Your First Release: The Complete Checklist

Everything you need to do before, during, and after releasing your first song — in the right order.

Your First Release Sets the Foundation

How you release your first song establishes habits and infrastructure you will use for every release after it. Do it right the first time and every subsequent release gets easier. Skip steps and you'll be retroactively fixing problems while trying to maintain momentum.

This checklist is organized into four phases: before you record, before you release, release week, and after.

Phase 1: Before You Record

Get your split sheet ready. Before anyone enters the studio, have a split sheet template ready to fill out and sign the day you create the song. Include every contributor — producer, co-writers, featured artists.

Set up your PRO. Join ASCAP or BMI before you release anything. Register each song after you finish it. Performance royalties from streaming and radio start accruing from your first stream — but only if you're registered.

Register with the MLC. Go to themlc.com and create an account. Register your songs there to collect US mechanical royalties from streaming platforms. This is separate from your PRO and most artists don't know it exists.

Set up a publishing entity. Register a simple publishing company name with your PRO — "Your Name Music" works. This is how you collect the publisher's share of royalties rather than leaving it uncollected.

Phase 2: Before You Release (4–6 Weeks Out)

Finish the music completely. Recording, mixing, and mastering should all be done before you set a release date. Don't release something you're still tweaking.

Register the copyright. Submit to copyright.gov. It's $45–$65 and the protection is effective from the date you file, even though processing takes months.

Get your cover art. Minimum 3000×3000 pixels. Professional quality. Genre-appropriate. Give a designer 2–3 weeks if you're commissioning it.

Choose a distributor. DistroKid ($22.99/year) for unlimited releases, TuneCore or CD Baby if you prefer per-release pricing. Upload your audio file and cover art.

Set your release date. Always a Friday, at least 4 weeks after you upload to your distributor.

Pitch for Spotify editorial. Immediately after uploading, go to Spotify for Artists and pitch your unreleased track for playlist consideration. This window closes on release day — you cannot pitch a live track.

Set up a pre-save link. Use DistroKid's HyperFollow or Feature.fm to create a pre-save link. This is what you share in the weeks before release to build first-day momentum.

Claim your profiles. Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists, Audiomack for Artists, SoundCloud for Artists. Verify your identity on each platform.

Phase 3: Release Week

Monday: Post a teaser clip — the best 15 seconds of the song. No full song, just enough to create anticipation. Share the pre-save link.

Wednesday: Behind-the-scenes content. A clip from the recording session, a screenshot of the session file, a photo of you in the booth. Make it feel real.

Thursday: Countdown post. "Tomorrow." That's it. Let the anticipation build.

Friday (Release Day):

Post across every platform simultaneously
Share the streaming link everywhere
Email your list if you have one
Go live if you're comfortable — release day lives convert listeners
Pin the release post on Instagram and Twitter
Engage with every single comment and share for the first 24 hours

Weekend: Keep posting. Fan reactions, screenshots of comments, repost people sharing the song. The algorithm pays attention to sustained activity, not just first-day spikes.

Phase 4: After the Release

Monitor your analytics. Check Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists weekly. Look at where listeners are coming from, which playlists you've been added to, and which cities are listening.

Follow up with curators. If you pitched to playlist curators who didn't respond, send one polite follow-up two weeks after release.

Register the song everywhere. Make sure it's registered with your PRO, the MLC, and your publishing entity. Double-check that your ISRC codes are generating royalties correctly.

Start planning the next one. The best thing you can do after releasing your first song is release a second one. Momentum is built by consistency, not by a single release.

Key Takeaways

Set up your PRO membership, MLC registration, and publishing entity before your first release — not after
Pitch for Spotify editorial placement immediately after uploading — you cannot pitch a song that is already live
A pre-save link builds first-day momentum that signals quality to Spotify's algorithm
Engage with every comment and share on release day — the algorithm rewards sustained activity
The best follow-up to your first release is your second release — consistency builds careers

Glossary

Pre-Save Link: A link that allows fans to save an upcoming song to their Spotify library before release — generates first-day activity.
ISRC Code: International Standard Recording Code — a unique identifier for each recording, generated by your distributor and used to track streams and royalties.
Release Day: The specific Friday when your music becomes publicly available on all streaming platforms simultaneously.
Split Sheet: A signed document recording each contributor's ownership percentage of a song's composition — essential before any recording session.
Spotify for Artists: Spotify's free dashboard for artists providing streaming analytics, playlist pitching tools, and profile management.