How to Pitch Playlist Curators: Examples & Templates

What a curator does with your pitch

The song decides. The pitch decides whether the song gets heard in the right lane, by the right curator, with the right expectations. On our side, a submission is routed to the playlists it might fit, and a curator listens and makes a separate decision for each one: accept, hold for later, or decline. When we decline, our system requires the curator to pick at least one reason from a fixed list (below).

So the job of a pitch is simple: describe the song accurately enough that it reaches the playlist where it has the best chance, and give the curator one reason to press play now.

What to include, and why

Template: email to a curator’s published address

Use this only for a contact the curator published for submissions. Keep it to a few lines; the link does the rest.

• Subject: Submission for [Playlist name]: “[Song title]” by [Artist]
• Hi [Curator name, if published],
• “[Song title]” is a [genre] track with a [mood] feel, out [release date]. I think it fits the [specific part] of [Playlist name].
• Sounds like: [two or three comparable artists]. Listen: [Spotify link or private link].
• Thanks for listening either way. [Your name], [one link to your profile]

Template: the note field on a submission form

Forms already ask for the link, genre and moods, so the note is for what the fields cannot say. Ours is labeled “Note for curators.” Two or three sentences is plenty.

• “[Song title]” is about [one-line story]. It sits between [comparable artist] and [comparable artist], and I think it suits [playlist or lane] because [one specific reason].
• Unreleased: out [date]. Happy to share the final master if anything changes.

A worked example

Lowtide Avenue is a fictional artist used for illustration. Here is a pitch that does its job:

“Paper Lanterns” is a wistful indie pop song with close harmonies and a slow-burn chorus, out Friday. I think it fits the gentler half of your Sunday Morning playlist, next to the acoustic-leaning tracks you added recently. Sounds like soft-focus guitar pop. Listen: [link]. Thanks for listening either way.

It works because it is accurate, specific to that playlist, and takes under ten seconds to read.

Why curators pass

In our review workflow a curator who passes must choose at least one reason: energy mismatch, not my genre lane, wrong mood, too similar to recent adds, vocal style, production not ready, mix / master, or other. Several describe fit with one playlist rather than the quality of the song, which is why the same song can be declined by one playlist and accepted by another.

What each reason means and what to do next is on its own page: why playlist curators reject songs.

Mistakes that get pitches skipped

• Pitching a playlist you have not listened to.
• Calling the song a genre it is not, to reach a bigger playlist.
• Sending the same message to every curator at once.
• Following up more than once, or arguing with a decision.
• Leading with numbers instead of the music.
• Asking a curator to promise a placement, or offering to pay for one. Spotify says selling placement breaks its terms; see promotion scams.

Timing and follow-up

Independent curators can often hear unreleased music, and many accept released songs. Spotify’s editors only take unreleased songs pitched at least 7 days before release, and that is a separate pitch you make yourself in Spotify for Artists. The full routes are in how to get on Spotify playlists.

If there is no reply, one polite follow-up after a reasonable wait is fine. After a decline, thank the curator and pitch them your next release instead of the same song.