Submit music to Alternative / Indie R&B Spotify playlists
Send your Alternative / Indie R&B track to the playlist pros & curators you find on PlaylistsForYou. Get results within 5 days and grow your streams.
Disclaimer: we sell a pitch so placements are not guaranteed. However, if you get zero results from your campaign we refund your pitch. See exactly how it works in our FAQ.
Submit to Alternative / Indie R&B CuratorsRather try free options first? Read: 6 methods to promote your Alternative / Indie R&B music (free + paid)
What is Alternative / Indie R&B?
Alternative Indie/ R&B in its purest form can give you the feeling you're the main character of a movie. It's simple in how the production can feel but complex when you really dive into it. Alternative R&B's roots lie in the intersection of (neo) soul, trip hop, and the softer, more melodic side of hip hop. Alternative R&B, known as alt-R&B or indie R&B, is a stylistic offshoot of contemporary R&B that combines the vocal elements of soul and hip hop with experimental electronic production and more typically “indie” aesthetics. Lyrically, the genre tends to be more towards the introspective and confessional side.
How to get your Alternative / Indie R&B track on these Spotify playlists
Choose how many curators you want to pitch to
Every playlist curator personally listens to your track and responds within 5 days. You can follow every response live in your Artist Dashboard. If your song receives no playlist additions, you'll receive a full refund.
We target the right playlists for you
We match your Alternative / Indie R&B track based on genre, subgenre, mood and style. This ensures your music reaches playlist curators who genuinely enjoy your sound.
Receive your playlist placements
Curators approve or decline your song. Results appear live in your Artist Dashboard and at the end in a summary email. Approved tracks remain on playlists for at least one month.
Match your song with fitting Alternative / Indie R&B playlists worldwide
Finding the right playlists for your exact sound can be difficult. PlaylistsForYou has a large network of Alternative / Indie R&B playlists that are actively looking to discover new talented artists in the niche. You also don't have to study our playlists network to find the curators that best match your style. Our pitching expert listens carefully to your song, and selects the playlists that best match your song based on the mood, energy-level, and general flow of your song. Years of song-pitching experience mean that no budget is wasted on playlists that do not match your song. We pitch to editorial-style playlists, genre-specific collections and mood-based playlists that best match your vibe.
What are the differences between an alternative R&B & mainstream R&B playlists?
| Differences | Mainstream R&B | Alt- / Indie R&B |
|---|---|---|
| Production | Focus on clean, more commercial production, often contains more standard electronic instrumentation. | More ambient & electronic elements, frequently uses half-time beats, and can have elements of the indie-rock or dream-pop genres. |
| Song structure / Vocals | Sticks to traditional, catchy structures designed for high replay value and better radio formatting. | More unconventional (song) structures and unexpected changes in vocals / structure. |
| Themes | Keeps a more broad commercial appeal, generally has more upbeat energy, and universally relatable themes. | Explores darker or more vulnerable emotional states with less regard for “following” commercially winning formulas. More expressive and pure. |
| Examples | Chris Brown, Usher and Khalid | Frank Ocean, Blood Orange and Steve Lacy |
Why should I promote my Alternative / Indie R&B song to Spotify playlist curators?
4 Features That Set PlaylistsForYou Apart in the Alternative / Indie R&B niche
Why PlaylistsForYou is the best place to promote a Alternative / Indie R&B song.
The PlaylistsForYou pitch is a simple “Yes or No” choice
- Listen to your full song.
- Playlist placements if your song is a good fit.
- 50+ word nonsense reviews.
- Curators focusing on a “polite” decline instead of playlist growth.
We decided to build a system that cuts out the nonsense. We don't ask our curators to write extensive reviews or long essays about your music. We instead ask them to focus on listening and experiencing the song. In the end, they have a simple choice: you add the song, or don't.
We have the most artist/curator friendly revenue split
We want to change the playlist pitching economics. We take a 20% platform fee, and due to that our curators can reinvest up to 60%–80% back into playlist advertisements. This loop ensures there is a big amount of money flowing directly into making the playlists bigger and more active.
See our full-industry comparison of curator payouts here.
Efficient genre targeting using in-house playlists + external curators
PlaylistsForYou combines the strengths of the two playlist pitching methods our competitors use: a fully internal network, or a fully external network of curators. Our Pitching Expert chooses which playlists best fit a specific song and finds the best value-for-money curator selection to reach out to.
Affordable
Choose the promotion package that matches your goals and budget, starting from €55 per campaign.
Transparent
You can see our Curator Network & verified third-party reviews before you spend any money.
Aligned with your success
As a smaller service, we still care about every individual result. If we don't find your song a playlist placement, we give you a money-back guarantee.
What Happens When You Order?
A straightforward 3-step process to get your music heard by thousands.
Pick Your Package
Select the package that matches the number of playlists you want to pitch to.
We Pitch Your Music
We share your song(s) to relevant curators. Responses arrive within 5 days. Average acceptance ratio: 10-25% of pitched curators.
Get Your Placements
See which playlists accepted your track and get a full report of your placements. Tracks are added for at least 1 month.
About Alternative / Indie R&B playlists - FAQ
How do I find Alternative / Indie R&B playlists to submit my music to?+
You can use PlaylistsForYou to discover active playlist curators specializing in Alternative / Indie R&B submissions. We match your song(s) to the curators that match your songs best based on genre, mood and style.
How can PlaylistsForYou help me promote my Alternative / Indie R&B music?+
PlaylistsForYou connects artists directly with high-quality playlist professionals who are actively looking to discover emerging music in the Alternative / Indie R&B niche.
Is PlaylistsForYou for independent artists?+
Yes. The platform is designed for independent musicians, but is also known to accept submissions from (record) labels and music managers.
What do Alternative / Indie R&B playlists/curators look for?+
A discussion with 50+ curators in our network showed that the most important elements are a strong (music) production, authentic songwriting and tracks that fit the playlists audience/mood very well. Originality matters more than the current follower or stream count for most curators.
How can I stand out when pitching to Alternative / Indie R&B curators?+
In general curators care most about the quality of a song; attributes like the pitch message are often made to look more important than they realistically are. The most important aspect is that you pitch your song to active, highly relevant curators that accept songs in the Alternative / Indie R&B niche.
What can I expect when I pitch a Alternative / Indie R&B song on PlaylistsForYou?+
Every curator listens to your full song and either shares or declines your track. Results can be tracked live in your Artist Dashboard. We protect your investment in two ways: during our review, if we feel your track won't fit our curator network we'll issue a full refund right away. After the campaign, if you end up with zero curator adds, we absorb the costs and refund your money. Bottom line: if we can't deliver results, you get your money back. See our FAQ for full details.
What kind of feedback can I expect on PlaylistsForYou?+
We believe that the promotion of a (new) song should be celebrated, and we don't want to overshadow it with the disappointing feeling when a curator declines your song. You'll receive a report of the additions in both your Artist Dashboard and in a campaign result e-mail.
Do I need to pay to submit to Alternative / Indie R&B playlists?+
Yes, PlaylistsForYou is a paid service. We do this to ensure that playlist placements deliver meaningful results to artists. PlaylistsForYou is known to distribute 80% of its revenue directly to their curator network, ensuring your placements mean strong playlist engagement.