Making lo-fi beats can be a fun and creative process. Here are some steps to get you started:

1. Choose your digital audio workstation (DAW): The first step in making lo-fi beats is to choose your DAW. Some popular options for producing lo-fi beats include Ableton Live, FL Studio, and Logic Pro X.
2. Choose your sample library: Lo-fi beats often rely on samples from classic vinyl records, jazz, and soul music. You can either sample these yourself or use pre-made sample packs that are available online.
3. Choose your drum sounds: Lo-fi beats typically have a warm, muted, and crunchy sound. You can achieve this by using drum samples that are compressed and filtered.
4. Add effects: Lo-fi beats often use a range of effects, such as distortion, vinyl crackle, and tape saturation, to create a vintage sound.
5. Choose your instruments: Lo-fi beats often feature mellow, laid-back instruments such as piano, guitar, and Rhodes. Experiment with different sounds and find the ones that fit your beat.
6. Add melody and chords: Once you have your drum beat and instruments, it's time to add melody and chords. Keep in mind that lo-fi beats are often simple and repetitive.
7. Mix and master: Finally, mix and master your track to make sure everything sounds balanced and cohesive.

Remember, making lo-fi beats is all about experimentation and finding your own sound. Don't be afraid to try new things and have fun with the process!

How do you get on Spotify Editorial Playlist? In this article we will be covering many important aspects of Spotify Editorial Playlists. These tips and tricks can improved your chances of successfully landing a placement on one of these amazing playlists. Hello, my name is Grizzly Beatz and I am a LoFi music producer from Los Angeles, CA. I have been producing beats for well over a decade now and excited to share with the music community some information I have learned regarding editorial playlists. Below is an overview of what we will  be covering to help you get on Spotify editorial playlists.  

• benefits of Spotify editorial playlist placements
• how to prepare your song for the playlist(s)
• how to schedule your release
• how to pitch your song to the editorial curators
• how to improve your chances by positive pre & post release signals

It is no secret that getting on an editorial placement can be a game changer for any musician. I have been fortunate enough to get on several Spotify Editorial placements within a few of each other. My first playlist placements was with Spotify Gold Instrumental Beats in October 2022. The next month in November 2022 I landed a placement in their Late Night Beats Playlist. Then in January of 2023, I landed another Editorial Playlist "LoFi Cafe" playlist. 

These playlist have contributed hundreds of thousands of streams as well as thousands of new monthly listeners and followers. I also noticed that many user generated playlist curators were finding my song on the editorial playlist and adding it to their playlist. I am gaining about 50 new Spotify followers a day and about 3-4K streams a day on average. I was able to achieve this without a record lable, and without knowing anyone over at Spotify. Just by creating quality music, perfecting my pitch and doing what I can to show Spotify to take me seriously. We will cover the steps below. 

Its a good idea to create a song specifically for the editorial playlist that you are trying to get placed on. Listen closely to the playlist. What instruments do you hear, what is the mood, the tempo, the length of the track. Also pay attention to the titles and album cover styles. This is what you will want in the back of your mind once you finished your song. Try to make a track that fits the feel of the playlist. Also shorter songs tend to do better, try to keep under the 3 minute mark. Pay attention to how the songs in the playlist end, do they end abruptly or short fade out. I noticed that long fade outs tend to not do well, as listeners may think the song stop playing or internet went out and will skip or restart their Spotify. 
​When mixing and mastering your song make sure to check the loudness of the track (Lufs) using a loudness meter plug-in. You want your mastered track to be around -12dB. Spotify will lower to -14dB but it is better to have the track slightly louder than it is to be lower than -14dB and Spotify having to increase the level. 

When choosing a song title, it  helps to choose something that fits the mood of the playlist(s) that you plan to submit to. For example the track that I got added to the LoFi Cafe editorial playlist was titled "Mocha". I believe this helped capture the attention of the curator. I also made sure to take note of the artwork styles being used by others in the playlist. In the LoFi/Chillhop genre popular styles include anime characters or colorful artistic images, so ultimately this was the type of cover I went with for this release. 

