As a college student with a handful of freshly recorded tracks, I found myself staring at my laptop screen, wondering how on earth I was going to get my music out there. Sure, my roommates think I’m the next big thing, but how do I reach listeners beyond my dorm room? That’s when I stumbled into the world of playlist curators – the gatekeepers of the streaming age who can potentially skyrocket an unknown artist to thousands of listeners overnight.
After weeks of research, trial and error, and a few facepalm moments, I’ve compiled a list of the 10 best playlist curators that can help indie artists like us get our music in front of the right ears. Whether you’re a bedroom producer, a garage band, or just someone with a guitar and a dream, these curators offer a shot at breaking through the noise.
1. Playlist Push
Playlist Push is a popular music promotion platform that connects independent artists with playlist curators on Spotify. The service allows musicians to submit their tracks to a network of nearly 1,000 curators who manage playlists with a combined reach of over 23 million listeners. Artists can choose curators based on genre to ensure their music reaches the most relevant audiences. Playlist Push uses an AI-powered algorithm to match songs with appropriate playlists and offers detailed analytics on campaign performance. While not cheap, with campaigns starting at $300, many artists have reported positive results in terms of playlist additions and new listener discovery.
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 playlists across major streaming platforms including Spotify, YouTube Music, and SoundCloud. Founded by Serena Whitfield, a musician and Oxford graduate with distinction in music studies, the platform prides itself on its meticulous and thoughtful approach to playlist curation.
The team at Playlist Curator, which includes professional guitarist Jasper Clarke, employs a rigorous selection process that prioritizes quality and thematic coherence. They continuously explore new releases, emerging artists, and timeless classics across multiple genres to create engaging and diverse playlists that resonate with listeners across various moods and occasions. Their commitment to quality is evident in their strict evaluation process, which considers factors such as production quality, lyrical content, and overall artistic merit.
Playlist Curator offers a wide array of themed playlists, ranging from “Songs About the Sun and Sunshine” to more unique collections like “Songs About Codependency” and “Songs About Bees”. This diversity allows listeners to find playlists that suit their specific moods or interests. The platform also regularly updates its playlists with new tracks while maintaining the core essence of each collection, ensuring that listeners always have something fresh to discover.
For artists looking to submit their music, Playlist Curator provides a straightforward submission process through their website. While they receive hundreds of submissions each month, they carefully consider each one before including it in their popular playlists. The platform is transparent about its selection criteria and the competitive nature of the process, advising artists to assume rejection if they haven’t heard back within a month.
3. Indiemono
Indiemono is a free music submission platform focused on indie and emerging artists. Their team of curators manages multiple genre-specific playlists on Spotify aimed at music discovery. Indiemono emphasizes connecting artists with engaged listeners who are actively seeking new music, rather than just chasing high follower counts. They offer a straightforward submission process where artists can choose a genre “box” to submit their track. Indiemono’s curators then review submissions and may add tracks to relevant playlists if they’re a good fit. The platform aims to be a reliable source for music seekers and takes pride in helping lesser-known artists gain exposure and grow their audiences organically.
4. 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 focus on independent, upcoming, and emerging artists across various rock and indie subgenres. Their playlists have a significant following, with nearly 50,000 followers on Spotify. For The Love Of Bands has specific genre preferences, accepting submissions in areas like alternative rock, indie rock, pop punk, and singer-songwriter styles. They explicitly state they only consider tracks with English lyrics and do not accept EDM, dancehall, or heavily auto-tuned vocals. In addition to playlist curation, they also offer artist interviews and detailed feedback, making them a valuable resource for indie musicians looking to grow their audience.
5. Boost Collective
Boost Collective is a music promotion platform that offers a unique approach to playlist curation and artist services. They pride themselves on providing label-level service at indie-friendly prices, aiming to be a comprehensive team for independent artists. Boost Collective’s playlist submission process allows artists to browse and select individual playlists or opt for a curated campaign where their team hand-picks suitable playlists. This hybrid model offers both transparency and expert guidance. The platform uses a credit system, providing flexibility for artists to plan their campaigns and access various services beyond playlist pitching, such as cover art design and music video visualizers. While their playlists are not owned directly by Boost Collective, they have shown decent growth rates and maintain a strict curation process to ensure quality.
6. iMusician
iMusician is primarily a digital music distribution service that has expanded its offerings to include playlist pitching. As a comprehensive platform for independent musicians and labels, iMusician provides a range of services including music distribution, promotion, mastering, and monetization. Their playlist submission tool is available to artists who distribute their music through iMusician. This integration allows for a streamlined process where artists can browse curated playlists across genres and submit tracks directly to playlist owners. While submissions are free, the requirement to use iMusician for distribution may be a consideration for some artists. iMusician emphasizes transparency and artist ownership, with features like indefinite online music distribution and zero commission on streaming earnings for subscribers.
7. 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. Their focus is on promoting independent and emerging artists across various genres such as Pop, R&B, Rock, and Hip-Hop. Rizing Playlists offers a straightforward submission process through their website, allowing artists to submit their tracks for consideration in their curated playlists. The platform aims to create a mutually beneficial ecosystem where independent artists gain exposure through well-curated playlists, and listeners discover exciting new music. By featuring tracks on multiple streaming services, Rizing Playlists provides artists with the opportunity to reach diverse audiences and potentially gain new fans across different platforms.
8. MySphera
MySphera is a unique platform that empowers independent playlist curators to create and promote their playlists to a wide audience. It serves as a bridge between curators and artists, facilitating music discovery and promotion. The platform allows independent playlist curators to showcase their playlists, while artists can submit their music for consideration to these curators. This system creates a diverse ecosystem of playlists, catering to various genres and niches. MySphera likely uses an algorithm or matching system to connect artists with relevant curators based on genre, style, or other factors. This approach helps streamline the submission process and increases the chances of artists finding suitable playlists for their music.
9. SongRocket
SongRocket, launched in April 2021, is a playlist pitching service that aims to simplify the process of submitting music to carefully selected curators. The platform boasts over 170 curators with a combined follower count of over 11 million listeners. SongRocket was created from an artist’s perspective, focusing on building a community rather than just another platform. The service is designed to be user-friendly, allowing artists to start a campaign with a budget as low as $6. SongRocket’s founder, Lukas, emphasizes quality in the network, including record labels with playlists and individuals that align with the platform’s vision. The service carefully vets playlists and curators, considering factors such as growth, activity, and the credibility of the curator behind each playlist.
10. Soundplate
Soundplate is a free platform that connects artists with playlist curators across various genres. The service offers a straightforward submission process for Spotify playlists. Artists can search Soundplate’s database of playlists by genre, mood, or keywords to find relevant curators. To submit music, artists simply click the “Submit Music” button on a playlist page and enter their track details. Submissions are free, but artists are required to follow the curator’s playlist on Spotify. Curators review submissions and add tracks they like to their playlists. Soundplate does not guarantee responses or placements but provides a direct connection to a wide range of curators. The platform also offers additional tools like a Spotify track analyzer and a playlist analyzer to help artists make informed decisions about their submissions.