Playlist Placement Pricing: Understanding Legitimate Costs

Playlist placement pricing varies dramatically between legitimate pitching services and problematic pay-for-placement schemes. Understanding the difference helps musicians invest in effective playlist promotion while avoiding services that waste money or violate platform terms.

What Legitimate Playlist Pricing Includes

Legitimate playlist services charge for:

• Curator consideration (not guaranteed placement)
• Pitch submission and distribution
• Feedback from curators
• Access to curator networks

Legitimate services cannot guarantee placement because real curators make independent decisions based on music quality and playlist fit.

Legitimate service pricing examples:

• SubmitHub: $1-4 per submission (premium credits)
• Groover: $2-3 per curator submission
• Playlist Push: Campaign-based pricing, typically $150-450
• Daily Playlists: Similar campaign pricing structures

These prices buy consideration, not placement. Acceptance rates typically range from 10-30% depending on music quality and targeting.

How Illegitimate Pricing Differs

Problematic services offer guaranteed placements at fixed rates:

• “$50 for 5 playlist placements guaranteed”
• “$200 for 10,000 streams from playlists”
• “100% acceptance rate”

These guarantees indicate artificial playlists with fake followers or payola arrangements. Such placements provide:

• No real listeners
• No algorithmic benefit
• Risk of platform penalties
• Wasted money on empty metrics

Key Considerations

• Legitimate services charge for submission, not placement
• Guaranteed placements indicate fake playlists
• Realistic acceptance rates are 10-30%
• Cost per actual placement varies based on acceptance
• Editorial playlists cannot be purchased
• Independent curator playlists vary in quality

Common Questions

What does legitimate playlist pitching actually cost?

Effective cost per placement calculation:

If paying $2 per submission with 20% acceptance rate: $2 / 0.20 = $10 effective cost per placement

Campaign example:

• 50 submissions at $2 each = $100
• 20% acceptance = 10 placements
• Cost per placement = $10

Playlist Push campaign:

• $300 campaign reaching 100+ curators
• 25 placements achieved
• Cost per placement = $12

These effective costs assume reasonable music quality and proper targeting. Poor fit between music and targeted playlists reduces acceptance rates and increases effective costs.

How do editorial playlist opportunities work?

Editorial playlists (Spotify’s New Music Friday, Apple Music’s A-List, etc.) cannot be purchased. Submission happens through:

Spotify for Artists: Free submission tool for unreleased music. No cost, no guarantee.

Distributor pitching: Some distributors offer editorial pitching as part of service.

PR campaigns: Publicists with editorial relationships may facilitate consideration.

There is no legitimate price for editorial placement. Services claiming to sell editorial positions are fraudulent. Editorial decisions are made by platform employees based on music quality and editorial direction.

What results should playlist placement produce?

Realistic expectations from legitimate placements:

Small playlist (500-2,000 followers):

• 50-200 streams
• Cost per stream: $0.05-0.20

Medium playlist (2,000-10,000 followers):

• 200-1,000 streams
• Cost per stream: $0.01-0.05

Large playlist (10,000-50,000 followers):

• 1,000-10,000 streams
• Cost per stream: $0.001-0.01

These figures vary based on playlist engagement, listener demographics, and song positioning within playlists.

Display advertising through networks like LG Media at $2.50 CPM builds artist awareness that may improve playlist consideration rates. Curators more likely to accept artists they have heard of elsewhere.

Summary

Legitimate playlist placement pricing charges for curator consideration at $1-4 per submission, with 10-30% acceptance rates producing $5-20 effective cost per placement. Guaranteed placements at fixed prices indicate illegitimate services using fake playlists. Editorial playlists cannot be purchased. Evaluate playlist services based on curator quality and realistic acceptance expectations.