You’ve finished the song. The mix sounds good, the master is loud enough, and the artwork is sitting in a folder on your desktop. Now what?
Releasing your first single is where a lot of independent artists lose momentum. Not because the music isn’t ready, but because nobody hands you a checklist. This is that checklist — the practical, step-by-step version, written from the perspective of a studio that gets sent “final” tracks every week and sees exactly where releases go sideways.
Step 1: Decide what “finished” actually means
A single isn’t finished when the mix sounds good in your headphones. It’s finished when you have a set of deliverables you can hand to a distributor without scrambling.
Your minimum delivery kit
- Master WAV — 24-bit, at the sample rate the song was recorded at (usually 44.1kHz or 48kHz). No MP3s.
- Instrumental and/or clean version — you will want these later for sync, live backing, radio, and content. Ask for them while the session is still open.
- Artwork — 3000x3000px, RGB, JPG or PNG, no logos of streaming services, no URLs, no explicit “out now” text.
- Metadata — track title, artist name exactly as it should appear, featured artists, songwriter splits, ISRC, and a release date.
If you’re not sure your mix is genuinely release-ready rather than a good demo, listen on three systems: decent headphones, a car, and a phone speaker. If the vocal disappears on the phone, or the low end turns to mud in the car, it’s not done. Our guide on preparing your tracks for mixing covers what to send an engineer so it doesn’t get to that stage.
Step 2: Sort your metadata before you touch a distributor
Metadata is boring and it is the single most common cause of a release going wrong. Fix it once, up front.
- Artist name consistency. Whatever you type on your first release is what platforms will match future releases against. Pick the exact spelling and capitalisation and never deviate.
- Song title formatting. Use “Song Title (feat. Other Artist)” — not “ft.”, not “FEAT.”, not all caps.
- ISRC codes. A unique fingerprint per recording. Most distributors issue them free. One ISRC per recording, and remixes and radio edits get their own.
- Songwriter splits. Agree these in writing with everyone who wrote on the track before release. It takes ten minutes now and saves a friendship later.
- Publishing registration. Register as a songwriter with your local collection society (APRA AMCOS in Australia) so performance royalties actually reach you. Distribution royalties and publishing royalties are two different pipes.
Step 3: Choose a distributor
A distributor takes your master and delivers it to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon, TikTok and the rest. You cannot upload directly as an artist.
| Model | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee, keep 100% | Flat yearly cost per artist or per release | Artists releasing regularly who expect meaningful streams |
| One-off fee per release | Pay once, track stays up | Occasional releases, low commitment |
| Free, revenue share | No upfront cost, platform takes a cut | First-time releases and testing the water |
Whichever you choose, check three things: whether you keep your masters (you should), whether you can transfer your catalogue out later, and whether they support Spotify pre-saves and playlist pitching.
Step 4: Set your release date at least four weeks out
This is the step most first-timers skip, and it costs them the most.
Spotify’s editorial pitching window requires your track to be delivered at least seven days before release — and realistically you want three to four weeks. Distributors also need processing time, and stores occasionally reject artwork or metadata, which eats days.
A workable timeline
- Week -4: Master approved, artwork done, metadata locked. Upload to distributor with the release date set.
- Week -3: Pitch to Spotify for Your Editorial via Spotify for Artists. Write the pitch like a human: genre, mood, instrumentation, the story of the song.
- Week -2: Pre-save link live. Announce the date. Start posting behind-the-scenes content — studio footage, a lyric snippet, the demo-vs-final comparison.
- Week -1: Send to blogs, playlist curators, and your email list. Prepare your release-day assets so you’re not making canvas videos at midnight.
- Release day: Post early, add the track to your own playlists, update every bio link, thank everyone who shares it.
- Week +1 to +4: Keep posting. The algorithmic playlists (Release Radar, Discover Weekly) respond to sustained engagement, not one big day.
Step 5: Make assets you’ll actually use
Before release day, batch-create everything in one sitting:
- Three to five vertical video clips (15–30s) using the strongest hook of the song
- A Spotify Canvas — an 8-second looping vertical video
- Static artwork variants for stories, posts, and banners
- One “how this song was made” piece — process content consistently outperforms straight promo
The hook clip matters more than the rest combined. Use the moment in the song where something changes: the drop into the chorus, the vocal harmony entry, the drums arriving. If your mix has been built to translate on small speakers, these clips do the heavy lifting for you.
Step 6: Understand what success actually looks like
A first single from an artist with no existing audience typically does hundreds of streams in month one, not thousands. That is normal and it is not a verdict on the song.
Better first-release goals:
- Everything shipped on time with correct metadata
- Your artist profile claimed on Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists
- A save rate above 10% — a strong signal to the algorithm
- A handful of listeners you didn’t already know
- A repeatable process for release number two
Momentum comes from cadence. Three singles released across six months will always outperform one single released and then silence.
Common first-release mistakes
Uploading an unmastered mix
Streaming platforms normalise loudness, but normalisation doesn’t fix a mix with no headroom, uncontrolled low end, or harsh top. If you’re unsure of the difference, read mixing vs mastering and how loud your master should be.
Setting the release date for next Friday
You forfeit editorial pitching, pre-saves, and any chance of press coverage. Give yourself the runway.
Artwork with text that breaks the rules
Streaming logos, web addresses, and “available now” text get releases rejected. Keep the cover clean.
Releasing and going quiet
The first 28 days matter more than day one. Plan content for the whole month, not just the launch.
Not budgeting for the production
Mixing and mastering are part of the release cost, not an optional extra at the end. Our breakdown of what mixing and mastering actually cost will help you plan realistically.
A pre-release checklist you can copy
- ☐ Final master approved on three playback systems
- ☐ Instrumental and clean versions received
- ☐ Artwork 3000×3000, no prohibited text
- ☐ Artist name, title formatting and features locked
- ☐ ISRC assigned
- ☐ Songwriter splits agreed in writing
- ☐ Registered with your collection society
- ☐ Uploaded to distributor 4 weeks out
- ☐ Spotify editorial pitch submitted
- ☐ Pre-save link live
- ☐ Canvas + 3–5 vertical clips ready
- ☐ Artist profiles claimed
- ☐ Content planned for the four weeks after release
Ready to get the song release-ready?
If your track is written and tracked but you want it to hold up next to the records it’ll sit beside on a playlist, that’s the part we do. Have a look at our services and pricing, or get in touch through the contact form and tell us about the song — what genre it is, how many tracks, and when you want to release it.
Get the music right, then give the release the runway it deserves. That’s the whole game.