Since with albums you can only submit one song off the album to the editorials, you should focus on releasing tracks as singles. You can release several tracks as singles (spread out with 4 weeks in between releases) and pitch all of them. Then you can release an album with those same songs with a few new ones sprinkled in. This time with the album you can pitch one of the newly added tracks. If you provide the same ISRC numbers for the singles on the album release, the streams from the single release will carry over to the album. 

Did you know that collaborating with other artists and producers that have been featured on Spotify Editorial Playlists before can increase your chances of having the track added to one. To do this you must put the collaborator as a Primary Artists when uploading through your DSP like Distrokid. This way it will appear in both artist's Spotify for Artists app, meaning both will be able to pitch it. The track will also show up on multiple profiles meaning more exposure. When pitching the Editorial Curators can see a list of editorial playlists any of the artists submitting have been featured on in the past. This will increase the chances of them taking you seriously. 

Before releasing your song on your own, consider releasing it through record labels that support your genre. I make LoFi beats so I will pitch to several record labels first to see if any will be willing to do a label release. This year I will have releases with labels like Chill Moon Music, Lifted LoFi Records, Widen Island, Retune Project and more. Having a release with a known label can help increase your chances of an editorial playlist placement as well as being discovered by their audience. Note that you will most likely need to split all streaming royalties 50/50 with the label. 

Head to the Spotify For Artist page (http://artists.spotify.com), log in with your artist account and fill out your profile information as completely as possible. You also want to make sure that you claim and verify your profile. This will get you the blue checkmark by your name on your Spotify profile. 

Tips for creating a great Spotify artist profile: Your profile is an important part of the decision-making process when it comes to inclusion on playlists. Spotify takes pride in their platform as the number one music streaming service, and their playlist curators give preference to artists who offer detailed profiles that include great photos and graphics. Don’t skimp on this area — take the time to write an appealing biography, and be sure to include plenty of photos, logos, and other artwork along with links to your website and social media accounts.

Below are some videos from Spotify For Artists that covers completing your profile, verifying your profile and updating your profile image. 

You want to be able to pitch to the editorial curators at least 4 weeks prior to release. Many would say that Friday's are the best day to release new music, but out of the several placements I have had only one was release of a Friday, the others were released on a Tuesday. This might be because there is less competition and better chances you will get listened to. 

So in order to pitch the song needs to be in your Spotify For Artists upcoming releases section at least 4 weeks prior to release. So you need to upload your song through your DSP like Distrokid at least 5 weeks before its release to give it time to get sent over to Spotify For Artists. Distrokid is a great option for releasing your music through as you can release an unlimited amount for only $19 a year. Click here to join Distrokid and save 7%

In Spotify For Artists, click on music, then upcoming. You should see your future release track(s) there. ​

You will be able to pitch to the curators from here. Under the playlist pitch section you will see the option to pitch. We will cover the steps to pitching below. 

​Now that your song has been uploaded, it’s time to submit the correct track information to Spotify. When you click on the PITCH A SONG button, you’ll be brought to a page that will ask you general information about your track.

Select the Main Genre of your song first, and then choose your Subgenres — categories that are more specific to your music style. Your Subgenre selection is critical, because it’s easier to get on smaller Subgenre editorial playlists than the larger main categories.

The next step in describing your song to Spotify is Music Culture, which relates to any religious or cultural influences on your music. For example, if your song contains Christian lyrics, it will have a higher chance to land on the Top Christian editorial playlist. If none of the culture options apply to your track, select the “None of these” option.

Moods, the next step in song description, lets you highlight the types of emotions you intend to convey with your track. After that is Song Styles, where you’ll indicate whether your track is a live production, an in-studio recording, an acoustic version, or something else. You’ll also choose the Language of your lyrics; whether the song is a cover, remix, or instrumental; and which instruments are featured in the track.

You can also specify your location during the submission process, in order to target local fans and playlists near you. For example, if you are from Ireland and your track is a folk song, you’ll have a good chance to get on editorial Spotify playlist Irish Folk – Ballads.

