Apple Music Playlist Submission: The Free Routes | TAP
Free tools for Apple Music PR tracking
By TAP Editorial Team
Quick answer
Apple Music has no public playlist submission form. Editorial pitches reach Apple through your distributor or label, so the free route is whichever pitching field your distributor provides, filled in several weeks before release. Claim your free Apple Music for Artists profile for the numbers, and use a chart or playlist tracker to catch the moment a placement lands.
Two things surprise artists about Apple Music. There is no public pitch form, so submissions travel through your distributor or label rather than a portal you can open yourself, and there is no single place that tells you when a placement happens. That makes the free stack here a combination: your distributor's pitching field going out, Apple Music for Artists for your own numbers, and a tracker or two to catch adds and removals you would otherwise miss.
Tracks playlist placements, streaming trends, and chart positions across platforms including Apple Music. Shows editorial playlist adds with timestamps and regional breakdowns.
Free tier: Limited free tier tracks basic metrics; full playlist monitoring and historical data requires paid subscription.
Best for: Monitoring when tracks enter or exit Apple Music editorial playlists with date confirmation.
Focused on Spotify, but the comparison is what makes it useful, since playlist audiences overlap heavily across the two platforms.
Free tier: Fully free; no paywall for artist dashboard access.
Best for: Cross-platform playlist strategy and understanding which editorial playlist audiences matter most.
Direct search on Apple Music's website or app lets you check current playlist positions, featured status, and visibility for your tracks. Not a tracking tool per se, but essential for manual monitoring.
Free tier: Free to use with an Apple Music account, and playlist pages are viewable on the web without one.
Best for: Real-time visibility checks of where your track sits in New Music Daily, A-List, and genre-specific playlists.
Music industry news aggregator and playlist tracking tool. Follows editorial playlist placements and reports on how curator decisions move across streaming platforms.
Free tier: Free tier provides basic news; advanced playlist tracking features require subscription.
Best for: Seeing broader playlist trends and which curators are open to artists like you
Visualises music genre ecosystems and playlist structures across Spotify and Apple Music. Shows which playlists cluster together and which genres are trending.
Free tier: Completely free; no registration or payment required.
Best for: Strategic playlist targeting by mapping which genre playlists share audiences and editorial priorities.
Aggregates streaming data and playlist placements from Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music. Offers visual dashboards of playlist adds and removals over time.
Free tier: Free tier limited to basic tracking; premium features unlock historical data and detailed analytics.
Best for: Visual timeline of playlist add/remove activity to spot patterns in editorial timing and seasonality.
Apple's official weekly and daily charts across multiple regions and genres. Searchable by region, genre, and date range.
Free tier: Completely free; accessible to anyone without account or subscription.
Best for: Tracking chart positions across regions and identifying when editorial features boost charting.
Playlist analytics and placement tracking across streaming services, including Apple Music playlist monitoring with detail on the curators behind them.
Free tier: Free tier offers basic playlist tracking; detailed analytics and historical comparisons require premium.
Best for: Watching playlist churn and telling a placement that keeps producing from one that spikes and stops
Some Apple Music playlists expose RSS feeds that can be monitored via Google Sheets using IMPORTXML or IMPORTFEED functions for manual tracking of new additions.
Free tier: Completely free using Google Sheets and publicly available Apple Music playlist feeds.
Best for: Custom, low-cost monitoring of specific playlists you're targeting without relying on third-party tools.
Apple's official artist dashboard, showing plays, listeners, Shazams, song trends and where your listeners are, plus control over your artist image and profile.
Free tier: Completely free once you claim and verify your artist profile. No paid tier exists.
Best for: The official numbers behind any placement, and the first place to look when streams move without an obvious cause
Primarily a lyrics and annotation site, but it collects metadata about songs, including editorial mentions that tend to accompany a placement.
Free tier: Completely free to browse and annotate.
Best for: Catching editorial mentions and reviews that tend to arrive alongside a playlist placement
Music communities discuss playlist placements and editorial features in real time. Apple Music curators and music professionals often engage here.
Free tier: Completely free; no account required to read, free to register and post.
Best for: Early intelligence on upcoming playlist themes, curator priorities, and community response to new releases.
Apple's editorial is deliberately less visible than Spotify's, which means the picture has to be assembled rather than read off a dashboard. Your distributor's pitching field is the way in, Apple Music for Artists is the source of truth on what happened, and a tracker fills in the dates. That combination costs nothing and is enough to know whether a placement landed and what it did.
Frequently asked questions
How do I submit music to Apple Music playlists for free?
Through your distributor. Apple takes editorial pitches from labels and distributors rather than through a public form, so the pitching field in your distributor's release form is the route, and it needs completing several weeks before release rather than on the day. Get the genre and metadata right at the same time, since Apple's editors filter by genre before they listen, and claim your Apple Music for Artists profile so the release arrives attached to a complete artist page.
How do I know if my track was added to an Apple Music editorial playlist?
Check a tracker for the add date, look at the Apple Music charts for position, and watch your own dashboard for the jump in plays that a placement produces. Larger playlists like New Music Daily and A-List often feature tracks with a visible "New Music Daily" badge on Apple Music, which is your clearest signal.
Should I focus on New Music Daily or genre-specific playlists for Apple Music strategy?
Genre playlists hold more committed listeners and keep tracks longer. New Music Daily is far more visible and turns over fast. Strategy depends on your genre relevance and target audience; indie rock thrives in genre playlists, whereas pop benefits more from New Music Daily exposure.
Why can I not see my Apple Music placements anywhere?
Reporting runs a week or two behind, and without a label relationship there is no central place it appears at all. Watch your Apple Music for Artists numbers for the movement, use a tracker for the date, and ask your distributor to confirm anything you need in writing.
Are Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos mixes actually tracked separately for playlist eligibility?
Apple does flag and prioritise spatial audio content in curations, but it's not a hard requirement for playlist consideration. Having a spatial mix available can help with editorial conversations and may increase the likelihood of feature placement, particularly for New Music Daily and genre playlists focused on audio quality.
From the field
Proof points
- Best UK send window: Tue/Wed 09:00-10:00 UK (Across 60+ campaigns)
- Optimal follow-up cadence: +7 days from initial pitch (Liberty internal data)
- Reply visibility blind spot: Stations add to rotation without replying (WARM monitoring vs email reply rate)
What actually happened
Brii Elliss, WFUV: 1,790 outreach emails sent pre-release. WFUV replied in 30 minutes; the median reply was days, not minutes. (April 2025)
Apple Music's editorial team is smaller than Spotify's and the bar for inclusion is higher. Genre-specific playlists are where independent acts land first. I pitch the curator, not the platform, and I lead with the show fit in plain English. Apple does not reward press kit volume. They reward a tight one-paragraph note that names the playlist and the reason.
Chris Schofield, Radio plugger, Liberty Music PR
Related resources
Further reading
- TAP Blog — In-depth guides, comparisons and advice for independent artists running their own promotion.
- UK Music — The voice of the UK music industry, representing labels, publishers, and collecting societies.
- Music Week — Industry news, charts, and analysis for music professionals.
- The Music Network — Global music business intelligence and networking.
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