A Deep Dive into SubmitHub - Reviewing EVERY Spotify Promotion Service
IN TODAY’S ENTRY ON “Reviewing every Spotify Promotion company so you don’t have to!”
submithub
“Its mission is to efficiently and transparently connect artists with curators.”
what is submithub?
SubmitHub was started in late-2015 by music blogger Jason Grishkoff (founder of Indie Shuffle). Its mission is to efficiently and transparently connect artists with curators, influencers, and record labels. I’ve used SubmitHub on and off for the past 8 years but I’ve never gone into the analytics as deeply as we will today.
what is the submission process?
Similar to uploading to DistroKid or Tunecore, Submithub allows you to upload an MP3, Soundcloud link or public streaming links to share your song to outlets
For songs already released, you can add every public streaming link you have available (Youtube, Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music, etc.)
For songs soon to be released, you can either upload a private MP3 or Soundcloud link
For both options, you will need to list the release date so outlets know if the song is live or not
You can link your social media profiles, provide an artist bio, and add a description about the song
Submithub recently added a new feature called “Similar Artists” allowing you to link to artists on Spotify that resonant with your track
Once you’re ready, you can submit your song using either Free or Paid Credits to various Spotify playlisters, music blogs, radio stations, or record labels
Free vs. paid credits?
Free
With standard credits, there are no such requirements: a curator can choose to provide feedback if they wish, but may instead make a quick decision and move onto the next song.
You receive two standard credits every four hours, and should see a countdown on the submit page that indicates when they'll refresh. You can only ever have 2 standard credits at any given time, so you need to use them if you want to get more.
Based on my experience over the years, Free credits lead to little to no action for your track. Outlets aren’t monetarily incentivized and artists tend to spam outlets open to accepting Free Credits (for larger/established outlets, they can choose to only accept Premium Credits)
paid
When you use a premium credit, your submission filters to the top of each outlet's dashboard. The outlet that you send to then has to: 1) respond within 48 hours (96 hours for labels); 2) listen to at least 20 seconds; 3) approve the song, or provide a minimum of 10 words explaining why it wasn't a good fit (20 words for labels). If they don't satisfy these requirements, you get your credit back to be used again. There's also an option for "90 seconds of listening instead of feedback."
Premium credits tend to have a higher approval rate because listeners are encouraged to spend time with the song, rather than making a split-second decision.
While this would be ideal, majority of outlets only listen for the alloted amount (being 90 seconds)
my personal experience with submithub
I purchased $100 Premium Credits for $64 (due to a 20% off promotion they were running)
As you can see below, the Premium Credits give you access to
priority response
access to premium creators, influencers, and record labels
required listening duration, and written feedback
My plan is to test a few different songs with distinct genres and try out campaigns using solely Free and Premium credits
*important note but Submithub recently changed its website as they now offer a Marketplace, consolidated Credit buying system, and more.
results?
In order to fully test the outreach and streaming results from Submithub, we’ll be running four tests for Submithub
We will be tracking total number of streams and followers after 3 months from the start of each campaign
Test #1
Free credits for a song with vocals
Results:
94 Standard Credits Used, only 30/94 responses
Out of 30 responses, only 4 Approved
One Youtube channel, two radio channels, and one Spotify playlist
Little to no increase in Spotify streams or followers
Slight increase in Apple Music streams, Shazams, and Purchases
In June and July 2021 only
Current Spotify stream count as of April 23rd, 2023: 27,064
Average streams per day: 5-10
Results:
50 Premium Credits Used, only 21/22 responses
Out of 22 responses, 2 Approved
Two Spotify playlists
Current Spotify stream count as of July 23rd, 2023: 28,891
Increase in streams: +1,827
Current Spotify stream count as of April 23rd, 2023: 1,108
Average streams per day: 1-3
Results:
Around 17 Free Credits Used, no responses
*Due to the fact that I ran out of outlets to submit to
Current Spotify stream count as of July 23rd, 2023: 1,178
Increase in streams: +70
Current Spotify stream count as of April 23rd, 2023: 329
Average streams per day: 0-3
Results:
50 Premium Credits Used, only 25/28 responses
Out of 28 responses, 2 Approved
Four Spotify playlists
Sent out on 4/23/2023
Current Spotify stream count as of July 23rd, 2023: 655
Increase in streams: +326
Lucky for us, Submithub will email you about any outlet that wishes to promote and support your track. They also have a built-in chat section that allows you to talk directly with an outlet to cover release details, MP3 download (for Youtube channels), and duration of promotion. After the promotion has ended, you can send feedback about the outlet directly to Submithub - this is shared with the rest of the community to verify outlets and give honest feedback.
