As an independent musician, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to get your music heard in today’s saturated digital landscape. After pouring my heart and soul into crafting the perfect track, I found myself facing the daunting task of promoting it without breaking the bank. That’s when I discovered the power of playlist curators – the unsung heroes of the music streaming world who can potentially catapult your song from obscurity to thousands of listeners’ ears.
In my quest to find the most effective ways to submit my music, I’ve explored countless playlist curation services. Some have been game-changers, while others… well, let’s just say they didn’t quite hit the right note.
To save you the time and potential heartache, I’ve compiled this list of the 10 best playlist curators to submit your music. These platforms have proven track records of helping independent artists like us gain exposure, build a fanbase, and potentially catch the eye (or ear) of industry professionals.
1. Playlist Push
Playlist Push is a popular platform that connects independent artists with playlist curators across various streaming services. The service offers a streamlined submission process, allowing musicians to target playlists that align with their genre and style. Playlist Push boasts a network of over 1,000 curators, providing artists with a wide range of potential playlist placements. One of the platform’s standout features is its detailed analytics, which offers artists insights into their campaign performance, including the number of streams generated and playlist additions. Playlist Push also provides valuable feedback from curators, helping artists refine their music and marketing strategies.
2. Playlist Curator
Playlist Curator stands out as one of the most prominent playlist curators on the internet, offering a diverse range of carefully curated music playlists across major streaming platforms. The platform prides itself on its meticulous approach to playlist creation, ensuring that each collection is thoughtfully crafted to suit specific themes, moods, or occasions. Their team of experienced curators, led by founder Serena Whitfield and playlist curator Jasper Clarke, brings a wealth of musical expertise to the table, continuously exploring new releases, emerging artists, and timeless classics across multiple genres.
One of Playlist Curator’s key strengths lies in its commitment to quality control and thematic coherence. Each track undergoes a rigorous evaluation process, considering factors such as production quality, lyrical content, and overall artistic merit before being added to a playlist. This attention to detail ensures that listeners experience a cohesive and engaging musical journey, regardless of the playlist’s theme. The platform also values user feedback, regularly analyzing engagement data and incorporating listener preferences to refine their offerings.
For artists looking to submit their music, Playlist Curator provides a straightforward submission process through their website. While they receive hundreds of submissions each month, they carefully consider each one before potentially including it in their popular playlists. The platform offers a wide variety of themed playlists, ranging from “Songs About True Love” to “Songs About the Sun and Sunshine,” providing ample opportunities for artists to find a suitable home for their music.
3. Indiemono
Indiemono is a unique playlist curation service that focuses on promoting independent and emerging artists. What sets Indiemono apart is its free submission system, which allows artists to submit their music to the platform’s editorial selections without any upfront costs. The service organizes submissions into genre-specific “boxes” to help curators focus on similar vibes when reviewing tracks. Indiemono’s approach is designed to be efficient for both artists and curators, streamlining the submission process while ensuring that songs are considered for multiple playlists across their network. Additionally, Indiemono offers a digital distribution service called Distromono, providing artists with a comprehensive solution for both music distribution and playlist promotion.
4. SoundCampaign
SoundCampaign is a music promotion platform that facilitates connections between artists and independent Spotify playlist curators worldwide. The service offers promotional campaigns lasting up to 14 days, during which artists’ songs are submitted to relevant curators for review and potential playlist inclusion. SoundCampaign stands out for its commitment to organic growth, emphasizing honest curator feedback and natural playlist additions rather than guaranteed results. The platform also features an Artist Protection Program, which reimburses customers if curators fail to listen to or review their submissions. SoundCampaign’s user-friendly interface and transparent process make it an attractive option for artists looking to expand their reach on Spotify and gain valuable insights from industry professionals.
5. Tunemunk
Tunemunk is a platform that facilitates Spotify playlist submissions, connecting artists with curators worldwide. The service offers a user-friendly submission tool that allows musicians to browse and submit their tracks to playlists categorized by genre or featuring particular artists. This approach enables artists to target playlists that are most relevant to their style and audience. Tunemunk’s categorization system includes a wide range of genres, from Blues and EDM to Pop and Rock, as well as playlists featuring popular artists like Drake or Ariana Grande. This diverse selection ensures that artists from various musical backgrounds can find suitable playlists for their submissions. Additionally, Tunemunk curates its own playlists, providing another avenue for artists to gain exposure through the platform.
