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Music release planner.

One release date. A plan your team can work from. Adjust the milestones, then take your timeline into a spreadsheet or calendar.

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The timings below are editable examples, not platform deadlines. Negative numbers mean days before release; positive numbers mean days after. Use calendar days and confirm delivery lead times with your distributor.

  1. 42 days before release

    Agree the release scope

    Confirm the format, intended audience, campaign scope and decision makers.

    Suggested owner: Release owner

  2. 35 days before release

    Approve audio and artwork

    Finish the masters and cover review. Confirm the requirements with your distributor.

    Suggested owner: Creative lead

  3. 30 days before release

    Review metadata and credits

    Check artist names, titles, versions, identifiers and contributor credits against the approved files.

    Suggested owner: Label operations

  4. 28 days before release

    Deliver to your distributor

    Replace this example timing with your distributor’s lead time, plus room for corrections. Confirm acceptance after upload.

    Suggested owner: Label operations

  5. 21 days before release

    Prepare campaign materials

    Agree the announcement, creative assets, destinations and who will publish each item.

    Suggested owner: Marketing lead

  6. 14 days before release

    Submit the eligible song pitch

    Check that the unreleased song is available in Spotify for Artists. This example gives more than seven days; eligibility and placement are separate.

    Suggested owner: Artist team

  7. 7 days before release

    Review launch readiness

    Confirm delivery status, final assets, owners and unresolved blockers with the team.

    Suggested owner: Release owner

  8. 1 day before release

    Check launch destinations

    Test the links you will share. Plan to recheck listening links once the music is live.

    Suggested owner: Marketing lead

  9. Release day

    Check the live release

    Check availability, playback, credits and artist attribution. Publish approved communications and assign corrections.

    Suggested owner: Label operations

  10. 7 days after release

    Review results and follow-ups

    Review available results, finish outstanding work and record what to improve next time.

    Suggested owner: Release owner

How to use this release calendar.

  1. Choose the release date you are working toward. Replace the example offsets with the time your team and partners need.
  2. Build the timeline and review any milestones that fall before today. Move the release date or agree a revised plan where necessary.
  3. Download the CSV for Excel or Google Sheets, then assign named owners and track status. Import the ICS into a separate calendar to review your all-day milestones.

Exports are snapshots, not a live calendar subscription. Changing this page will not update an imported file. Remove the old imported plan before importing a replacement to avoid duplicate events.

Your date and adjustments stay in this page and are lost when you leave or reload. They are not sent in analytics. Download your plan before leaving.

Give delivery and pitching their own deadlines.

Submitting files, having a release accepted and seeing it in an artist dashboard are different steps. Ask your distributor how much time each needs, including corrections.

Spotify says to pitch an eligible unreleased song at least seven days before release for inclusion in followers’ Release Radar. A pitch does not guarantee editorial playlist placement. Check the current Spotify pitching guidance before finalizing the plan.

The example uses a 14-day pitch milestone and 28-day delivery milestone. These are planning choices you can change, not requirements from Spotify or your distributor. Physical production, videos and larger campaigns can need additional work and longer lead times.

A timeline gives the checklist a date.

Use the 24-point music release checklist to review the work itself. When you coordinate several artists, connect those deadlines to the release and its owner in mgmtOS for Labels.

Published by mgmtOS. Reviewed September 27, 2026.

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