Best day to release music: Friday, and which Friday to pick

Why Friday is the release day

In 2015 the record industry moved to one global release day. The IFPI, which represents record labels worldwide, set it up, and Fortune reported at the time that tracks and albums "will be released at 00:01 on Fridays each week in more than 45 countries", starting on Friday 10 July 2015. Before that, the release day differed from country to country. Streaming followed the same rhythm: Spotify says Release Radar, the personal playlist of new releases from artists a listener follows, "updates every Friday" (Spotify for Artists).

Nothing stops you releasing on another day. Every distributor accepts any date, and the song goes live on the day you set. You simply step outside the weekly rhythm that listeners, editors and playlists follow, which is why the planner warns you when a date is not a Friday. That last part is our reasoning, not a platform rule.

What time does the release go live?

By default, at midnight local time in each territory. Spotify's documentation for distributors calls this Store Turn: "the release goes live at Midnight, the start of the day for each territory. Daylight savings time can change this." Midnight arrives first in New Zealand and last on the US West Coast, so in December Auckland hears a Friday release at 11:00 UTC on Thursday and Los Angeles at 08:00 UTC on Friday, a 21 hour spread. A distributor can instead set a timed release (one chosen moment), but few independent distributors offer it. The planner shows your own local time for each market under the plan.

Which Friday: what still matters

Once the day is Friday, the choice between Fridays comes down to lead time and the calendar. These are the rules the date picker above checks for every Friday in the month you choose, counted from today.

Is Friday still right for a small artist?

You will read that Friday is crowded because the biggest artists release then too. That is true, but it is a reason to choose your Friday with care, not to leave Friday. Your followers' Release Radar still refreshes on Friday, and a pitch made 7 days ahead is what puts the song in it. Avoid the Fridays you can see are busy for you: a public holiday week where your audience lives, the first week of December when Spotify Wrapped has come out in recent years, and the slow days between Christmas and New Year. This paragraph is our reasoning, not a platform rule.

Pick your Friday in two minutes

• Set your distributor and release type in the planner.
• In Pick my Friday, choose the target month and where most of your listeners are (US, UK or elsewhere).
• Read the reasons under each Friday. Platform and distributor rules carry their source; our own reasoning is labelled as ours.
• Press Plan this date to fill the planner, add the plan to your calendar, or copy a share link for your manager or band.