Releasing new music should feel exciting, not overwhelming. But without a clear plan, you risk stunting your success. That’s where a release strategy comes in: laying out all the necessary materials, tactics, and goals to maximize engagement.
Use this guide to plan, manage, and optimize your next release
Choose a release date
Provide yourself with at least a month of lead time to engage your fanbase and build anticipation for your release.
As long as you give yourself enough time, there are no hard rules when it comes to choosing a release date. You might consider the following:
- Season: how does your music align with the themes and energy of a season?
- Day of week: major labels tend to release on Fridays. Wednesdays or Thursdays might help you stand out from the herd. It might be difficult to cut through the noise on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Month: Similar to season, consider whether your release might benefit from events, festivals, holidays, emotions, and tropes of every month from love songs in February to holiday covers in December. Think about organic ways to garner momentum.
- Fan engagement data: Some platforms like Spotify allow you to view fan activity on a rolling 12-month basis. This can help you identify any patterns in listenership that you can leverage.
Create goals for your release
Every strategy needs something to aim for! Set goals you want to accomplish with your release to keep you on track and measure progress.
Ensure your goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Some example goals below:
- Reach 1,000 streams on 3 songs within the first month of release
- Plan a week-long tour and sell at least 75% of tickets
- Get 3 press placements in industry blogs and news sites
Create metrics to track your progress
Stay in the know about your release performance by paying attention to key metrics. Use a mix of hard and soft metrics to ensure you paint a holistic picture beyond the basic numbers. You can choose your metrics according to buckets that resonate with you.
Create links: pre-save, pre-add, and private streaming
Generate a HearNow page to let your fans save your music ahead of your release. Driving pre-saves and pre-adds engages streaming platform algorithms and boosts your music’s visibility to fans—as well as your likelihood of being placed on a playlist.
You’ll also want a private streaming link for any songs you’re pitching to journalists, especially for exclusive premieres. You can create a link with Bandcamp Pro or Soundcloud and keep an eye on streaming count and visitors to measure the effectiveness of your pitch.
Pitch Spotify editorials
Spotify’s editorial team manages a set of official playlists with significant followings. You can pitch your music for their consideration as long as it’s more than 7 days out from release day. Keep your pitch short, informative, and authentic.
In addition to official playlists, you can pitch to independent Spotify curators. Just be aware: never pitch to playlists that promise streams for payment.
Create a playlist for Artist Picks
Don’t forget to create your own playlist! Assemble a collection of songs you want to assimilate your release with. Whether it’s influences, friends, soundalikes – this can be helpful data that helps the algorithm (and your fans) contextualize your music.
Order new merch
A new release provides artwork and excitement that you can channel into new merchandise. Print new t-shirts, hats, key chains, and more featuring designs that align with the aesthetic of your release.
Create a content plan
You can save yourself time and money by working up an effective organic content plan that engages and grows your fanbase. You don’t have to post something new every day. Instead make a plan for long-form and short-form content that you can break down and repurpose across channels.
In terms of planning content, aim for 3-5 posts per week.
Here are some core assets you should plan for:
- A traditional music video
- Behind the scenes content (recording, performing, photoshoot, etc.)
- 3-5 recorded interview questions
- A photoshoot
- A live take of the song
You can ensure posts resonate with your audience by taking stock of your social media performance to date. Lean into the content that resonated, tweak any content that underperformed, and avoid repeating any content that fell flat unless you can identify something to improve.
If you’re just starting a profile or it’s your first release, here are some essential posts to make:
- Release announcement with cover art and a call to action
- Reels taken from music video(s) teasing single(s)
- Merch announcement
- Photoshoot with release date reminder
- Press coverage roundup
- Behind the scenes clips and artist interview snippets
Create a paid advertising campaign
Set aside some funds to supplement your organic content with paid advertising. You can boost successful organic posts and construct a few reels to run as Meta ads linking directly to your pre-save page and once it’s out, your release.
Schedule a shoot
Coordinate shoots with a photographer and videographer to gather long-form content and photos. Plan your locations and concepts ahead of time with moodboards, references, and storylines.
Create a press release and draft an outreach email
Write a press release that includes details on the following:
- Your artist bio
- The story behind your release: influences, experiences, themes
- Notable accomplishments: awards, tours, press quotes
- Quotes: Provide 1-3 quotes of commentary on your release
Update your EPK
Your EPK is an essential resource for getting booking agents, journalists, and other industry professionals familiar with your artistry. Refresh your bio, photos, and include any favorable press quotes as they’re published.
Update your website
Make sure your release is prominently featured on your website along with tour dates, new merch, and an email sign-up.
Plan an event around your release
Whether it’s a virtual listening party or a full tour, find a way to capitalize on your new music and celebrate with your fans. If you’re a debut artist, plan a local release show and ask local artists to open the show. Emerging artists, combine a local release show with two or three shows out of your hometown — or double down on your local following by booking a larger room.
Create an email list
A new release is a great way to gain new listeners. But you’ll need the right tools in place to turn those listeners into fans. An email list provides you with direct access to your fans on your own schedule and enables deeper engagement with direct links to merch, tickets, release etc. Gather email contacts in-person at the merch table, over social media, and through online merch orders.
Get started
Now you’re ready to go! If you follow the steps above, you’ll have everything you need for a successful music release.