How to Get on Spotify Playlists in 2026
There are exactly three legitimate ways onto Spotify playlists, and they have wildly different odds. A ~$150 curator campaign lands about 5 placements. Editorial lands 3–5% of the time.
16 min read
Guides
Practical guides for indie artists
Step-by-step walkthroughs of distribution, the Spotify algorithm, ad spend, and release planning.
How to distribute your music to Spotify in 2026 (the right way)
Everything you need to know before you upload your first track, picking a distributor, preparing your files, setting metadata, claiming your artist profile, and avoiding the mistakes that cost you streams.
5 min read
How the Spotify algorithm actually works in 2026
There isn't one Spotify algorithm. There's a stack of them, and each layer rewards a different listener signal. Here's what each one does and how to feed it.
6 min read
Indie music marketing budget: how to allocate $500 in 2026
A real $500 release budget, split across the channels that matter. No theory: just where to spend, where to skip, and what to expect back.
4 min read
How to pitch Spotify editorial playlists (and what actually works)
Spotify editors read every pitch. Most don't land. The few that do share specific traits we've reverse-engineered after a year of tracking what makes the cut.
4 min read
TikTok music promotion explained: what actually drives Spotify saves
Most TikTok music advice is recycled myths. Here's what real attribution data tells us about which kinds of videos actually drive Spotify saves, and how to spend on creators.
3 min read
Pre-release marketing checklist for indie artists (8-week countdown)
Eight weeks out to release day. What to do, in what order, and what to skip. The exact checklist we run for our own releases.
4 min read