Introduction
This article explains how to successfully submit music for editorial pitching via FUGA, including how to craft effective elevator pitches, structure marketing drivers, and understand timelines and tools such as FUGA SCORE. It also provides guidance on catalog marketing and release scheduling to help maximize promotional opportunities across Digital Service Providers (DSPs).
What is an Elevator Pitch?
Every marketing submission must include an elevator pitch: a short, powerful summary that gives DSP editors and partners a clear, compelling snapshot of your release and marketing efforts around it.
The format has two components:
1. Hook
A single sentence that captures attention. Think of it as your headline: clear, punchy, and memorable. Use it to highlight key artist milestones, marketing drivers, or a narrative that sets this release apart. Sometimes it is easier to write this section after you have written your elevator pitch.
2. Elevator Pitch
A longer summary (max 500 characters including spaces) that expands on the hook. This is your chance to show what’s special about the music and back it up with real, compelling marketing context.
A suitable elevator pitch should include: - Background sentence about the artist - A sentence about the release (story, featuring artist or collaborator, what the track sounds like, similar artists/Recommended If You Like, etc.) - A sentence about the bigger picture. What’s coming up next for the artist? Is it part of an album campaign? First in a string of single releases? Remixes? - Finally, promo efforts – engaging marketing drivers to support the release (ads, touring, radio/PR partners, standout content, syncs, territories you are spending money in etc)
Examples:
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Hook: [Artist Name] hits 1M listeners with [Title], the first in a run of singles backed by digital ads, BBC R1 support & a sold-out UK headline show.
Elevator Pitch: [Title] blends woozy R&B with garage-leaning production, drawing on themes of emotional detachment. It launches a wider campaign supported by UK/US PR (XYZ), national radio (BBC R1, Capital XTRA), & TikTok creators. Live promo includes a sold-out London headline, EU festival slots & Rough Trade in-store. Mixtape & D2F zine drop planned for August. -
Hook: After a sync on Love Island & 75k TikTok views in 48 hours, [Artist Name] returns with [Title], a high-energy UKG cut about emotional escape.
Elevator Pitch: Co-produced by [Producer Name], [Title] pairs breakneck beats with soft vocal layers. A fan-favorite teaser drove 1k+ Shazams from its Love Island placement. Marketing includes TikTok creator activity, UK radio (R1, Reprezent), & an East London fan event. It’s the final track before her EP drop & headline show in October.
What are Marketing Drivers?
Marketing drivers are the key pieces of information that tell us, editors, and DSP reps why your release matters and how you are supporting it. Think of them as the proof points that help us pitch your music to DSPs like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, etc. These people get thousands of pitches a week. Use this section to convince them you are doing what you can to make sure the release will do well. You aren’t just relying on DSP support and what makes your release stand out.
How should you present them? - Focus on forward-facing drivers, but you can present some recent successes - Bulletpoints only, short and factual - No full sentences, explanations or long paragraphs - Combine things where possible (e.g. group shows or radio into one line) - If you are marketing, you should focus much of it in the most impactful locations and tell us where, not all drivers should be ‘world’ - Do not copy/paste your marketing plan – pick the strongest drivers to cover - Do not include all PR, Radio, TV, DJ Promo targets or coverage – again, pick the strongest to cover, usually 3–5 for each category/territory
Some examples of these include:
- Music videos, visualizers, lyric videos
- Social media follower numbers and engagement in the following format for each artist on the release: FB xx | IG xx | YT xx | TT xx | X xx | Snap xx
- Advertising to be run for this release (in this example format: $500 ads on IG, FB, YT & TT, targeting USA, UK, Germany, France and Benelux)
- Premieres on media outlets and general press pick-ups
- Radio campaigns or plays from direct DJ relationships and other DJ support (example: last single had XX plays on BBC 1Xtra with support from xx presenter)
- Tour/live shows (confirmed or routing) and other POI – “shared stages with,” notable festival appearances, etc.
- Charting, i.e. iTunes, Billboard, etc.
- Brand and media partnerships
- Other marketing campaigns – experiential, print, etc.
- Sync and other licensing information (example: last single was featured in ep2 of Love Island)
- Other artist development POIs – management, booking agent, TV/film appearances, etc.
