Releasing music as an independent artist means juggling a lot of moving pieces — mastering, distribution, artwork, pre-saves, smart links, ads, and analytics. This checklist keeps you organised so you can launch with confidence.
Part of our complete guide: How to Release Music Independently: The Complete Guide
Six weeks before release
Start planning early. This gives you time to build campaigns, coordinate with streaming platforms, and create momentum.
Music and delivery
- Finalise your master and 3000×3000px artwork
- Write accurate metadata and credits
- Set your official release date with your distributor
Three weeks before
Build audience and momentum. Create your pre-save campaign and begin promotion.
- Set up a pre-save page in Playloudr with artwork and platform links.
- Share it on socials, in your email signature, and through early ads.
- Reach out to playlist curators and blog contacts.
Add your pre-save link to your email signature and bio. Make it effortless for existing fans to pre-save and share.
Release day
- Confirm your music is live on every platform
- Your pre-save auto-converts to a smart link — share it everywhere
- Post announcements and monitor your analytics through the day
After release
Keep giving people useful reasons to hear the song: a live version, a production detail or a story behind a lyric. Review your link’s visits and fan actions after a week, and check actual listening in the streaming service’s own analytics. Change one thing at a time; there is no guaranteed algorithmic window or placement. Follow the weekly fan-growth routine to keep the campaign useful after release day.
