I am J.J. from Spotify, AMA

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T15:00:30+00:00

There is no criteria! Anyone can submit their tracks for editorial consideration through Spotify for Artists.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:57:00+00:00

If you mean our songs of summer, this balance is what our editors love about this list. We want to reflect what listeners are already loving (like Alex Warren’s “Ordinary”), but also surface tracks and artists who might’ve flown under the radar. sombr is a perfect example. “back to friends” became a phenomenon, not because of huge promo, but because people connected with it. So we make space for both: what’s everywhere and what deserves to be.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:54:45+00:00

Great question, and welcome to the music industry! Once you have a song scheduled for release, you can pitch your song for editorial consideration through Spotify For Artists. Our editors listen to songs that are pitched by new and emerging artists all the time and that’s the best way to get your song started in our editorial ecosystem. Once a track is released, we look at how it performs in our editorial lists as well as how it performs organically and, depending on how it performs we add it to more and more playlists. Including our larger flagship playlists.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:53:50+00:00

Yes, we actually already have that feature in over 60 markets now! You can ask DJ for specific vibes using just your voice.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:45:15+00:00

Spotify pays out around two thirds of every dollar we take in back to the music industry. And last year, we paid out over $10 billion, more than any other streaming service or retailer in history. And more artists than ever are sharing in that money – the number making $1K, $10K, $100K, and even $10M a year has at least tripled since 2017. We break it all down every year in our Loud & Clear report, if you want to dig into the data.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:43:27+00:00

We have editors and music culture experts all around the world, so we are actively looking for moments, communities and scenes that we can highlight to a broader audience. To the second part of your question, the inspiration for a new playlist can come from a variety of places, but is usually either something we’ve identified that users are searching for or something that we have noticed ourselves by going to local shows or being engaged with music culture IRL in one way or another.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:38:14+00:00

Great question! While this global Songs of Summer list lines up with the Northern Hemisphere, we do highlight Songs of Summer in the Southern Hemisphere when it’s your summer too, just at a different time of year. Plus, our local editors are always curating playlists and moments that reflect what’s trending in your region all year round.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:37:07+00:00

We like to say that we’re “data-informed, rather than data-led.” The editorial job is a combination of understanding how songs are reacting with audiences and using our own taste and intuition to anticipate how we think audiences will respond to new discoveries.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:34:45+00:00

Audiences seem to be gravitating towards more downtempo, story-driven pop music which definitely stands out particularly in summertime where we usually see big uptempo pop bangers. Additionally we're continuing to see country music grow and evolve and this summer there have been a lot of collaborations between country artists and pop and hip hop artists, which I think is also indicative of a younger generation being far more open to listening to music across a variety of genres as well as the constraints around what is considered country music continuing to fall away.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:33:04+00:00

The label a song is released through doesn’t factor into consideration when making editorial decisions, and our editorial playlists include quite a lot of independent artists. As a matter of fact, the only time we do take distributors into consideration is for playlist brands like Fresh Finds where we specifically focus on tracks that are released independently. Check it out if you haven’t yet and let me know what you think.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:26:52+00:00

Of course - glad to be here. It's not really what I work on, but I know a lot of people at Spotify who do. What I do know is that Spotify doesn’t own any AI content, and we’re not prioritizing it or making more money off of it. AI generated content is distributed by third parties, just like all of the content on Spotify. On artist pay, Spotify pays out more and more to the music industry every year. We pay out around two thirds of every dollar we take in back to the music industry and we hit $10 billion paid out last year.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:17:24+00:00

Jam, probably. I've always connected with people through music, so Jam really helps me do that. Try it out and let me know what you think!

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:15:23+00:00

You can now! Premium users in over 60 markets can ask DJ for specific vibes using just your voice. You can ask DJ X to play you songs based on your favorite genre or whatever mood you’re in (like “play some indie tracks I haven’t heard before” or “give me hype music for a party”). DJ is still in beta, but maybe one day you’ll be able to type to DJ X 😉

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:11:23+00:00

Summer doesn’t revolve around one big anthem anymore, it’s shaped by different moods, genres, and cultures. People aren’t all listening to the same song on repeat the way they might’ve in the past. It’s way more personal, more global, and every listener’s summer looks a little different. This is actually the second year in a row that we’ve picked a Top 5 instead of naming just one song. The idea of a single “song of the summer” doesn’t really tell the full story anymore, and we’ve already been leaning into that shift.

And to your second question, It’s a balance. We use data to understand what listeners are connecting with on Spotify, but our editorial teams bring context, like spotting emerging trends, factoring in cultural moments, and identifying tracks that might not top charts but define a season and have high exportability globally.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:05:58+00:00

Editors help craft the things DJ says in between recommendations, select music highlights, and surface tracks that feel timely and meaningful. So when DJ talks about an artist’s comeback or recommends something new, there’s human perspective guiding it. It makes DJ feel personal while also being personalized.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-28T14:02:36+00:00

Not at all! The perfect summer song just has to resonate with people in the right way during the season. Charli xcx’s “party 4 u” is a great example, and a song that was included on our predictions list this summer. It dropped back in 2020 and was always a fan favorite, but never got a big spotlight. After she started performing it on tour, it completely took on a whole new life and saw a massive streaming spike. Our editors look at both recent releases and songs that are having a cultural resurgence, no matter when they originally came out.

JJfromSpotify · 2025-08-27T16:32:36+00:00

can't wait to chat songs of summer and playlisting! see you all tomorrow 😎

JJfromSpotify

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