How to plan a release campaign for an independent single

A release is not one day. It is a few weeks of preparation and a few weeks of follow-up. This timeline works for most independent singles and can be adapted to your own pace.

Six to eight weeks before

- Finish the master and the artwork.
- Choose a release date and deliver the song to your distributor. Delivering early gives you time to fix mistakes and to pitch.
- Register the song with your collecting societies and make sure songwriter and producer splits are agreed in writing.
- Plan your content: photos, short videos, the story behind the song.

Four weeks before

- Pitch the song to editorial playlists through Spotify for Artists. See our guide to pitching to Spotify.
- Update your press kit and send it to blogs, radio and curators who cover your genre.
- Set up a pre-save link.

Two weeks before

- Announce the release with the artwork and date.
- Start sharing short clips of the song.
- Line up anything happening on release week: a live session, a show, an interview.

Release week

- Share the song everywhere on release day, and ask fans to save it and add it to their playlists.
- Thank everyone who shares it.
- Check your streaming profiles: artist picture, bio and links should all be up to date.

After release

The first weeks matter, but songs can grow for months. Keep posting about the song, play it live, film new versions and reply to fans. Look at your data to see which cities and playlists are working, and use that to plan the next release.

Keep a steady rhythm

Releasing regularly builds an audience faster than waiting a long time for one big moment. Plan the next single while this one is still out in the world.

Want help with a release? Get in touch.