We built Playlister.Club to give the music industry a trusted ecosystem of real, high-quality playlists. Since 2020, we've developed the strongest pre-vetted curator network in the industry, focused on legitimacy, safety, and real artist impact.

At the heart of this community is a rigorous vetting process designed to ensure only the most active, authentic curators are accepted. Through detailed human audits, third-party data analysis, and ongoing quality control, we keep our platform clean, transparent, and effective.

In this post, we’ll break down how our vetting process works, what artists should know about playlist quality, and how we continue to raise the bar. So you can run campaigns with total confidence.

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What does Vetting a Playlist Mean?

Vetting a playlist means evaluating whether it’s legitimate, active, and truly valuable for your music. Not all playlists are created with real listeners in mind; some are filled with bots. 

A properly vetted playlist shows real follower engagement, active curation, genre alignment, and organic growth. It’s about protecting your credibility and making sure your music lives in spaces that drive genuine, long-term discovery.

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Why Can’t We Guarantee Placements or Engagement?

Although we’re committed to carefully vetting the curators and playlists in our system, we don’t control them. We respect their independence and creative freedom, which is exactly why we don’t (and can’t) guarantee streams, placements, or engagement. This is real, organic curation.

Every playlister on our platform retains full creative control over their playlists. This means:

• They select tracks based on personal taste, just like any real curator would.
• They decide how long to keep a song on their playlist.
• They choose where in the playlist to position it.

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What is the Songtools A&R Program? 

While our platform technically allows anyone to join as a playlister, only the most trusted and vetted curators are invited into the A&R program. 

Our Vetting Process Step-By-Step:

We take the integrity of our A&R program seriously—which starts with ensuring that every playlist in the network is active, engaged, and growing organically. Not every playlister is accepted, (we accept less than half of the playlists that apply to the A&R program) and for good reason: we only work with curators who are driving real results for artists. Here’s a deep dive into our vetting process, for full transparency: 

1. Minimum Requirements

To qualify, your Playlister account must meet the following criteria:

• 1,000+ Followers: Your account must have at least 1,000 followers.
  
• Authenticity Only: Your playlists must be 100% organic, with no history of artificial growth, bots, or engagement manipulation.
  
• Listener Activity: Playlists must meet our minimum thresholds for active listener engagement and streaming activity.
  
• Alignment with Our Values: You must uphold our community pledge to support real, human-powered curation and help artists connect with genuine, engaged listeners.
  

2. Growth & Data Review

We conduct a detailed analysis of your playlist’s growth patterns using both internal tools and trusted third-party platforms.

• Organic Growth: A steady increase in followers over time indicates a healthy playlist.
  
• Red Flags: Unusual spikes — like gaining or losing 1,000+ followers in a single day — are carefully investigated for signs of artificial behavior.
  
• Data Integrity: Our tools track follower trends, engagement consistency, and audience shifts to ensure long-term playlist health.
  

3. Artist Discovery & Listener Analysis

We verify that playlists drive real discovery for artists by analyzing listener activity and geographic reach.

• Impact Review: If artists added to your playlist aren’t seeing measurable increases in streams or followers, it may signal low-quality or inauthentic exposure.
  
• Audience Validation: We review listener demographics — including cities, countries, and engagement sources — to ensure they represent real, active users, not bots or click farms.
  

4. Curation Interview & Proof of Growth

Once your data checks out, we’ll contact you directly for a short interview to better understand your growth strategy and curation approach.

• Human Curation Verification: We confirm that you’re a real person who genuinely curates playlists with care and intention.
  
• Proof of Growth: We require evidence of your promotional efforts, such as:
  
  • Screenshots from Meta Ads Manager
    
  • Links to organic social posts promoting your playlist
    
  • Proof of SEO, influencer collaborations, or blog placements
    
• Data Matching: We use this to cross-reference growth with traffic sources, further verifying your playlist’s authenticity and reach.
  

5. Ongoing Weekly Reviews

Our work doesn’t stop once you’re approved. We run automated daily and manual weekly checks to ensure all accepted playlists remain fully organic and in compliance.

• Automation + Human Oversight: Our internal systems monitor metrics 24/7, while our vetting team conducts deeper audits every week.
  
• Zero Tolerance Policy: If any signs of manipulation emerge, we immediately suspend the account of the playlister, leaving them unable to interact on the platform and will pursue further action. 

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Key Takeaways:

• Human‑Led Vetting: Every curator in the Songtools A&R Program goes through a multi‑step, human audit before being approved.
• Ongoing Quality Control: We continuously monitor for red flags like spikes in followers, low artist engagement, or evidence of botting, and ban any playlister on the platform who fails our checks.
• Two‑Tier System: Our A&R Program is an elite layer (under 50% acceptance) where top playlisters earn a flat weekly payout for genuine adds. All others remain subject to the same strict standards.
• Curator Independence: Playlisters choose tracks based on personal taste and preferences, we respect this creative freedom and never guarantee adds or streams to the artists who launch PlaylisterClub campaigns. 
• Artist Protection: By vetting for real engagement and organic growth, we make sure your music only lands in playlists that boost your credibility and long‑term growth.

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FAQs About Our Vetting Process

What happens if I spot a suspicious playlist?

• Email us the link and name of the playlister at support@songtools.com. Our Quality Control Team will audit it immediately and remove any curator proven to be using bots or fake engagement. 
• You can also flag a playlist directly from your dashboard by clicking on the flag icon on top of each playlister’s name in the “Results” tab. 

How long do curators usually keep tracks live?

In our A&R Program, curators average about 15 days per track, long enough for meaningful data, but always at their discretion.

What disqualifies a curator from joining the A&R Program?

Red flags include: sudden follower spikes/drops, lack of real artist streams, evidence of paid‑for or bot-driven engagement, or genre‑irrelevant playlists.

Do you ever remove curators post‑approval?

Yes. We run ongoing audits. Any curator who later shows signs of manipulated or inactive playlists is immediately removed from both our platform and the A&R Program.

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At Songtools, playlisting isn’t about vanity metrics or shortcuts, part of our mission has always been about connecting great music with curators who genuinely want to support it. Our team is constantly working behind the scenes to ensure that the playlists in our community are real, active, and worth your time.

If you ever have concerns about a campaign or specific playlist, don’t hesitate to reach out! Your feedback always matters and helps us ensure that every campaign is built on quality, transparency, and respect for the music.

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Got a playlist you’d like us to review? Send it to us at support@songtools.com and we’ll pass it along to our vetting team.