How to Plan a Music Release Campaign

Ensure your music is fully mastered and formatted for all platforms. Prepare your metadata carefully: song titles, artist name spelling, featured artist credits, songwriter and producer credits, ISRC codes, and genre tags all need to be accurate because they are difficult to change after distribution. Upload to your distributor at least four weeks before your target release date to allow time for platform processing.

Finalize all visual assets including cover artwork at 3000x3000 pixels minimum, promotional photos, and any video content. Your artwork should be visually distinctive at thumbnail size since most listeners will see it on a phone screen. Create multiple crop ratios for different platform requirements: square for Spotify, vertical for Instagram Stories, and landscape for YouTube and Twitter headers.

Submit for Spotify editorial playlist consideration through Spotify for Artists at least seven days before release but ideally three to four weeks in advance. Write a compelling pitch that describes the song's mood, story, recording context, and why it fits the playlists you are targeting. Include genre tags, mood descriptors, and any press or performance context that strengthens your pitch.

Set up a pre-save campaign using tools like DistroKid HyperFollow, Linkfire, or Feature.fm. Pre-saves signal demand to streaming algorithms and ensure your track appears in followers' Release Radar playlists on launch day. Promote the pre-save link across all your social channels and email list. The pre-save period is when you convert existing fans into guaranteed first-day listeners.

Begin building anticipation with teaser content. Share fifteen to thirty second audio snippets, behind-the-scenes studio footage, artwork reveals, and lyric previews. Create a content calendar that drips out one to two pieces of teaser content daily across your platforms. Each piece should include your pre-save link and release date. Build a narrative around the release that gives fans a reason to care beyond just new music.

Start media outreach to blogs, podcasts, and music publications. Send your press kit including a private streaming link, press release, high-resolution photos, and artist bio. Target outlets that cover your genre and have featured similar artists. Our digital boost packages can amplify this outreach with targeted campaigns to music media and playlist curators.

Ramp up your social media posting frequency to twice daily. Share longer preview clips, fan reactions to snippets, countdown graphics, and personal stories about the music. Go live on Instagram or TikTok to play snippets and talk about the release. Engage with every comment and message during this period because pre-release engagement directly impacts algorithm performance at launch.

Confirm all release logistics: verify your distributor shows the correct release date across all platforms, check that your pre-save links work, prepare your release day social media posts in advance, draft your email newsletter announcement, and test any music videos or visualizers you plan to publish. Coordinate with anyone doing collaborations, features, or support posts to align their timing with yours.

On release day, your job is to drive as many streams as possible in the first 24 hours because algorithmic playlist placements weight early performance heavily. Post your release announcement across all platforms the moment the track goes live. Share your smart link that directs listeners to their preferred platform. Post Instagram Stories, go live, share on TikTok, and send your email newsletter first thing in the morning.

Engage aggressively all day. Respond to every comment, reshare every fan post, thank everyone who shares your music, and keep the conversation going with additional content throughout the day. Ask fans to add the track to their personal playlists and share it with friends. The combination of streams, saves, and shares in the first 24 hours determines your algorithmic trajectory for the following weeks.

The week after release is just as important as release day. Continue posting daily content related to the release: lyric graphics, live performance clips, fan reaction videos, behind-the-scenes stories about specific songs, and playlist placement announcements. Share any press coverage or blog features that land. Each piece of content should include a link or call to action directing people to stream the music.

Monitor your streaming analytics daily. Track which playlists add your tracks, where your listeners are located geographically, and which platforms are driving the most growth. If you see momentum on a particular playlist or in a specific region, create targeted content for that audience. Submit to independent playlist curators and music blogs that you did not include in your initial outreach.

Release additional content formats that give the music new life: acoustic versions, remixes, music videos, visualizers, live session recordings, or lyric videos. Each new content piece creates another opportunity for the algorithm to push your release to new listeners. Space these out strategically so you maintain consistent visibility over four to six weeks rather than burning everything in the first week.

Pitch yourself for podcast interviews, playlist features, and live performance opportunities using your release and its early traction as leverage. Update your electronic press kit with streaming numbers, press coverage, and playlist placements. Begin planning your next release because consistent output is what builds sustainable careers. The end of one campaign is the beginning of planning the next.