You've pitched your song to a pile of Spotify playlists and heard nothing back, or you got added somewhere and nobody listened. Usually that's a fit problem: the playlists were wrong for the song. To find the right Spotify playlists, start from artists your listeners already like, look at the playlists where people actually discover those artists, then spend two minutes checking each one is real and active before you pitch. The first round takes an evening, and the list keeps working every release after that.

On 1 October 2026, Digital Music News reported that Spotify's biggest playlists, including RapCaviar and Today's Top Hits, have lost followers every month since the fake-stream crackdown began around April 2025, while third-party playlists carry 80 to 92% of discovery for artists under a million monthly listeners [1]. Then on 20 October 2026 Spotify said it now hunts "spammy playlist networks" [2]. For a small artist, that means the target is a playlist that fits and is real.

Why aren't the biggest playlists the goal any more?

The follower drop at the very top is small on paper, topping out at a 2.6% slip for RapCaviar [1]. The same report points to a 30% to 50% fall in RapCaviar listening over that window, though [1]. Big generic independent lists are shrinking as well. "Country Hits 2026" lost 6.2% of its followers over 12 months and "Dance Music 2026" lost 10% [1].

Meanwhile the median follower count for third-party playlists is up 70% since January 2023, against 19% on the editorial side [1]. For a small artist, those third-party playlists are where most of your realistic targets are. Spotify's own help pages say listener playlists "can influence other playlists" and tell Spotify what to recommend [6]. Spotify also says it has taken more than 50 million slop and spam tracks out of recommendations this year, and says its recommendation updates aim to "surface more music made by authentic, human artists" [2].

Our data: most real playlists are small

Across the 23,718 playlists in our database, the median playlist has 938 followers. A quarter have 221 or fewer, three quarters have 4,106 or fewer, and only one in ten has more than 17,268. Genre doesn't change the picture much: EDM, the biggest genre we track with 3,298 playlists, has a median of 1,050 followers, and rap (2,806 playlists) sits at 982.

Source: MusicMinutes database of 23,718 Spotify playlists with a listed curator contact route (botted and payola playlists removed), follower counts and quality scores refreshed weekly; checked 31 Oct 2026.

So a playlist with a few thousand followers is already bigger than most real ones, and that's the size you should be aiming at. Every one of those 23,718 playlists can be searched by similar artist in Playlist Search.

Honestly, I'd take a small playlist full of people who love my exact sound over a huge "Hits" list where my track sits between two megastars and gets skipped.

Step 1: pick the right similar artists

Everything below starts with a list of 5 to 10 artists whose fans would probably enjoy your song. Get this part wrong and every playlist after it will be wrong too.

If you already have some listeners, open your own artist profile and look at the "Fans also like" row. Spotify builds it from your fans' listening habits, and you can't edit it [3]. That's exactly why it's useful. These are the artists your real listeners play.

If your profile is new and that row is empty or a bit random, pick comparables by hand. Be strict with yourself:

  • Pick artists one or two steps above you. If you have 2,000 monthly listeners, look at artists in the tens of thousands, not a household name.
  • Skip the superstars. They sit on editorial lists and giant playlists that won't take a small artist, so their pages send you to the wrong places.
  • Match the sound, not the career you'd like to have. Play your track and theirs back to back. If the jump feels jarring, they're the wrong pick.

If you'd struggle to name five honest comparables, ask a friend who listens to your genre which artists your song reminds them of.

Step 2: find the right Spotify playlists in "Discovered on" and your own data

Open each similar artist's page on Spotify. Scroll past Discography, Featuring and Appears On and look for "Discovered on", a short row of playlists that, going by the name, are where listeners came across that artist. Spotify has moved this row around over the years and doesn't publish how it picks the playlists, so if you can't see it in the app, try the web player at open.spotify.com.

It isn't every playlist the artist is on, but it's the best free clue you have.

Write down every playlist that isn't Spotify editorial (editorial ones are marked in the byline [6]) and isn't a giant generic list. Watch for repeats. A playlist that shows up for three of your comparables is probably a strong fit.

Then look at your own data. In Spotify for Artists, go to Music, then Playlists. It shows the top 100 playlists your music has been added to, ordered by how many of your listeners came from each one, as long as at least 3 people listened there, and only for the last 12 months [4]. Any independent playlist in there has already proved it works for you, and the other artists on it lead you to the next ones.

Step 3: the two-minute check on each playlist

This is the slow part. One writer quoted in our guide to editorial vs independent playlists called filtering playlists down to the real, active ones "a time-consuming hell". Hard to argue with. So cap it at about two minutes per playlist and check these:

  • Fit: niche playlists for your exact genre beat broad ones. Play five tracks from the middle of the list, not just the top. Would your song sound normal sitting there?
  • Active: look at when tracks were added. If nothing new has gone in for months, move on.
  • Small artists: are there names you don't recognise with modest listener counts? If it's all major-label hits, it probably won't take you.
  • Real: be wary of a huge follower count on a very generic title, a stack of near-identical playlists from one owner, or any offer to pay for a spot. Spotify says services that promise playlist placement for money break its terms, and buying streams could get your music removed [5].
  • Contact: is there an email, Instagram or submission link in the description or on the curator's profile? No way to reach them means no pitch.

If the checking is what eats your evening, that's the part Playlist Search on MusicMinutes speeds up. It's on the paid plans, and you can search around 24,000 bot-checked organic playlists by similar artist (or by genre, mood and keyword). Each playlist has a quality score, plus analysis of how active it is and how many small artists it features, and a verified curator contact. You still send the pitch yourself, by email, Instagram or the curator's own link.

Submission platforms such as Groover and SubmitHub do a different job. You upload a track to a curated network and get a quick answer or feedback, which is handy for testing a song. Building your own list is slower, but you keep it. The two can work well together.

Step 4: keep a shortlist that grows every release

Put every playlist that passes into a simple sheet. Columns: playlist name, link, why it fits (one line), contact, date pitched and result.

Next release, you don't start from zero. You go back to the curators who added you, drop the ones who ignored you twice, and add new names from your newest comparables. Give it a year and that sheet is your own network of curators.

When you're ready to write to them, keep it short and personal. Our guide on how to pitch your song to playlist curators covers what to say.

What not to do

  • Don't chase huge generic "Hits 2026" lists just because they're big. Those are the ones losing followers [1], and a big list that doesn't fit your sound won't find you real fans.
  • Don't pay for a spot. It breaks Spotify's terms [5]. If your song lands on a playlist that looks suspicious, Spotify gives you a way to report it [5].
  • Don't mass-pitch off-genre. A lo-fi curator gets nothing from your drill track, and they'll remember your name for the wrong reason.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does "Discovered on" show every playlist an artist is on?

No. It shows a handful of playlists, not the full list, and Spotify doesn't say how they're chosen. That's why you check several similar artists rather than one.

How many similar artists should I use?

Five to ten is a good start. Fewer and you miss playlists. More and you start drifting away from your actual sound.

Are small playlists worth pitching?

Yes, if they're real, active and fit your sound. Third-party playlists, not just Spotify's own, carry 80 to 92% of discovery for artists under a million monthly listeners [1], and a small list that fits is worth more to you than a big one that doesn't.

Can I see which playlists my own music is on?

Yes. In Spotify for Artists, go to Music, then Playlists. It shows up to 100 playlists from the last 12 months, as long as at least 3 people listened to your music there [4].

Is it OK to pay a curator to add my song?

No. Spotify says any service that promises playlist placement in exchange for money breaks its terms and shouldn't be used [5]. Walk away from anyone who asks.

References

Facts checked 31 October 2026 by Paul Nicholls against the sources below.