Editorial Playlists are playlists curated by human playlist editors employed by streaming platforms. They are distinct from algorithmic playlists (generated by recommendation algorithms) and user-created playlists (made by individual listeners). Examples include Spotify's "Today's Top Hits," "RapCaviar," and "Peaceful Piano"; Apple Music's "New Music Daily"; and YouTube Music's "Friday Release."
Editorial playlists carry significantly more prestige and discovery impact than algorithmic playlists. A placement on an editorial playlist typically generates substantially more streams, is a signal of industry validation, and can trigger algorithmic playlist placement as a secondary effect (listeners who discover a track via an editorial playlist and save it will then receive it in their algorithmic playlists).
Getting placed on editorial playlists requires pitching through platforms like Spotify for Artists (for Spotify) or Apple Music for Artists (for Apple Music). Curators evaluate production quality, genre clarity, commercial potential, and whether the track fits the specific mood or theme of their playlist. Unlike algorithmic playlists, editorial placement is unpredictable even for high-quality tracks — it involves human judgment, timing, and relationship factors that cannot be fully optimised through audio analysis alone.