Tips on how to Approach Spotify Playlist Curators

You’ve produced, recorded, mixed and mastered your song, and you’re ready to release, what happens next?

The first step should be deciding how you want to market or promote it, and if you don’t have much of a following yet, playlist placements is a great place to start. We address the importance of playlists in our Single or EP post, but we will elaborate here. 

Playlists are an important marketing tool for artists because they are accessible, especially if your music has replay value. Many curators have gathered enough of a following to also increase the reach of your music, and these curators have pride in finding the best new music first. 

Because we recognize the importance of playlist curators as gatekeepers in music, we’ve gone ahead and found 100 playlists and curators that are willing to accept submissions for free, and tips on how to pitch your music.

While playlists are important for new artists, we must stress that the followers of these curators are loyal to the playlist, not you; so it is important not to expect a continuous amount of streams and listeners after your song is removed from the playlist. Below we’ve given five tips on the best ways to pitch to a curator. If you want the list of curators that we’ve researched, we’ve made it available here.

5 tips for submitting music to playlist curators!

1. Don’t Waste Their Time

   • Take time to listen to the playlists of the curator to see if your song will fit the aesthetic. Many curators have more than one playlist that may fit you, leading to tip two...

2. Ask for a Placement on a Specific Playlist

   • You should know which playlist is the best option for your song, this shows that you’re invested in the curator and that you don’t want to waste their time.

3. Explain Your Goals

   • Of course your goal is to grow a following and get listeners, but what demographic are you targeting? How will the playlist play a part in the success of achieving your goal?

4. Personalize Your Message

   • Take the time to make your submission personal to the curator, without it being too lengthy. Be authentic and they will respond in kind.

5. Explain How You Benefit Them

   • This is the most important tip. Find out why a curator is curating. Are they trying to build a following on Spotify or social media? Are they trying to build a following to eventually charge for submissions? Do they just want to be gatekeepers? 

   • Understanding this will grab the curator’s attention, because at the end of the day, playlist curators have leverage that they can eventually monetize. 

   • If you have a following, have your followers like the playlist.

   • If you don’t have a following, appeal to the curator being the first to present your song on a playlist.

We’ve provided list of playlist creators and their contact info in the 100 Playlist Curators List. When you open the document there will be six sites that you can submit to specific playlists or for overall review, where the site’s curators choose the playlist that best fits your song. There are also ninety-five playlists/curators and their contact information, most have to be contacted through Instagram, but some prefer email or even their personal site. Each playlist is listed with its curator and how they prefer to be contacted. To be placed on one of the Stoned Produce sponsored playlists, go to Stoned Produce’s Community Page. If you’re wondering how to find playlist curators, we cover that here.

Sponsored by Stoned Produce