In the vast realm of music streaming, playlists have become an important component for not only listeners but also musicians. Playlists have the power to help artists widen their audience and gain more listeners and streams for their tracks. Spotify’s editorial and algorithmic playlists are dream placements for any upcoming musician but a spot on those playlists isn’t always easy to attain, there are other ways to go about gaining an audience on Spotify. That’s where independent playlist curators come in.
Who is an Indie Spotify curator?
As the name suggests, independent playlist curators make playlists on their own, they aren’t a part of Spotify’s team nor are they from any record label company. They are usually passionate music listeners who make public playlists based on their tastes and prioritize independent music coming from emerging artists throughout the world.
They stand out in the ecosystem because they manually add tracks, keep track of their following, work on building and maintaining the quality of the playlist as well as curate music well. Since they are done manually, actively, and consistently, independent curators have a knack for picking music that algorithms on Spotify don’t. Since they do this independently, they do not compromise on the quality of the playlist which could happen to those working under record labels due to the pressure of commercial influences. They value discovering music every day rather than adding popular tracks on playlists.
These curators handpick every song, research and enjoy making the playlist because they usually know the genre or the kind of music they are curating, inside out. This makes them extremely important in building a harmonious community that focuses on encouraging new music every day as well as catering better listening experiences to users of the streaming app.
Why are they important?
Since these independent music curators focus on pushing indie music as well as upcoming artists, they become extremely important for any emerging musician like yourself to increase visibility on Spotify. This is where the ‘Discovered On’ section plays a crucial role.
Basically, it is a section that appears under every artist’s profile, that shows all the quality playlists where the artist’s tracks have been added, and thus ‘discovered on.’ This shows that such independent playlisters have a direct impact on the listening trends and your chances of getting visibility could be catalyzed by pitching your tracks to such curators who have popular and quality playlists on Spotify.
Curators also play a crucial role in bridging the gap between your music and listeners. As tastemakers, they bring your music to new audiences and thus help increase your fanbase. Due to the popularity of the playlists that these curators would have, it’s safe to say that you’d get massive exposure that would be vital in growing your artist profile if you land on the right playlist. Pitching your music to independent curators could also help you gain more streams - which ultimately translates to more royalties.
Where can you pitch your music?
There are many popular submission platforms where you can pitch your music to independent playlist curators.
Submithub is probably the largest and the oldest operating submission platform where you can find hundreds of independent playlisters who have massive playlists. Here, you not only get to pitch your track to curators but you also get feedback for your tracks in case your music does not get accepted. There are two types of submissions on the platform, premium and standard. For premium pitches, you’d need to pay anywhere from $1 to $3, depending on the size of the curator you’d pick. With standard submissions, you can pitch your track to curators for free. You get 2 credits every 4 hours and can use these credits to pitch your tracks to curators.
Groover is a European-based submission platform and it is probably the second largest in terms of the network of playlisters it has built over the years. You also get feedback from curators if your pitch is declined, however, the options for customization are pretty limited in comparison to Submithub. The platform will suggest curators to you based on the genre of your music so that you have the best chance of getting a placement.
GreaseRelease is a submission platform that has a loyal following and a tight network of curators - The Skadoosh, Lazyfrenzy, Sugarcoat, Cheerypick, and Flipside Records. You pitch your track at the cost of $17 through a simple Google form. The A&R team provides in-depth, honest, long-form constructive feedback in case your song doesn’t get placed within its network. There are discounts available if you plan to send in more than three tracks.
What should you include in your pitch?
Writing a simple one-liner doesn’t do the trick anymore. Remember that these curators are very welcoming and are actively looking for new music, so make sure that your pitch has an intriguing premise and a story you’d like to share.
Make your pitch very concise, creative as well as compelling. Do not write a 500-word essay, it is most likely going to be left unread. Make sure that you convey your message uniquely; keep it short and to the point. If you think that your track has a great instrumental bridge, make sure you mention that in your pitch as well.
Do not just tell them to stream your track. Tell them why it is a great fit for their playlist. Take some time to research the curators and their playlists and make every pitch customized - this helps make an impression when you are pitching to them for the first time. Don’t state the obvious in your pitch - details like song name, featured artists, and so on would be available to them, so focus on giving them something they do not know about the song - what inspired you to make it, for instance.
Independent playlist curators have made the playlist ecosystem on Spotify a lot more accommodating for musicians who are trying to find their place in the music industry. It’d be wise to pitch your tracks to these independent curators, not just to Spotify’s editorial team.
