Welcome [back] to another week of your weekly dose 🎶

Every Tuesday, I’ll be sharing tips, updates, and must-know music marketing insights to help you get your music heard!

By Finch Bergling 🙂

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Quick Update:

Quick heads up - this Thursday and Friday (Nov 27-28), I'm putting everything on sale for Black Friday!

No discount code needed - all prices will be updated automatically. You can access everything with the new prices here (only available Thursday-Friday).

Save this email so you don't miss it 🙌
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Your Weekly Reel Idea

Every 5th reel on my feed is this trend - and musicians are absolutely crushing it ⤵️

📝 Content Summary: This reel shows a musician recording in their bedroom with text "no one talks about how hard it is to go from this:" then cutting to them at their day job (folding pizza boxes) with "To this."
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🎦 How to create a similar Reel:

1. Film yourself doing music - playing guitar, performing live, producing beats, whatever you actually do.
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2. Add text: "No one talks about how hard it is to go from this:"
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3. Cut to your day job - the more mundane, the better.
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4. Add text: "To this"
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5. Keep each clip 3-5 seconds max.
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6. Add trending audio from the "Edits" app.
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🤔 Why does it work so well?

1. It builds watch time - People stick around to see what the "plot twist" is. Even if they are familiar with the trend, they still want to see what is the musician's day job.
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2. Every musician can relate - Even the big musicians had day jobs once. They see themselves in you and can't help but like, comment or share the Reel.
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3. The algorithm already loves this trend - When a format is everywhere, Instagram / TikTok knows it works.
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4. It takes 10 minutes to make - Just film yourself making music, film yourself at work, and add text. Done (:

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Your Weekly Tip

At least once a week, I get a DM or comment from musicians confused about payola, claiming what I do is "against Spotify's terms of service." 🥴

I wouldn't care, except this confusion causes two real problems:

1. If my account gets reported enough, it could get banned without appeal (even when the reports are unjustified).
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2. Musicians miss out on real opportunities because they're scared of playlist promotion.

Let me clear this up once and for all:

Getting paid to REVIEW songs through platforms like SubmitHub? ✅ Totally okay

Getting paid to GUARANTEE playlist placement? ❌ That's payola

I get paid to listen and provide feedback.

Whether I add the song is 100% based on quality and fit. Spotify actually supports this model because it helps artists get discovered properly.

The second thing I want to address is his claim that playlists aren't cost-effective for getting fans.

I've talked about the strategy for using playlists to grow your fanbase, and you can read all about it in my past newsletter: "Are playlists really growing your fanbase?"​
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Now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about what musicians really want to know:

• How many songs do I usually approve?
• What makes me accept a song?
• How to increase your chances.

Here's what actually matters:

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After reviewing nearly 50,000 songs, here's the truth:

My approval rate [according to SubmitHub] is 20%.

Yes, I reject 80% of submissions. But it's not personal (unless you left a hate comment).

And why songs get rejected:

1. Wrong playlist (40%) - "Why are you sending rap to my EDM playlist?"
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2. Personal taste (30%) - I have to love it myself or I can't honestly recommend it
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3. Production issues (30%) - Doesn't meet basic industry standards

100% - could be avoided with a little work before you send a curator your song.

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What makes me "accept" (the 20% that make it)

1. You actually listened to my playlist - I can tell immediately. When someone mentions a specific song or artist from the playlist, I'm automatically invested.

2. Production that fits the playlist standard - Your song doesn't need a $10K mixing engineer, but it needs to match the quality of other songs. If your bedroom recording sounds out of place next to the rest, listeners might unfollow my playlist.

3. My personal taste - Would I personally replay this? Would I recommend it to a friend? Does it add something special to the playlist?

4. The artist already has momentum - When I see 10K+ monthly listeners (and they didn't come from bot playlists or ad money), I know people actually choose to listen to this. Even if it's not my cup of tea, thousands of fans can't be wrong.

5. The pitch - "Thanks for adding my last song!", "Produced by Taylor Swift", "I'll share your playlist with my 100K followers."

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How to dramatically increase your chances (from 20% to maybe 80%)

1. Listen to at least 5 songs from the playlist - Note the tempo, energy, production style, common themes.
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2. Reference specific songs - "Similar to [song] by [artist] on your playlist".
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3. Explain the musical fit - Not your life story - but why I should care.
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4. Know your genre - If it's borderline, acknowledge it (alternative or experimental music is harder to place on playlists).
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5. Create a personal connection first - Send me a DM on Instagram telling me you've just submitted a song. I will review your song with more attention.
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Example of pitches I approved this week:

"Hi, this is the latest release of Eli Brown and Anna Reusch! Getting support from various artists like Tiesto, HI-LO and Laura van Dam. Curious to hear what you think!"

""Hi friends! My name is Sarah–I'm a Canadian artist signed to 2x Grammy-winning songwriter, Lowell. This is my 6th release & one that I'm super excited about! I'll share press/playlists on my socials!"

""Recorded and mixed at Abbey Road Studios. Hope you like it!"

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Let's work together 🤝

• ​Submit your music to my Spotify Playlists.
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• Grow your music career with Your First Hit Song 2026.
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• ​Book a 1-1 consultation.
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• Learn how to become a professional playlist curator​

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Discounts & Links 🔗

• Get 10% off on SubmitHub​
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• Get ​7.5% off your first campaign on Playlist Push - use code finch
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• Get 40% off your first month on PlaylistSupply - use code finch40
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• Get 40% off your first month on Booking-Agent.io - use code finch40
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• Get 40% off your first month on RadioPromo.io - use code finch40​
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• Get 7% off on DistroKid​
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• Get 7-day free pro on Hypeddit​

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That’s it for this week! Hope today’s email gave you something useful to work with.

Until next week, Finch 🎶

P.S. Newsletters aren’t social media - I can’t see what you’re enjoying unless you tell me. Hit reply and let me know what you liked (or didn’t) - I’d love to hear from you! 😊

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