Six weeks is roughly the minimum window for a release that does not feel rushed. It gives you time to deliver audio to a distributor, secure a pre-save link, prepare artwork in the sizes every platform wants, and still have a fortnight left for the part everyone forgets: telling people it exists.
Weeks six through four are for assets. Master delivered, artwork finalised, credits confirmed with everyone who played on the record. This is also the moment to write the two-sentence description of the song you will end up reusing in every message, pitch and caption for the next two months.
Weeks three and two are for outreach, and the rule is specificity. A message that names the playlist, the show or the column you are writing to gets read. A blast to two hundred addresses does not. Expect a low response rate and send fewer, better messages rather than more generic ones.
The final week is for the release itself and, crucially, for the fortnight after it. Momentum on release day is nice, but sustained attention over the following weeks is what actually moves a song. Plan content for after the drop, not just before it.
