In today’s music landscape, getting your tracks featured on popular playlists can be a game-changer for artists looking to gain exposure and grow their audience. With millions of songs vying for attention, playlist curators have become influential tastemakers, handpicking the best tunes and introducing them to music lovers worldwide.
From independent curators with a keen ear for undiscovered gems to established platforms connecting artists with industry professionals, the playlist submission process has evolved into a thriving ecosystem.
In this article, we’ll explore the top 11 playlist curators that every musician should consider when seeking to amplify their reach and connect with new listeners.
1. Playlist Curator
Playlist Curator is one of the most prominent and reputable playlist curators on the internet. They curate diverse music playlists across various themes, moods, and occasions, distributing them on their website and major streaming platforms like Spotify, YouTube Music, and SoundCloud.
How It Works:
Playlist Curator accepts music submissions from artists and carefully listens to each track before considering it for inclusion in their popular playlists. They have strict criteria for assessing submissions, ensuring that only the highest quality and most fitting songs make it onto their curated playlists.
To submit your music to Playlist Curator, you need to fill out the submission form, providing details about your track and the playlists you’re interested in being featured on. Playlist Curator offers a variety of curated playlists organized by themes such as love, life, resilience, travel, and adventure, catering to different moods and preferences.
If your submission is accepted, your song will be added to the relevant playlists, gaining exposure to Playlist Curator’s vast audience across multiple streaming platforms.
Additionally, Playlist Curator offers a membership option where users can create an account and bookmark their favorite playlists for easy access and listening at any time. This feature allows music enthusiasts to save and revisit the curated playlists they enjoy the most, fostering a deeper connection with the platform and its offerings.
2. iMusician
iMusician is a comprehensive music distribution and promotion platform that helps independent artists and labels get their music onto various streaming services, including Spotify. They offer a range of tools and services to help artists grow their fanbase and increase their streams.
How It Works
iMusician allows artists to submit their music to curated playlists for free. Artists can select their track genre to see appropriate playlists and preview tracks on each playlist before submission. The platform also provides a detailed guide on building a playlist strategy, emphasizing the importance of creating and sharing your own playlists to connect with fans and promote your music. iMusician’s playlists cover various genres, and they also offer additional promotional tools and support to help artists succeed.
3. Soundplate
Soundplate is a playlisting platform that connects independent playlist curators with artists. It allows curators to showcase their playlists and offers artists the opportunity to submit their music for consideration.
How It Works
Artists can browse playlists by style or genre on the Soundplate website and submit their music to playlists that suit their style. The platform provides key information about each playlist, including the number of followers and average song duration, to help artists make informed decisions. While the submission process can be somewhat clunky, Soundplate offers a vast library of playlists across multiple genres, making it a valuable resource for artists looking to increase their exposure.
4. Boost Collective
Boost Collective is a music distribution and promotion platform designed to help artists get their music heard. They offer a range of services, including playlist promotion, music distribution, and advanced analytics to track performance.
How It Works
Artists can submit their music to Boost Collective, where it will be placed by curators in playlists that align with the music’s style. The process is straightforward: artists select their song, choose a package, and place their order. Within 24-48 hours, the music is placed in relevant playlists. Boost Collective also provides personalized dashboards for artists to track their campaigns and playlist placements. The platform is known for its commitment to transparency and support for artists, making it a reliable option for music promotion.
5. Indiemono
Indiemono is one of the most successful independent playlist channels on Spotify, known for its curated playlists that cover various genres and moods. They focus on promoting independent music and offer a free submission tool for artists.
How It Works
Indiemono allows artists to submit their music for free to be considered for their playlists. They manage over 100 actively curated playlists and have a significant presence on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Indiemono emphasizes the craft of playlisting over algorithms and automation, ensuring that each playlist is carefully curated. They do not sell placements, maintaining a high standard of curation and integrity. Artists can submit their music via their website and potentially reach millions of listeners through Indiemono’s extensive network.
6. Daily Playlists
Daily Playlists is a platform that connects artists with playlist curators, offering tools to market music and monetize playlists. They have helped thousands of artists get their music featured on playlists, significantly increasing their exposure.
How It Works
Artists can submit their music to Daily Playlists for free, with the option to submit to over 18,000 active playlists curated by more than 3,200 curators. The platform offers a user-friendly submission process, allowing artists to submit their songs in minutes. Daily Playlists also provides a dashboard for artists to track the status of their submissions and view the playlists that have featured their music. For those looking for more targeted promotion, Daily Playlists offers premium credits that give access to highly vetted curators, ensuring higher engagement and stream counts.
7. SpinGrey
SpinGrey is a playlist curator with a distinct brand and cool artwork designs. They curate playlists across a wide range of genres and contexts.
How It Works
To submit your music to SpinGrey, you can join their Patreon and get priority submission to their playlists and social channels. Alternatively, you can add your track to their collaborative playlist on Spotify. SpinGrey has several playlists with over 5,000 followers each on Spotify.
8. For the love of bands
For the love of bands is a renowned independent playlist curator that features indie and alternative artists across various genres like indie rock, folk, and jazz.
How It Works
For the love of bands accepts free music submissions through their website or email. They curate playlists on Spotify and other platforms. To increase your chances of getting featured, make sure your music fits their preferred genres and follows their submission guidelines.
9. MySphera
MySphera is a platform that connects independent artists with playlist curators, bloggers, influencers, and brand owners. They use an algorithm to match your music with relevant tastemakers based on genre, mood, and other attributes.
How It Works
On MySphera, you can run paid campaigns to get your music pitched to their roster of over 450 tastemakers. The platform analyzes your track and matches it with the most suitable curators. If a curator likes your submission, they may feature it on their playlist, blog, social media, or other channels. MySphera offers different pricing packages based on the duration and scope of the campaign.
10. Tunemunk
Tunemunk is a free platform that allows artists to submit their music to Spotify playlist curators from around the world. It aims to help artists gain exposure while enabling curators to grow their playlist followers.
How It Works
To submit your music on Tunemunk, you need to follow the curator’s Spotify playlist and profile. Once you’ve followed the required accounts, you can fill out the submission form with your track details. Tunemunk has a wide range of curators across different genres, including pop, rock, hip-hop, and more. The platform is completely free for both artists and curators.
11. SubmitHub
SubmitHub is a popular platform that connects musicians with playlist curators, bloggers, influencers, and radio stations. It allows artists to pitch their music to multiple curators simultaneously.
How It Works
On SubmitHub, you can create a campaign for your track and select the curators you want to submit to based on their genres, moods, and preferences. The platform operates on a credit-based system, where you can purchase premium credits to bypass the standard queue and increase your chances of acceptance. Curators can earn premium credits by offering detailed feedback or charging a fee for considering submissions. SubmitHub provides a messaging system for artists and curators to communicate directly.
