Name one track already on the playlist, in the first sentence, and say one true thing about it that only somebody who played it would say. That sentence is the whole job of a playlist pitch opening. Your song comes second.
Curators open a message, read one line, and decide. Everything after that line is read by people you have already convinced.
The opening is a selection problem before it is a writing problem. Choosing which of the fifty tracks to name is where most of the work sits, and it is the part every template skips.
In this guide you’ll learn
- Which track to name out of everything on the playlist
- What the sentence about it has to contain
- What each kind of opening proves from the curator’s side
- Which phrasings get read as filler
- Where your song and your link belong
- What to write when no track on the list works for you
Why the Opening Line Carries So Much
A curator running a genre playlist gets the same message every week. Hello, love your playlist, here is my song, hope you enjoy.
Nothing in that message is wrong. It is invisible, because every word of it could have gone to a hundred other playlists the same morning, and a curator who reads submissions in batches learns to spot that in about a second.
A named track changes the reading. It proves the sender opened the playlist and stayed there long enough to have an opinion, which is the closest thing to evidence you can put in a first sentence.
There is a second effect worth knowing. A curator who sees their own taste described accurately reads the rest of the message as a recommendation rather than a request, and those two things get answered at different rates.
Which Track to Name
Three rules, and they narrow fifty tracks down to about four.
1. Take a recent add, not a founding track
Sort by date added if the view allows it, or scroll to the bottom of the list where new adds usually sit. Recent tracks show what the curator is into now.
2. Skip the biggest artist on the list
Everybody names the household name, so it proves nothing. Naming an act with a few thousand monthly listeners proves you scrolled.
3. Pick one you can describe
If you cannot say something specific about a track after one listen, it is the wrong track to name. Move to the next.
What the Sentence Has to Contain
One detail a listener would have and a scanner would not.
Say where the song sits in your week, what part of it caught you, or how it works next to the track after it. The vaguer the compliment, the more it reads like the description got skimmed off the playlist title and the cover.
Take a curator running an indie folk list. “Your playlist has such a great vibe” tells them nothing. “The harmonies in the last chorus of [track] are the reason I played it three times” tells them you were there.
Length is not the point either. A short specific sentence beats a paragraph of warm adjectives, because the specific one carries information and the paragraph carries effort.
What Each Opening Proves
Read your own first line back from the other side of the inbox.
| What you name | What it proves to the curator |
|---|---|
| The playlist title | You read the title |
| The follower count | You screened the playlist and stopped there |
| The biggest artist on it | You looked at the top of the list |
| A recent add, named | You scrolled through it |
| A recent add plus a detail | You played it |
| The order of two tracks | You listened through in sequence |
Where Your Song Comes In
Second sentence, and it earns its place by connecting to the first.
The link between their track and yours is the reason the message exists. Slower tempo in the same lane, the same instrumentation, a shared reference point. One sentence, no adjectives you would not use out loud.
Then the link, then the ask, then stop. A message asking for a listen is easier to answer than a message asking for a placement, and a curator who listens and passes still remembers the name.
Keep the link plain. A Spotify link the curator can open in the app beats a smart link with three logos on it, since every extra click is a chance to close the tab. If the song is unreleased, say the release day in the same sentence so the curator knows when the link starts working.
Three Playlist Pitch Openings You Can Adapt
Adapt them rather than pasting them, since a line that arrives in ten inboxes at once loses the thing that made it work.
Hi [name], you added [track] a couple of weeks back and the last minute of it has been in my head since. I make something in the same lane, slower and with more room around the drums.
Hey [name], [track] sitting straight after [track] on your list is a great piece of sequencing, and it is why I thought of you for this one.
Hi [name], I found you through [track], which I had never heard before your playlist. My new single leans on the same kind of guitar tone.
When There Is Nothing You Can Name
Sometimes there is nothing to name. The playlist is new, or the last twenty adds do nothing for you.
Two ways through. Name the lane instead, in the words the playlist title and description use, and be plain about what your song does. Or move on, since a playlist where you cannot find one track to like is rarely the right home for your song.
The limit is worth stating plainly. A good opening line does not fix a bad target. Genre fit decides the answer, and the sentence decides whether the answer gets given at all.
