The waterfall release strategy, explained

A waterfall release puts out a set of songs one single at a time, where each new release carries the earlier songs with it. The first single goes out alone. The next release holds the new song and the first one. The one after that holds three, and so on, until the last release is the full EP or album. Each step down the waterfall adds a song to the same growing record.

Artists use it to give every song its own release day while the project keeps one home on Spotify. This guide explains how it works, why it suits the way Spotify finds new music and what it asks of you.

What a waterfall release is

Picture an EP of four songs. In a classic rollout you might put out one or two singles, then the EP. In a waterfall, every song gets a turn as the new single:

1. Release one: song A on its own.
2. Release two: song B as the new single, with song A on the same release.
3. Release three: song C as the new single, with A and B.
4. Release four: song D, and with it the complete EP.

The songs already out keep the same recording and the same ISRC on every release they appear on. Many artists take down the earlier, smaller release once the new one is live, so listeners land on one version that holds everything so far. Each step is a new release with its own UPC, cover and release day.

Why it suits the way Spotify works

Spotify ties a recording's play history to its ISRC, so a song that moves onto the next release keeps the listening it has already earned. Play counts carry over, and listeners who saved the song still have it. The project grows one release at a time instead of starting from zero when the full record arrives.

That matters because Spotify's recommendations learn from how listeners react to a song over time, through saves, repeat listens, playlist adds and follows. Our guide to how the Spotify algorithm works explains those signals. A waterfall gives each song longer to collect them, and gives a new listener who arrives at any point the whole set in one place.

It also keeps your artist page current. The newest release sits at the top, and it holds every song from the project so far.

Each single is a fresh chance with the editors

Spotify takes a pitch for music that isn't out yet. Its pitching rules let you pitch one unreleased song at a time, and once a song is live it can no longer be pitched. Drop four songs at once and you get one pitch. Release them one by one and each new song gets its own.

Each pitch sent at least 7 days before release also puts that song in your followers' Release Radar. So every step of the waterfall reaches your fans again, and every step gives the editors a new song to consider. Our guide to the Spotify editorial pitch covers what to write.

What a waterfall asks of you

A waterfall works best when it's planned before the first song goes out.

• Songs that belong together. The set should hold up as one project, since the last release is the full record.
• Finished music, or close to it. Knowing the whole track list from the start keeps the gaps between songs steady.
• Artwork that grows. Each release needs its own cover. Many artists use one visual idea that changes with each song.
• Consistent metadata. The same titles, credits, artist names and ISRCs on every release, so the stores match each song to its history.
• A plan for each release day. Every single needs its own date, its own pitch and its own promotion.

The gap between singles depends on your songs and your audience. What counts is that each one has time for a pitch before it's out and time to be heard after.

When a waterfall fits

It suits an artist with a set of finished songs who wants each one heard before the project lands: a first EP, a record made in one stretch of sessions, or an album where you want listeners to arrive gradually. It works for any genre, and it rewards keeping up a steady flow of posts across the months it runs.

If you're choosing between formats, single, EP or album sets out the store rules for each. For a longer project with more around it, read how to roll out an album, and for the full sequence of any release, how to release music.

Each single in Audora gets its own calendar

A waterfall is a series of release days, and Audora treats each one as a release in its own right:

• Every single goes out with a pitch for the people who market it to the stores, written from your answers about that song, and a release date that gives the editors time.
• Each release gets its own calendar, with your moves (the pitch in Spotify for Artists, the pre-save, the Canvas) on the days they matter.
• Each release gets a promotion campaign planned around its day, every post written in your voice with its caption, hashtags and the picture or video it needs. You approve what goes out.
• Every playlist each song is on, editorial, algorithmic and listener-made, shown back to you, so you can see which songs are traveling as the project grows.

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.

We create your ISRCs, they're yours, and they move with you if you leave. The exact steps for each single, dated to its release day, are in your Audora account, and Audora keeps adjusting them as it learns what works best for its artists, adding some steps, dropping others and moving a few. What every track gets shows the whole release around one song.