Why Your Next Release Needs A Marketing Strategy

You finished the song. It’s mixed. It’s mastered. The artwork is ready. You’ve got a release date in mind. So you upload it. Then you start thinking about promotion. That’s where a lot of artists get the order wrong.

Look at someone like Zara Larsson. Her recent Midnight Sun era wasn't built around one song simply appearing on streaming platforms and then being pushed with a few social posts. The music, visuals, aesthetics, performances and wider creative direction were all part of a much bigger world. Larsson has spoken about creating moodboards for the album and about finally feeling that the different parts of her music and artistry were becoming cohesive.

Could you say she used exactly the same release strategy I'm describing here? No. We don't know the full details of her marketing plan. But the principle is interesting: the release feels like more than just a song.

“Get more streams” isn't much of a strategy.

One of the easiest traps in music marketing is starting with the question: “How do I get more streams on Spotify?”.

But before you worry about how you're going to promote the song, you need to understand what you're actually trying to achieve with the release.

Maybe you're trying to reach new listeners. Maybe you're building awareness around your artist project, growing a particular audience or giving existing fans something new. Maybe the song is part of a bigger project, such as an EP or album, or you're using the release to test a new sound and learn more about your audience.

There can be several objectives, but they shouldn't all be vague. You need to know what you're trying to build beyond the stream count.

Your release needs a reason to exist

This doesn't mean every single needs an elaborate concept or some complicated story behind it. But you should be able to answer a simple question: Why should someone care about this release?

Maybe it's a new direction for your sound. Maybe it's the strongest song you've written. Maybe there's a story behind it, or the track connects to something you've already been building with your audience. Or maybe the answer is much simpler: it's a great record, and your job is to get it in front of the right people.

Whatever the answer is, understanding it helps shape the campaign around the song. It influences the content you create, the audience you're trying to reach, the way you talk about the release and the promotional channels you choose.

Without that thinking, artists often end up with a campaign that looks like this:

Song uploaded → Spotify link → Instagram post → another Spotify link → “out now” → nothing.

That's not really a campaign. That's a release announcement.

Think about the audience before the promotion

Another question worth asking before release is: Who is this actually for? Not “everyone who likes music.” Be more specific.

Think about the people who are most likely to connect with the song. What other artists might they listen to? What kind of content do they consume? Where are they discovering music? What makes them stop scrolling?

This doesn't mean you need to build a complicated audience persona with a fictional name, favourite coffee order and a detailed daily routine. It means having a realistic idea of who you're trying to reach.

That matters because promotion becomes much more useful when you're not simply trying to put the song in front of more people, but in front of relevant potential listeners.

Your content should support the release

One of the common mistakes I see is artists treating content as something they need to create because “the algorithm wants content.” That's backwards, your content should have a job.

For a release, that could mean introducing the song, building anticipation, showing the story behind it, creating recognition around a hook, introducing the artist to new people or giving existing listeners a reason to come back. And you don't necessarily need 30 completely different ideas.

One song can give you plenty to work with. You might have the recording process, the lyrics, the story behind the track, a performance, the artwork, the production, a particular line, a visual concept or a live version.

The important thing is to start thinking about these opportunities before release day. Trying to invent your entire content strategy after the song is already live is very different from having material ready to go.

Don't make release day the whole campaign

Another common mistake is treating Friday as the entire campaign.

Friday arrives. The song goes live. You post the cover, share the Spotify link and tell everyone to listen.Then Saturday arrives. And the campaign is basically over. But people don't all discover music on the same day.

Someone might see your video two days after release. Another listener might discover the track through a playlist the following week. Someone else might come across your music through a piece of content several weeks later.

That's why I prefer thinking about a release period rather than a single release day. You want to create different opportunities for people to encounter the song at different points.

Decide what you're going to measure

You also need to decide what success looks like before the campaign begins. Yes, streams matter. But they're not the only thing worth watching.

Depending on your objectives, you might also look at:

• Listeners
• Saves
• Repeat listening
• Audience locations
• Content performance
• Profile activity
• Follower growth
• Traffic sources
• Engagement from new listeners

The right metrics depend on what you're trying to achieve. And that's another reason to establish your strategy before release. If you don't know what you're trying to accomplish, it's very easy to look at one big number and decide whether the release “worked” or “failed.”

What should you decide before releasing?

You don't need a 50-page marketing document. But before you upload your next song, I'd want clear answers to at least these questions:

• What is the objective: What do you actually want this release to achieve?
• Who are you trying to reach: Who are the listeners most likely to connect with this music?
• What's the angle: Why this song? Why should someone care?
• What content can you build around it: What can you create before, during and after release?
• Where does promotion fit: Spotify? TikTok? Paid social? Other channels? A combination? Choose based on the release and audience, not because somebody told you one platform is “the secret.”
• What happens after release day: What are you going to do during the following weeks?
• What will you measure: Decide what information you'll use to judge the campaign before you start looking at the results.

Your next song deserves more than an upload

There's nothing wrong with simply putting music out. Sometimes you just want the song out there. But if you're investing time and money into building an artist project, you should probably give each release more thought than: “The song is finished. Let's upload it.”

The upload is an administrative step. The release is the campaign around it. And that campaign can start weeks before anyone hears the first note.

If you're preparing your next release and want a proper strategy behind it, that's exactly what the Artist Release Blueprint is designed for.