Getting your music on playlists remains the most effective way to promote your music. So how do you get your song on a playlist?
First, you have to find the playlist and its owner (the curator), then you need to contact them and submit your track. The formula is simple, however the execution is a bit more complicated.
In this post, we’ll reveal the strategies for finding and contacting Spotify playlist curators to get your music heard and build a dedicated fanbase.
- Who Are Spotify Playlist Curators?
- Finding Independent Spotify Playlist Curators for Free
- Contacting Independent Spotify Playlist Curators
- Use a Playlisting Service to Scale Your Outreach
- Final Thoughts
Who Are Spotify Playlist Curators?
Playlist curators are the individual people who manage and usually own a playlist. They are the tastemakers (and gatekeepers) who decide which songs to put on their playlists.
Curators who own or manage a playlist with a significant number of followers hold the power to give enormous boosts to your streaming numbers and your music career. Getting your song placed on the right playlist can be huge.
There are two main categories of Spotify playlist curators: Spotify’s own editorial team and independent curators.
Spotify Editorial Playlist Curators vs Independent Playlist Curators
Spotify’s editorial playlist curators are individuals who work for Spotify and make the decisions for which songs get on Spotify’s editorial playlists like Rap Caviar. There are very few Spotify Curators compared to independent curators, and they are much more difficult to contact. Getting these placements can be very challenging for most artists.
Independent Playlist Curators are typically ordinary people who make a playlist on Spotify and build a following for that playlist.
Anyone with a Spotify account can do this. Independent (also known as 3rd party) playlists are extremely influential, as many playlists can have followers of over 100,000 people and collectively can reach millions of listeners. If you make high-quality music, your chances of getting your song on independent playlists are much higher.
Finding Independent Spotify Playlist Curators for Free
You don’t have to pay money to track down high-quality playlist curators on Spotify. Here are a few pointers on how to do it right.
1) Search for Relevant Keywords in the Spotify App
- – Option 1: Input “genre, submissions” in the search bar. For example, “lofi, submissions”. This will get you results where the playlist description contains submission contact information.
- – Option 2: Input genre only, the more niche the better. For example, “indie pop rock”.
- – Option 3: Input keywords related to mood or activity. For example, “upbeat”, “feel-good”, or “gym workout”
After inputting your relevant keywords, tap the “Playlists” tab
Scan your results for playlists that are a fit for your song. Look for the playlists not made by Spotify.
Pro Tip: paste the link of the playlist into Chartmetric, a tool that will help you determine if the playlist has a real following and is worth reaching out to.
If the playlist looks good in Chartmetric. Add to your list of prospective curators.
2) Use “Discovered On” Playlists of Similar Artists in the Spotify App
Open the Spotify Desktop App on your computer. In the search bar on Spotify, enter the name of an artist who makes similar music to you. Smaller artists (but not too small), will work the best. Then pull up their artist profile on Spotify, scroll down, and tap the “Discovered On” section.
This will show you all of the playlists where listeners have discovered a song from that artist. This will give you a whole new crop of potential playlists to target.
Review the results and add each playlist that looks like a fit to your list.
3) Track Down the Playlist Curator’s Contact Info
First, check the description of the playlist for contact info or submission instructions. If you use option 1 from step 1 above, this will be easy.
Use Google and Social Media to search their name. If the curator uses their full name as their Spotify username, you can search on Google to try to track them down. Also search Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or add these keywords to your Google search (i.e. “Sophia Winston Instagram”)
Reverse Image Search. If the curator uses an image of themself for their Spotify profile image, take a screenshot of their Spotify profile image. Then use the Google image search functionality and conduct a search using the screenshot. This is hit or miss, but can often yield results that take you straight to one of their social media profiles.
4) Build a List of Curators to Reach Out To
Use a Google sheet to make a list of playlist curator targets and track your outreach process. Add each curator and their contact info to the sheet. Here’s a free Curator Outreach Google Sheet template you can use.
Contacting Independent Spotify Playlist Curators
After you’ve built your list of prospective playlist curators using the steps above, it’s time to reach out.
Whether you’re messaging on email, Instagram, Twitter, or any other platform the same general rules apply.
1. Craft a Personalized (But Concise) Pitch
Show that you understand their musical tastes by mentioning why your track is a good fit for their playlist. Be concise and professional. Include a streaming link to your song and mention any noteworthy accolades you’ve achieved as an artist.
2. Follow the Curator’s Submission Guidelines
If the curator has specified submission guidelines, make sure to follow them closely. This greatly increases your chances of being considered.
3. Offer to Share Their Playlist
Offer value to the curator. This could be promoting the playlist to your followers or sharing it on your social media if you get playlisted.
4. You Must Follow Up!
Curators receive tons of submissions. If you don’t hear back, follow up after a few days. Most of your responses will come after you follow up.
Use a Playlisting Service to Scale Your Outreach
The free methods above can work great, however, if you’re looking to automate this process and reach a targeted set of playlist curators in just a few minutes, using a playlist promotion service like Playlist Push will make your life a lot easier.
In this case, you set up a campaign targeting the specific genres and types of playlists you want to be on. Then Playlist Push will match you with all of the relevant playlists in their network.
During the campaign, they’ll deliver your song to each curator and you’ll begin to receive real-time results on your reporting dashboard.
This will include reviews containing feedback from each curator and whether or not they added your song to their playlist.
Final Thoughts
If you’re serious about your music career and building an audience, you must have a playlist promotion strategy. Follow the steps in this article and you’ll be off to a great start. Remember to be patient but persistent. As you build your list of go-to playlists, your results will get stronger with each release.