As an aspiring musician, I know firsthand the struggle of trying to get your music heard in today’s oversaturated digital landscape. For months, I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into my tracks, but gaining traction felt like an uphill battle. That’s when I discovered the power of playlist curators – the unsung heroes of the music industry who can catapult an unknown artist into the spotlight overnight.
After countless hours of research and personal experience, I’ve compiled a list of the 10 best playlist curators that every independent artist should know about. These curators have the potential to transform your musical journey, offering a chance to reach thousands, if not millions, of new listeners.
Whether you’re a bedroom producer or a seasoned performer, these platforms can be your ticket to the recognition you deserve.
1. SoundCampaign
SoundCampaign is a powerful platform that connects artists with a vast network of Spotify playlist curators. With over 1,000 verified curators and 11,000 authentic playlists across 1,200 genres, SoundCampaign offers extensive reach for musicians looking to promote their work. The platform uses an automated matching system to pair tracks with suitable playlists, saving artists time and effort in finding appropriate curators. SoundCampaign also provides valuable feedback from curators, helping artists refine their music and understand listener preferences. Importantly, the platform operates within Spotify’s policies, ensuring organic playlist placements and maintaining integrity in the promotion process.
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 various themes and moods. Their extensive collection is available on their website and major streaming platforms, including Spotify, YouTube Music, and SoundCloud, making it easily accessible to a wide audience.
The curation process at Playlist Curator is meticulous and thoughtful, designed to create engaging and high-quality playlists that resonate with listeners. Their team of experienced curators continuously explores new releases, emerging artists, and timeless classics across multiple genres. Each playlist is crafted around a specific theme, mood, or occasion, ensuring thematic coherence and a cohesive listening experience.
Playlist Curator maintains strict quality control measures, subjecting each track to a rigorous evaluation process before inclusion. They consider factors such as production quality, lyrical content, and overall artistic merit to uphold the high standards expected by their listeners. The platform also values user feedback, regularly analyzing engagement data and incorporating listener preferences to refine their playlists.
For artists looking to submit their music, Playlist Curator offers a straightforward submission process. Musicians can fill out a form on the website, specifying which playlists they’re applying for. The curators carefully consider each submission before including it in their popular playlists. However, due to the high volume of submissions, they don’t notify artists of rejections, advising them to assume rejection if they haven’t heard back within a month.
3. Soundplate
Soundplate is a free music marketing platform that offers a range of tools for artists, including access to a large database of Spotify playlist curators. Artists can submit their music to curators for free through Soundplate’s system. The platform provides detailed information about each playlist, including follower count, average song tempo, and duration, allowing artists to make informed decisions about where to submit their tracks. Soundplate also offers analytics tools like a Spotify track analyzer to help artists match their music to appropriate playlists. The platform emphasizes the importance of targeted submissions and building relationships with curators, encouraging artists to engage with playlists that add their music.
4. For the Love of Bands
For the Love of Bands is an indie music blog and Spotify curator based in the Netherlands, focusing on independent music, upcoming bands, and emerging artists. Launched in 2016, this curator specializes in various subgenres of indie and rock music, including punk rock, surf rock, and indie folk. For the Love of Bands maintains several playlists aimed at discovering promising new artists. They have a strong presence on social media platforms and offer additional services like artist interviews and features on their blog. The curator has specific preferences, such as English lyrics only and no EDM or commercial music, making it an excellent option for indie rock and alternative artists looking for targeted playlist placement.
5. Rizing Playlists
Rizing Playlists is a highly-regarded independent Spotify playlist curator that offers artists an excellent opportunity to gain exposure for their music. With a large following and a wide range of genres covered, Rizing Playlists provides a valuable platform for musicians looking to expand their audience. The submission process is straightforward: artists can pitch their music directly through the Rizing Playlists website. To increase their chances of being featured, artists are encouraged to follow Rizing Playlists on Spotify before submitting. This curator’s commitment to showcasing diverse talent and their user-friendly submission system make them a popular choice for independent artists seeking playlist placement.
6. Indiemono
Indiemono is a free music submission platform that connects artists with curated Spotify playlists. What sets Indiemono apart is their unique genre-based submission system. Artists can choose from various genre “boxes” to submit their music, ensuring that tracks are matched with the most appropriate playlists. Indiemono’s editorial team reviews all submissions, focusing on the music’s quality and fit rather than an artist’s existing popularity or following. While they don’t provide individual feedback due to the high volume of submissions, Indiemono’s system is designed to be efficient for both artists and curators. The platform emphasizes that submitting to one genre box is sufficient, as their team will consider the track for all relevant playlists across their network.
7. SongRocket
SongRocket is a music promotion platform that specializes in Spotify playlist pitching, offering a streamlined approach for artists to get their music heard. Founded by Lukas, a DJ and music producer with over 25 years of experience in the electronic music scene, SongRocket was created to simplify the often complex process of playlist submission. The platform boasts a network of over 170 curators with a combined following of more than 11 million listeners. SongRocket’s unique selling point is its artist-centric approach, with campaigns starting at just $6. Artists can easily submit their tracks by uploading information and selecting relevant genres. The platform then matches the music with appropriate curators in their network. SongRocket also offers a longer pitching window of 7 days, compared to the industry standard of 48 hours, giving curators more time to consider submissions.
8. Playlist Push
Playlist Push is a popular music promotion platform that connects artists with playlist curators across various genres. The service offers a streamlined campaign process for artists looking to gain exposure on Spotify playlists. To get started, artists fill out a brief application with basic information about their song and artist profile. Playlist Push then matches the submitted tracks with relevant curators in their network. One of the key advantages of Playlist Push is its focus on curator quality and feedback. Curators are required to provide detailed feedback for each submission, whether they choose to add the track or not. This feedback can be valuable for artists looking to improve their music and understand curator preferences. Playlist Push also offers analytics tools to help artists track the performance of their campaigns and measure their impact on streaming numbers.
9. iMusician
iMusician is a digital music distribution service that has expanded its offerings to include playlist pitching. This dual functionality makes it an attractive option for independent artists looking for an all-in-one solution for distribution and promotion. Artists who distribute their music through iMusician gain access to their playlist submission tool, allowing them to browse curated playlists across various genres and submit tracks directly to playlist owners. One of the main benefits of iMusician’s playlist pitching service is that submissions are free for artists who use their distribution platform. However, it’s important to note that while iMusician provides a direct connection to curators, they do not guarantee placements on playlists. The service emphasizes the quality of music and its fit with specific playlists, leaving the final decision to the discretion of playlist owners.
10. SpinGrey
SpinGrey is a playlist curation service that offers artists a unique opportunity to get their music featured on carefully curated playlists. What sets SpinGrey apart is its Patreon-based system, which allows artists to submit their music with priority to SpinGrey’s playlists and social channels. This approach provides a more direct line of communication between artists and curators, potentially increasing the chances of playlist inclusion. SpinGrey maintains a collection of curated playlists on Spotify, covering various genres and moods. In addition to playlist curation, SpinGrey leverages social media platforms, particularly Instagram, to share updates about their playlists and new releases. This multi-channel approach provides artists with additional promotional opportunities beyond just playlist inclusion. By following SpinGrey on Instagram, artists and fans can stay updated on the latest playlist additions and discover new music.