The short answer
Do both, but understand that they buy different things. A playlist add is reach with no relationship behind it. A radio add is a named person who chose your record and can be contacted again, which is why radio compounds over a career in a way playlist placements generally do not.
| Independent radio | Streaming playlists | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides | A named music director or show host you can write to | A curator, an algorithm, or both, usually unreachable |
| Can you build on a yes | Yes, the same person is there next release | Rarely, placement resets each time |
| Cost of trying | Time | Time, and a market full of paid placement offers |
| What a yes produces | Scheduled plays, a contact, sometimes an interview or a session | Streams while the placement lasts |
| Geography | Specific and local, which is useful for playing live | Diffuse |
| Verifiable | Yes, many stations publish what they played | Yes, in your streaming dashboard |
| Main risk | Slow, and easy to do badly | Paid placement schemes and bot playlists |
The reason radio can be worked deliberately is that the doors are published. 273 of the 1363 stations checked are confirmed accepting music directly from independent artists, 74 of the 1363 have a form written for artists, and 14 of the accepting stations state a preference for local or regional artists, which is an advantage you can claim in one sentence and no playlist offers.
Yes, for what it produces rather than for reach alone. A radio add means a named person chose your record, will often say your name on air, and can be contacted about the next release. It also produces something verifiable to show promoters, venues and labels.
Paid placement schemes are widespread and generally a poor use of money, and paid streams do not build the relationships that carry a career. Pitch through official channels, and apply the same test you would to any guaranteed-airplay offer: ask exactly what is being bought and how you can verify it.
Pick your sound and region on Rotation and each of these stations shows its real submission contact and the exact rules it posts: clean edit, WAV, form or mail. Checked by hand and kept current. No station here paid to be listed.
Open my sheet →Radio is the free half, and it stays that way. Every station here is free to reach and no station ever pays to be listed. The Doors is the other half: 100 verified places that are not radio, sync libraries, music supervisors, festivals, contests, live sessions and the music press, 43 of which can actually pay an artist. It also lists the 162 we opened and refused, with the reason each one failed, because most lists of this kind are stale and the rejections are the part nobody else will show you. $9.99, the 2026 Q3 edition →
More
Every comparison → · The Playbook → · The data behind these numbers →