Finally, the Tell Us More section is where you’ll actually describe your song in order to pitch the track to Spotify’s curators. This section is crucial to demonstrate the quality and care that you placed into creating and recording the song, and will provide the curators with a sense of authenticity and priority during the selection process.

Now, it’s time for the real pitch. You must take care with the way you sell your music, or yourself as an artist, on Spotify. The curators are interested in how the submitted songs will impact themselves, their audience, and Spotify’s overall audience development. Be sure to include impactful details, if you have them, such as if you’ve worked with a well-known producer, collaborated with a recognized artist, or been featured on a popular show (e.g. podcast, YouTube channel, radio, or television). You should also add some keywords that describe which communities you want to influence and help narrow down your genre or style.

Below is an example of a pitch

" “Not A Care" is a chill and jazzy LoFi instrumental perfect for listening to while enjoying a cup of coffee or reading your favorite book. This track has been featured in several viral TikTok videos. It would be perfect for the "Lush LoFi" "LoFi Beats or "LoFi Cafe" playlists. It is scheduled to be featured on several industry blogs such as Word is Bond.  Grizzly Beatz is the youngest son of jazz drummer and composer Alphonse Mouzon, who recorded with Steve Wonder, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Weather Report, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, & more."

Below is a video where Spotify curators talk about what they look for in an artists and their music, what they consider a successful pitch and more. 

For more information on how to pitch to Spotify's editorial curators visit: ​Help - Pitching music to our playlist editors – Spotify for Artists

First off if you are not curating your own playlist you need to start now. In these playlists you will want to include your own music but also include popular artists in your genre within them. This will help tell Spotify which artists are similar to you and will help you get your music added to their Artist Radio playlists. 

Along with this curating a playlist(s) can help you not only get your name out there within your genre but also increase your Spotify followers, pre-saves, playlist likes and more. Curators can use playlist submission gates like "DailyPlaylist.com". "Soundplate.com" or on their own website using "Toneden" to grow their following in return. This is a great way to start getting pre-saves on your upcoming release to start sending positive signals to the Spotify algorithm. If you do not want to curate your own playlist you can use Toneden as a submission gate for free downloads or special coupons.  To learn more about the Spotify Algorithm read my How The Spotify Algorithm Works In 2023 article. 

Once the track releases you will want to send as much traffic and listeners to the track. There are several ways of doing this, but below are a few. 

• Facebook & Instagram Ads
• Embed on your website
• Submit to blogs in your genre (many embeds send great signals to Spotify)
• Submit to user Spotify playlist (Ko-Fi.com, DailyPlaylist.com, Soundplate.com, etc)
• Post on Reddit Channels (r/Music and r/Spotify)
• Share on YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, Facebook
• Email blast to your email list on the day of release

If you do not get added to a Spotify editorial playlist right away do not worry. I have had a track get added 3 weeks after its release, so keep promoting it for a good month after its release. If you don't land a playlist do not get discouraged and give up. It is a numbers game. The more you release and pitch the more of a chance you will land one. 

I hope these tips help you get on your next Spotify Editorial Playlist Placement. If you found any of these helpful I would appreciate if you comment below and share on social media and help spread the love and help other artists. Also if there are any tips and tricks that I may have left out please let me know in the comments section. Thank you so much for your time and wish you much success in your Spotify journey. 

SoundPlate: https://soundplate.com/
Daily Playlists: ​https://dailyplaylists.com/
SubmitHub: ​https://www.submithub.com/
Ko-Fi: ​https://ko-fi.com/
Playlister Club: ​https://www.songtools.io/
Playlist Push: ​https://playlistpush.com/
Indie Mono: ​https://indiemono.com/music-submit/
Grizzly Beatz: https://www.grizzlybeatz.com/lofi-playlist-submissions

Toneden: ​https://www.toneden.io/
Hypeddit: ​https://hypeddit.com/
Feature FM: ​https://feature.fm/

DistroKid: https://distrokid.com
TuneCore: https://www.tunecore.com/
CD Baby: https://cdbaby.com/
LANDR: ​https://www.landr.com/

Updated 3/6/2023