How to Get on Release Radar

What Release Radar is

Release Radar is a personalized playlist of new releases that Spotify updates every Friday. Every listener gets their own version.

Spotify says it orders the songs by release date and by how much it predicts each listener will like them, based on their past listening. The order can shift slightly from day to day.

Who gets your music in Release Radar

Spotify says your followers get songs from your new release in their Release Radar. Listeners also get new music from artists they listen to and artists Spotify thinks they will like, but followers are the route Spotify documents for artists.

Each listener’s playlist is personal. Spotify’s documentation does not say that every follower will see your release, or that the ones who see it will play it. It does set these limits:

• One song per artist per listener each week.
• A listener who has already played a song will not get it again, though another song from the same release can appear.
• A song can be included for up to 4 weeks for a listener who has not heard it.

What pitching changes

Pitching decides which song. Spotify says that if you pitch a song, it will include that song in your followers’ Release Radar, and that if you do not pitch, it picks which songs from your release to include.

The pitch is the same one you send to Spotify’s editors in Spotify for Artists: one eligible, unreleased song at a time. It does not guarantee an editorial placement, and editors are a separate decision. The editorial side is covered in how to get on Spotify playlists.

The seven-day rule, precisely

Spotify documents two separate 7-day lines. One is about the pitch, the other about delivery. Neither says editorial pitching closes 7 days before release.

What happens if you do not pitch

Your followers can still get your release. Spotify says it picks which songs from your release go into your followers’ Release Radar. What you give up is the choice of song, and the chance to put that song in front of Spotify’s editors.

Eligibility and exclusions

• Release Radar counts songs where you are the main or a featured artist. Remixer credits do not count.
• Remixes are included.
• Not included: Various Artists releases, re-releases of songs already on Spotify, and some alternate versions such as acoustic, karaoke or live tracks.
• The pitch has its own rules: one unreleased song at a time, and not compilations or songs where you are only the featured artist.

How long a song can stay eligible

Up to 4 weeks for a listener who has not played it. Once a listener plays it, it will not come back for them, though another song from the same release may. Each new release opens a new window, which is one reason a steady release rhythm matters.

What artists cannot control

• Which followers open Release Radar, or whether they play your song.
• Where your song sits in each listener’s list. Spotify orders it by release date and predicted taste.
• Whether listening in Release Radar leads to other personalized playlists. Spotify does not publish any such link; see Discover Weekly: what artists can and cannot control.
• A number of streams. Nobody can honestly promise one.

How to measure Release Radar in Spotify for Artists

Spotify says the Playlists tab in your song’s stats shows the playlists it is on, including Release Radar. In source of streams, Release Radar plays sit under personalized playlists, alongside Discover Weekly, Radio and other mixes.

The Playlists view lists a playlist once at least 3 of your listeners have played your music there, and it covers the last 12 months. What those numbers can and cannot tell you is in playlist promotion: what you can measure.

Release Radar checklist

1. Grow followers first

   Release Radar starts from your followers. Ask listeners to follow you on Spotify wherever you share music. Real-listener growth covers how.

2. Deliver early

   Get the release to your distributor well before release day, so it reaches Spotify at least 7 days ahead.

3. Pitch the right song

   Pitch one eligible, unreleased song at least 7 days before release day so it is the song your followers get.

4. Check the credits

   Make sure you are credited as main or featured artist. Remixer credits do not count.

5. Check after Friday

   Look at your song’s Playlists tab and source of streams once the new Release Radar is out.

6. Plan the next release

   Each release is a new Release Radar window. See how to promote a song on Spotify for the full plan and free Spotify promotion for the free tools.