A 6-week release checklist for independent artists

An independent release rarely fails for lack of talent; it fails for lack of order: the song comes out, and that same day someone starts thinking about content. This list puts every task in its week, from six weeks before to two weeks after, and says what to look at in each phase so decisions rest on data.

Week 6: decisions that shape everything

What to measure: nothing yet. This week is for writing the plan.

• Release date and delivery to the distributor with at least four weeks of margin, so it reaches every platform and you can pitch Spotify in time.
• Total budget and its split: content, ads, distribution, PR, radio if it applies. Write it down.
• A measurable goal: listeners, views, subscribers, sound usage. One primary and two secondary.
• Artwork, credits, lyrics, metadata and ISRC codes ready and reviewed.
• The song fragment chosen for TikTok and Shorts: the one that hooks in the first two seconds, not your personal favorite.

Week 5: content production

What to measure: how many pieces are approved and ready. If fewer than fifteen, next week is for producing, not posting.

• A shoot planned for social: vertical footage, short shots, versions of the chorus in different settings.
• A visualizer or lyric video for YouTube if there is no official video.
• Pieces for the distribution network: fifteen to thirty variants with the sound, in different formats (lyrics, dance, meme, behind the scenes, reaction).
• Copy: short bio, press release, YouTube description, interview talking points.
• Pre-save live and a single link in every bio.

Week 4: pitching and press

What to measure: replies from media and curators. Note who answered and who did not, for the next release.

• Editorial pitch in Spotify for Artists with concrete text and the promotion plan.
• Ask the distributor to submit the song to Apple Music and other platforms.
• Send the press release to outlets, blogs and podcasts in the genre, with an embargo date and downloadable assets.
• Radio delivery if the genre justifies it, with a radio edit and a one-sheet.
• Set up Google Ads: account, conversion tag, remarketing audiences from the channel.

Weeks 3 and 2: warming up the audience

What to measure: sound usage on TikTok, accumulated pre-saves, teaser retention, cost per click to the pre-save. If the fragment is not holding attention, there is still time to change it.

• Start TikTok distribution with the chosen fragment, without revealing the full song.
• Post two or three pieces a week on the official channel with the sound set to pre-save.
• Run a small ad campaign with the teaser pointing to the pre-save or the channel.
• Confirm interviews, collaborations and cross-posts for release week.
• Check that the official video is scheduled, with thumbnail, end screen and a description with links.

Week 1: release

What to measure daily: retention in the first 30 seconds of the video, paid versus organic views, playback sources on Spotify, saves per hundred listeners, cities where it grows. Every data point ends in a decision: switch the version, move budget, or leave it alone.

• Publish the video and the song at the hour your audience is active, not at midnight out of habit.
• Notify everyone who pre-saved and the email list.
• The whole distribution network posting within the first three days, with the official sound.
• YouTube view ads in countries with a track record, with two opening variants.
• Reply to comments for the first 48 hours and pin one with a question.

Weeks +1 and +2: adjust and extend

What to measure: weekly trend in listeners and subscribers against release week, traffic YouTube brings on its own, cost per subscriber. If the trend rises without ads, the song is walking on its own: that is the moment to invest more, not less.

• Turn off the ad version and the countries with weaker retention; concentrate on the three that respond.
• A second wave of content built on what worked: if the dance won, more dance; if the lyrics won, more lyrics.
• A remix, an acoustic version or an alternate video to give the song a second life without repeating the same piece.
• Press and radio report: who published, who added it, with links.
• Close with a one-page document: what was done, what it cost, what came of it, what to change.

The mistakes that keep repeating

This is, with small changes, the list we follow at Good Noise Projects on every release inside our packages, with content production, distribution, ads and the analytics dashboard working on the same calendar. It works just as well if you run it yourself with a small team; what matters is that every week has a task and a measurement. And that you avoid these:

• Releasing without a tested fragment.
• Spending the whole ad budget on day one.
• Not having the pre-save live until release week.
• Measuring only streams and forgetting saves, followers and retention.
• Not writing down what you learned and repeating the same mistakes on the next release.