Promoting a single before release means building the audience that will stream it on day one: pre-saves, an email list, press and a content plan, starting about six weeks out. The plan below goes week by week. Every tool in it is free in Stage, and it works with no ad budget.
Six weeks is enough time to do each step properly and short enough to keep momentum. If you have less, keep weeks 6, 4 and 2 and drop the rest. For the dated version of the same plan, use the release checklist.
The plan at a glance
| Week | Task | Tool | Time (estimate) |
|---|
| 6 | Lock the date, upload to your distributor, set up the smart link and pre-save | Stage Smart Link | 2 hours |
| 5 | Update the EPK and one-sheet; build a press list | Stage EPK builder, Press and Outreach | 3 hours |
| 4 | Pitch in Spotify for Artists; send the first teaser email | Spotify for Artists, Email Agent | 2 hours |
| 3 | Film a batch of short videos; research playlists | Your phone, Playlist Fit | 4 hours |
| 2 | Push the pre-save; send the second email; ask collaborators to share | Stage Smart Link, Email Agent | 2 hours |
| Release week | Check links; send the release email; reply to everyone | Stage Smart Link, Email Agent | 3 hours |
Week 6: lock the date and set up the link
Pick the release day and upload the track to your distributor. Then make the smart link in pre-save mode so every post from now on points to one place. In Stage a pre-save is a countdown page with an email box, and on release day the same link flips to live buttons. See pre-save links and the pre-save link generator page for the steps.
Week 5: EPK, one-sheet and a press list
Update your EPK and write a one-sheet for the release. Build a list of ten to twenty outlets that cover your genre, and check their latest post date before you pitch: when Stage read the feeds of 5,077 music blogs in September 2026, only 33.8% had posted in the previous 90 days (the data). Stage's free plan shows 10 genre-matched outlets a week.
Week 4: Spotify pitch and the first email
Pitch the track in Spotify for Artists. Spotify says to deliver your music at least 7 days before release, so four weeks out leaves room to fix mistakes. Our guide to Spotify editorial playlists explains what to expect. Send your first teaser to your email list; if you have no list yet, build one starting now.
Week 3: content and playlist research
Film a batch of short videos in one session: a snippet of the track, a behind-the-scenes clip and a talking-head one. Our guide to short-form video for musicians covers what to post. Use Playlist Fit to see which playlists suit the track, and note the curators you will pitch after release.
Week 2: push the pre-save
Put the pre-save link in your bio, stories and email signature. Send the second email. Ask a few collaborators to share the link. Pitch premieres and reviews to the press list if you have not, using the EPK link in the first line.
Release week
Check that every streaming link opens the right track. On release day the pre-save flips to live buttons; send the release email, post, and answer every comment. A week later, thank the people who pre-saved and look at which sources and cities sent the clicks. If you want curator outreach handled for you after release, Groove Gainer, the company behind Stage, runs playlist campaigns; curators decide whether to add a track.
What to skip
Frequently asked
How do I promote an upcoming single?
Set up a pre-save link with an email box, update your EPK, pitch press and Spotify editors on time, email your list twice before release, post short videos weekly, and send everything to one link. The week-by-week table above shows when.
How early should I start promoting a single?
About six weeks before release. That gives you time for a pre-save campaign, press pitches and two or three emails, and it respects Spotify's rule of delivering at least 7 days before release.
What should I do before releasing a song?
Finish the master and metadata, upload to a distributor, make a smart link and pre-save page, prepare an EPK and one-sheet, pitch Spotify, and start your email list. The release checklist has all of it in order.
Should I pre-save or just release?
A pre-save costs nothing and collects fan emails you can use again, so it is worth doing. Whether library pre-saves improve Spotify performance is debated; our honest guide to pre-save campaigns covers it.
Start with the link
Everything in this plan is free in Stage: smart link, pre-save, fan email (250 sends a month), EPK, Playlist Fit, the Release Calendar and 15 HANI questions a month. No card, no time limit. Start at stage.groovegainer.com, and read the honest guide to pre-save campaigns before you decide how much weight to put on them.
