Which song to pitch? Choosing one focus track per release

Spotify lets you pitch one song per release. That single choice decides which track appears in your followers' Release Radar, which track most editors listen to first, and which track carries your campaign. It is not a vote on your favourite song; it is a decision about which song has the best chance in front of strangers.

Spotify's rules are narrow and worth reading before you start: one song at a time, the song must be unreleased, compilations are not eligible, and songs where you are only a featured artist cannot be pitched (Spotify for Artists). Editors may still add any song from the release on their own, but the pitch, and the Release Radar pick, is tied to the one you choose.

The one-song rule

One pitch means one decision point. Everything downstream concentrates on that choice: the editorial review, the Release Radar slot, the focus track in your ads, the song curators hear first. The good news is you do not have to guess. You can gather evidence before the pitch window opens.

• Release Radar follows the pitch. A pitch sent at least 7 days before release puts your chosen song in front of every follower on release Friday (Spotify: Release Radar).
• Editors can choose differently. Pitching focuses attention, it does not forbid an editor from picking another track. That is another reason to make the whole release coherent.
• You get one shot. Once the song is live, the form is closed. There is no second pitch for the same release.

What is eligible, and what is not

If your song is a collaboration, sort out who pitches before release week. The primary artist on the release is the one with the form. If you are the featured artist, ask the lead artist to pitch the song, and give them the finished note you would have written.

How to choose the focus track

Choose with three questions, in this order.

1. Which song wins in 30 seconds? Streaming is a skip economy. Play the candidates to someone who has never heard them and watch when they reach for their phone. The song that holds a stranger longest is the pitch.
2. Which song fits the most playlists? Compare each candidate with the playlists you can realistically reach. A great album track in an uncrowded sub-genre can beat a single in a saturated one.
3. Which song can you support? The pitch works with the campaign, not instead of it. Pick the song you can make a video for, tour behind and send to curators for six weeks.

MusicPulse's placement analysis makes the same point from the playlist side: pitch the strongest hook, and remember that the first 30 seconds are what most curators actually hear (5 March 2026).

The first 30 seconds decide the pitch

Before you blame an editor, listen to your own intro. If the hook arrives at 0:55, the pitch carries a song that most listeners never fully hear. Ask:

• Does the vocal or the main motif arrive inside the first 20 seconds?
• Is the intro doing a job, or just clearing its throat?
• Does the chorus land before the point most listeners would skip?

You cannot re-cut the master for the pitch, but you can choose the candidate that starts fastest. For a five-song EP, the song with the shortest runway to the hook is usually the right focus track. Artist Advisory's calendar and pitch guide notes that artists should treat the pitched song as the release's flag-bearer across every channel (15 April 2026).

Genre fit: choose the song, then choose the tags

A song can be too eclectic to tag. If the candidate that excites you most straddles three genres and confuses the form, the editor who receives it will not know which playlist meeting it belongs in. The song with one clear genre, one clear mood and one clear production identity gives the pitch something to route.

This does not mean smoothing off your edges. It means choosing the track whose edges fit the shelf. If your most unusual song is the artistic centre of the release, pitch it anyway and accept the trade-off; if you want editorial reach, pitch the song that a genre editor can defend without explanation.

Featured artists and collaborations

Featured artists cannot pitch the track themselves. If the collaboration is genuinely equal, agree in writing which of you owns the release on the distributor side, because that is the account with the pitch form. A common mistake is both artists assuming the other pitched. Check the Upcoming tab a week before release and confirm someone has sent it.

Test the song before you pitch it

1. Send the three candidates to 20 real listeners who do not know you well. Ask which one they played again.
2. Check the skip pattern in an early private share or a live set. The song that survives a room is usually the single.
3. Run a small curator test. Two or three well-matched pitches on a credit platform give you reply data before the editorial window closes. Our service comparison shows what a small test costs.
4. Commit. Once the pitch is sent, the focus track is set for Release Radar and for your campaign. Build the plan around it.

Five selection mistakes

1. Picking your favourite instead of the most immediate. Favourites are for the album; the pitch wants the song that hooks strangers.
2. Pitching the deep cut to stay authentic. There is nothing authentic about reaching nobody. Pitch the song that works, then let the release carry the rest.
3. Assuming your featured collaborator pitched. Confirm it in the Upcoming tab.
4. Pitching a song you cannot promote. If you cannot make a video, play it live or push it for a month, pick the song you can support.
5. Waiting for the "best" song. A strong song pitched 21 days out beats a perfect song pitched at 6 days. Our timing guide explains the window.