Spotify Promotion Options Compared (2026): Pitching, Spotify’s Own Tools and Targeted Ads

Last checked: 8 October 2026 · How these guides are checked

Disclosure: MusicPromoLab sells music promotion. Every claim below links to its source at the end.

MusicPromoLab publishes this page and sells one of the options compared. Every option is described on the same six criteria, from its provider’s own pages, and the rows follow the sections below: they are not a ranking.

What does Spotify’s free editorial pitch give you?

A free chance at Spotify’s editorial playlists, plus your followers’ Release Radar, if you pitch at least 7 days before release [3]. Spotify calls playlist pitching “100% free” [2]. You pitch one unreleased song at a time from Spotify for Artists, and a song can’t be pitched once it’s live [3].

The limit is control. Spotify states that “Pitching doesn’t guarantee playlist placement,” and its editors might pick a different song than the one you pitched [3]. The placement Spotify does commit to is Release Radar for your followers [4]. The Is my song ready for Spotify? check and the Spotify pitch writer help with the pitch, and how to pitch Spotify editorial playlists covers the rules.

How do SubmitHub, Groover and Playlist Push differ?

All three sell a curator’s attention, not a placement; they differ in who picks the curators and how the price works [7] [9] [11]. SubmitHub shows each curator’s price before you send, with premium credits from $1 and a reply due within 72 hours on premium sends [6] [7]. Groover also lets you pick every contact, at €2 each, with written feedback due within 7 days [10] [9]. Playlist Push sends the song to the curators in your chosen genres, from $280 a campaign, and curators have 2 to 4 weeks to review it [12] [13].

The upside is a price you know before you send. The limit is shared by all three: curators decide, and Playlist Push says its curators are “neither required nor incentivized” to add songs [11]. The SubmitHub vs Groover vs Playlist Push guide compares them in detail and adds four alternatives.

When do Discovery Mode, Marquee and Showcase fit?

When your numbers pass Spotify’s thresholds: 1,000 streams in 28 days in a target market for Showcase, plus 5,000 monthly active listeners there for Marquee [18]. Both display formats take a budget of $100 to $10,000, charged per click with saves counted as clicks [19]. Marquee is a full-screen pop-up for releases in their first 21 days, and Showcase is a banner for any release [18]. Spotify’s report follows what listeners did for 14 days after seeing a campaign [20].

Discovery Mode needs 25,000 monthly listeners and songs at least 30 days old. It has no upfront budget and takes a 30% commission on what the chosen songs earn in Radio, Autoplay and Mixes [16] [15]. The strength of all three is placement inside Spotify, with Spotify’s own reporting; the limit is the entry bar. Spotify says display campaigns work alongside Discovery Mode and playlist pitching [22]. The details are in Spotify Marquee vs Showcase and Discovery Mode vs playlist promotion.

How do targeted ads run by a service work?

A service runs ads that show your song to people chosen for their taste in music, and each person decides whether to press play. Some pitching platforms now include ads as well: SubmitHub’s packages run ads alongside curator sends [23].

Ads don’t depend on a curator’s yes or on Spotify’s thresholds, so they’re open to an artist at any stage. The limits: it’s a cost for as long as it runs, and no legitimate service guarantees a number of streams; Spotify’s rule is that “Paid 3rd-party services that guarantee streams aren’t legitimate” [24]. You read the effect in Spotify for Artists, where Source of streams shows where on Spotify people played your music [8].

MusicPromoLab is one of these services and the publisher of this page. MusicPromoLab runs targeted ads that put your song in front of real listeners who already love music like yours.

What does release-day posting alone reach?

Mostly the people who already know you: Spotify notifies your followers and puts songs from the release in their Release Radar [1] [4]. Release Radar updates every Friday, and if you didn’t pitch, Spotify picks which song your followers get [4]. Your own posts reach the people who follow you there. It costs nothing, and it’s the base every other option builds on; the release week content planner turns release day into a week of posts.

How do you combine pitching and promotion?

Pitch first, at least 7 days before release, then add the paid route that fits your numbers and your budget [3]. In order:

• Before release: set the dates with the music release planner, which works back from release day to the pitch deadline.
• 7+ days before: send the pitch, so your followers get the song in Release Radar [3].
• Release week: post for your followers; if you qualify, Marquee has to start within 21 days of release [18].
• After release: a curator platform or targeted ads for new listeners, and Discovery Mode once a song is 30 days old and you pass 25,000 monthly listeners [16].
• Throughout: check Source of streams in Spotify for Artists to see where the plays come from [8].

Spotify reports that, on average, artists who combined display campaigns with Discovery Mode saw “2x greater growth in monthly active listeners” than with Discovery Mode alone [2]. Is Spotify promotion legit? lists quick checks for any service, and the Spotify promotion cost guide puts every price side by side.

Keep reading: SubmitHub vs Groover vs Playlist Push · All guides · Free artist tools

Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB. The names SubmitHub, Groover and Playlist Push belong to their owners and are used here only to identify their services. MusicPromoLab is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with any of them.