Most release problems are scheduling problems. The master arrives late, the photographs are not ready, the press release is written in a hurry, and the campaign begins on the day it should be reaching its first peak.
This is a practical sequence for independent artists, scaled for a modest budget. It assumes you are releasing without a label, and that your time is limited.
Eight to twelve weeks out: decisions
- Set the release date around the promotion, not the mixing. Work backwards from the assets you need and the notice that press and playlists require.
- Choose the focus track. For an album, decide which song introduces the record. For a single, decide what it is for: a first impression, a live favourite, a radio possibility.
- Define the objective. Coverage, a specific audience, ticket sales in three cities, or a credible first release. One primary objective is enough.
- Confirm the budget. Include distribution, photography, artwork, any paid promotion, and the cost of your own time.
Six to eight weeks out: assets
These are the materials that will be requested, usually at short notice. Prepare them once and reuse them for every future release.
- Final masters, correctly named and delivered to your distributor with accurate metadata.
- Artwork at the required dimensions, plus a version that reads clearly as a small thumbnail.
- Two or three current, high-resolution photographs, credited and cleared for editorial use.
- A short biography (50–80 words) and a longer version (around 300 words).
- An electronic press kit, including links, discography and any verified achievements.
- A press release or announcement text, written for media rather than for fans.
- Lyrics, credits and recording details, which journalists and reviewers frequently ask for.
Four to six weeks out: outreach
Research first, then contact. Identify the publications, radio programmes, podcasts and local outlets that genuinely cover music like yours. Read what they publish. Address a person, not an inbox, and explain in two sentences why this release is relevant to their audience.
Send the assets with the pitch rather than promising to send them later. Include a private listening link, a short biography, and one clear angle. Follow up once, politely, a week or so later. Then stop.
If you are working with a publicist, this is the period where outreach happens; the release itself is still weeks away.
Two to four weeks out: priming
- Announce the release with a date, a title and one strong visual.
- Share a piece of the record — a live version, a clip, a lyric — before the full release.
- Open pre-saves or pre-orders if your distributor supports them, and explain simply why they help.
- Contact venues and promoters about any dates connected to the release.
- Tell your email list first. They are the people most likely to act.
- Prepare launch-day content in advance, so release day is not spent editing.
Release week: coordination
Everything should point to the same place on the same day: the record, the link, the story, the dates. Publish the announcement, send the email, post the strongest visual, and make sure the listening link works on a phone.
Do not spend release day doing outreach that should have happened a month earlier. Spend it talking to people who respond, thanking anyone who shares the record, and watching where the listens actually come from.
After release: the part most artists skip
The first week is a starting point, not a verdict. Coverage often appears late. Listeners arrive gradually. The catalogue continues to work long after the campaign ends.
- Follow up with anyone who expressed interest but has not yet published.
- Collect and file the coverage, quotes and data for future use.
- Add new listeners to your mailing list — with consent.
- Record a live version of one track while the material is fresh.
- Review what worked, honestly, and write it down before the next release.
A note on realism
A well-prepared release does not guarantee attention. It guarantees that when attention arrives, the artist is ready for it — with materials that hold up, a clear story, and somewhere for new listeners to go next.
That is the entire purpose of preparation. Not control over the outcome, but readiness for it.