How to Release Your First Song: A Complete Checklist (2026)
A step-by-step checklist for releasing your first song the right way — from mastering and cover art to release date, playlists, and getting paid.
Releasing your first song is exciting — and easy to get wrong if you rush it. This checklist walks you through everything, in order, so your first release actually gets heard and you get paid for it.
Before you release: get the song ready
✅ Master your track
A rough mix and a mastered track sound worlds apart on Spotify. Mastering balances the loudness and polish so your song holds up next to major releases. If you don't have it mastered yet, get it mastered before anything else.
✅ Design your cover art
Streaming platforms have strict requirements:
- Square, 3000×3000px (minimum 1400×1400)
- JPEG or PNG
- No blurry images, no website/social URLs, no logos or trademarks you don't own
✅ Lock your metadata
Decide exactly how your artist name and song title should appear everywhere — this is hard to change later. Note your genre, and list all songwriters and producers with their real names (you'll need this to collect publishing royalties).
Getting it live
✅ Choose a distributor
You can't upload to Spotify or Apple Music directly — a distributor delivers your song everywhere at once. Pick one that lets you keep 100% of your royalties and doesn't remove your music if you stop paying. (Compare the options here.)
✅ Set a release date 3–4 weeks out
Don't release the day you upload. That lead time lets you:
- Pitch Spotify editorial playlists in Spotify for Artists (needs 7+ days)
- Set up a pre-save link and share it
- Line up your social posts
✅ Upload and submit
Load your audio, art, and metadata into your distributor, set the date, and submit. Delivery usually takes 1–5 days.
Release week
✅ Claim your artist profiles
Set up Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists so you control your photo, bio, and can see your stats.
✅ Promote the pre-save
Share your pre-save/pre-add link on every platform. Pre-saves signal momentum to Spotify's algorithm on release day.
✅ Release day
Your song goes live automatically. Post everywhere, thank the people who pre-saved, and add it to your own playlists.
After release: don't leave money on the table
Here's what most first-time artists miss: streaming royalties are only part of what you're owed. Your song also generates performance and mechanical royalties collected by different organizations (the PROs, SoundExchange, the MLC). If you never registered, that money just sits there uncollected.
Learn how to collect all your music royalties — it's often more money than the streams themselves.
Do it all in one place
Juggling mastering, distribution, and royalty collection across five services is a headache. Eclipse Distro puts them under one roof — distribute unlimited releases, keep 100% of your rights, master your tracks, and recover royalties you're owed — with a team behind you instead of just an upload form. Start free and get your first song out the right way.
Frequently asked
How far in advance should I plan my song release?
Aim for 3–4 weeks. That gives you time to master the track, finalize cover art and metadata, upload through a distributor, pitch Spotify's editorial playlists (they want 7+ days' notice), and collect pre-saves before release day.
Do I need to copyright my song before releasing it?
In most countries your song is automatically protected by copyright the moment you record it, so you don't need to register it to release it. Registering can help if you ever need to prove ownership in a dispute, but it's optional and separate from distribution.
How do I actually make money from my first song?
You earn streaming royalties (paid by your distributor), plus performance and mechanical royalties collected by organizations like the PROs and the MLC. Many first-time artists never register for those and leave money uncollected — a service like Mogul can find and recover it.