Pitch writing templates for Spotify editors and curators

A pitch is a placement brief, not a press release. The editor or curator is asking four questions in this order: what does it sound like, where does it fit, why should I trust it, and what happens if I say yes. Write to those questions and nothing else.

That structure works everywhere: in the short written field of Spotify's form, in a curator email, and in a DM. The length changes. The order does not.

The four-part structure

1. Sound. One sentence with a genre, a mood and one production detail. This is the part an editor uses to decide whether to keep reading.
2. Story. One sentence of context: what the song is about, where it was made, or who worked on it. Artist Advisory puts the context and a hook at the centre of a good pitch (Artist Advisory, 15 April 2026).
3. Proof. One real signal that someone outside your circle has responded to the music. Playlist add, radio spin, support slot, press. One is enough.
4. Plan. One sentence that tells the reader what happens next: the release date, the assets you have ready, the promotion you will run.

Four sentences. Bass player, producer, manager and fan all get the same brief because everyone needs the same information as fast as possible. The order matters more than the adjectives.

The Spotify editorial pitch template

Spotify's written field is tight. Guides that have measured the form put it around 500 characters, roughly 80 words (Intonality). It is one paragraph, not a bio. Here is a filled example for a fictional indie folk single:

Hollow Season is a slow-building indie folk song about a town that empties every winter. Fingerpicked guitar, brushed drums and a falsetto hook at 0:48. Fans of Phoebe Bridgers and early Bon Iver will recognise the space. It was written with producer Ana Silva in Lisbon. Out 14 November. A live session video and a 4-week pre-save campaign are ready.

That text covers all four parts in about 420 characters and leaves room for detail. The other fields carry the metadata: up to three genre tags, mood and style, instruments, culture, language and location. Those tags route the pitch to the right editorial team, so accuracy matters as much as the writing.

Two things to leave out of the written field. First, any sentence that could belong to another artist: amazing production, unique sound, something for everyone. Second, any claim you cannot show. Spotify's editors can see your catalogue and your stats; a fabricated comparison is a reason to close the tab.

The curator email template

The same four parts, cut to under 120 words. MusicPulse reports that curators delete most submissions without reading past the first line, and that the working range for a cold pitch is 2 to 8 percent replies (MusicPulse, 21 August 2026). Personalisation is the only part that cannot be templated.

Subject: Indie folk for Winter Walk - 3:42, slow build
Hi Clara, I found Winter Walk through the Ada Lea track you added last month. My new single Hollow Season is fingerpicked indie folk with a falsetto hook at 0:48. It is out 14 November, and the private link is here: [link]. I have a live session video ready for release week. Thanks for listening. - Ana

Five sentences. The first names the playlist and a real track. The middle gives the song facts and the plan. The last is one link and a thank-you. The full email template, including subject lines and the follow-up, is in our pitch email template guide.

What counts as proof

Proof is a signal that did not come from you. The strongest lines are short and checkable:

• A playlist added the last single, named, with the size of the list if it is impressive.
• A radio station or show played it, named.
• A support slot with a bigger artist, named.
• A press piece, named.
• A live session, a canvas, or a video that is ready for release week.

What does not count: total streams under a few tens of thousands, follower counts, friends' quotes, and anything from a paid campaign you cannot explain. Two small honest numbers are worth less than one named placement, because a playlist add is evidence that a real person with a real list made a decision.

Words to cut every time

Most first drafts are twice as long as they need to be. Cut these on sight:

• Bios and backstory. The reader wants the song, not the journey. One clause of context is enough.
• Adjectives. Ethereal, cinematic, genre-defying and unique all get skipped. Replace them with the instrument, the tempo or the reference artist.
• Stream counts. Low numbers hurt. Big numbers from an unclear source hurt too.
• Promises. This is going to be huge tells the reader nothing and reads as pressure.
• Extra links. One link. A second link splits the click.
• Apologies and hedging. I know you are busy and I hope this is okay waste the one line you have.

A useful test: read the pitch and remove your artist name. If it could be sent by any other artist in the genre, it is not specific enough.

Genre and mood tags: accurate, not aspirational

Spotify lets you choose up to three genres, and the tags decide which editor and which recommendation system sees the song. Aspirational tagging is a common own goal: tag a bedroom pop single as hyperpop because the genre is trending, and the pitch lands with the wrong editor and the wrong playlist pool.

1. Pick the tags you would use to describe the song to a friend who knows music, not to a fan.
2. Use the mood fields to say what the song feels like, and the instrument fields to say what it is made of.
3. Use the location and culture fields honestly. Local and cultural editorial teams exist, and a real scene is an advantage.
4. Keep the tags consistent with your release metadata. A mismatch between distributor metadata and pitch tags weakens both.

Five writing mistakes

1. Opening with the story instead of the sound. The reader has not decided to care yet. Give them the sound first.
2. Sending the same first line to everyone. It is the one line that proves you looked. Change it every time.
3. Padding with biography. Long pitches read as work. Short pitches read as respect.
4. Claiming a genre the song is not. Editors check. Wrong tags cost the pitch and the playlist fit.
5. Asking for too much. Ask for a listen. Not a review, not a share, not a guaranteed add.

Write the four sentences once for the release, then rewrite the first line for every recipient. That is the whole system. When the replies come in, log them and reuse what worked on the next single; the find curators guide shows how to build the list, and the service directory shows the paid routes if you would rather outsource the volume.