Four weeks is enough to release a song properly if you start with a finished master and a clear order of tasks. This plan is built for one person doing most of the work alone, often next to a job or studies. Move days around as you need, but try to keep the sequence.
Before week one: the song has to be finished
The schedule only works if the music is done. That means a mixed and mastered WAV, final artwork at 3000 × 3000 px, and agreed credits: who wrote it, who produced it, who is featured and how every name is spelled. If you are still changing the mix, pick a later release date instead of squeezing the plan.
Put everything in one note: title, version (for example "Acoustic" or "Sped Up"), featured artists, songwriters, producer, language, genre. You will copy from this note many times over the next month. One source of truth stops small spelling differences from creeping into your metadata, captions and messages.
Week 4: submit the release and gather raw material
Submit the release at the very start of this week. Between your upload and the song going live there are several steps: review, possible change requests, delivery, and each platform's own processing. In the CULT portal you'll see if the team asks for changes, and later the status on each platform. Starting four weeks out leaves room to fix a cover detail or a credit without moving the date.
The rest of the week is for raw material you will use later:
- a photo session, even a simple one with a phone and good daylight, in two or three different looks
- vertical clips: you singing or playing the hook, studio moments, the making of the cover
- a short text about the song: what it is about, where it came from, one or two lines you like
Do not post any of it yet. Right now you are filling a drawer.
Week 3: pitching and quiet signals
Once the release has been delivered and shows up as upcoming in tools like Spotify for Artists, you can usually pitch it to editors. Spotify expects unreleased music to be pitched ahead of time, at least about a week before release, so earlier is safer. The rules change from time to time, so check them in the app. Fill in the pitch carefully: genre, mood, instruments, the story of the song, and any local context such as your city or scene.
Say Mara Vey is releasing a slow R&B single called "Glass Hours". Her pitch should not say "a great song for everyone". It should say it is a late-night R&B track with live bass, written after moving cities, and that she has a small but active audience in two specific countries. Editors read many pitches; concrete details are what they can work with.
This is also the week to contact a few people who might help: a blogger, a local radio host, curators of playlists you actually listen to, DJs who play your style. Send short personal messages with a private listening file and the release date. Nobody wants to dig for details.
On social media, start quietly. Post a few seconds of the hook without a date, or a studio photo. You are testing which moment of the song makes people stop scrolling.
Week 2: announce and build a content bank
Now announce the date and show the cover. If you use a pre-save page from a third-party service, set it up once your release has been delivered and the service can find it. A pre-save mostly reminds fans who already care, so do not build the whole campaign around it.
Spend one or two evenings preparing 10 to 15 short videos and posts, ready to publish. Release week should not depend on your mood or your free time. Mix the formats:
- the hook with lyrics on screen
- the story behind one line
- the demo next to the final mix
- an invitation for other musicians to duet or cover the hook
- a plain reminder of the release day
Also make a list of people who will share the song on release day: featured artists, friends with an audience, the photographer, the mix engineer. Ask them now and tell them the exact day.
Week 1: final checks and release day
Check the status of the release on each platform. If something has not arrived or shows a problem, you still have a few days to react. Update your profile photos and bios in the artist tools you have access to, so new listeners land on a page that looks alive.
On release day, post early, answer comments, and share what other people post about the song. Send the messages you prepared. Then keep going: the week after the release matters as much as the week before. Use the clips you held back, try the hook in a new format, and note which videos actually brought listeners.
When the plan slips
Something usually slips. If the artwork arrives late, cut the content bank, not the review time. If the date has to move, move it before you announce it publicly. A song released calmly a week later is in a better position than one rushed out with a wrong credit or a missing platform.