DistroKid release planner: when to upload

DistroKid deadlines, counted back from release day

What DistroKid says, word for word

If you'd like your music to go live everywhere on the same day, we recommend uploading about 4 weeks in advance. Upload at least two weeks prior to your release date if you want a song to be available to pitch to Spotify's editors.— DistroKid help: How to Release Music on DistroKid

DistroKid's help centre blocks automated reading, so this quote comes from a search snippet of that article, checked on 13 October 2026. Open the article before you rely on it; DistroKid changes its help pages without notice.

Why the two-week minimum is tight

DistroKid's two weeks are counted from your upload, but Spotify's clock starts when the release reaches Spotify. Spotify says the release shows in the Upcoming tab around 48 hours after delivery, and the pitch has to be in at least 7 days before release. Upload exactly 14 days out and, if delivery goes smoothly, you have about five days to write and send the pitch. One rejected cover or a typo in the credits and the window closes. Four weeks out, the same plan leaves you nearly three weeks, room to fix things and still pitch early.

Holiday releases on DistroKid

DistroKid says that from late November to early January "uploading 3-4 weeks prior to your release date will guarantee that your delivery date is met". If your date falls in that window, treat four weeks as the floor, not the target, and add a week to everything before the upload row.

Do not release as soon as possible

DistroKid lets you skip the release date and go live as soon as the stores accept the music. That is fine for a surprise drop, but it removes the pitch window, Release Radar for your followers and any pre-save run-up. Pick a Friday at least four weeks out instead, and put that date in the upload form.

Spotify's side of the plan

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.