How to contact playlist curators

Contacting a playlist curator is not hard, but doing it in a way that earns a reply takes more care than most artists give it. The difference between getting a listen and getting ignored is rarely the music; it is whether you reached out the way the curator wants, said something specific, and made it effortless for them to press play. This guide covers where to contact curators, what to send, the etiquette that works, and the mistakes that quietly get you deleted.

First, use the method they actually want

Curators are people with a submission preference, and the fastest way to get ignored is to reach out the wrong way. Some take submissions only through a form, some only by email, some through a specific platform, and some are closed entirely. Before you write anything, find their stated method: it is usually in the playlist description, a link in their streaming or social bio, a personal curation site, or a dedicated submissions page. Emailing a curator who only accepts form submissions is a wasted pitch, and it can read as careless.

Knowing each curator's preferred method up front is exactly what a good directory saves you. I list playlist curators with their genres and their preferred contact method, re-checked against real sources, so you reach out the right way the first time.

What to send

Curators skim fast, so the pitch has to do its job in seconds. The format that works:

Lead with the fit

Open with why you are contacting this curator specifically. Name their playlist or the taste you are matching. One honest, specific sentence that shows you actually know their playlist beats any amount of flattery, and it signals that you are not mass-blasting.

One line on the track

Give a single line on the song with a genre-and-mood hook: what it is, what it sounds like, and why it fits their playlist. Skip the full biography and the release history. The curator wants to know if the track fits, not your life story.

A stream that plays instantly

Include a private, clickable streaming link that opens and plays immediately. Do not attach audio files, do not send a download, and do not make them log in or hunt. Friction here kills pitches. The easier you make the listen, the more likely it happens.

Keep it short

Two to four sentences. A short, specific pitch respects the curator's time and gets read; a long one gets skimmed and closed.

The etiquette that earns replies

Personalize every pitch, even if the core is a template. A curator can spot identical copy pasted to fifty people, and it is the fastest way into the trash. Give lead time before your release so a placement can land when it helps. Follow up once, politely, after a week or two if you hear nothing, and then let it go. Never argue with a no or a piece of feedback; a gracious reply keeps the door open for next time. And when a curator does support you, a short thank-you and continued engagement turns a one-off placement into a relationship.

The mistakes that get you ignored

The reliable ways to get deleted: mass-blasting identical copy, attaching audio files, sending a wall of biography, pitching curators whose genre has nothing to do with your sound, ignoring their stated submission method, and following up aggressively or repeatedly. None of these are about your music. They are about respect for the curator's time and attention, and fixing them costs nothing.

A couple of subtler ones are worth naming too. Do not demand a specific outcome ("please add this to your playlist") when a listen is all you can reasonably ask for; invite them to check it out and let the track do the work. Do not open with hype about yourself ("the next big thing") that the music has to then live up to. And do not send from an address or profile that makes it hard to tell who you are; a curator deciding in seconds needs to know instantly that you are a real artist pitching a real track. Small signals of professionalism add up to whether the message gets read at all.

Do the targeting first

All of this assumes you are contacting the right curators. Fit is the biggest predictor of a yes, so spend your effort on curators already featuring artists who sound like you and are at your stage. A precise, well-matched list of curators contacted the right way will out-perform a huge list contacted carelessly, every time. For the finding step, see my guide on how to find playlist curators for free.

Put it together

Contacting curators well is four things: reach them the way they want, lead with genuine fit, make the listen effortless, and stay gracious. Reaching most curators is free, and the whole exercise rewards care over volume.

A directory just makes the "reach them the way they want" part instant by listing each curator's preferred method. Membership is $19 a year and reaching the curators stays free. Browse the curator directory, read how to submit music to playlists for the wider picture, or see membership.