How to Pitch YouTube Music Playlists: Templates | TAP
YouTube Music pitch templates
By TAP Editorial Team
Quick answer
YouTube Music editorial does not take pitches from artists directly. The route is your distributor's pitch form, which reaches the same editorial team and wants the track dated and described several weeks before release. Everything else on YouTube you can pitch yourself: channel premieres, independent music channels and playlist curators, most of whom publish a contact address and answer their own email.
YouTube has three separate doors and only one of them is closed to you. Editorial playlists on YouTube Music are reached through your distributor, premieres are arranged with the channel that runs them, and independent music channels and playlist curators take email from artists directly. The templates below are written for you to send under your own name, each with the timing and the detail the person on the other end is looking for.
YouTube Music editorial pitch, sent through your distributor
The submission form your distributor passes to YouTube Music editorial. Fill it in four to six weeks before release, while the release is still marked as upcoming.
TRACK: '[TRACK TITLE]' by [ARTIST NAME] RELEASE DATE: [DATE] GENRE AND MOOD: [GENRE], [TWO WORDS ON ENERGY AND TEMPO] Why this one: [ONE SENTENCE ON WHAT THE RECORD IS. What it was written about, what it sounds like, who played on it.] Where it fits: [NAME THE PLAYLIST YOU ARE ASKING FOR AND SAY WHY. Reference two tracks currently on it and what yours shares with them.] What is already happening: • [SUPPORT SO FAR: a station, a blog, a curator, a session booking] • [AUDIENCE: where your listeners are and how that has moved since the last release] • [WHAT IS COMING: video date, live dates, anything with a date attached] Assets: video [READY / DATE], artwork and metadata final, socials scheduled from [DATE].
Name one playlist. 'Editorial playlists' reads as a mass send and gets treated as one. Include numbers only where they are strong enough to help you, and leave them out otherwise. Your distributor may cap the length, so write the first three lines as though they are the only ones anybody reads.
Premiere request to a YouTube channel
Asking a channel that runs premieres, whether that is a large one or a genre channel with a few thousand subscribers, to host your video or live session.
Subject: Premiere request, [ARTIST NAME] '[TRACK TITLE]', [PROPOSED DATE] Hi [NAME], I have a [VIDEO TYPE: music video, live session, one-take performance] for '[TRACK TITLE]' finished and I would like to premiere it with you on [DATE]. I watch [CHANNEL NAME] for [SPECIFIC REASON: name a recent premiere and what you liked about it], and this sits alongside that because [ONE SENTENCE]. The details: • Length: [DURATION] • Proposed premiere: [DATE AND TIME] • Exclusivity: [FIRST ANYWHERE / FIRST IN THE UK / SHARED WITH ONE OTHER, BE HONEST] • My side: I will be in the chat for the whole premiere and pushing it from [YOUR CHANNELS] on the day. Private link: [UNLISTED URL] One-line bio and stills: [LINK] Happy to move the date to suit your schedule. [YOUR NAME]
Watch three of the channel's recent premieres before you write. Larger channels want a finished video two to three weeks ahead; smaller ones can turn one around in days. Say what exclusivity you can actually offer, because a channel that finds out later will not book you again.
Email to an independent YouTube music channel or playlist curator
The channels that upload tracks with their own artwork and run YouTube Music playlists on the side. This is the pitch you have the most control over, and the one most artists skip.
Subject: [GENRE] track for [CHANNEL NAME], out [DATE] Hi [NAME], '[TRACK TITLE]' is out on [DATE]. It is [GENRE], [DURATION], and it sits close to [ARTIST YOU UPLOADED RECENTLY], which is how I found the channel. Private link until release: [UNLISTED URL] Download with artwork, credits and lyrics: [LINK] If you want a different edit, a longer version or artwork sized to your template, tell me and you will have it the same day. Thanks for listening, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR CHANNEL / SITE]
Under a hundred words. These channels get hundreds of these a week and read the first two lines. The single thing that separates a reply from a delete is naming a track they actually uploaded, so check the last month of the channel before you send. Offer the assets rather than making them ask.
Shorts plan that feeds the full track
The plan you write for yourself before release, so the Shorts are made in one session rather than improvised weekly. Also works as a brief for whoever films with you.
TRACK: '[TRACK TITLE]', out [DATE] WINDOW: [START DATE] to [END DATE] NUMBER OF SHORTS: [NUMBER], each [15 to 60 SECONDS] What each one is: 1. [THE HOOK: the strongest fifteen seconds of the song, performed] 2. [THE STORY: what the song is about, said plainly to camera] 3. [THE ROOM: writing it, tracking it, the take that did not work] 4. [THE PEOPLE: whoever played on it, saying one thing about it] Every Short: full track linked in the description and the pinned comment, same sound used each time so the sound page collects them, one line of on-screen text in the first second. What I am watching: full-track plays in the week after each Short, channel subscribers, saves on YouTube Music.
Shorts reward completion, so the call to action goes in the description rather than eating the last four seconds. Use one sound across the set so every Short points at the same page. Film them all before release day; a plan that depends on you filming weekly during release week does not survive release week.
Second pitch after a track picks up on its own
Going back to a playlist or channel weeks after release, because something real has happened since: a station added it, a sync landed, a Short took off.