6. SongRocket
SongRocket is a music promotion platform designed to simplify the process of pitching music to independent curators. Founded by Lukas, a DJ and music producer with over 25 years of experience in the electronic music scene, SongRocket aims to address the challenges artists face when submitting their music to playlists. The platform boasts a network of over 170 curators with a combined following of more than 11 million listeners, offering artists access to a significant potential audience. SongRocket’s submission process is streamlined, allowing artists to start a pitch for as little as $6 USD. Users simply upload their track information and select from an extensive list of musical genres. The platform emphasizes fairness and quality in its curation process, with Lukas personally vetting playlists and curators to ensure they meet SongRocket’s standards.
7. Boost Collective
Boost Collective is a comprehensive music distribution and promotion platform that offers a range of services to independent artists. While primarily known for its Spotify promotion services, Boost Collective has expanded to provide a full suite of tools for musicians. The platform offers unlimited free music distribution to over 150 stores, allowing artists to release their music without upfront costs. Boost Collective’s promotion services include Spotify playlist placement, which is offered as part of their distribution package. Artists earn credits for each release they submit, which can be used for various services including Spotify promotion, music mastering, graphic design, and access to music marketing courses. One of Boost Collective’s unique features is its use of company-built playlists for promotion, which allows for more control over campaigns but has been subject to some debate regarding its alignment with Spotify’s terms of service. Despite this, Boost Collective has demonstrated success in promoting artists, with case studies showing significant stream increases for both emerging and established musicians.
8. For the Love of Bands
For the Love of Bands is an online magazine and indie music blog that focuses on promoting independent and emerging artists. The platform offers a unique blend of music discovery, reviews, and playlist curation. Their team of writers, hailing from various countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, brings diverse perspectives to their content. The blog primarily concentrates on genres such as Indie, Rock, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Punk, Reggae, Acoustic, Alternative, Americana, Garage, Shoegaze/Dream Pop, Ska, and Surf.
In addition to their blog content, For the Love of Bands maintains several Spotify playlists dedicated to showcasing emerging artists in the indie music scene. Artists can submit their music for consideration through a free online submission form on their website. This approach allows independent bands and musicians to potentially reach new audiences and gain exposure through carefully curated playlists.
9. Submit Hub
Submit Hub is a comprehensive platform that connects artists with a wide range of music industry professionals, including playlist curators, bloggers, and record labels. The platform offers both free and premium submission options, allowing artists to choose the level of service that best fits their needs and budget.
One of Submit Hub’s standout features is its transparency and detailed feedback system. Artists receive specific comments from curators, whether their track is accepted or rejected, providing valuable insights for improvement. The platform also offers unique features like “Hot or Not,” where artists can rate other songs to earn credits for submissions, and a “What’s my genre?” tool powered by AI to help artists identify their sound.
Submit Hub’s user-friendly interface allows artists to browse through an extensive list of curators, each with specific requirements and preferences listed on their profile. This detailed information helps artists make informed decisions when submitting their music, increasing their chances of successful placements.
10. Rizing Playlists
Rizing Playlists is a platform that curates music playlists across multiple streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and YouTube Music. The platform focuses on promoting independent and emerging artists, offering them a chance to gain exposure through well-curated playlists.
Rizing Playlists provides a straightforward submission process for artists. Musicians can submit their tracks through a dedicated submission form on the Rizing Playlists website. The editorial team carefully reviews each submission, evaluating the tracks based on quality and fit within their existing playlists.
One of the key aspects of Rizing Playlists is their commitment to ethical curation practices. They emphasize that they do not engage in paid placements or any practices that violate streaming platforms’ terms and conditions. Instead, they focus on curating high-quality playlists that showcase fresh, exciting music across different genres. Artists are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the existing tracks on Rizing Playlists to understand the type of music they typically feature before submitting.