The Repeat Pitch, Which Is Easier Than the First
A curator who has already added you is the warmest name on your list, and Spotify tells you who they are.
Most artists never use this. They pitch a fresh set of strangers on every release while the people who already said yes hear nothing, which is the opposite of how the rest of the music business works.
Go to Music then Playlists in Spotify for Artists. Spotify’s support page says the tab shows the top 100 playlists ordered by the number of your listeners on them, covering the last 12 months, with the stats recorded in UTC.
That view is your opening line already written. You name the playlist that took your last song, you say what it did for the track, and you ask whether the new one fits the same slot.
Building the List the Line Gets Written For
Writing this way takes a few minutes a message, so the constraint moves to how many playlists in your genre you can find. Searching PlaylistFeed for verified playlist curators is free, every playlist is verified before it goes on the directory, free accounts can send a limited number of pitches, and the paid plan can be tried for free.
Work in sets of ten. Ten researched messages sent across a week beat a hundred sent in one afternoon, and a set that size gives you something to read afterwards.
Look at the pattern in what comes back. Silence across ten playlists in different corners of your genre points at the writing, while silence from one corner and replies from another points at the targeting. A follow up sent once, a couple of weeks later, closes the set.
What Curators Read as Filler
- Love your playlist
- Great curation
- I have been following for years
- Your playlist is exactly what I have been looking for
- I think my song would be a great fit
Each one can be sent to any playlist on Spotify without changing a word, which is why experienced curators stop reading at them.
Common Mistakes in the Opening Line
- Naming a track you have not played. Curators know their own lists and a wrong detail ends the conversation.
- Opening on yourself. Your name, your release date and your genre all belong further down.
- Complimenting the curator rather than the playlist. Praise for a person reads as flattery, and a note about a track reads as attention.
- Asking for the add in sentence one. The ask goes last, after the reason.
- Copying the same opening into every message. One shared line across ten curators in a scene gets noticed.
- Naming a track that has been there for years. It suggests you looked at the top and stopped.
Conclusion
A playlist pitch gets read because the first sentence proves attention. One recent track, named, with one detail that could only come from playing it.
The rest of the message is shorter than most artists think. What your song does, why it sits next to theirs, a link, and a plain ask.
Do the choosing before the writing. Pick the playlists worth the effort, then give each of them a sentence nobody else could have sent.
Next Step Before Your Next Release
A specific track and one honest detail is what separates a message that gets read from one that gets archived. Writing that line takes minutes, and finding the playlists worth writing it for is the part that fills the week before release.
Inside PlaylistFeed you find curators who fit the song, draft each message, and track who replied, so the sending stays in one place and the list is ready ahead of release. You can start building your list for free.
FAQ:
How long should the whole message be?
Short enough to read without scrolling. Four sentences covers the opening, the connection to your song, the link and the ask. Curators go through submissions in batches, so a message that takes fifteen seconds gets an answer more often than one that takes two minutes.
Should I put the track name in the subject line?
Keep the subject plain and factual, with your artist name and the song title. The opening belongs in the body, where it has room to land. A subject line trying to be clever gets read as marketing before the message is even open.
What if the curator runs twenty playlists?
Name the one you are pitching and say why that specific list, since curators with a large catalogue are the ones most tired of getting the wrong one. If your song suits two of them, say which you think fits better and let the curator decide.
Does this work for editorial pitching on Spotify?
No, and the two are separate jobs. The Spotify for Artists form goes to Spotify’s own editors and takes song information rather than a message. Everything here is for independent curators, who read email like anybody else.
How do I find a recent add without a date column?
Open the playlist on desktop, where the date added column shows for most lists. On mobile, the tracks toward the bottom are usually the newest ones. Play three or four of them before you write anything.
Is it worth mentioning a track if I only half liked it?
Say the part you did like and leave the rest out. Praise you cannot back up falls apart in the reply, and a narrow honest comment reads better than a broad warm one anyway.
What do I write in a follow up if nobody replies?
Keep it to two sentences and refer back to the track you named, since that is the part the curator might remember. Send it once, after a couple of weeks, and move on if nothing comes back.
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