Your optimized schedule - from the studio to the charts.

“Planning is everything!” – you have probably heard this before. When it comes to successfully releasing a single or album, planning for the future is important, because it is the only way to guarantee that most things will work the way you want them to.

When releasing new music, you don’t just want it to be available on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. You want potential fans to be interested in it too. Every new release should be a building block in your career – something that will help you reach more listeners. You can imagine it like a staircase: each release has the potential to take you one step further.

Here’s a guide to your release plan. The schedule has been chosen so that you have enough time to prepare everything. Keep in mind that this is a general plan that you can customise. This means that you should consider your own needs and capacities and remember: the earlier you start, the better.

Once you’ve mastered your music and registered for distribution, it’s time to promote it. Let’s go!

Before release

7–8 weeks before release:

Ideally, you will have the professional mixing and mastering of your single and the corresponding cover artwork ready at least 8 weeks before the big day of the release. Now you can relax and register the song for release with GEMA and via recordJet.

5–6 weeks before release:

If you decide to support your release with a music video, you should start it at least 5–6 weeks before the release. This includes the conception, the recording, a photo shoot on site as well as short 9:16 videos for your social media strategy. Think about entertaining ways to best present your song with a variety of short videos.

4 weeks before release:

Now the promo phase begins, first by expanding your Electronic Press Kit (EPK). An EPK is a way to promote your music online. It is commonly used to provide your artist biography, music, videos and details about your upcoming releases in an online format. You can also update your press photos and link to your unpublished music video.

Then you can think about whether or not your song is suitable for the radio and certain playlists. If so, you can start contacting playlist curators, blogs, radio stations, etc. and let them know about your upcoming release. If you are planning campaigns with influencers, you can also use your EPK to contact them and book them.

This is the latest point at which you should start preparing your posting plan. Ask yourself which socials suit you and your brand and ideally focus on the biggest platforms (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube). Publish at least two feed posts per week and at least one Story and one TikTok per day with your own sound.

TikTok is especially good for promoting your new release in exciting ways with creative 9:16 formats. As the saying goes, Test! Test! Test!  Use your 9:16 clips for other platforms, such as YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.

In our service area you will find professionals who will be happy to help you. If you want to promote yourself for financial or other reasons, you will find plenty of tips in our blog.

2 weeks before release:

Start by setting up a YouTube premiere and make the initial announcement of the YouTube premiere page (via Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube).

By now you should also be starting a pre-save campaign and sharing it through your social media channels. You can set up your release for pre-order at recordJet.

From 1 to 2 weeks before release:

Now is the time to update your bio and images on Spotify and upload a Spotify canvas. You can also enter your lyrics on Musixmatch and make them available to your fans.

Now it’s time to pitch for playlists. Playlists are now a real currency, and you should leave no stone unturned in order to land on as many playlists as possible.

On Spotify and other DSPs you can pitch your songs before release for the large curated playlists so that in the best-case scenario, your music is added to playlists like New Music Friday or Deutschpop (if you make German-language music).

This is clearly explained in this video by Spotify. If it doesn’t work out, then don’t hang your head! Remember: more than 40,000 songs are uploaded every day on Spotify and you can listen to 50,000 million songs on Spotify alone. It is important that you stay on the ball and your quality stands out. Take a look at the other music streaming services such as Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube Music or Tidal. They also have some relevant playlists.

Release day

The big day is finally here! You have already done a lot of preparatory work and invested plenty of energy. You can be very proud of that. Now it’s important to stay focused and concentrate on the release day. Below is a checklist that you can easily complete:

1. Add missing streaming links to your landing page.
2. 30 minutes before the YouTube premiere, you can go live on both Instagram and TikTok and mobilise your community.
3. “Out now” posts on the socials.
4. “Out now” newsletter with links to the release and possible fan activation through a competition.
5. Engage with and guide your community to like, share, make TikToks, and listen to the release.
6. Once again send samples to your network (radio, playlist curators, blogs, etc.).
7. Update your playlists.

After release:

1 week

Once released, it is important to continue to promote the release and stay active. Publish at least another 2-3 feed posts and at least one Story and one TikTok per day with your own sound. Creative content continues to be a high priority when it comes to presenting the different videos for your song.

2 weeks

In the second week, you should publish at least another 2-3 feed posts and at least one Story and one TikTok per day with your own sound. In addition, you can publish a visualiser or lyric video on YouTube. Sending another newsletter allows you to draw attention to the lyric video, collect feedback on your release and, for example, announce the winner(s) of the competition.

3–5 weeks 

Are you still posting diligently? Very good! 2-3 feed posts per week and at least one Story and at least one TikTok a day with your own sound would be absolutely perfect. Try out new formats and get inspired by other artists who are similar to your brand. You don’t have to constantly reinvent the wheel.

Tip: Parallel to your post-release phase, you can take note of what went well and where you can see potential for improvement for your next release. This way you will grow with each release and gain valuable experience. Always keep in mind: a healthy and sustainable music career is not a sprint, but a marathon. Patience, continuity and self-awareness are your best friends!

All clear? Well, then: have fun and good luck!