Music release checklist: who does what

• 8 weeks out: lock the master file.
• 8 weeks out: brief your marketing lead on the song, together with your manager.
• 7 weeks out: write the song details with your manager: title, splits, producer credits and language.
• 6 weeks out: shoot the content.
• 5 weeks out: approve the final cover art, with your manager.
• 4 weeks out: announce the release date.
• 2 weeks out: post a snippet on TikTok or Reels.
• 7 days out: start the countdown posts.
• Release day: post the announcement and a thank-you.
• After release: thank the curators, press and collaborators who helped, and reply to fan posts and tags.

• 8 weeks out: lock the release date, choose the distributor and check the account works.
• 8 weeks out: set the budget.
• 7 weeks out: brief the designer, plan the shoot day, draft the split sheet and decide on a pre-save campaign.
• 6 weeks out: get the split sheet signed.
• 6 weeks out: upload the track, the song details and the cover art, and confirm the date at your distributor.
• 6 weeks out: set up the pre-save link.
• 5 weeks out: check that the distributor accepted the song with no errors, and turn the pre-save campaign on.
• 4 weeks out: brief your PR contacts.
• 3 weeks out: confirm release-day events and send the press release.
• 2 weeks out: plan the listening party or live stream, and set up Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists access.
• 1 day out: send the pre-save reminder.
• Release day: watch your distributor to see the song go live everywhere.
• After: pull the first-week numbers, run the debrief, look into any weak platform and update your release tracker.
• 3 weeks after: decide when the next release is, and write down what you learned.

Got vinyl, CDs or cassettes in the plan? Add a step at 7 weeks out to start production. It takes 8 to 12 weeks on its own.

• 8 weeks out: pick the 3 playlists or curators you most want to reach.
• 6 weeks out: submit the Spotify for Artists pitch with a private link, and start reaching out to curators.
• 5 weeks out: send the editorial pitch with the final files, and start cutting the shoot footage into 3 to 5 clips.
• 4 weeks out: start the teasers, one every 2 to 3 days, and follow up with curators.
• 3 weeks out: post teasers more often, schedule the release-day posts and confirm the playlist spots that came back as yes.
• 2 weeks out: queue the release-day stories and posts.
• 3 days out: make the final push, and start ads if the budget allows.
• After: find the best-performing content, post follow-ups and pitch secondary playlists with the first-week numbers.
• 2 weeks after: try mood and genre playlists, and review how your ads did if you ran any.

• 7 weeks out: receive the cover art brief, with the idea, the references and the sizes.
• 6 weeks out: deliver the first draft of the cover art.
• 5 weeks out: the artist and manager approve the final version. Be ready to make changes.

The designer has the fewest steps, and they are steps other people are waiting on. Give them the brief early.

That is the whole trick. A checklist in a chat gets scrolled past. A checklist where each line has an owner, a due date and a status gets done.

Urganize turns this into your rollout. Each activity is assigned to a person, dated and tracked, and one list shows what is done, what is overdue and what is due this week.