Guide · Updated November 8, 2026 · 7 min read
How to make a music marketing plan for your release
The five parts of a plan for one song or record, the strategies behind each and the marketing tips that hold up release after release.
A music marketing plan is a written answer to three questions: who should hear this release, what will make them care, and what happens on which day to reach them. It doesn't need to be long. A plan that fits on one page and gets followed does more for a song than a big idea that starts the week it comes out.
This guide covers what a plan for one release holds: the goal, the story, the assets, the channels and the phases around release day. It fits inside our larger guide to promoting your music.
Key takeaways
- Plan one release at a time, starting from its release date.
- Pick one goal you can see in your own numbers, such as follows, saves or email sign-ups.
- Find the story before you plan the posts: why this song, why now.
- Have the assets ready before the first announcement: cover, bio, photos, video, links.
- Spread the work across the weeks before release, release day and the weeks after.
Start from the release date
Everything in a release plan is measured from one day. Pick the date first, and leave room before it. The stores need time to receive the release, and Spotify's editors only take pitches for unreleased music: Spotify says a song pitched at least 7 days before release reaches your followers' Release Radar. A date with weeks in front of it gives the pitch, the pre-save and the announcement room to work.
Our release date planner shows the landmarks for a date you pick, and the best day to release music covers why most releases come out on a Friday.
Set one goal you can measure
"Get more streams" is a hope. A goal you can plan around names something you can see in your own dashboards and influence: followers on your Spotify profile, saves of the song, pre-saves before the day, sign-ups to your email list, people at a release show.
Pick one main goal per release. It decides what every post asks for. A plan built around follows ends its posts with "follow me on Spotify"; a plan built around a show sells tickets. Followers matter more than most artists think, because they're who hears your next release first.
Find the story
People share a song because of the song, and they talk about it because of the story. Before planning a single post, write down in a few lines:
- what the song is about, in your own words;
- how it was made: the room, the people, the moment it came together;
- what's new about it compared with what you've released before;
- who it's for, and where those people already listen.
That page becomes your pitch to editors, your bio update, your captions and your message to press. Every channel tells the same story in its own format, which is what makes a release feel like an event instead of a stream of unrelated posts.
Get the assets ready first
The plan stalls when the first post needs a photo you haven't shot. Have these ready before you announce:
- Cover art to the stores' spec (a 3000 × 3000 px square is the safe standard; see the album cover checker).
- A bio updated for this release, in short and long versions (artist bio guide).
- Photos from the same period as the music (press photos for musicians).
- Video: clips of the hook, a lyric video, footage from the studio or rehearsal.
- A Spotify Canvas, the short looping video behind the song in Spotify (how to make one).
- Links: a pre-save link before the day, the release link after, both sitting on your artist page.
- A press kit with a private listen link for writers and curators (electronic press kit).
Choose your channels
Pick the places your listeners already are and do those well, instead of spreading thin across every platform. For most independent artists the plan covers:
- The streaming services' own tools: your Spotify for Artists pitch and profile, Apple Music for Artists, your YouTube channel.
- Short video: TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, where people who don't follow you yet can find the song.
- Your own channels: an artist page, an email list, your Facebook Page.
- Other people's channels: blogs, curators, radio, other artists.
The channel guides go deeper: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts and Facebook.
Plan the phases
A release plan has three phases. What goes in each, and when, depends on the release, but the shape stays the same.
- Before release day. Set up and deliver the release, pitch the editors and announce the song, the date and the pre-save. Tease the cover, the story and the hook. Send the record to press while there's time for them to plan. See pre-release promotion.
- Release day. The song is out everywhere. Post the link on every channel, update your profiles and bio, tell your email list, thank the people who pre-saved. See release day promotion.
- The weeks after. Keep the song in front of people as it finds listeners: new clips, the reactions, a live version, the playlists it's landed on. See promoting a song after release.
Then look at what worked, from the platforms' own numbers, and carry it into the next plan. Each release builds the follower base the next one reaches.
How Audora writes your marketing plan
On Audora, the plan starts from your release date. Every release goes out with a pitch for the people who market it to the stores, written from your answers, and Audora dates the release to give the editors time. Your music goes to Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, YouTube and 140+ stores, and into the databases radio, cars and song recognition read.
Around that date, Audora plans a campaign of posts. Each post is written in your voice about your release, with its caption, hashtags and the picture or video it needs, and you approve what goes out. Your own moves (your pitch in Spotify for Artists, the pre-save, the Canvas) come up on the release's calendar on the day they matter. Cover art, a bio in three lengths, a Canvas and a logo are made to the stores' spec. Afterward, every playlist your song is on is shown back to you, with plays and saves from the stores' own reporting. What every track gets walks through all of it.
Your account holds the exact plan for your release, every step dated to your release day. Audora keeps tuning those steps, adding, dropping and retiming them as it learns what works best for its artists.
TikTok, YouTube, Instagram (Stories included) and Facebook Pages post automatically, and nothing goes out until you approve it. Stories carry no link sticker, so your release link goes in your bio.
Music marketing tips that hold up
- Release regularly. Each release reaches the followers the last one earned, so a steady run of songs compounds.
- Make the hook easy to find. In clips, start with the part of the song people will remember.
- Keep your profiles current. The photo, bio and featured release on every platform should match the release you're promoting.
- Ask for one thing at a time. A post that asks people to pre-save, follow, share and buy a ticket gets none of them.
- Never buy streams. Paid plays and bot followers get filtered out and can put a release at risk.
Questions
What should a music marketing plan include?
A release date, one measurable goal, the story of the release, the assets (cover, bio, photos, video, Canvas, links, press kit), the channels you'll use and what happens in each phase: before release day, on the day and in the weeks after.
How far ahead should I start marketing a release?
Weeks before release day. You need time to deliver the release and pitch Spotify's editors (Spotify says at least 7 days before release for the song to reach your followers' Release Radar), then to announce, collect pre-saves and send the record to press.
What are the best music marketing strategies for independent artists?
Plan each release from its date, pitch the streaming services' editors, post short vertical video where new listeners find songs, send everyone to one page, work with other artists, reach press and curators early and keep promoting in the weeks after release day.
Do I need a budget for a music marketing plan?
No. The core of a plan (the pitch, the announcement, short video, your own channels, press outreach) costs time. Paid ads can add reach on top. Our guide to free music promotion covers what works with no money.
Can Audora make my music marketing plan?
Yes. Audora plans a campaign around your release date, writes every post in your voice with what it needs, and puts your own moves on the release's calendar on the day they matter. You approve what goes out, and you can edit any post first.