5 Playlist Promotion Mistakes Killing Your Music Career
Right, I'm going to be brutally honest here. After watching hundreds of artists fail at playlist promotion, I've spotted the same 5 mistakes over and over. Fix these, and your campaign success rate will double.
Mistake #1: Targeting Every Playlist You Can Find
This is the biggest one. Artists see a playlist with 10k followers and think "brilliant, I'll submit to that." They don't check if it's actually active, if it fits their genre, or if it has any real engagement.
⚠️ What This Looks Like:
- • Submitting techno tracks to indie rock playlists
- • Targeting playlists that haven't updated in 6+ months
- • Hitting up massive playlists with zero personal connection
- • Going for follower count over engagement quality
The Fix: Research properly. I spend 10 minutes minimum researching each playlist before submission. Check recent additions, engagement on social posts, and whether they actually respond to submissions.
Mistake #2: Generic "Please Add My Song" Emails
Playlist curators get dozens of these daily. Your generic template stands out for all the wrong reasons:
❌ Email That Gets Ignored:
✅ Email That Gets Results:
Mistake #3: Ignoring Playlist Data & Analytics
Most artists submit blindly without checking if a playlist actually drives streams. I've seen tracks added to 50k follower playlists that generated 12 streams. Total.
- Check follower-to-stream ratios: A good playlist should generate 1-5% of its followers in streams per track
- Look at recent additions: How many streams do they have after a few weeks?
- Monitor your own results: Track which playlists actually move the needle
- Quality over quantity: 10 active followers beat 1000 inactive ones
Mistake #4: Terrible Timing & Follow-Up Etiquette
Timing your submissions wrong can kill even the best pitch. Here's what I've learned about when curators actually check their emails:
⏰ Best Times to Submit:
- • Tuesday-Thursday, 9am-1pm: Peak response window
- • Avoid Mondays: They're catching up from the weekend
- • Friday afternoons are risky: Weekend mode is kicking in
- • Follow up once after 2 weeks: If no response, move on
The Follow-Up Rule: One follow-up maximum. If they don't respond, they're not interested. Pestering them just gets you blocked and ruins it for other artists.
Mistake #5: Not Building Relationships Before You Need Them
This is the mistake that separates one-hit wonders from career artists. Most people only reach out when they need something. The smart ones build relationships first.
- Engage genuinely: Comment on their posts about music (not just when promoting)
- Share their playlists: When you actually listen and enjoy them
- Send them music from others: Tracks they might like from artists you know
- Be patient: Relationships take time, but they last
The Numbers Game Reality Check
Let me give you realistic expectations. Even with perfect execution, playlist promotion is a numbers game:
- 50 quality submissions: Properly researched and personalised
- 10% response rate: If you're doing everything right
- 2-5 playlist adds: From a successful campaign
- 1-2 valuable connections: Worth more than dozens of one-off adds
Tools That Actually Help (And Ones That Don't)
Right, let's talk tools. The playlist promotion space is full of expensive platforms promising the world. Most are rubbish. Here's what actually works:
✅ Tools Worth Using:
- • Contact enrichment tools (like Audio Intel) for proper curator details
- • Spotify for Artists to track which playlists actually drive streams
- • Social media schedulers for consistent curator engagement
- • Simple CRM systems to track relationships and submissions
❌ Tools to Avoid:
- • "Guaranteed" playlist placement services - Usually fake or bot playlists
- • Mass submission platforms - Generic submissions get generic results
- • Follower buying services - Fake engagement hurts more than it helps
- • Expensive "industry contact" databases - Often outdated and overpriced
The Harsh Truth About Playlist Promotion
Look, I'm going to level with you. Playlist promotion in 2025 is saturated. Every artist and their dog is trying it, which means curators are overwhelmed and increasingly selective.
But here's the thing: Most artists are doing it wrong. They're making the mistakes I've outlined above, which means there's still opportunity for those who do it properly.
The artists succeeding are the ones who:
- Research thoroughly before submitting
- Write personalised, relevant pitches
- Build genuine relationships with curators
- Track their results and optimise accordingly
- Have realistic expectations and play the long game
Most importantly: Your music needs to be playlist-ready. No amount of promotion can fix a poorly produced track that doesn't fit the playlist's vibe.
Ready to stop making these mistakes?Start by getting proper contact intelligence. Audio Intel's free betagives you curator names, submission preferences, and contact details that make your pitches actually work. No credit card required - just better playlist promotion results.
Chris Schofield
5+ years promoting music for indie artists and labels. I've seen every playlist promotion mistake possible - and made most of them myself. Built Audio Intel to fix the contact research problem.
These mistakes cost artists thousands in wasted time and money. If this article saved you from even one of them, it's done its job. Want better playlist promotion results? Start with better contact intelligence.