How to Prepare for a Music Release

Promotion cannot repair a release that is not ready. Before you pitch the song, lock the title, the artist name, featured credits and the release date. Changing the title after curators and stations have the file creates two records in the market and a messy report.

Collect one folder: master, instrumental if you have it, artwork at a high resolution, lyrics, song link, video link, photos, logo and a biography of about 120 words. Name the files properly. “Final final 3” is not a press kit.

Decide the markets before you buy ads or email DJs. A song aimed at Fuji radio in Ibadan is a different campaign from an Afrobeats record aimed at London playlists. Both can be right. They should not be hidden inside one vague goal called “worldwide exposure”.

Set a budget you can finish. A smaller campaign that is fully serviced is more useful than a large plan that stops after the first week. Ask what the report will contain. If the answer is a guaranteed stream count, walk away.

Tell your distributor, manager and any featured artists the same date. Campaign desks waste the first week chasing a link that is still private.