Most advice about editorial playlists is really about Spotify, because Spotify has a pitch form that every artist can use. But Apple Music and Deezer have their own editorial teams, often organised by region and genre, and their listeners are not the same people. Pitching to Apple Music and Deezer works differently, and doing it well is mostly a matter of having the right information ready early.
Why look beyond Spotify
Every service has listeners who rarely open the others. Apple Music is the default for many iPhone users, and Deezer has a loyal audience in France and several other countries. If your music fits those listeners, ignoring their editors means ignoring them.
Editors on these services are often grouped by region and genre. A local editor whose job is to find new music from your country or your scene is looking for exactly the kind of release a big global list would never notice. And a placement on one service gives you something real to mention when you approach radio, press or other curators.
How the routes differ
Spotify
The artist sends one unreleased song to the editors from Spotify for Artists, together with information about it. It is a direct route that you control yourself.
Apple Music
Apple Music for Artists is mainly for your profile and your data. It has no open pitch form for every independent artist like the one Spotify offers. Apple's editors mostly hear about new music from labels and distributors who are in contact with their teams, and from their own listening. Check the current tools, because these things change.
Deezer
Deezer's artist tools also focus on the profile and statistics. Editorial pitches usually come through labels and distributors, and many markets have editors who follow local music closely. Here too, check what the platform currently offers artists directly.
The common thread: these pitches pass through someone who knows the editorial teams, and they need to arrive before release day, ideally several weeks ahead. CULT's New Artist plan includes pitching to editorial playlists. Like any pitch, it puts your song in front of editors. It does not guarantee a place.
What editors need to know
An editor listens to the song first. After that, they want facts that help them decide quickly where it might fit:
- Genre and subgenre, mood and energy, in plain words.
- Language of the lyrics, and dialect if it matters.
- Where your listeners are: countries and cities. This tells a regional editor whether the song is for their audience.
- The story in one line: what the song is about or what makes it different.
- Two or three honest comparisons: artists your listeners also play, not superstars you hope to sound like.
- Your plan: video, shows, radio, press, a collaboration, anything that will bring listeners in the release weeks.
- One real signal: for example, that your previous single kept growing after release week, or that a local radio station already supports you.
All of this only helps if the release itself is in order. Final audio, final artwork and correct metadata delivered on time are the minimum.
Writing a short pitch text
Keep it to four or five sentences. Editors read many pitches a day, and a long biography makes it harder for them to find what they need.
A simple structure:
- What the song is: genre, mood, language.
- Its story or hook in one sentence.
- Who it is for and where those listeners are.
- What you are doing around the release.
- One concrete signal that people respond to your music.
Here is an example for a made-up artist:
"Salt Wind" is a slow electronic pop song in English and Azerbaijani by Aren Vale, about leaving a seaside town. Soft female vocals over warm synths, for late-night and chill playlists. Most of Aren's listeners are in Baku, Istanbul and Berlin. The release comes with a music video and two club shows in Baku. Her previous single was added to a local radio station's rotation and is still growing a month after release.
What to leave out: words like "hit", "masterpiece" and "unique sound", promises about numbers, long lists of links, and anything you cannot back up. Write in clear English unless you know the team works in your language, and adjust the third sentence for each market so a regional editor sees why the song belongs to their listeners.
After you pitch
Editors receive far more songs than they can place, so most pitches end without a playlist, even good ones. Do not send the same song through several routes at once, and do not chase editors in their private messages.
Your release still has a life without editorial support. Personalised and algorithmic playlists react to what listeners do, such as saving the song and coming back to it, so your own promotion keeps mattering on every platform. Keep a simple log of each release: which song was pitched, through which route, and what happened. After a few releases you will see which services respond to your music, and where to put more effort next time.