Before You Release Anything
What actually needs to be in place before you put music out into the world.
This is the first part of a three part series inspired by a question from Instagram.
“I'd like an easy to understand guide to what priorities should be for the level I'm at... There's so much advice out there for artists but a lot of it is conflicting and it's hard to know what to do and in what order, especially if you're trying to do it all alone x”
Here we’re focusing on the groundwork before release. Next up is what to focus on during the release itself, and then what actually matters after. I’ll link them at the bottom of this post when they’re live.
In an earlier post I highlighted 5 free things that new artists usually miss when they release music - you can read that here.
Before you release anything
Most advice around releasing music isn’t actually wrong. It’s just not always meant for where you’re at.
That’s why it feels so overwhelming. You end up trying to do everything at once, with no real sense of what actually matters or what can wait.
So instead of adding more to the pile, this is a simple breakdown of what to focus on before you release anything.
Not theory. Just the stuff that actually needs to be in place, and the decisions that will shape everything that comes after.
Before you even think about dates or uploading anything, get these two things clear.
Define success
Take some time to think about what you actually want from this release, as this will influence decisions further down the line. There is no right or wrong answer to this. Every single artist defines success differently. Do you want to play more shows? Is there a specific blog, magazine, journalist you want to cover your work? Are you aiming for certain playlists? Or a specific number of streams?
Are you releasing physical versions of your work and do you have a sales target?
Do you want to grow your community and connect with folks? Do you want to grow your social following?
Having this locked in early and written down will help you hone in on strategy, rather than trying to do everything all at once.
Set a budget (both a monetary and time budget)
Releasing music takes a lot of time and can also cost a lot of money, especially if you don’t go in with a budget and a plan at the start. It’s very easy to throw 25 quid here, 100 there, and suddenly you’ve overspent without any real plan holding it together. It’s become a throw shit at the wall and hope something sticks type strategy.
Time budgeting is also important. Promoting a release can feel like a full time job, on top of whatever full time commitment you already have. Before you start working out how much time you can realistically dedicate to your campaign each week. You can adjust your release date to align with this so things aren’t rushed, it can also help you figure out where to invest in outsourcing and what you’re able to do in house yourself. You can cut a lot of costs by doing things yourself but you have to be aware of the time required to do it properly.
Picking a release date.
If you want editorial consideration, proper pitching time, and enough runway for a campaign, anything under 6 weeks starts to become rushed. Ideally, give yourself 8–12 weeks. It sounds like a long time, but in music terms it isn’t. 6 weeks is doable, anything less than 4 and you’re wasting an opportunity. I’ll cover this in more detail in the next post but it’s important to note that in order to hit release radar on Spotify your track has to be pitched at least 7 days in advance.
Other things to consider:
Check calendar for clashes or impact events (other releases, shows, holidays, events)
Do you have any gigs already booked that could amplify your release?
Are there big events happening that could pull attention of your fanbase on a particular date (festivals, gigs, anything where they’re actively listening to back catalogue rather than new discoveries)
Time of year - for example from the start of December to year end, Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé come out to play. Releasing a summer dance track in the middle of February probably won’t land. Consider the mood you want to evoke and align with seasons.
Then, before you lock in your date, make sure you actually have everything ready.
Keep this as a pre-scheduling checklist. You don’t want to distribute something and then realise a few days before your release date that you’re actually missing something. This is where most people trip up.
Final Master
Export your final version of your track and listen on headphones, speakers, on your phone, in the car. Listen for any pops, clicks, skips, anything that doesn’t sound quite right. Testing the track in different environments is a good way to make sure the mix is exactly right. I have something I call the supermarket test that I do with all my tracks. It’s literally what it sounds like I play the track on my headphones while walking round a supermarket, to see if it still holds up. It’s not the most technical test and my engineer friends are probably thinking WTF. But for me it’s the best real world test I’ve found to see if anything in the final mix or master needs fixing. Do any parts of the track get lost in the buzz of other shoppers, tannoy announcements and in-house radio.
Artwork
3000x3000px minimum for DSPs
Banner versions
Social media edits
TikTok / Meta / Preview snippet
Decide your 45 sec snippet now and make a note of the timestamp. You’ll have to set this up during distribution. And it will also come into play when making promo content pre-release.
Lyrics
Sounds obvious but triple check that the lyrics you have written down actually match what is on the final recording. It is so easy for a slip here or there, where something on a particular take sounded better so you ran with it and didn’t make a note. As a label manager, I would spend a huge chunk of time transcribing lyrics from the final masters because they didn’t match what the artist sent.
Complete Metadata
Writers, performers, producers, IPI numbers, publishers, contributors. Get in the habit of creating a record of these in a centralised file so you have them to hand in the future. In accordance with updated Apple Music guidelines, all distributors now require you to explicitly include all performers on releases.
Signed agreements (if applicable)
Think co-writers, producers, engineers, designers/artists. At an early stage having written agreements in place for everything can feel like overkill but they are extremely important. You don’t want a situation where a track pops off and suddenly people start claiming shares or rights that were never explicitly agreed in advance. The biggest piece of advice I give anyone, and I will mention it every time I’m writing a guide like this - have a writer split sheet with you in the room when you’re recording/writing. Jot down everyone’s names and agreed shares, and sign it there and then.
Optional extras but nice to have:
Video/Visualiser
Decide if you want to release a visualiser, art track, lyric video or full video to accompany the release. If you don’t distribute a music video then YouTube will generate an “Art Video” usually on a “topic” (auto-generated) channel unless you have an artist account set up
Canvas / Animated Artwork
Spotify and Apple have options to upload a looped clip with your release. Have this ready well in advance so that you’re not scrambling in the run up to the release to find something vaguely appropriate that works. Also be sure to check the format guidelines / style guide for both.
At this stage, you don’t need to worry about:
press
big playlist strategy
going viral
None of that matters if the basics above aren’t solid. Next, we’ll look at what actually matters once your release is distributed, and how to approach the marketing side in the lead up to release without overcomplicating it.
Posts in this series:
Part 1: Before You Release Anything
Part 2: When You’re Putting Music Out
Part 3: Release Day Isn’t the Finish Line
If you want help applying this to your own release, I offer 1:1 consulting and release support for independent artists. More info here.