Best Practice | Streaming Platforms
Pitching your tracks and releases to streaming platforms.
Each week, the Kartel digital accounts team pitch your new releases to Digital Service Providers (DSP's) including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon Music and more. This includes submitting all new release track pitches in Spotify’s pitching tool on your behalf.
Question: How do you submit new release information to the Kartel digital team?
Some clients are using the Kartel New Music Submission Form which means the Kartel digital account management team directs pitches to the right playlist editors in a timely fashion.
We ask that labels and artists submit information to us via the New Music Submission Form a minimum of four weeks ahead of release date, so that we can pitch your releases effectively to DSPs and include your releases in our conversations.
Submit details as soon as you have them, earlier than 4 weeks is even better. In the KARTEL New Music Submissions Form you can submit details for upcoming singles, focus tracks for album and EP release date and you can also provide additional information about albums and EPs.
It is advised that you schedule your releases at the earliest possible convenience. The longer lead time the better! Please schedule your releases earlier than our deadlines if you can.
Any questions please contact support@kartelmusicgroup.com
IMPORTANT SECTIONS OF THE NEW MUSIC SUBMISSIONS
MOODS
Moods are very important at streaming services and a focus area for Spotify and Apple Music. In Spotify’s new release pitch tool, they give us the opportunity to tag a track by Moods. It’s important to tag Moods accurately. The choice of moods is very limited. Only choose a mood if it really fits the track otherwise leave it blank. There is no point tagging a track as ‘Chill’ if it’s not really ‘Chill’ as this could have a negative affect on gaining editorial support.
GENRES
Genres are extremely important. The Sub Genres section allows you to pick three genres from over 650 genres from any of the main genre lists. Getting these three genres right is key when pitching your releases to Spotify and DSPs. For example: R&B, Alternative R&B, Soul. Accurately describing a track’s genres will help filter them to the appropriate genre editors at DSPs.
FORM: PITCH TEXT (500 CHARACTERS MAX INCLUDING SPACES)
This text will be used to pitch your track to DSPs including Spotify and Apple Music. In order to help us create the perfect pitch for your releases we have put together some guidelines to help you write the copy. We suggest that a pitch is broken into four sentences and should aim to include as many relevant commercial, sales and marketing points as possible as well as telling a story about what the song is about.
The below will give you some ideas of what you could include in your pitch text.
Artist profile and commercial context. Parallel artists / for fans of / influences.
About the song (Producers, etc), Vibe of the song, what does it sound like? (for example does it have a driving beat and a simple, melodic melody), and the story behind it, inspiration behind the song. Product context. Release plan, if there is an album or EP coming please include the date of the album.
Marketing plan & spend. Streaming stats / Social Media stats / PR / Radio / Campaign highlights (tour activity, sync, key market focus etc)
Previous playlists / Growth rate / Ratio to monthly listeners / Monthly listeners if notable i.e. 100+K / Up to 3 Spotify playlists that you think the song might be suitable for.
DSP ARTIST PROFILE MANAGEMENT
SPOTIFY
Claim your artist profile on Spotify For Artists to manage your profile via the App or web browser. If you have not released music on Spotify, you will need your profile URI that we can provide once we’ve ingested your first release for you to claim ahead of it going live. We recommend starting the claiming process for your new artist profile at least 3 weeks before release date to ensure your page is ready from day 1.
Make sure your artist photos, bio and custom artist playlists are up to date and refreshed regularly. Artist photo best practices are here.
Banner Image Template + Specs
You can download an image template here: https://spotify.app.box.com/v/spotifyheader
Keep your Artist’s Pick up-to-date on Spotify at all times. Think of these as a banner ad on your site promoting your latest music or tour dates. At any time, artists can pick something they love—any track, album, or playlist—and add a short message. Make sure to post about a new track or album on the day you release something new.
IMPORTANCE OF SPOTIFY FOLLOWERS
We recommend encouraging your artists' fans to follow and interact with Spotify artist profiles as much as possible to ensure Spotify are getting the right data. This especially helps with the ‘Fans Also Like’ section and it also ensures that fans will be aware when new music is released as they will be notified in their ‘Release Radar’.
SPOTIFY CANVAS
On November 19th 2020, Spotify made Canvas available to our full roster of artists. Spotify Canvas allows artists to add a three- to eight-second visual loop to any track. It’s a great way to bring attention to a new release or spark new interest in an older song, with some artists seeing as much as a 200% rise in engagement through the sharing of Spotify Canvas to platforms such as Instagram.
We recommend adding Canvas video loops to your upcoming tracks and album tracks as well as planning them ahead of future releases.
Our creative services department are able to create CANVAS packages for you. Get in touch today if you would like to discuss!
Key stats about Canvas:
Spotify has shared the following details about how Canvas affects performance on the platform:
145% average sharing of tracks vs. a control group
5% bump in track streams
1.4% bump in track saves
20% spike in adds to user playlists
9% spike in visits to the artist’s profile page
More important details:
The Canvas microsite continues to be the best resource for all things related to the tool, including specs, a ‘how to upload’ guide, and the Canvas content policy.
Canvas currently remains inaccessible to users in the following markets:
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova
MENA (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates)
India
APPLE MUSIC / iTUNES ARTIST PROFILES
Apple Music for Artists allows you to manage aspects of your profile such as your profile photo. Please make sure you are signed up to Apple Music for Artists and please invite music@kartelmusicgroup.com by going to ‘Manage Users’ and adding this Kartel email address. This way, the Kartel digital account management team will be able to have access to your account as well.
Artist images on Apple Music need to be exactly 2400 x 2400 pixels (ratio1:1) and have an output resolution of at minimum 72 dpi.
Use the Apple Music guidelines here for best practice on uploading photos. Please reach out to Client Services if you need help we are happy to assist you.
It’s currently not possible to update bios at Apple Music as they are written by Rovi and are pulled from Allmusic.com.
You can submit your music directly to Rovi by visiting: http://www.allmusic.com/product-submissions
OTHER DSP ARTIST PROFILES
Kartel can assist with profile management at other streaming platforms such as Deezer and Amazon.
Please email the Kartel support@kartelmusicgroup.com if you would like your profile updated at other DSPs.