Where do I submit a Yandex Music pitch?

Through your account on BandLink, an artist service owned by Yandex. There is no separate pitch form on the Yandex Music website or in your distributor’s upload form: the “Submit for pitching” button is in BandLink Analytics.

When does the pitch button appear?

Your distributor must first confirm the release on Yandex Music with a future release date. The button does not appear immediately: the official guidance says it becomes available 2–4 days after confirmation.

How far ahead of release day should I pitch?

At least 2 weeks is recommended. If you miss that window, Yandex has a separate artist accelerator called Nitro that accepts applications up to release day.

Can my music be featured without a pitch?

Yes. For new artists, this is the main route. My Vibe recommends tracks algorithmically, without a submission form, using completed listens, likes, and other listener responses.

Do I need BandLink verification to pitch?

Only a verified artist or their manager can submit. Your BandLink account must be verified; otherwise the pitch button and Analytics section are unavailable.

How to get on Yandex Music playlists: pitching through BandLink

At a glance

Submit your pitch through a verified BandLink artist account, rather than your distributor’s upload form
The button appears 2–4 days after release confirmation. Submit at least 2 weeks before release day
For new artists, real listeners matter more than a playlist: their responses help My Vibe recommend your music

First, let’s clear up a common misconception

You may see Russian-language advice claiming that you can pitch to Yandex Music by filling in a field when uploading your release to a distributor, and that the pitch then goes straight to an editor. That is not how the officially documented process works. You submit a pitch through your account on BandLink, an artist service owned by Yandex, rather than through the track upload form. Yandex Music is a major streaming service for Russian-speaking audiences.

If you have read that ticking a box during upload automatically submits your pitch, that advice is outdated or was inaccurate to begin with. Here is how the process actually works, step by step.

📅

7–14 days ahead

Upload early with a future release date

📝

Submit your pitch

Send your track for editorial consideration

🎧

An editor listens

The track and its presentation are reviewed

⭐

Playlist placement

A placement can boost streams

Who can submit a pitch, and how

Only a verified artist or their manager can apply: your BandLink account must be verified first. In the dashboard, go to “Analytics” → “Submit for pitching,” choose your release’s focus track, describe its concept and mood, and tell the editors about the artist’s achievements.

Yandex’s support page mentions a separate submission form for labels, but Yandex does not publish its details.

BandLink Analytics with the “Submit for pitching” button — BandLink’s Russian-language Analytics page. The upcoming release has a “Submit for pitching” button; the charts below show streams and listeners. Button and section names here are English translations of the labels shown.

BandLink pitching, step 1: what pitching can offer — BandLink’s Russian-language pitching introduction explains how a pitch can help reach listeners, editorial playlists, and My Vibe. The bottom button means “Continue.”

Pitching, step 2: the focus track and release description — The Russian-language BandLink form asks for a “Focus track” and “About the release”: describe its idea, mood, and inspirations. The bottom buttons mean “Back” and “Continue.”

Pitching, step 3: artist information and submission — The final Russian-language BandLink step asks for an artist introduction and achievements. The red button means “Submit for pitching”; the other button means “Back.”

When the button becomes available

There is an important condition that is easy to miss: the pitch button does not appear as soon as you upload a track to your distributor. Two things must happen first. Your distributor must have confirmed the release on Yandex Music, and the release date must still be in the future. According to the official guidance, the button then becomes available within 2–4 days.

The practical takeaway: if you want to pitch a release, upload it to your distributor well ahead of release day. With creator, allow at least 2–3 weeks so there is time for review, for the button to appear, and for you to submit your pitch.

2–4 daysuntil the pitch button appears after the release is confirmed

How far ahead to submit

Yandex officially recommends submitting your pitch at least 2 weeks before release day. That gives the editorial team time to listen and decide where the track might fit. If you miss that window, a separate artist accelerator called Nitro accepts applications up to release day itself. Treat it as a backup option rather than your main plan.

Recommended upload timing2–3 weeks ahead

BandLink pitch buttonAfter release delivery

Main submissionOne focus track

Submission costFree

DecisionMade by the editorial team

Guaranteed playlist placementNo

💡

Submit your pitch at least 2 weeks before release day. Give the editors time to listen and consider a placement instead of relying on a last-minute Nitro application.

The essential first step: BandLink verification

Before you pitch, verify your BandLink profile. Without verification, neither the pitch button nor the Analytics section is available. The official process has specific requirements:

it is available only to artists and their managers, through the desktop web version of the Russian-language site;
provide your real first and last name, an email address matching your official artist page or social profile, and your role: artist or manager;
you can verify using VK ID;
add your official website if you have one, and the UPC of your latest solo release. You can find that code in your creator dashboard.

Verification unlocks Analytics. Statistics update daily; the previous day’s data is available after 8 p.m. Moscow time, with daily, weekly, 28-day, and annual views. You also get a Donations button, an Upcoming Releases section on your artist profile, and a tool for finding your tracks in other people’s playlists. For more about artist profiles and when they appear, see How to Release Music on Yandex Music.

For new artists, My Vibe matters more than playlists

Keep expectations realistic: editorial pitching is useful, but it is neither the only route nor necessarily the most important one for an artist without an established audience. Yandex Music and VK are key services for Russian-speaking independent artists, and recommendations on those services account for the vast majority of their streams.

My Vibe, Yandex Music’s personalized recommendation stream, uses the ARGUS model. It looks at a listener’s long-term activity and updates recommendations in real time in response to likes, skips, and completed listens. Yandex does not disclose the exact formula or its weighting, but it has confirmed the general principle: more positive listener responses give a track a better chance of being recommended. For a newcomer, building a real audience before pitching is a more dependable approach than putting everything into a single pitch with no listener base.

What can improve your chances

Submit early. Allow at least 2 weeks instead of waiting until Nitro is your only remaining option.
Get verified before the release you want to pitch. BandLink verification takes time. Complete it ahead of schedule rather than just before a deadline.
Get your profile ready. Compliant cover art, current social links, and real activity around the release all contribute to how your submission is received, even if the pitch form does not explicitly ask for them.
Do not repeatedly pitch the same track. The official guidance does not expressly prohibit it, but resubmitting unchanged material gives editors little new reason to reconsider it.

What to prepare for your pitch

One focus track and a brief explanation of its concept
An accurate genre, mood, and description of the key instruments
Two or three relevant reference artists or tracks, without claiming to be “the next…”
A specific plan: video, live shows, collaborations, or advertising
Current photos, a bio, and official profile links
A future release date that leaves time for review

⚠️

Be wary of anyone selling “guaranteed pitching” or a guaranteed placement. Neither BandLink nor a distributor can guarantee the outcome: the editorial team makes the decision, and submitting the pitch itself is free.

Common questions in practice

There are no guarantees. Neither BandLink nor your distributor can promise a playlist slot; the editorial team decides. Anyone selling a “guaranteed” paid pitch is misleading you: submitting through BandLink and the distributor is free.

What to take away

Pitching to Yandex Music works differently from what many guides suggest: you use a verified BandLink account, not a distributor’s upload form, and the button appears 2–4 days after the release is confirmed. For an artist just starting out, building a real listener base that helps My Vibe discover the music matters more than chasing a playlist at any cost. Upload your release early through creator and leave time for review, verification, and pitching.