The four weeks before a single comes out

Most independent singles are released the same way: the master comes back, the artist is excited, the distributor upload goes in on a Tuesday, and the song is out that Friday. Then comes the scramble. A post goes up, a few friends share it, and two weeks later the artist wonders why nobody wrote about it.

The song was not the problem. The calendar was. Nearly everyone who could help a single, from playlist editors to blog writers to community radio hosts, plans ahead. If they hear about your song on release day, it is already too late for most of them. Four weeks is not a magic number, but it is enough time to do this properly without letting the release drag on until you lose interest in your own song.

Before the four weeks start

Two things need to be finished before the clock starts, because everything else depends on them.

• The final master and the final cover, at the size your distributor asks for. Most ask for 3000 by 3000 pixels.
• The distributor upload, with the release date set at least four weeks out. Many distributors need a few weeks to deliver to every store, and some platforms only let you pitch unreleased music once it appears in your dashboard.

If you are still mixing, you are not four weeks out yet. Move the date. Nobody outside your circle knows the date you had in mind, and a later release with a plan beats an earlier one without.

Week one: write everything down once

This is the week to write the materials you will reuse for the rest of the month. Do it now, while you have time to think, rather than at midnight before you need them.

• A short bio of about 50 words for profiles, a medium one of about 150 for pitches, and a long one of about 400 for your website and press page.
• A one-page press release: what the song is, where it came from, when it comes out, and how to reach you.
• Three short pitches: one for playlist curators, one for blogs and writers, one for radio.
• A one-sheet that fits the essentials on a single page.

One rule for all of it: only write what is true. If the song has not been on a playlist, do not imply it has. If you have not played with a well-known artist, do not list them as an influence in a way that suggests you have. The people reading your materials read hundreds of them, and the fastest way to lose them is a claim they can check in ten seconds.

At the end of week one, submit the song through your streaming platform's own pitch tool if it has one. Spotify for Artists, for example, lets you pitch one unreleased song to its editors, and it needs at least seven days before release. Earlier is better.

Week two: send the pitches

Send your pitches three weeks before release. That gives curators and writers time to listen, schedule, and slot you in. Send them one at a time, from your own email address, with the recipient's name at the top and a private streaming link. If you have a short list of twenty people who actually cover your kind of music, that is better than two hundred who do not.

This is also the week to announce. Post the title, the release date, and the cover. A cover reveal is a gift: it is one of the few posts that tells people exactly what to look for on release day.

Week three: tell the story

Two weeks out, start telling people why the song exists. Not with a long caption about the creative journey, but with something specific: the voice memo where the hook started, the line you almost cut, the street the song is about. Post a short clip of the best fifteen seconds. If your platform supports pre-saves, link to it now.

At the end of this week, follow up once with anyone who has not replied to your pitch. One polite line is enough: the release date, the link, and a thank you. Then let it go. A second follow-up rarely changes a no, and it can turn a maybe into one.

Week four: release week

1. On release day, post the link everywhere you have an audience, with a caption that says what the song is in one sentence.
2. Thank every curator, writer, and host who added or covered the song, publicly if they are fine with it.
3. Send stations that asked for audio a short intro they can play before the song.
4. Reply to every comment you can. Early engagement is the one thing you fully control.

And the week after

The release does not end on Friday. The week after is when a live take, an acoustic version, or a lyric video gives people a second reason to listen. Repost listeners who shared it. And write down what worked: which pitches got replies, which posts people saved, what you would do earlier next time. Your next single starts with those notes.