial playlists before your release can be a game changer. These playlists trigger the algorithm and have thousands, sometimes millions, of followers. If your song lands in an editorial playlist, your streams and followers will skyrocket.

When you pitch a song, you have to add tags that categorize the mood of the music and the genre. All of this data can boost your chances of triggering the algorithm and being added to playlists with the same tags. It is recommended to submit your pitch to the editorial team at least 1 to 2 weeks before your release date.

The first 24 hours

When a song is released, the following 24 hours are what matter the most to the Spotify algorithm. If there is enough traffic on the song within the first day, the algorithm will boost it and push it to similar listeners. Getting streams, shares, saves, and playlists adds right off the bat will increase positive data on your song and boost it.

Playlist adds

Getting your music playlisted is a win, whether it’s into algorithmic and editorial playlists or user-generated ones – it’s one of the best ways to trigger the algorithm and get more streams. When lots of listeners add your song to their playlists, the algorithm notices. So, the more the merrier.

Check out the LinkedIn post by Spotify’s founder and CEO highlighting the importance of independent and third-party playlists ⬇️

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Now that you know how to get on Spotify algorithmic playlists, go ahead and contact playlist curators on Groover ⬇️

Mackenzie Leighton

Mackenzie Leighton is an indie-folk musician and florist originally from the Northeast United States. She has called Paris home since 2017, and her most recent EP "Fleuriste" is now available on all streaming platforms. Catch her at her next show in Paris! Main influences: Julia Jacklin, Devendra Banhart, Andy Shauf, Angel Olsen.