How to promote your music: a plan for before, during and after release

How to promote your music: the plan in one paragraph

To promote your music, work in three stages around release day. Before release, set a date at least four weeks out, pitch the song to Spotify’s editors in Spotify for Artists at least 7 days ahead, and share a pre-save link. In release week, set the song as your Artist Pick, post it from TikTok’s sound library, and send it to people who already follow you. After release, submit it to independent playlist curators and use Spotify’s paid tools only if you meet their listener minimums. The core steps are free. Nothing legitimate can guarantee streams, followers or playlist adds. This covers Spotify, TikTok and DistroKid tools as their own pages stated them on Sep 24, 2026, in USD.

The order isn’t a style choice. Three of the best free tools have deadlines baked in. The Spotify pitch closes the moment the song goes live. Pre-saves need weeks to collect. And a song takes time to reach TikTok’s sound library, so a teaser posted too early points people at a song they can’t use yet.

If promotion feels like shouting into an empty room, that’s normal, especially on the first few releases. Most of what works is small and repeatable: the same checklist on every release, done early, so each one starts from a slightly bigger audience than the last.

Everything starts four weeks out, before anyone can hear the song.

Before release: how to promote music four weeks out

Before release, promotion is four setup jobs, done in this order: set a release date at least four weeks away, pitch one song to Spotify’s editors, set up a pre-save link, and get the visuals ready. DistroKid’s release date page recommends at least four weeks so the release doesn’t get stuck in a store’s review queue. The Spotify pitch form opens once your distributor delivers the song, and pitching at least 7 days before release also puts it in your followers’ Release Radar playlists. For pre-saves, Spotify’s Countdown Pages cover albums and EPs from artists with 3,000 or more monthly active listeners. Singles use a distributor pre-save link such as DistroKid’s HyperFollow.

Here’s the four weeks as a checklist:

1. Upload with a future release date. Four weeks is DistroKid’s number for launching on every platform on the same day. If your distributor is slower, add more.
2. Pitch to Spotify’s editors. Log in at artists.spotify.com, find the song under upcoming music, and fill in the pitch form. Spotify’s pitching page says you can pitch one song at a time, live songs can’t be pitched, and pitching doesn’t guarantee placement. Spotify’s only tip is that more detail gives the song a better chance, so write the real genre, mood, story and your promo plans. What happens in the form, step by step, is in our guide to free Spotify playlist submission.
3. Start collecting pre-saves. DistroKid says a HyperFollow page is created free for every upload, a pre-save also makes the fan follow you on Spotify, and the link never changes, so one link covers the teaser and the release. For an album or EP, a Spotify Countdown Page shows up within 72 hours of delivery if you have 3,000 monthly active listeners. Spotify says nearly 60% of people who pre-save an album stream it in its first week, which is its average for albums, not a forecast for your single. How the two compare is in our guide to HyperFollow and pre-save links.
4. Make the visuals. A Spotify Canvas is the short looping video behind a track in the mobile app. It’s free, and Spotify’s Canvas page says you can add one to upcoming releases, so it’s there on day one. The specs are 3 to 8 seconds, vertical 9:16, 720 to 1080 pixels tall, MP4 or JPG. More in our Spotify Canvas guide.

One timing trap sits on TikTok. DistroKid says a release should be live and searchable in the TikTok app within 1 to 3 weeks. If you tease a song before it’s in the sound library, the people who liked the teaser have nothing to tap. Get it delivered first, then tease. The details are in our guide to getting your music on TikTok.

The hardest part of this stage is waiting. You finished the song and you want it out tonight. Four weeks feels like forever, but a song released the day it’s mastered skips the pitch, the pre-saves and the TikTok lead time, which are most of the free tools on this page.

Then release day comes, and the job changes from setup to asking.

Release week: promote to the people who already know you

Release week is for the people who already know you, because they’re the most likely to press play, save the song and share it. On Spotify, set the new release as your Artist Pick, the slot at the top of your profile, which stays live for 180 days unless you change it. Spotify also notifies your followers when you release new music. On TikTok, post videos using the official version from the sound library, not the audio uploaded as an original sound, which DistroKid says can get the video muted. Once the song is on TikTok, claim your TikTok Artist Account. Then ask fans directly, on the channels they already follow you on. The rules come from Spotify for Artists and DistroKid help pages, checked Sep 24, 2026.

The pieces, in the order you’ll touch them:

• Artist Pick. Spotify’s Artist Pick page says you can feature a song, album, music video or playlist, and add an image and a short message. If you ran a Countdown Page, Spotify’s own tip is to make it your Artist Pick before release, then swap in the live release.
• Followers. Spotify’s promotion overview says it notifies followers about new releases and features you in their personalized sections of the app. That’s why the follow that comes with a HyperFollow pre-save matters more than the save.
• TikTok. Add the song through Sounds, as TikTok’s guide to adding sounds shows, searching the title plus your artist name so you get the library version. DistroKid’s help page warns that an uploaded original sound can get muted, and a Business account can’t use music clips at all. Claiming the TikTok Artist Account happens in the app under TikTok for Artists; DistroKid lists the steps.
• The link. Your HyperFollow page updates itself with the other stores once the release is live, so the link from your teaser still works. Put it everywhere you posted the pre-save.
• Marquee, only if you qualify. Spotify’s paid full-screen pop-up has to start within 21 days of release (Spotify’s target markets page warns access can end at 18, so plan on that) and needs 5,000 monthly active listeners in the market you target, per its display campaigns page. Under that, it isn’t an option yet, and that’s fine.