let’s break down the numbers…
For Test #2 and Test #4, the average stream per Premium Credit was: 0.027 and 0.153 respectively
For Test #1-4, we didn’t include any results from Apple Music as the majority of the outlets only supported Spotify playlisting
To summarize, we spent $64 to gain a little over 2,705 Spotify streams - which means we had a net loss of -$53.18
Assuming we only receive Spotify streams AND we own 100% of the royalties, it would take 16,000 streams to recoup completely
Flaws of the system
While Free credits seem like a good idea, outlets aren’t required to respond to any of them - leading to a false sense of hope
This makes Free credits useless compared to Premium credits
Outlets have the option to share your song in a smaller playlist if they:
Still want to support but don’t wanna put it in a larger playlist
Avoid paying the refund and still earn from your Premium Credits
The issue here is that the vast majority of those “shout-out” playlists aren’t generating any plays, momentum, or engagement
For example, one of the tracks was put in Chilled Cat’s Spotify playlist that was generating 0 streams a month
Even though this might sound good, it’s sometimes better to get the refund
While Premium credits give you the option to choose written feedback or longer listening time, the majority of outlets have already made up their minds 5-10 seconds into the song
It’s important to note that feedback for a released song is pretty much useless since the outlet only needs to reply with 20 words
Also who is going to change their song based on one outlet’s opinion?
While Premium credits tend to go on sale every now and then, spending $80 for 100 credits can add up over time, especially if you aren’t getting the engagement, streams, or fans you’ll need to recoup
Given how little each outlet earns per submission, they most likely aren’t dedicating a ton of time or energy to the process
In the Spotify playlister category, a lot of artists are running their own playlists
The same goes for music blogs, realistically who can afford to write a blog post for less than $1?
why use Submithub?
I’ve used Submithub on and off for the past 8 years and I always find myself questioning why I come back haha
The platform has evolved a lot - an influx of new artists and outlets while the price of Credits remains the same
If you are an artist looking to grow your numbers, find new fans, and get some press, Submithub might not be the best place for you - at least not anymore
With the rise of TikTok and short-form video content, it’s almost expected that artists become social media influencers and creators.
In addition, a lot of “old” media that used to work like blog posts, Youtube promo channels, or Twitch streams isn’t really that important or useful anymore
Let’s be completely honest for a second. Who is realistically still reading music blogs when Spotify can give you a curated playlist they know you’ll enjoy
As an artist, you need to be flexible and understand you should be WHERE your audience IS, not where your audience WAS
I’ll still use Free submission credits every now and then but it feels like pumping water from a rusty well that hasn’t been used in years
As more and more artists come into the music industry, it’s important to hone in on:
What makes you different from the rest?
Why should people care about your music?
What are you creating that someone doesn’t have and needs?
I urge any artist looking to buy Submithub credits to step back for a second and think - could I be doing more on the branding and content creation side of my career? If the answer is yes, close that window and start brainstorming some ideas!
MYSPHERE ALTERNATIVES
If you have a marketing budget set for your song, here are some alternatives you can try out instead
Pitch your track to curators for free using my Free Spotify Playlist Contact Sheet
Use 25 Weekly Credits on Daily Playlists to submit to free curators
For the hardcore “do it yourself-ers” go cop yourself a copy of the ULTIMATE SPOTIFY PITCHING GUIDE
Focus your time and energy on creating content focused on promoting your upcoming and past releases
This includes TikTok, Instagram Reels, Youtube Shorts, and Facebook Reels
Once a piece of content starts to blow up, use that as your ad creative for Instagram, Facebook and more
