How to build a DJ promo list (which DJs to send your track to)

A promo list is one of the most valuable things a producer or a label builds, and one of the most neglected. Most lists grow by copy and paste: names from a friend’s list, every DJ who ever replied, headliners who have never opened anything. The result is a long list and a low play rate.

This guide is about building a shorter list that gets played: chosen by sound, mixed by size, weighted towards DJs who actually play unreleased music, and kept fresh with what you learn from each send.

Start from what DJs play now

A DJ’s reputation tells you what they played years ago. Their recent sets tell you what they play now. Look at:

• Tracklists and recorded sets from the last two or three months. Which labels and artists come up again and again?
• Radio shows and podcasts. They are regular, they are recorded, and they say more about a DJ’s taste than any bio.
• Their own releases and labels. A DJ who produces is often looking for tracks that sit next to their own.
• Line-ups. Who do they play with? Those DJs often share a sound.

A quick test for each name: could your track sit between two tracks they played last month? If you can’t name those two tracks, the DJ is a guess, not a fit.

Mix sizes on purpose

Sort the DJs on your list into rough tiers. Each one does a different job for a track:

• Local DJs and residents. They play most weekends, are easy to reach and often play the same room every week, so their plays are filmed and posted in the same places. They are where early plays come from.
• Rising and regional DJs. They play several cities and look for new music that makes their sets stand out. They reply more often than you would expect.
• Established touring DJs. Bigger rooms and festivals, more promos than they can open. Easier to reach through a label or an introduction.
• Headliners. A handful at most, each chosen carefully. A play here can change a track’s life, but it is rare.

Weight the list towards the first two tiers. Those DJs play more new music, more often, and the DJs above them notice what they play.

Find the DJs who play unreleased music

Some DJs play mostly released tracks; others are always testing something new. Signs of the second kind:

• Their tracklists are full of “ID”: tracks nobody could name yet.
• They host a radio show or podcast with premieres or new music.
• They produce themselves, and play for or run a label that releases your sound.
• They play long sets, such as residencies and closing sets, which leave room for new tracks.
• They post about new music they have been sent, or say in their bio that promos are welcome.

Some well-known DJs play mainly their own music and their friends’. That isn’t a reason to leave them off, just a reason not to fill your list with them.

When a DJ you never sent the track to plays it, find out who passed it on. Add the new DJ to your list, and mark the one who shared it as a core supporter.

Where to find new names

• Line-ups of the nights and festivals that book your sound
• Guest mixes on the radio shows and podcasts you would like to be played on
• “Supported by” lines on releases from labels close to your sound
• The DJs your existing supporters play with, back to back or on the same bill

What to keep for each DJ

A spreadsheet is enough. One row per DJ, with:

• Name, Instagram handle and promo contact
• Tier, and their sound in a few words (“deep and rolling”, “melodic peak-time”)
• Tracks you sent them, with dates and versions
• Plays you found, with links, and any replies
• Notes: “prefers WAV”, “only through their label”, “not for vocal tracks”

Keep the list private, use the contact details only for sending music, and take anyone off straight away if they ask. That is good manners, and in many countries it is also what privacy rules expect.

Keep the list fresh

• DJs who played your last track get the next one first, a few days before everyone else.
• DJs who downloaded twice and never played get fewer promos, or different ones. The fit may be wrong.
• DJs who never opened three sends in a row come off the list, or move to an occasional group.
• Add DJs like your players: the ones on the same line-ups, their back-to-back partners, the DJs whose sets your supporters appear in.
• Review the whole list every few months. Sounds change, DJs move up, and some stop playing out.

The numbers behind these decisions come from measuring each campaign the same way. Our guide on measuring who played your promo shows what to count.

How big should it be?

Smaller than you think. For an independent producer, 20 to 40 DJs who really fit is a strong working list. A small label usually keeps a larger master list and chooses a shorter list for each release, by sound, rather than sending every track to everyone. A DJ who gets only the music that suits them keeps opening your emails.

Using it for the next send

With the list in place, send in small groups, starting with your core supporters and the best-fitting DJs. For routes in and etiquette, see how to get your music to DJs; for the message and the files, see what to send DJs with your promo.