Most singles don't fail because of the sound. They fail because nobody knows about them on release Friday. Here is our roadmap for your next release: production, distribution and marketing in one timeline, to tick off, with your own date.
Olli, who founded Green Voodoo, was on stage and in the studio as a musician in the nineties, with record and publishing deals. Later he sat on the other side of the table as A&R and product manager and ran digital marketing for major-label releases. What we kept seeing: songs that sound great and still reach nobody, because the upload happens on the Wednesday before release and the first Instagram post goes out on Friday.
Most release checklists stop at the upload. This one doesn't. Production and promotion run in parallel, and that is how this list is built.
Rule of thumb: six to eight weeks from the final master. Upload at least four weeks before release.
Enter your planned release date and each phase shows you when it should be done. Your progress is only stored in your own browser.
Tip: new music comes out worldwide on Fridays. Pick a Friday if you can.
Updated September 2026 · Platform rules change, check with your distributor if in doubt
Enter your address and we'll send you the checklist as a PDF, to print, tick off or forward to your band.
Plan six to eight weeks from the final master. Upload at least four weeks before release, so there is time for pitching, pre-saves, press and content. If you upload a week before, you almost always miss the editorial pitch.
Not for the upload, a digital distributor handles that. A label is worth it if it brings you something you don't have on your own: reach, network, budget, know-how. Then with a contract you understand.
Not to release music. But if you write your own songs, you leave money from radio, streaming and live shows on the table without one. Neighbouring rights are the second area, for you as a performer and for the recording.
Through the pitch in Spotify for Artists, at least seven days before release, better three to four weeks ahead. Plus independent curators who fit your genre. In the end what counts is whether people save your song and come back to it. That decides Release Radar and co.
Usually not. Many offers deliver fake streams or an audience that doesn't fit you. That distorts your data and can cause trouble with your distributor. Better to spend the budget on good material and targeted ads on a clip that already works organically.
For new acts, mostly singles six to eight weeks apart. Every single is its own reason to pitch, reach out to press and create content. The EP then bundles them and already has listeners.
At Green Voodoo we record, mix and produce in Lasbek near Hamburg, on a horse farm in a barn from 1901, running on solar power from our own roof. If you like, your release credits will read “Recorded with solar power at Green Voodoo”. And because we know promotion from the inside, we can also talk about what comes next: release strategy, pitching, content, funding.
Tell us briefly about it. We'll get back to you within 24 hours.
More: Studio home · Jazz studio (German) · Release-Checkliste (Deutsch)