How to plan a music release: a week-by-week checklist

Most releases are decided long before release day. By the time the song is out, the things that make the biggest difference (editorial pitches, pre-saves, people who know it's coming) are either done or too late.

This is a practical plan for releasing a single independently. It works back from a Friday release date, explains which deadlines are hard rules and which are just good advice, and covers the month after, which most checklists skip.

The short version

Before you pick a date

Is it actually finished?

Don't start the clock on a song that's still changing. Before you set a date you should have:

• the final master as a high-quality WAV (24-bit is standard), plus a clean version if the song has explicit lyrics
• final artwork, square and at least 3000 × 3000 pixels, with no URLs, prices or social handles on it, as most stores reject those
• the exact title, featured artists and spelling you'll use everywhere

Credits, splits and metadata

Write down who wrote what and who played on it, and agree the songwriting splits now, in writing, even if it's a two-line email. It's much easier before there's money involved. You'll need this information for your distributor, your royalty society and for credits on streaming services.

Why Friday?

Since July 2015 the music industry has released new music on Fridays worldwide, known as Global Release Day. Editorial playlists and charts refresh around it, and listeners expect new music then. There's no rule saying you must, but there's rarely a good reason not to.

8 to 6 weeks out: rights and distribution

How far ahead to upload

Advice online ranges from one week to six, which is confusing. Here's how it fits together:

• The hard minimum is the platforms' own pitching deadlines. Spotify needs your music delivered and pitched at least 7 days before release. Apple Music asks for pitches at least 10 days before.
• Distributors need time too. Stores can take several days to process a release, and it takes a little longer to appear in Spotify for Artists so you can pitch it. CD Baby, for example, recommends submitting at least four weeks ahead.
• Pitching works better early. Editors plan ahead, and an early pitch gives them time to actually listen.

So: aim to upload four to six weeks before release. Set a specific release date when you upload rather than "as soon as possible". On some distributors that's a feature of paid tiers, so check before you choose.

ISRC and UPC codes

Every recording needs an ISRC (its permanent ID, used to track plays and pay royalties) and every release needs a UPC (the product barcode). Most distributors issue both for free. In the UK you can also get ISRCs free through PPL if you register as a recording rights holder.

Use the same ISRC for the same recording everywhere, including when you put it on Bandcamp or SoundCloud. Generate a new one and your plays get split across two "different" songs.

Join a royalty society

Streaming royalties for the recording come through your distributor. Royalties for the song (the writing) come separately, and you only get them if you're registered.

• UK: PRS for Music collects performance royalties. Joining as a writer is a one-off £100, or £30 if you're under 25. MCPS, for mechanical royalties, is a separate membership.
• US: join a performing rights organisation such as BMI or ASCAP, and register with The MLC for streaming mechanicals, which is free for self-published songwriters.

Membership approval can take weeks, which is why it sits at the start of the plan. Once you're in, register each song as a separate work.

YouTube Content ID: opt in on purpose

Many distributors offer Content ID, which finds your music in other people's YouTube videos and claims the ad revenue. It's useful, but it can also claim your own uploads, and things get messy if more than one company enrols the same track. If you use it, opt in through one provider only and whitelist your own channel.

5 to 3 weeks out: pitching and pre-release

Pitch Spotify's editors

Once the release shows up in Spotify for Artists, pitch it. The rules, from Spotify's own guidance:

• You can pitch one unreleased song at a time. Once it's out, you can pitch the next.
• Pitch at least 7 days before release and the song goes into your followers' Release Radar, even if editors pass on it. That alone makes pitching worth doing every time.
• You can't pitch compilations, live recordings or songs where you're only the featured artist.

Write the pitch like you're telling a friend about the song: genre, mood, instruments, what it's about, and anything real happening around the release (a tour, a video, a local radio play). Be specific. "Upbeat indie pop" describes thousands of songs.

Pitch Apple Music

Apple accepts pitches through Apple Music for Artists and your distributor, and asks for at least 10 days' notice. It's another free shot.

Pre-saves

A pre-save lets fans add your song to their library before it comes out, so it's waiting for them on release day. For a single, use a pre-save link from your distributor or a link service. Spotify's own Countdown Pages are only available for albums and EPs from artists above a listener threshold.

Pre-saves are less about numbers than about a reason to talk to fans before release day. Ten pre-saves from people who'll actually listen are worth more than a hundred clicks.

Bandcamp and SoundCloud

• Bandcamp: you can set up a pre-order with a release date, but pre-orders don't release themselves. You'll need to press the button on the day, so put it in your calendar.
• SoundCloud: you can upload privately and schedule the track to go public, but scheduled releases need Artist Pro, work for single tracks only, and can't be rescheduled once public.

3 weeks to release day: build the moment

This is when you turn a date into an event.

• Curators, blogs and radio. Send a private link with a short, personal note to people who genuinely cover your kind of music. In the UK, upload to BBC Introducing. See our guide to where to submit your music for more.
• Content. Make two or three short clips: a snippet of the hook, a look at how you made it, the story behind it. Post them in the run-up rather than all on release day.
• Your mailing list. Tell them the date and send the pre-save link. These are the people most likely to listen in the first 24 hours.
• Give people somewhere to show up. A listening party, a livestream or a gig on release week gives fans a reason to do something together. On Dropkick, every release gets its own launch day: listeners upvote it, and the daily charts are ranked by real listener upvotes, never by payment.

Release day checklist

• Check the song is live on Spotify, Apple Music and anywhere else you distributed to. Look in a couple of countries if you can, using friends abroad.
• Release your Bandcamp pre-order manually.
• Update your links: bio link, website, YouTube description, pinned posts.
• Post, then stay around. Reply to every comment and message on the day.
• Email your list with a direct link to listen.
• Thank anyone who shared it, by name.

The 4 weeks after

Most releases get all their attention in the first 72 hours and are forgotten by the second week. The month after release is where you can quietly get ahead.

Why the long tail matters

Since April 2024, a track needs at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months to earn recorded royalties on Spotify. For a lot of independent releases, the difference between earning and not earning is the steady listening after the launch, not the launch itself.

Keep going for at least four weeks: new clips, a live or acoustic version, a behind-the-scenes post, and sharing every playlist add or nice comment.

What to measure

After a week and again after a month, look at:

• saves and playlist adds, which tell you who actually liked it
• where listeners are, which tells you where to play and who to target next time
• followers and email sign-ups, the people you can reach again for the next release

Raw stream counts matter less than you think. A song with fewer streams but a high save rate is doing better than one with lots of skips.

Plan the next release

Once this song is out, you can pitch the next one to Spotify. A steady rhythm of releases (one every six to eight weeks is common for independent artists) keeps your audience warm and gives every release a little more momentum than the last.

Quick answers

How far in advance should I upload my song? Four to six weeks is the safe range. The absolute minimum to pitch Spotify's editors is seven days, but leaving it that late cuts your options.

Do I need to register with PRS, ASCAP or BMI before releasing? You don't have to, but you'll miss songwriting royalties until you do, and approval can take weeks. Do it early.

Are pre-saves worth it? For the conversation with fans, yes. As a number, not really. Don't buy them, and don't worry if you only get a handful.

Can I release on a day other than Friday? Yes. Friday is convention, not a rule. Just know that editorial playlists and charts are built around it.

What should I do the week after release? Keep promoting, reply to everyone, look at saves and listener locations, and start pitching your next song.