Who playlist curators are, how they operate in India's streaming ecosystem, and how to build genuine relationships with them.
What Is a Playlist Curator?
A playlist curator is anyone who creates and maintains a music playlist that other people follow. They range from:
- Spotify's own editorial team (editorial playlists like Indie India, New Music Friday India)
- Algorithmically generated playlists (Discover Weekly, Release Radar — not curated by humans)
- Individual enthusiasts running indie discovery playlists
- Music media outlets running playlists (Wild City's playlists, Homegrown playlists)
- Brands and lifestyle accounts running mood playlists
- Artists curating playlists of music they love
Why Playlists Matter More Than Ever in India
Streaming is the dominant music consumption format in India. On Spotify, JioSaavn, Gaana, Wynk, and YouTube Music, playlists are the primary way listeners discover new music. An editorial playlist add on Spotify India can be worth tens of thousands of streams in a week. A Discover Weekly add reaches a personalised listener who is already primed to like your style of music.
Compared to radio and press, playlist adds are:
- More measurable (you can see stream spikes in Spotify for Artists)
- More accessible for independent artists (no label relationship required)
- More efficient (listeners of an indie playlist are already receptive to new indie music)
The Types of Curators
Type 1: Spotify Editorial Team (India)
The Spotify editorial team in Mumbai is responsible for playlists like:
- Indie India: Curated indie and alternative tracks by Indian artists
- New Music Friday India: New releases, all genres
- Made In India: Broad Indian artist playlist
- Hindi Hits, Bollywood Butter: Mainstream Hindi content
- Genre/mood playlists: Chill, Acoustic, Dance India, etc.
How to reach them: ONLY via Spotify for Artists pitch tool. There is no back-channel. Personal emails to Spotify staff are ineffective and unwanted. Submit your pitch 7 days before release through the dashboard.
Type 2: Jiosaavn Editorial Team
Similar to Spotify editorial — manages Fresh Tracks, Hindi Indie, and mood playlists on JioSaavn. How to reach them: Via your distributor (Believe Digital India and OKListen have active JioSaavn relationships), or via JioSaavn for Artists direct contact.
Type 3: Independent Human Curators
These are music fans who run popular Spotify or YouTube playlists. They may have anywhere from 500 to 500,000 followers.
Characteristics:
- They curate for passion, not payment (good curators do not charge for playlist adds)
- They discover music actively — via social media, music blogs, other playlists
- They respond to genuine, personal outreach
- They are often reachable via Instagram, Twitter/X, or email
How to find them: 1. Search Spotify for playlists in your genre. Open playlists with 500+ followers. Note the curator name. 2. Use Chartmetric (paid) to identify curators of playlists similar to yours. 3. Look for playlist curators on Instagram using hashtags: #indiemusic #newmusicfriday #indieIndia 4. SubmitHub and Groover have directories of opted-in curators who actively receive music submissions.
Type 4: Media and Brand Playlists
Wild City, Homegrown, and other media outlets run editorial playlists on Spotify and YouTube. Brands like Bacardi, boAt, and CRED run lifestyle playlists. These are curated by editorial or marketing teams.
How to reach them: Via press relationship (media playlists) or brand partnership (brand playlists). Being reviewed by Wild City and Homegrown often leads to playlist inclusion without a separate ask.
How to Pitch Independent Curators
Step 1: Qualify the Curator
Before pitching, check:
- Does their playlist actually fit your genre and mood?
- Are the songs on their playlist similar in quality and feel to yours?
- Do they have active follower engagement (not bot followers)?
- When was the playlist last updated? (Old playlists with inactive curators are a waste of time)
Step 2: Follow Before you Pitch
Follow the curator on Instagram or Twitter/X. Engage genuinely with their content. A pitch from someone who has interacted with your content before is far warmer than a cold DM.
Step 3: Send a Specific, Brief Pitch
For SubmitHub / Groover: Fill in all fields completely. Curators on these platforms rate pitches — thorough submissions get better response rates.
For direct DM or email: "Hi [Name], I've been following [Playlist Name] for a while — it's one of my go-to sources for [describe what they do well]. I'm [Artist Name], a [genre] artist from [city]. Our new track '[Song Title]' came out last week and I think it would sit well between [Song A] and [Song B] on your playlist. Stream here: [link]. No pressure — keep doing what you're doing."
Key: specific, personal, brief, no attachment.
What Not to Do
1. Pay for playlist adds: Fake playlist adds (from services selling "guaranteed placements") violate Spotify's terms of service and can result in account suspension. The streams are fake. The listeners do not exist. This is fraud.
2. Mass cold-email 100 curators with a template: Curators see through this. Response rates are near zero and it damages your reputation.
3. Follow up more than once: One polite follow-up after 2 weeks is acceptable. More than that is harassment.
4. Ask friends to create playlists with your song: Personal playlists don't have independent listeners. This does not help.
5. Pitch to playlists that don't fit your genre: A Hindi folk track on a UK garage playlist benefits no one.
Building Long-term Curator Relationships
The most valuable curator relationships in India's indie scene are built the same way as any professional relationship: consistently, genuinely, over time.
- Thank curators publicly when they add your music (tag them in your Stories)
- Offer to reciprocate: share their playlist with your audience
- Submit every new release to curators who have previously said yes — they already know and like your music
- Introduce them to other artists in your circle whose music fits their playlist
- Meet them at gigs and music events — many Indian playlist curators are active in the live music community
Curator Contact Database
Curator / Playlist | Platform | Followers | Genre Focus | Contact Method | Last Pitched | Response | Added? ──────────────────|──────────|-──────────|-────────────|-───────────────|-─────────────|-─────────|─────── | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Created by: Date:
Free to use · Part of the Indie Music India toolkit · Updated September 2026