- Audience information (example: Audience are mostly Gen Z’s and Gen Alpha)
- If you want support in specific territories, please be sure to have drivers that include a focus in these territories
How Do I Submit My Music for Pitching?
You do that via FUGA Next and FUGA SCORE, which is FUGA’s Marketing Services Portal. For first time users and for a refresher, please watch the short instruction videos on how to submit your release for pitching. If you don’t have a login to the portal, reach out to your Marketing Strategy Manager or Business Development Representative.
When Should I Submit My Music for Pitching?
Submit your releases no later than 4 weeks before the release date. Anything submitted after that is considered a late pitch and it may impact potential DSP support. For priority albums and EPs they would ideally be submitted 8–10 weeks before release.
What Will I Need to Submit a Release for Pitching?
To submit a release for pitching, ideally, your release must already be delivered in FUGA.
The submission form will ask for a few things, including the following key information: - Project artwork - Private listening link - Approved promo photo (high res) - Main genre and sub-genres - Elevator Pitch: Hook (max 175 characters) and main pitch (max 500 characters including spaces) - Marketing Drivers: Bullet-pointed (no long sentences) and tagged by territory
For priority releases, ideally, you would also include the following: - Deck or factsheet - Social media rollout plan
Can I Re-Pitch a Track?
Yes! Our team re-pitches tracks for editorial consideration on a weekly basis. With that being said, there are a few criteria that need to be met:
- Positive Data Story: There must be a positive data story for the release – such as a strong week-on-week growth, notable chart positions (example: Spotify Viral Chart, Shazam Chart, etc.). In some cases, the release must meet minimum streaming requirements per week in a specific territory (speak to your Marketing Strategy lead for more details).
- New Talking Points: There must be new significant talking points around off-platform marketing activity for the release (example: large-scale impact on social media, significant sync placement or brand partnership).
In general, we don’t do re-pitches until 2 or 3 weeks after release.
What is a Release Schedule and Why Do I Need One?
A release schedule is a simple but essential tool that outlines all your upcoming releases and key dates. It helps your Marketing Strategy Manager understand your schedule, plan ahead, and make sure we’re aligning our efforts with your most important campaigns.
Sharing a release schedule gives us the visibility we need to offer better support. It allows us to spot gaps or overlaps, help you prioritise and plan, and advise on timelines for pitching, marketing submissions, and content planning. It also helps us flag opportunities and risks earlier, so we can work with you more proactively.
If you don’t already use a standard format, reach out to your Marketing Strategy lead, who can provide a release schedule template. We recommend keeping your release schedule as a live document (updated regularly) and sending it via email each time it’s updated or at a regular frequency. This ensures your Marketing Strategy Manager always has the latest information and can support you effectively as plans evolve.
What is Catalog Music?
Catalog music consists of tracks or albums released 18+ months ago.
What is Catalog Marketing?
Catalog marketing builds deeper fan connections, drives ongoing incremental revenue, and reveals untapped opportunities across the lifecycle of a release. It plays a critical role in surfacing insights that inform future marketing strategies, optimize new release rollouts, and inspire innovative product development. By leveraging data, fan behavior, and cultural relevance, catalog marketing ensures that legacy recordings continue to perform, grow, and engage both new and longtime audiences.
What are the key components of Catalog Marketing?
- Establishing a Strong Brand Identity Across All Platforms: Maintain consistent artist imagery, craft a timeless biography highlighting achievements, and ensure accurate, complete catalog metadata for all releases.
- Holidays, Key Dates, and Cultural Moments: Holidays, anniversaries, and milestones (e.g. artist birthdays or tour highlights) provide opportunities for catalog promotion.
- Reinvigorate Catalogs: Revitalize catalogs with deluxe editions, remixes, merch, and new music videos, especially around key dates to refresh the catalog, enhance its relevance, and deepen fan connections.
- Utilize Spotify Discovery Mode: Spotify Discovery Mode influences the algorithm in select personalized listening contexts, driving both long-term fanbase growth and short-term streaming gains for catalog music.
Contact
For assistance or login access to FUGA SCORE, contact your Marketing Strategy Manager or reach out via our support channel at support@fuga.com.