Maximize Your Music Submissions with Submithub
A Guide for Independent Artists How to Increase Your Playlist Placements and Get Meaningful Feedback on a Budget
How to Get the Most Out of Submithub for Independent Artists
As both label owners and artists for our personal music projects, we’ve had plenty of experience with Submithub, and we can confidently say it offers some of the best value for artists with a (small) budget looking to submit their music to independent playlist curators.
Free Submissions vs Paid Submissions
Submithub allows you to submit your music for free, but let’s be honest—getting approved with free credits is much harder. The reason? Most serious curators only accept paid submissions. While you can submit for free, you might find your approval rate is much lower.
At the time of writing, the approval rate on Submithub sits at 32%, which is significantly higher than many other platforms. This means you have a better chance of getting your music placed on playlists that could boost your streams.
What Makes Submithub Stand Out?
One of the biggest benefits of Submithub is the transparency it offers. Each playlist curator’s profile shows key stats, such as:
The number of plays each playlist gets
How many tracks the curator has shared in the past few months
This data lets you know exactly how many streams you might expect, helping you make more informed decisions on where to spend your money.
Additionally, each curator is obligated to listen to at least 60 seconds of your track (or 180 seconds if you opt for that choice) and provide original feedback. Copy/paste feedback is strictly prohibited, ensuring that you get meaningful, personalized responses for your submission. Submithub even removes curators who don’t comply with these standards, meaning you can be confident that the feedback you receive is of a high quality.
Do Your Research Before Submitting
If you’re spending money on submissions, the worst thing you can do is send your music to a playlist without first checking out their past selections. It can be easy to rely on the genre tags, but you must go the extra step to listen to their playlist history.
Here’s why: Let’s say you’ve tagged your track as "Deep House" or "Progressive House," but the track has commercial elements like vocals, making it sound a bit different. If you submit your track to a curator who primarily features underground or minimal house, don’t be surprised if your track gets rejected.
Doing your research on each curator’s playlist will save you time, money, and frustration. Many artists who invest a bit of time into researching curators are able to maintain an approval rate of 50% or even 60%. The effort pays off.
Our Top Tip
Before submitting to any playlist, listen to at least a few tracks they've previously shared. Compare the sound and style of those tracks to yours. If your song fits, go ahead and submit! If not, keep looking for curators whose playlists align with your sound.
Ready to Get Started?
If you’re ready to dive in, we’ve got a special treat for you! Use our link to get a 10% discount on your first paid submission on Submithub.
Good luck with your release, and may the playlist gods be in your favor!