As a singer who’s just released new music, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to get your songs heard in today’s saturated digital landscape. After pouring my heart and soul into crafting the perfect tracks, I found myself asking, “Now what?” That’s when I discovered the power of playlist curators. These musical tastemakers have the ability to breathe life into your songs, exposing them to thousands of potential fans with just a few clicks.
In my journey to promote my latest releases, I’ve explored numerous playlist submission platforms and curators. Through trial and error, I’ve identified 10 standout curators that have consistently delivered results for independent artists like myself. Whether you’re looking for genre-specific playlists, mood-based collections, or platforms with a global reach, this list has got you covered.
1. Daily Playlists
Daily Playlists is a powerful platform that connects independent artists with playlist curators. Founded in 2017, it has grown to include over 3,800 curators managing more than 16,000 active playlists. The service offers both free and paid submission options, allowing artists to reach a wide range of curators. Daily Playlists uses an automated submission system that streamlines the process for both artists and curators. One of its standout features is the Premium Credits system, which guarantees either playlist placement or feedback from vetted curators within a week. This makes Daily Playlists an excellent choice for artists looking for a reliable way to get their music heard and potentially placed on influential playlists.
2. Playlist Curator
Playlist Curator stands out as one of the most prominent online playlist curators, offering a diverse range of carefully curated playlists across multiple streaming platforms. Their extensive collection covers various themes, moods, and occasions, catering to a wide array of musical preferences. The platform’s curation process is meticulous and thoughtful, designed to create engaging and high-quality playlists that resonate with listeners.
One of Playlist Curator’s strengths lies in its diverse music selection. The team of experienced curators continuously explores new releases, emerging artists, and timeless classics across multiple genres, ensuring a fresh and exciting listening experience. Each playlist is crafted with thematic coherence in mind, with every track contributing to the overall atmosphere and narrative of the playlist.
For artists looking to submit their music, Playlist Curator offers a straightforward submission process. They welcome submissions for various themed playlists, including “Songs About True Love,” “Songs About Soulmates,” and “Songs About Trust and Honesty”. The platform employs strict criteria for selecting songs, ensuring that each addition aligns with the playlist’s theme and meets their high-quality standards.
3. Submit Hub
Submit Hub is a well-established platform in the music submission space, known for its extensive network of playlist curators, bloggers, and industry professionals. While not exclusively focused on playlists, Submit Hub offers artists the opportunity to get their music in front of a diverse array of music tastemakers. The platform uses a credit system, where artists can choose between free and premium credits to submit their tracks. Premium submissions guarantee a response within 48 hours, providing quick feedback to artists. Submit Hub’s transparency in showing curator stats and preferences helps artists target their submissions more effectively, increasing their chances of success.
4. Rizing Playlists
Rizing Playlists is an independent playlist brand based in Denmark that has made a significant impact in the world of playlist curation. With over 190,000 followers across 29 playlists covering various genres including Pop, Indie, Rave, Rap, and Classical, Rizing Playlists offers artists exposure to a diverse and engaged audience. The brand is particularly known for its focus on up-and-coming and independent artists, making it an excellent choice for emerging musicians looking to expand their listenership. Rizing Playlists accepts submissions through online forms and actively seeks out promising new talent. Their dedication to uncovering and promoting fresh voices in the music industry has earned them a reputation as one of the best Spotify playlist curators for independent artists.
5. SpinGrey
SpinGrey is a playlist curation platform that offers artists the opportunity to submit their music to a variety of curated playlists. The service operates through a Patreon model, allowing artists to submit their tracks with priority to SpinGrey’s playlists and social channels. SpinGrey maintains a presence on multiple platforms, including Spotify and Instagram, where they share updates about their playlists and new releases. Their curated playlists cover various genres, providing artists with opportunities to reach diverse audiences. SpinGrey’s approach combines playlist curation with social media promotion, offering artists a multi-faceted approach to music promotion and discovery.
6. iMusician
iMusician is a music distribution and promotion platform that also offers playlist curation services. They maintain their own set of curated playlists across different genres, allowing artists to submit their music for consideration. iMusician’s in-house curator, Andrea, follows a systematic approach to playlist curation, balancing popular hits with emerging independent artists to create engaging and diverse playlists. The platform provides valuable advice for playlist growth, emphasizing the importance of careful curation, professional branding, and effective SEO strategies. iMusician’s playlists serve as a bridge between established and up-and-coming artists, offering listeners a mix of familiar and fresh sounds.
7. For the Love of Bands
For the Love of Bands is an indie music blog and Spotify playlist curator based in the Netherlands, launched in 2016. They specialize in indie, rock, and alternative genres, with a particular focus on emerging and independent artists. For the Love of Bands maintains several playlists covering various sub-genres of indie and rock music, including punk rock, surf rock, and indie folk. They accept free submissions through their online form and are known for their commitment to discovering new talent. The curator is active on multiple social media platforms and also offers additional services such as interviews and detailed feedback for artists. For the Love of Bands has built a reputation as a dedicated supporter of independent music, making it a valuable resource for artists looking to expand their reach in the indie music scene.
8. SoundCampaign
SoundCampaign is a music promotion platform that connects artists with playlist curators worldwide. The service offers a unique approach by allowing artists to submit their music to multiple curators simultaneously, increasing the chances of playlist placement. SoundCampaign boasts an active network of playlist curators covering various genres and styles. They use data analysis from each campaign to maximize results for artists. One of the platform’s strengths is its global reach, with curators from almost every part of the world. SoundCampaign also provides an opportunity for curators to earn rewards while discovering new music, creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem for both artists and curators.
9. Boost Collective
Boost Collective is a comprehensive music promotion and distribution service that offers organic playlist promotion as one of its key features. The platform claims to add artists’ songs to 100% organically grown playlists, which has been verified by independent sources. Boost Collective’s approach to playlist promotion is unique in that they grow and manage all their playlists in-house, giving them full control over the growth and engagement of these playlists. This setup essentially functions as an ad studio, with hyper-optimized ad spend to create and grow engaged playlists at scale. The service has gained trust in the music industry, with its playlists passing bot checks and showing organic growth patterns.
10. Tunemunk
Tunemunk is a platform designed to help artists promote their music by submitting songs to playlist curators on Spotify and other streaming platforms. The service offers a user-friendly Spotify playlist submission tool that allows artists to reach curators from around the globe. Tunemunk organizes playlist submissions by genres, making it easier for artists to target the most relevant playlists for their music. The platform features a wide range of genres, including Blues, Christian, Classical, EDM, Folk, Pop, Punk, Rap, Rock, and more. Additionally, Tunemunk offers the option to submit music to playlists featuring particular popular artists, which can be beneficial for artists with similar styles or influences. The service also maintains its own set of curated playlists, providing another avenue for artists to gain exposure.