30-Day Release Plan: What to Do Each Week Before Your Release
A 30-day release plan gives you enough time for pitching, pre-save and promotion without leaving the song in a drawer for months. The plan below follows the real deadlines: Spotify wants a pitch at least 7 days ahead, our playlist pitching needs 21 days, and technically a release at OGRECORDS™ can go out 5 business days after submission at the earliest. Days count backwards from release day.
Days 30 to 25: finish your material and submit
Start with everything that shouldn't change later. The master is final and saved as WAV, FLAC or AIFF. If you're not sure how loud it is, check it with our LUFS checker first. Spotify normalises to around -14 LUFS, so an extremely loud master doesn't help you there. The cover is at least 3000 × 3000 pixels, as JPG or PNG, with no URLs, social handles or prices.
Then go through the release wizard: audio, cover, metadata, credits and splits, stores, release date, review. Each track needs at least one composer and one lyricist, and Apple Music also wants performance and production credits. Submit by day 22 at the latest, earlier is better. That keeps playlist pitching on the table, and your pre-save switches on automatically once you submit.
Days 25 to 21: prepare your pitches
If you want playlist pitching as an add-on, it has to be submitted at least 21 days before release. It costs €50 per track. There's no guarantee of success, and no honest pitching service can give one. You get the results on the Monday after release.
At the same time, prepare your own pitch for Spotify for Artists. Once your release shows up there, you can submit one unreleased song. Spotify requires at least 7 days' notice, earlier is better. Be specific: genre, mood, instruments, what the song is about, what you have planned for the release. Vague lines like my best song yet don't help the editors.
Days 21 to 8: promote the pre-save and build content
Now share your smart link on ogr.fm. Before release it shows the pre-save, after release it shows the song. Announce the release, reveal the cover, post short clips. Most fans only save once they know a bit of the song. Put the link in your bio and explain what the click does for them.
Use this window to prepare content for release week as well: a few short videos with the hook, a studio clip, a photo from the shoot. When release day comes, you won't be scrambling and can focus on comments and messages.
Days 7 to 1: final deadlines and reminders
The Spotify for Artists pitch deadline runs out now. Double-check that your pitch was actually sent. Remind fans about the pre-save, ideally with a new clip rather than the same post as two weeks ago.
Decide when you'll announce the release. With us you choose the time and time zone, the default is midnight Berlin time. Schedule your first post for the minute the song actually appears. And message the people who worked on the song with you so they share it on release day.
Release day: share, reply, check
Post the smart link everywhere you promoted it before. Reply to comments and messages and share fans' stories. If you set up royalty splits, invitations go out to your split partners once the release has been delivered. Give them a heads-up that an email is coming.
Don't expect numbers in the dashboard on release day. The stores report streams with a delay of 1 to 3 days. That's normal, not an error.
Days 1 to 30 after: keep going
Most releases lose attention after the first week because the artist stops talking about them. So plan content for the weeks after too: an acoustic version, the story behind the lyrics, fan reactions. Check your stats to see where listeners come from and shape your posts around that.
If the song is doing well, you can consider Spotify Discovery Mode. You accept 30 % less on streams that come through Discovery, and in return Spotify is more likely to suggest the song in certain places. On the Monday after release you'll also get your playlist pitching results if you booked it. Then plan the next release, ideally using what you learned from this one.
Set your release date 30 days out and submit in the wizard, so your pre-save and every pitching deadline are still within reach.