New Music Submission FAQ

DSP PITCHING - FILLING IN THE NEW MUSIC SUBMISSION PITCH FORM

Does Kartel pitch to DSPs for me or do I have to do that myself via tools like Spotify For Artists?

By signing with Kartel, you have engaged our dedicated and experienced DSP marketing team who will pitch your new single or focus tracks, albums and EPs to all applicable DSPs on your behalf. We pitch your releases to our global network of DSPs, which includes pitching to Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify For Artists, Amazon Music, Deezer and many more. We adhere to DSP best practice guidelines and ensure your music reaches the right playlist editors and DSP representatives.

Does Kartel automatically pitch music to third-party playlist pitches for me?

Kartel’s DSP marketing team does not pitch your music to third party playlists; the team are focussed exclusively on official DSP playlists. If you are interested in pitching your music to third-party playlists, our Promotions & Marketing Agency can be hired for media promotions and digital marketing campaigns, including third party playlist promotion. For more information, please contact hello@kartelmusicgroup.com

What does Kartel need from me to make playlist pitches to the DSPs on my behalf?

Please use our New Music Submission form to provide us with everything we need to make a pitch. The form can be accessed here: http://kartel.lnk.to/submissionform

This New Music Submission form is pretty long and asks for a lot of information. What do you need it all for?

We ask for this information to enable our DSP marketing team to create the best possible pitch for your music. It’s simple - the more information we have, the better we can make the pitch. We listen to your music and review all information supplied. Our dedicated team then create bespoke pitches for each DSP based on their requirements.

How long in advance of my track being released do I need to submit this form?

We ask for all pitch information to be submitted a minimum of five (5) weeks in advance, alongside your release Product being created on your Kartel Digital Portal. We understand five weeks is quite a way in advance of release, but this allows us to hit deadlines for DSPs in important territories which have long lead-times and gives the best chance of playlist support.

What happens if I miss the five week submission deadline? Can I still submit my pitch?

We absolutely appreciate this can happen. Whilst we would very much like you to adhere to our five week best practice deadline, we can accept pitches after this. However, we always stress to clients it can compromise pitching and in turn editorial opportunities at DSPs. If your submission is too late, it could mean missing out on playlist pitching altogether.

What is the difference between a single, an album/EP focus track, or a pre-order launch focus track and why do you need to know?

Knowing which of these three format options your track is important and is essential for our DSP marketing team to target the appropriate opportunities. The majority of releases will be single Products with one to three (1-3) tracks.

A pre-order launch focus track (for iTunes pre-orders / Apple Music pre-adds) is the track you are releasing alongside your digital album pre-orders going live. This will likely be a standard single across streaming only platforms, but by marking it here as a pre-order launch focus track, this informs our DSP marketing team to also seek any promotions opportunities which exist at DSPs alongside album pre-orders.

Can I use a previous single as my album/EP focus track?

No, unfortunately not. All songs which get pitched to DSPs must not have been previously released

Why am I being asked to select what genre my music fits into?

DSPs require genres in order to assign tracks to specific editors. The main genre list Kartel provides covers the minimum genre options from across the DSPs. It’s important to spend time on making sure you select accurate genres in the New Music Submission form, as this is key to which editors will listen to your music.

What is the need for Subgenre selections?

These genres are required when pitching your music and help categorize your release further. We have provided you with the full list of applicable genres at http://kartel.lnk.to/subgenres and ask you provide us with three (3) of these to help maximise opportunities at DSPs.

What are Moods and why am I being asked to select up to two?

The majority of DSPs will program certain playlists by the mood of a track. Kartel provides you with the list of moods we know the DSPs recognise, but we ask you only select these if applicable. If your track doesn’t fit any of the Moods, please select None Of These. It’s important to spend time on making sure you select accurate moods, as this is key to how editors listen to your music and programme editorial playlists. Am I able to select any other instruments than those listed?

Am I able to select any other instruments than those listed?

These are the only instruments available as listed by the DSPs, so please do your best to select from this list.

Why are you asking for playlist suggestions and how many should I include?

Whilst our DSP team has knowledge of the primary and genre-specific editorial playlists across the DSPs, there is always a chance you know of a playlist which you think would suit your music perfectly. This is your opportunity to flag which playlists - big or small - you would like us to pitch your track for, and gives us an insight to where you see your music being positioned.

In terms of how many playlists to suggest, please be as thorough as you can be. The more information we have, the better educated our pitches on your behalf will be.

How do I find playlists to suggest to you?

