Where to submit your music as an independent artist
Editorial playlists, submission platforms, radio, blogs, YouTube and communities: what each costs, who it suits, and how to avoid paying for nothing.
· 6 min read
Most lists of "where to submit your music" are written by companies that want you to submit to them. This one groups the real options by type, says what each costs and who it suits, and is clear about what to avoid.
One rule runs through all of it: pay for attention, never for results. It's fine to pay someone to listen and reply. It's not fine to pay for a guaranteed placement or a number of streams.
Disclosure: Dropkick is ours. It's in the list, but it's not at the top, and we'll say exactly what it is.
Before you submit anything
Curators get hundreds of submissions. Make yours easy to say yes to:
- A release date, with the music already delivered to your distributor (four to six weeks ahead is ideal; see our release plan).
- A two-line pitch. What it sounds like, what it's about, and one real reason to care right now (a gig, a video, a story).
- A private streaming link and, for radio and press, a download link.
- A simple press kit: a short bio, a good photo, your links.
- The right targets. Only pitch people who cover your genre. Ten well-chosen pitches beat a hundred random ones.
Free editorial pitching: do this first
These cost nothing and come straight from the platforms.
Spotify for Artists
Pitch one unreleased song at a time for Spotify's editorial playlists, from the Upcoming section of Spotify for Artists. Pitch at least 7 days before release and the song also goes into your followers' Release Radar, even if editors pass. Do this for every release.
Apple Music
Apple accepts pitches through Apple Music for Artists, and many independent artists pitch through their distributor instead. Aim for at least 10 days before release.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music for Artists has a new-release pitch tool for verified artists, with one track per release. Check the current deadline in the app when you pitch.
Submission platforms: paid, but you get a response
These charge a small fee per submission, and in return a curator, blog, playlist or channel listens and replies. Most submissions are declined. That's normal, and the feedback is often useful.
SubmitHub
SubmitHub uses credits that cost roughly $1 each, and curators charge between one and a few credits. A premium submission guarantees a reply within a few days and a real listen, or a written reason for a decline, otherwise you get the credit back. It covers blogs, playlists, YouTube channels and social media influencers, and many blogs only accept music through it. SubmitHub suggests starting with five to ten carefully chosen curators.
Groover
Groover charges in its own currency, roughly €2 for most contacts and more for the bigger ones. Replies are guaranteed within seven days or you're refunded. It's strong for European blogs, radio, labels and playlists.
Musosoup
On Musosoup you submit once and curators come to you. There's a campaign fee of £42 from January 2026, and curators may then make optional paid offers that you can accept or ignore.
Playlist Push and campaign services
Services like Playlist Push run whole campaigns across many playlist curators for a single fee, usually in the hundreds of dollars. They can work, but they're a bigger bet. Check the curators, measure saves and followers rather than streams, and read our guide to paid playlist placement first.
| Platform | How you pay | Reply guaranteed? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| SubmitHub | Credits, about $1 each | Yes, on premium | Blogs, playlists, YouTube, influencers |
| Groover | About €2 per contact | Yes, within 7 days | European blogs, radio, labels |
| Musosoup | £42 campaign fee, optional offers | Curators opt in | Lots of coverage options in one place |
| Playlist Push | Per campaign | No | Bigger playlist campaigns |
Launching something soon? Give it a launch day on Dropkick.
Paste your SoundCloud or Bandcamp link and your artist profile is ready in about two minutes. Listeners upvote, and the charts can't be bought.
Radio
BBC Introducing (UK)
If you live in the UK, upload to BBC Introducing for free. Tracks go to your local BBC Introducing team, based on your postcode, who play new music on regional shows and can pass it on to national stations like Radio 1 and 6 Music. Upload your strongest track and make the first 30 seconds count.
Fresh On The Net
Fresh On The Net is a long-running free UK site for new music. Submissions go through a weekly inbox, a shortlist by the moderators and then a public vote, with the top tracks featured and reviewed each week.
College and community radio (US and beyond)
US college and community stations are among the most open doors in music. Email the music director with a short personal note, a download link (not just a Spotify link) and your press kit, then follow up once. Avoid services that promise to send your song to "10,000 stations".
NPR Tiny Desk Contest
The Tiny Desk Contest for unsigned US artists usually opens in January. Check the site for next year's dates.
Blogs and online press
- Use Hype Machine as a research tool. It doesn't take submissions, but it shows which blogs are writing about music like yours.
- Many blogs only accept music through SubmitHub or Groover. Others list a submissions email on their about page. Read a few posts before pitching so you can say why your track fits.
- Bandcamp Daily covers independent releases on Bandcamp. Pitch well ahead of release with a complete Bandcamp page.
YouTube channels
Genre channels (lo-fi, synthwave, indie, drum and bass and so on) can reach large, loyal audiences. Most take submissions through SubmitHub or Groover, or list an email on their About page. Check that the channel actually posts music like yours and that its comments look like real people.
Communities
Reddit and Discord can work, but only if you follow each community's rules and take part rather than drop links. On r/listentothis, for example, you can't post your own music outside its weekly thread for it. Find the subreddits and servers for your genre, read the rules, and contribute before you share.
Newer discovery platforms
New platforms are worth a look while they're small, because a good track stands out more easily.
That's where Dropkick fits. You paste your SoundCloud or Bandcamp link and we build your artist profile from it. Every release gets its own launch day, listeners upvote what they love, and the daily charts are ranked only by those upvotes. Payment can't buy a chart position. We're pre-launch right now, and the first 100 artists who join get a permanent Founding Artist badge.
What to avoid
- Guaranteed placements or streams. Spotify says paid services that guarantee them break its rules. The penalties include withheld royalties and removal of your music, and distributors can close your account.
- Cold DMs from "curators" offering placement for a fee.
- Playlists that look too good to be true: huge follower counts, but songs with few plays, no clear genre and a curator you can't find anywhere.
- Anything promising a specific result for a fixed price.
Detection is based on what happens to your streams, not your intentions, so a bad playlist can hurt you even if you meant well.
A simple timeline
- 6 to 8 weeks before release: upload to your distributor and pitch Bandcamp Daily and long-lead press.
- 4 weeks before: pitch Spotify and Apple Music editors, start blog and curator submissions.
- 1 to 2 weeks before: radio, YouTube channels, your mailing list.
- Release week: BBC Introducing, communities, your launch day.
- After release: follow up with anyone who liked it, and share every add and review.
Quick answers
Is it worth paying for submissions? Paying for a guaranteed listen and reply can be, if you target well and set a budget. Paying for guaranteed results isn't.
How do I get on Spotify editorial playlists? Pitch through Spotify for Artists at least seven days before release, one song at a time, with a specific pitch. There's no other way in, and anyone selling one is selling something else.
Which submission sites are free? Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon pitching, BBC Introducing, Fresh On The Net, college radio and direct email to blogs. SubmitHub also offers free standard submissions without a guaranteed reply.
How do I spot a fake playlist? Compare followers with the plays on its tracks, look for a clear genre, and check that the curator exists outside your inbox.