When my sister told me she wanted to pursue her dream of becoming a singer, I knew I had to step up and help her navigate the complex world of music promotion. As her self-appointed manager and biggest fan, I quickly learned that getting her songs on popular playlists was crucial for gaining exposure and building a fanbase. But with countless playlist curators out there, it was overwhelming to figure out where to start.
After months of research, trial and error, and a few sleepless nights, I’ve compiled a list of the 10 best playlist curators that have helped my sister’s music reach new listeners. These curators have not only given her songs a chance but have also provided valuable feedback that has helped her grow as an artist.
1. For the Love of Bands
For the Love of Bands is an indie music blog and Spotify curator based in the Netherlands that focuses on independent, upcoming, and emerging bands and artists. Founded in 2016, they curate playlists featuring alternative rock, indie rock, pop punk, and singer-songwriter genres. For the Love of Bands has a strong following across platforms, with nearly 50,000 Spotify followers and over 9,600 Instagram followers. They are particularly interested in authentic, creative, and melodic tracks with English lyrics. The curator emphasizes a preference for music without autotune and avoids EDM, dancehall, and overly commercial styles. Artists can submit their music to For the Love of Bands through platforms like Groover for consideration and feedback.
2. Playlist Curator
Playlist Curator is a prominent online platform dedicated to curating high-quality music playlists across various themes and moods. Founded by Serena Whitfield, a musician with a distinguished background in music from the University of Oxford, the platform takes pride in its meticulous approach to playlist curation. Unlike automated systems, Playlist Curator relies on the expertise of professional curators, including Jasper Clarke, a skilled guitarist with a passion for diverse musical genres.
The platform’s curation process is rigorous and thoughtful, focusing on diverse music selection, thematic coherence, and strict quality control. Each playlist is carefully crafted to create a cohesive listening experience, with tracks undergoing a thorough evaluation process before inclusion. Playlist Curator values user feedback and regularly updates its playlists to keep content fresh and engaging.
With a presence on major streaming platforms like Spotify, YouTube Music, and SoundCloud, Playlist Curator offers a wide range of themed playlists catering to various moods and occasions. The platform has achieved significant milestones, boasting over 100,000 followers across its playlists, more than 500 actively curated playlists, and a growing monthly visitor count of over 20,000.
For artists looking to submit their music, Playlist Curator provides a straightforward submission process through their website. The platform receives hundreds of submissions monthly and carefully considers each one, though they maintain strict criteria to ensure only high-quality tracks that align with playlist themes are included. Popular playlist themes include Songs About True Love, Songs About Soulmates, and Songs About the Sun and Sunshine.
3. Soundplate
Soundplate is a comprehensive platform for music promotion and playlist submission. They offer free Spotify playlist submission services, allowing artists to discover and submit their music to independent playlists across various genres. Soundplate provides tools for playlist analysis, track analysis, and playlist searching to help artists find the most suitable playlists for their music. In addition to playlist submission, Soundplate offers other music promotion tools such as smart links, animated social media content, and cover artwork generation. Their platform aims to connect independent artists with playlist curators and provide resources for effective music marketing and promotion.
4. SongRocket
SongRocket, launched in April 2021, is a playlist pitching service designed to simplify the process of submitting music to carefully selected curators. Founded by Lukas, a DJ and music producer with extensive industry experience, SongRocket aims to address the challenges of pitching music to independent curators. The platform boasts over 170 curators with a combined following of more than 11 million listeners. SongRocket offers a streamlined submission process, allowing artists to pitch their music to relevant playlists for as low as $6 USD. The service focuses on quality curation, carefully vetting playlists and curators to ensure they meet specific criteria and avoid potentially fraudulent or inactive playlists. SongRocket’s approach is designed to be artist-friendly, leveraging the founder’s personal experience in music production and promotion.
5. SpinGrey
SpinGrey is a playlist curation service that offers artists the opportunity to submit their music for consideration on their curated playlists. They operate through a 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. SpinGrey maintains a collection of curated playlists on Spotify, covering various genres and moods, giving artists the chance to find playlists that best fit their style of music. Additionally, SpinGrey leverages Instagram to share updates about their playlists and new releases, creating an extra channel for artist promotion.
6. iMusician
iMusician is a digital music distribution and promotion platform that offers playlist submission services as part of its broader suite of tools for independent artists. They curate genre-blending playlists on both Spotify and Deezer, focusing on indie music from their DIY community and beyond. iMusician’s playlists cover a wide range of genres, including jazz, allowing artists to submit their tracks to playlists that align with their musical style. This service provides an opportunity for independent artists to gain exposure and potentially reach new audiences through carefully curated playlists.
7. Playlist Push
Playlist Push is a comprehensive platform connecting independent artists with playlist curators. They have strict requirements for curators to ensure high-quality playlists and authentic engagement. Curators must have at least 1,000 followers per playlist, a minimum of 30 active monthly listeners, and maintain 100% organic growth without using bots or fake followers. Playlist Push offers Spotify campaigns for artists starting at $285, with an average cost of $450. Artists can select their targeting preferences, budget, and start date. Once submitted, curators review the song for up to two weeks, potentially adding it to their playlists if they like it. While placements are not guaranteed, Playlist Push has helped over 25,000 artists reach over a billion listeners through more than 70,000 successful campaigns.
8. Indiemono
Indiemono is a free music submission platform that connects independent artists with playlist curators. They offer a unique “box” system for submissions, allowing artists to choose the most appropriate genre or mood for their track. This approach helps curators focus on specific vibes when reviewing submissions, streamlining the process for both artists and curators. Indiemono’s team listens to all submissions and playlists tracks they like across their various playlists, regardless of which “box” the song was submitted to. While they don’t provide individual feedback due to the high volume of submissions, artists can track their placements through Spotify for Artists. Indiemono also offers a digital distribution service called Distromono for artists with unreleased tracks.
9. Submit Hub
SubmitHub is one of the largest and most established platforms for music submissions, connecting artists with playlist curators, blogs, labels, and other industry professionals. Artists can create profiles and upload their tracks, then browse through thousands of curators to find the most suitable ones based on genre, popularity, and other factors. SubmitHub uses a credit system for submissions, offering both free standard credits and paid premium credits that guarantee a response. Curators provide feedback on submissions, choosing to approve or reject tracks. If approved, curators share the track on their playlist, blog, or other platforms. SubmitHub also offers detailed analytics on submission performance, allowing artists to track their progress and success rates.
10. Rizing Playlists
Rizing Playlists is a multi-platform playlist curation service that operates across major streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and YouTube Music. They focus on promoting independent and emerging artists across various genres such as Pop, R&B, Rock, and Hip-Hop. Artists can submit their tracks directly through the Rizing Playlists website for consideration. The platform aims to help independent artists gain exposure by featuring their music in well-curated playlists, potentially connecting them with new fans and increasing their visibility in the competitive music landscape. Rizing Playlists offers listeners the opportunity to discover new and exciting music while providing artists with a valuable platform for growth and promotion.