DSPs will have playlists searchable by genre either on their platform/app or via the browser version of their service. They will display both official editorial playlists and those created by third-parties. We suggest taking some time to look for applicable genre playlists across the main DSPs - you won’t need to be a subscribed user on all services to search for playlists.

Why am I being asked to write the text for the pitch Kartel submits?

The information you provide here informs our DSP marketing team about you as an artist and specifically the release in question. This is your opportunity to help our team present your upcoming music to editors at DSPs. We provide guidelines and suggestions in the New Music Submission form for the type of information you might want to include in the 500 character word text, which helps our DSP marketing team create the perfect pitch for your music.

My track’s press release isn’t ready five (5) weeks in advance. Can I submit it later?

We understand that certain marketing and promo materials may not be ready as far in advance as we initially request them. Please indicate as much on the form and use this second form to update us when they do arrive - https://tinyurl.com/3k94ykh8

How do I know what my weekly and monthly streaming targets are?

This is an optional answer. If you have a week one or month one streaming target please include it here. This will help to inform our DSP marketing team about the commercial strategy for your release. If you are wondering how to forecast week one and month one streams, a good place to start is by looking in your Kartel Digital Portal, where you can view your previous releases streams over a given time period. You can custom filter dates to help you provide a streaming target for your upcoming releases.

DSP PITCHING - AFTER FORM SUBMISSION

I need to update or edit the pitch I submitted. How can I do this?

Please use this link https://tinyurl.com/3k94ykh8 to update us with any changes to your pitch or if you want to update us on marketing news.

DSP PITCHING - AFTER RELEASE

When will I hear what playlists my track has been included on?

We update all our clients on the Friday release date of when their track came out. The email will come from support@kartelmusicgroup.com and will detail which playlists your release has been added to.

It might be that some genre specific playlists update later in the first week of release. If this happens, you’ll receive a second email from our team updating with any new playlist additions.

We also encourage clients to log in to your Kartel Digital Portal and go to the Analytics section. You can navigate through your label and artist trend data. Dropdown options allow you to easily view streams and filter results by DSP / Territory / Label / Assets / Products / Playlists. You can filter the data by date range and see how your artists or tracks are performing across territories. Filtering via DSP allows you to see streams broken down by Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Amazon.

What information will I be given about playlists my track is on?

Our email will detail the following for each playlist:

The DSP
The playlist name
The position on the playlist your track sits at
The territory the playlist is visible or was programmed in
A link to the playlist
The playlist follower number

What is the best way to direct my fans to playlists I’ve been included on?

If your release has been included on any playlists, it’s best practice to do separate social media posts for each playlist attributed to each DSP - so that means separate posts for Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, etc.

We recommend tagging the DSP (territory specific tag if appropriate) and letting your fans know they can hear the song on the playlist you’re linking to. If you have multiple playlists from one DSP, you can either focus on one or make an engaging graphic summing up all your playlist inclusions in one post.

Posting about playlists interrupts my release day social media plan. Do I need to do it?

We would suggest it’s in your best interest to be putting out posts sharing playlist inclusion. We know the DSPs like to see this activity. However, you don’t need to put all your posts out on the day of release/inclusion. You can schedule them throughout the first week of release, so all the posts don’t overwhelm your fanbase.

Why hasn’t my track been included in any DSP playlists?

Although we commit to pitching your releases each week to DSPs, editorial support isn’t something we can guarantee, and playlist inclusion is always ultimately at the discretion of DSP playlist editors. The DSP marketing team at Kartel are dedicated to presenting your music to the major streaming platforms and their editorial teams in the best possible way. However, it might be that your release didn’t connect with DSP editors and it’s good to keep in mind that the DSPs receive tens of thousands of new track pitches every week.

Some specific genre playlists are not updated on Fridays, or even every week. Some playlist additions may come in the weeks and even months after initial release, so as long as we’re able to keep updating the DSPs with new material and compelling marketing/promo storylines, there remains a chance your track will still get playlisted.

DSP PITCHING - VIDEOS

How do I submit a pitch for VEVO promotion?

Please send the following to support@kartelmusicgroup.com and let our team know you’d like to be pitched for VEVO promotion.

Video title
Artist
Release Date
Promotion Start Date
Key Territories
Additional Comments (Marketing plan, etc)
Preview Link
Content type (official, lyric, live, BTS etc.)
Facebook follower numbers
Twitter follower numbers
Instagram follower numbers
Noteworthy Press/Promo

Can I pitch YouTube videos for promotion?

Yes, this is a new function of YouTube. Submit your pitch info here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfGmzrxkBIXXNmTbAA93pkGO3ysGYnXLlhSQGfeOf0nsnbPBw/viewform at least 3 weeks before the video/release live date