Apple Music vs. Spotify Playlists: Which Editorial Placements Matter Most for Indie Artists?

Before we dive into playlists, it’s helpful to step back and examine the key differences between the two platforms overall. For independent musicians, Spotify and Apple Music aren’t just interchangeable streaming platforms with similar traits and features—they offer different opportunities, audiences, discovery methods, and tools that can shape your career in distinct ways. Understanding these differences helps put their playlist ecosystems into context.

Spotify remains the global leader in streaming, with around 600 million monthly active users (MAUs) as of Q4 2024. Apple Music, though smaller with about 94 million subscribers, still commands a strong market position in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets.

For an indie artist, this means Spotify provides greater global reach and raw listener numbers, while Apple Music tends to attract a smaller but often more engaged, dedicated audience willing to pay for music (since there’s no free ad-supported tier like on Spotify).

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two platforms lies in how they help listeners discover new music. For independent artists, this is essential—because discovery tools and playlist placement are often what expose your songs to entirely new audiences.

Spotify is famous for its algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar, which customize recommendations for each listener based on their habits (listening history, saves, and skips). In addition, Spotify curates editorial playlists and allows users to create and manage their own playlists on the platform. A single editorial placement on Spotify can also trigger the algorithmic engine, boosting streams long after the playlist feature ends.

Beyond the three main types of playlists, Spotify has rolled out additional features, like AI DJ, Daylist, and Time Capsule, which blend personalization with discovery to keep listeners engaged.

Apple Music, on the other hand, leans more heavily on human curation. Its editorial team builds playlists tied to cultural moments, moods, or genres, making them feel more “handpicked” than algorithm-driven. For independent artists, this means Apple playlist placements can seem more personal, but they often depend on strong relationships or professional pitching services to get in.

Apple’s discovery ecosystem also relies on radio and live programming, extending to Apple Music Radio (with flagship stations available to all listeners), curated shows like Zane Lowe, and the 24/7 Apple Music 1 radio station.

In short, Spotify’s discovery is algorithm-first, while Apple Music’s is editor-first. Independent artists can benefit from both—Spotify for its scale and algorithmic reach, Apple for its curated tastemaker-driven exposure and cultural positioning.

Both streaming platforms provide dashboards for artists, but with slightly different strengths:

Spotify for Artists lets you pitch unreleased tracks directly to Spotify’s editors and provides detailed analytics such as listeners by country, demographics, and playlist adds. Additionally, it offers branding and marketing tools like profile customization, Artist Pick, Spotify Canvas, and live concert integration, along with the ability to communicate directly with followers to share news, tour dates, and personalized thank-you messages.

Apple Music for Artists offers similarly comprehensive and user-friendly analytics, including Shazam data (which is extremely valuable for tracking organic discovery), iTunes streams and sales, and insights into radio spins via Apple Music 1. The platform also enables artists to customize their profile picture and share data with other parties. However, Apple currently does not permit direct submission of editorial playlists from artists, making distributor partnerships essential for pitching.

Finally, geography plays a role in where each platform might serve you better.

Spotify leads in Europe and Latin America, with a strong presence in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Germany.

Meanwhile, Apple Music has a stronger foothold in the United States, where it has recently surpassed Spotify in the number of subscribers. It is also dominant in Japan and other parts of Asia, partly due to iOS device integration and its reputation as a premium platform.

For independent artists, this split means your strategy may depend on where your current audience is — or where you want to grow. If you’re aiming for global, mass-market exposure, Spotify is essential. If you’re targeting the U.S. or Asia and want to connect with tastemakers through curated playlists, Apple Music is just as important.

As closely explored in our playlist pitching guide, editorial playlists — whether on Spotify, Apple Music, or any other major streaming platform — are collections of tracks hand-curated by professional music editors and teams of curators. They usually highlight specific themes, genres, moods, trends, or cultural topics, making them powerful tools for exposure.

While the concept is similar across platforms, Spotify and Apple Music editorial playlists differ in their reach, submission process, and accessibility for independent artists.

Just like the platform itself, Spotify’s editorial playlists are among the most influential in the world, reaching hundreds of millions of listeners globally. As of September 2025, the top editorial playlists by follower count include:

• Today's Top Hits — 34M+ followers

• Top 50 – Global — 17M+ followers

• RapCaviar — 16M followers

• Viva Latino — 15M+ followers

• All Out 2010s – 14M followers

• Rock Classics — 12M followers

Strengths of Spotify playlists:

The huge popularity and large follower counts of Spotify’s editorial playlists mean that artists have the potential for significant exposure, where even one placement can introduce a song to millions of new listeners. The platform is also known for its diverse playlist ecosystem, offering mainstream and niche selections, and often featuring both emerging and established artists.

Another unique advantage of Spotify is the synergy between editorial and algorithmic playlists, where editorial placements frequently trigger algorithmic boosts (Discover Weekly, Release Radar, user-generated playlists). This creates a domino effect that can skyrocket streams and increase visibility — even long after the original editorial playlist placement has ended.

