The Playlist Committee, made up of producers and chaired by Jeff Smith, Head of Music Radio 2, meet each week to decide which new releases will be added to the station's playlist.

The playlist contains about 30 tracks which are divided into three levels: A list, which receive the most plays, about 20 each week; B list 10 plays and the C list around 5 plays.

The Radio 2 playlist is one of the most varied of any radio station in the UK and can include albums as well as singles. Before any track can be considered it must be commercially available or be within 4 weeks of commercial availability.