Subject: '[TRACK TITLE]' since [MONTH], quick update Hi [NAME], I sent '[TRACK TITLE]' over in [MONTH] and it did not fit at the time, which was fair. Three things have happened since: • [MILESTONE: e.g. added to the playlist at [STATION] on [DATE]] • [MILESTONE: e.g. used in [SHOW / CAMPAIGN], out [DATE]] • [MILESTONE: e.g. the Short at [LINK] passed [NUMBER] and pushed full-track plays to [NUMBER]] It has kept growing without a push behind it, which is why I am asking once more, this time for [SPECIFIC PLAYLIST OR SLOT]. Same links: [URL] Either way, thanks for the first listen. [YOUR NAME]
Only send this when something has changed that they can verify. Anybody working in editorial checks the numbers themselves, so an overstated figure ends the relationship rather than the pitch. One update email, then leave it.
Regional playlist pitch
Where your listening is concentrated in one country or city and there are regional playlists to match. Goes through the same distributor form, framed differently.
TRACK: '[TRACK TITLE]' by [ARTIST NAME], out [DATE] STRONGEST TERRITORY: [COUNTRY OR CITY] Why this is a [REGION] record: [ONE SENTENCE. Where you are based, where you play, what about the record belongs to that place.] Where the listening is: • [TERRITORY]: [WHAT HAS HAPPENED THERE, with a date] • [CITY]: [SUPPORT: a station, a venue, a promoter] • [ANY CHART OR PLAYLIST IN TERRITORY] Asking for: [NAME THREE REGIONAL PLAYLISTS], because [ONE LINE ON FIT]. Metadata is set for [TERRITORY], including credits and spelling.
Regional playlists are curated by different people from the global ones, and they want territory numbers rather than worldwide totals. Radio or press in the territory is the strongest thing you can lead with. Check the spelling of every name and credit for that market before you submit.
Content ID note to attach to a pitch
A short addendum for when your Content ID settings materially change how the track can spread, most often when you are deliberately letting Shorts and covers run.
Re: '[TRACK TITLE]', Content ID position '[TRACK TITLE]' is registered with Content ID under [YOUR SETTING]. What that means in practice: • Covers and lip-sync videos: [CLAIM AND SHARE REVENUE / LEAVE ALONE], not blocked. • Instrumental and remix uploads: [YOUR DECISION]. • Shorts: [YOUR DECISION], no strikes. I have set it this way so the track can travel through other people's videos rather than sitting still, and so the plays those videos create come back to the release.
This is an addendum, never the pitch itself. Send it only when the setting changes what somebody should expect from the track's spread. If you have blocked everything and the track has quiet numbers, the two facts read together, so decide which one you want before you write.
Reply after a no
Answering a decline in a way that leaves the door open, and setting up the next release rather than arguing about this one.
Subject: Re: [ORIGINAL SUBJECT] Hi [NAME], Thanks for coming back to me, and for [THE SPECIFIC THING THEY SAID, quoted back in your own words]. Noted on [POINT THEY MADE]. The next one is [DESCRIPTION OF WHAT IS COMING] and lands in [MONTH], and it is closer to [WHAT THEY SAID THEY WANT]. I will send it over when it is finished. Thanks again for listening properly. [YOUR NAME]
Do not argue the decision and do not resend the same track. A reply that takes the note gracefully is remembered, and the next pitch opens on a name they recognise. If they have named a date before which you should not resubmit, put it in your calendar and honour it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pitch YouTube Music editorial directly?
No. There is no public inbox for YouTube Music editorial, and the tracks that reach it arrive through distributors and labels. Your distributor's pitch form is the door, so fill it in properly and four to six weeks out. Everything else on YouTube, premieres, independent channels and user-curated playlists, takes email from artists directly and is where your own effort pays.
How do I find the email for a YouTube playlist curator?
Open the channel that runs the playlist and check the About tab, where a business email is usually listed. Where it is not, follow the link to their site, Linktree or socials, which normally carries a submissions address with instructions beside it. Read those instructions before sending, since many of these channels reject anything that ignores their stated format.
How long does a decision take?
Independent channels answer in days when they answer at all. Premiere channels usually come back within a week or two, sooner if your date is close. Editorial decisions made through a distributor arrive with no notification at all, so you find out by looking at the playlist. Chase an independent channel once after ten days, and leave editorial alone.
Should I ask for a premiere and a playlist at the same time?
Ask in sequence. The premiere is arranged with the channel and needs two to three weeks, so it goes first. The distributor pitch goes in afterwards with the premiere named and dated, because a booked premiere is a fact about the release rather than a promise. Doing it the other way round leaves you pitching a plan instead of a date.
Do Shorts views help a playlist pitch?
They help as context and not as the argument. What carries weight is what the Shorts did to the full track: plays, saves, subscribers, repeat listening. 'This Short reached a large audience and full-track plays went up in the week that followed' is the useful sentence. A view count with nothing attached to it is not.
From the field
Proof points
- Named contact reply rate vs studio@: 5x higher (Liberty Music PR campaign data, 2024-2026)
- Best UK send window: Tue/Wed 09:00-10:00 UK (Across 60+ campaigns)
- Optimal follow-up cadence: +7 days from initial pitch (Liberty internal data)
What actually happened
Roam Belle: 96 plays across UK regional and community stations. Named-contact approach, declining curve in week 5. (Spring 2025)
YouTube is a long-tail platform and the pitch reflects that. I send to channel owners weeks ahead, lead with the visual hook, and treat the YouTube Music plays as a downstream effect of the video pickup. I do not pitch YouTube Music editorial directly. The route is through creators and through the video side first.
Chris Schofield, Radio plugger, Liberty Music PR
Related resources
Further reading
- TAP Blog — In-depth guides, comparisons and advice for independent artists running their own promotion.
- UK Music — The voice of the UK music industry, representing labels, publishers, and collecting societies.
- Music Week — Industry news, charts, and analysis for music professionals.
- The Music Network — Global music business intelligence and networking.
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