Challenges:

One major challenge in landing a spot on a Spotify editorial playlist is the overwhelming number of track pitches submitted daily. It’s estimated that Spotify editors receive approximately 20,000 track submissions every day, making playlist placement highly competitive.

Because of this, there’s also increased emphasis on the quality of submissions. Spotify editors look for a strong, professional pitch that aligns with the playlist’s sound and target audience, includes all relevant details and metadata (such as genre, style, mood, instruments, etc.), and offers insight into the background of the track's story and the artist’s accomplishments. A weak or misaligned pitch can significantly reduce the chances of getting playlisted.

While Apple Music has a smaller user base than Spotify, its playlists attract highly engaged, loyal listeners. Apple doesn’t publicly share follower counts, but its editorial ranking system highlights the most influential playlists, including:

• Today’s Country

• Sleep Sounds

• Rain Sounds

• Today’s Hits

• R&B Now

• Rap Life

Strengths of Apple Music playlists:

Apple Music's editorial team is recognized for its more selective and high-quality focus, as well as its deep industry expertise, often spotlighting tracks with strong media, label, or cultural traction. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, Apple Music primarily relies on human curation (while Spotify emphasizes algorithmic playlists), often providing a more curated experience compared to Spotify's algorithm-driven approach.

Although Apple Music’s overall reach may be smaller, its playlists often generate higher engagement per listener, which can foster more meaningful and lasting connections with fans. For many independent artists, this concentrated engagement can be more valuable than just high numbers of streams and listens.

Another advantage of Apple Music placements is their seamless integration within the broader Apple ecosystem. Playlists are often reinforced by exposure through Siri recommendations, homepage features, and Apple Music Radio, giving songs additional visibility across multiple discovery touchpoints.

Challenges:

Apple Music’s smaller audience compared to Spotify is essentially what can limit the overall impact of an editorial playlist placement on an artist’s growth. While getting on an Apple Music playlist might seem more achievable (though this is debatable, as editors are highly selective and prioritize submissions that meet strict quality standards), artists may not experience the same momentum as they do with Spotify’s editorial-to-algorithmic playlist system.

It’s also important to note that, unlike Spotify, Apple Music does not allow direct submissions to its editorial playlists, which means artists must rely on a distributor or label to pitch their tracks on their behalf. While this adds a layer of mediation, it can actually improve your chances, since professional pitching teams often have established relationships with curators and know how to tailor submissions to align with editorial expectations.

For many artists, the big question now is: Which platform should I prioritize — Spotify or Apple Music? The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Your goals, genre, audience location, and even your career stage all influence which platform might give you the best results.

Apple Music is often the stronger choice if you want to build deep, lasting engagement with listeners and cultivate a loyal fan base. Its playlists are carefully curated by the editorial teams, and its audience consists of dedicated subscribers, who are more likely to remain devoted to the artists they discover. Spotify, on the other hand, offers unmatched scale and reach. With its editorial-to-algorithmic synergy, a single placement can spark viral momentum, multiplying streams across different types of playlists.

But here’s the real takeaway: there’s no need to limit yourself to just one platform. Whether it’s Spotify, Apple Music, or other platforms like Deezer and Beatport, the most effective approach for indie artists is to target editorial playlists across multiple platforms simultaneously. Every streaming service has its own strengths, and maximizing your exposure across them multiplies your chances of success.

Essentially, submitting your track to more than one platform can dramatically increase the odds of landing on an editorial playlist. What doesn’t get picked up on Spotify might find a spot on Apple Music, and vice versa. Different editors, different audiences, and different playlist ecosystems all mean more opportunities for your music to connect with listeners.

You can pitch to multiple platforms through a professional service, often provided by a label or distributor. With a tool like iMusician’s Editorial Playlist Pitching, you don’t need to worry about submitting to each platform separately. One streamlined submission can get your track considered by Spotify, Apple Music, Beatport, and others. This saves you time and allows you to focus on making music while industry experts handle the pitching on your behalf.

It’s also crucial to understand that most streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Beatport, and Deezer, don’t allow direct playlist pitching, so artists usually need to use professional services anyway.

Even more importantly, though, these services bring expertise and curator relationships that individual artists don’t typically have access to. Our team knows what curators are looking for, how to craft a pitch that resonates, and how to match your music with the right playlists. With years of experience and strong connections with playlist editors, we refine every submission to give it the best chance of success.

At the end of the day, the question isn’t “Spotify or Apple Music?” — it’s how to leverage both.

Spotify gives you the scale and algorithmic amplification to reach massive audiences. Apple Music delivers tastemaker credibility and deep listener engagement. Together, they form a powerful one-two punch for independent artists ready to grow.

If your goal is long-term career development, the smartest move is to pitch across platforms. By working with a professional pitching service like iMusician’s Editorial Playlist Pitching, you can maximize exposure, increase your odds of placement, and focus on what matters most: creating music that connects.