Playlisting · 6 min read
Editorial is a bonus. Curator playlists are the job.
Editorial adds are lottery tickets. Independent curator playlists are compounding assets. A single well-placed curator with 15k engaged followers is worth more streams over 12 months than most one-week editorial slots.
Build your spreadsheet
Target 40 curators in your genre. Use Chartmetric or Spotontrack to find playlists your comparable artists sit on, then find the curator's Instagram or email. Columns: playlist name, follower count, curator handle, last updated, whether they take submissions, personal note.
How to actually reach them
Instagram DM > email > SubmitHub. The DM should be one sentence: 'Hey — love your [Playlist Name], the [Recent Add] pick is spot on. My new single [Title] out [Date] would slot in between [Artist A] and [Artist B] — link if you want a listen.' Don't send the link unless they reply.
SubmitHub, used properly
Only pitch curators showing 'Approved' rates above 15% and 'Listened' times above 45 seconds. Spend credits on 10 targeted curators, not 50 scattergun. Read the feedback — it's the cheapest A&R you'll ever get.
The follow-through
When a curator adds you, screenshot it, tag them, thank them publicly. Then leave them alone for a full release cycle. Come back for the next single with a personal message referencing the add. This is how you become a curator's roster artist.
Want this unpacked for your release?
Post in the community and we'll pull the whole roster into it.
Open the community