A quiet first week stings. You post, a few friends stream it, and the number barely moves. That’s what release week looks like for most independent artists, and it isn’t the verdict on the song. The first week is when your existing fans hear it. Everyone else comes later, if at all, through the next stage.

After the first week, your own fans have heard it. The rest of the job is strangers.

After release: keep promoting music once it’s out

After release, promotion shifts from your own fans to new listeners, through three routes: independent playlist curators, Spotify’s paid tools you qualify for, and paid curator reviews. Spotify’s editorial pitch closes once a song is live, but independent curators can only add songs that are already out, and several submission platforms have free tiers. Spotify’s Showcase banner works for new or catalog releases with at least 1,000 streams in the last 28 days in a target market. Discovery Mode needs 25,000 monthly listeners and songs out for at least 30 days, and it charges a 30% commission instead of a fee. Paid review services such as Playlist Push charge for curators to listen, not for placements. Sources: Spotify for Artists and Playlist Push help pages, Sep 24, 2026.

Take them in cost order.

Independent curators, free. Send your strongest song only to playlists that already carry music like it. The free platforms, their limits and what they leave out are in our guide to free Spotify playlist submission. Silence is the usual answer, so keep a note of where each one went.

Spotify’s own paid tools. Showcase and Marquee are display campaigns priced per click, with a campaign budget of $100 to $10,000. Discovery Mode has no upfront cost, but Spotify takes 30% of the recording royalties from the song’s streams in Radio, Autoplay and Mixes while the campaign runs. It’s only available through distributors on Spotify’s approved list. Spotify groups these with playlist pitching on its Campaign Kit page, and our Campaign Kit guide covers how they fit together.

Paid curator reviews. Playlist Push sends your song to independent curators who are paid to review it. Spotify campaigns start at $280, and no curator has to add the song. That’s money for a listen and feedback. Our Playlist Push review covers how campaigns work, the refund policy and what they can’t do. TheDebutRoom earns a commission if you run a Playlist Push campaign through the button below.

Whatever you spend on, decide what you’ll measure before you pay. Streams alone can be bought, faked or borrowed from one playlist. Saves, followers and monthly active listeners 30 days later tell you whether real people came back.

Which of these you can use comes down to your own numbers.

How to promote music on a budget: what’s free and what costs money

Most ways to promote music are free, and the paid ones only open up once you have listeners. TheDebutRoom sorts each promotion tool by three things taken from the platform’s own help pages: what it costs, who qualifies, and when in the release cycle it works. By that measure, pitching Spotify’s editors, HyperFollow pre-saves, Artist Pick, Canvas and TikTok’s sound library cost nothing beyond your distributor plan. Countdown Pages are free but need 3,000 monthly active listeners. Marquee needs 5,000 monthly active listeners in one market and a $100 minimum budget. Discovery Mode needs 25,000 monthly listeners and takes a 30% commission. For most independent artists, listener counts decide what’s open more than budget does.

Sources for each row are linked in the sections above and listed at the end of the page.

Now find yourself on the ladder. Open Spotify for Artists and check two numbers: streams in the last 28 days, and monthly active listeners (not the bigger monthly listeners figure on your profile).

• Under 1,000 streams in 28 days in any market: every paid Spotify tool is closed. The free rows are the whole plan, and that’s a complete plan.
• 1,000 streams or more: Showcase opens, and it works on older songs too.
• 3,000 monthly active listeners: Countdown Pages open for your next album or EP.
• 5,000 monthly active listeners in one market: Marquee opens for new releases in that market.
• 25,000 monthly listeners: Discovery Mode opens, if your distributor is on Spotify’s list.

Spotify’s promotion overview also points to Spotify Ads Manager, which runs audio and video ads to free listeners at any budget. It’s a general ad platform, not an artist tool, so treat it like any other ad spend.

The rule that holds at every rung: only spend money you’d shrug off losing. Nothing on this table promises results, and a song that doesn’t catch doesn’t come with a refund.

One kind of spending never makes the table.

Promote your music without paying for fake streams

TheDebutRoom’s rule for promoting your music is to spend money on attention, never on numbers. Spotify’s help page on artificial streaming and paid services that guarantee streams says those services “aren’t legitimate,” that services offering guaranteed playlist placement for money violate its terms, and that using them could get your music removed. When Spotify confirms artificial streaming, it can withhold the royalties, correct public stream counts and pull the song from playlists. Spotify also sends monthly reports to distributors, which can warn you or, in repeated cases, remove your music and suspend your account. This is TheDebutRoom’s reading of Spotify’s page as checked Sep 24, 2026.

The risk lands on you, not the seller. The person who sold you “10,000 real streams” keeps the money whether Spotify catches it or not. You’re the one whose royalties get withheld and whose distributor account is on the line.

Walk away from any offer that has one of these:

1. A number. Streams, followers, saves or monthly listeners promised in advance.
2. A price per playlist add. Paying for a review is allowed. Paying for the add is what Spotify bans.
3. An unsolicited DM. A curator or “promo team” that finds you first and opens with a price.
4. “Organic” in the pitch next to a stream count. Real listening can’t be priced by the thousand.

Sometimes it happens without you paying anyone: a bot-heavy playlist adds your song on its own. Spotify’s page links a form to report suspicious playlists your music has been added to, and it says artists who were promoted honestly should share their promotion methods with their distributor. How to spot fake streams in your stats is in our guide to Spotify bots and fake streams.

More ways to get heard without paying for plays are in the promotion hub.