Pitching your Track to Playlisters 101

“Hey, give this a listen!”

“This has great lyrics, wait for 1:34!”

“This track is <3, dedicated my life to it!”

The aforementioned pitches are some of the most common ones curators receive. Some pitches are funny, some are intense, some are too long, some are too short and some are, well, not pitches. How do you make an effective pitch to a music curator?

 

DO(s)

 

Find the right playlisters

Before pitching in your track, check out the top playlist of the genre that is the same as that of your song. Follow that up with other playlists of the same genre. Sometimes your song may fit two or more genres as well, and that's not a bad thing. The genres will get you a wider range of playlists and playlisters to pitch.

Once you know the best-suited genre(s) of your song, you’ll be able to filter curators and playlisters accordingly. 

 

 

To better understand this process, check out one of our older blog posts: Find Spotify Playlist Curators: How to Get Placed on Spotify Playlists

 

A lot of research! 

More often than not, aspiring musicians and artists do not know how to go about pitching, where to pitch, how to find playlists, and contact independent curators. Researching helps you break down a vast confusing space and helps you note what may work best for you.

Don't just Google and see where it takes you, but draft a structure. For example, start by making a list of playlists on Spotify that seem to be a good place for your song. Next, look up their websites and know more about them. It's most likely that you'd find their contact information in the description of the playlist.

Understand the different ways through which curators like to be approached. Some would want you to send an email pitch, some would redirect you to their submission platform, while others like informal pitches through social media DMs. Try to be flexible and follow those directions. Check out their social media pages, their QnA pages, achievements, testimonials, and reviews to get insights. 

 

3 Cs - Concise, Creative, Compelling

Make sure that you’re precise. A curator gets close to 50-100 submissions/day on average, so make use of their limited attention span. It goes without saying that it is important to make your pitch irresistible, unique, and influential. A pitch that is short and to the point will grab the attention of your desired curators and playlisters.

Try not to make it too short and give one-liners such as "Hey, listen to my track, thanks!" This will hardly get the curators' attention since it's very minimal. Carefully craft your pitch that would contain a pretext and the main objective.

If you think the track has a unique element to look out for, mention it in your pitch! For example, if your track has a particular instrumental interlude, mention it in the pitch, "Hey, I'm X from London. Track Name is my debut piece with an avant-garde ambiance. This song emits a personal touch at 1:36, through an instrumental bridge. I hope the track resonates with you. Thank you for listening!"

 

Pitch to US!

The average approval rate for Greaserelease ranges between 30-35% which is the highest, compared to other prevalent submission platforms. Not only is our submission platform super easy to operate but we guarantee a wider outreach! 

Additionally, there are over 650,000+ followers on all of our playlists combined and over 1M+ subscribers on Youtube. There are better chances of getting accepted by Greaserelease than at other submission platforms. 

 

DON’T(S)

 

Not writing a pitch!

Sending in music without a pitch is a practice to avoid. A pitchless submission will lose a chance of preparing the curator for what they should be looking forward to. When there's no pitch to guide the playlisters on what they should be expecting, it's most likely that they will listen to your track in the same mindset as they did to their previous submission.

This makes you lose an opportunity to showcase your authenticity and talent.

A good pitch aims to give context and impress the curators enough to give your song a serious listen. Without a pitch, many curators may not hesitate to move to the next track. 

 

Writing your basics

With your track, important details such as genre, lyrics, release date, and so on will be available to the curators. Avoid stating the obvious or readily available information in your pitch.

Don't pitch like this: "Hey, this track is a pop one, it shall release on 19th October, please give it a listen!" With such a pitch, your submission may look redundant and uninteresting.

 

 

Reducing activity

It’s alright if you don’t get picked the first few times. But do not stop pitching to curators who have previously rejected you. Sometimes, these curators would be expecting a new submission from you because they have already seen your history. Reducing your activity may most likely be noticed by the playlisters.

The idea is to grab their attention and mark your presence through your pitches. Do not risk fading into oblivion. If the curators have previously approved you, it's most likely that they'd remember you. To stay relevant is the way to go!

 

Being too formal or too informal

Do not give a pitch that is too corporate or too personal. Find the right balance, and approach writing the pitch as your chance to showcase who you are and what your music is about. For example, always begin with your introduction and the context of the song. Showcase your individuality by mentioning things that define your music.

Try not to mention another artist who may sound like you or makes music that's similar to yours, that's something for the curators to identify. Greetings and conclusions are parts you can be yourself, and yet maintain decorum. Do not hesitate to be artistic, but try to circle a professional narrative.

 

Being rigid

Try not to stick on to one pitch for all submission platforms. Be flexible and change your pitch according to the type of platform on which you are sending your song. As aforementioned, if one pitch works for a curator, it needn't necessarily work for another. Some submission platforms accept pitches in hardly two lines.

There, pitches like, "Hey! My third single here, aims to bring awareness on mental health issues. Chorus is at 1:30. I hope you can relate <3," will work. Some other curators wish to receive a well-written email pitching your song. Here, the former pitch will hardly elicit an impact. 

Pitching your music to curators is a chance to convey what you were going for, how, and why the curators need to listen to your track. So, make sure you utilize that space carefully and cleverly!