The First Song Guide

Start here: what a release actually is

Putting a song out is three jobs stacked on top of each other: a finished audio file, a square of artwork, and a set of details (metadata) that tells every store who made it and what it is called. Get those three right and the rest is timing and telling people.

Spotify doesn't take uploads straight from artists through this route. It tells artists to work with a distributor, a service that delivers your music to the stores and pays your streaming royalties back to you ^[15]. Apple Music, YouTube Music and the rest work the same way.

No judgement here. Bedroom demo, AI vocal, first gig recording: it all counts. The goal of this guide is simple: get your song out properly, without rookie mistakes that cost you weeks.

Step 1: finish the track (properly finished)

Mastering is the last polish on a mix: overall loudness, tone and making sure it sounds right on phones, car stereos and earbuds. You can pay an engineer, use an online mastering tool, or do it yourself. Whatever you pick, know the loudness basics first.

Loudness is measured in LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale). Spotify turns tracks up or down so everything plays at about the same level. Its normal setting targets -14 dB LUFS, using the ITU 1770 standard ^[1]. Premium listeners can also choose Loud (-11 dB LUFS) or Quiet (-19 dB LUFS) ^[1].

What that means for you: smashing your master as loud as possible doesn't make it louder on Spotify, it just gets turned down. Spotify recommends keeping true peak (the highest point of the waveform after conversion) below -1 dB, and below -2 dB if your master is louder than -14 LUFS, because loud masters distort more when they are compressed for streaming ^[1].

• Bounce a stereo WAV at the highest quality you worked in (24-bit is a good habit). Spotify asks for one high-quality stereo master per track ^[1].
• YouTube Music says to always deliver the highest quality possible and notes services often need lossless files like WAV or FLAC ^[12]. Never upload an MP3 as your master.
• Leave a little silence at the start and end, but no long dead air.
• Listen on three things before you sign off: headphones, phone speaker, car.

Step 2: artwork that won't get bounced

Your cover is a square. Spotify accepts TIFF, PNG or JPG with lossless encoding, between 640 and 10,000 pixels on each side, 1:1 ratio, sRGB colour, and says don't upscale a small image to hit the size ^[2]. Apple Music for Artists lists JPG, PNG or GIF, a perfect square, at least 4000 x 4000 pixels ^[3].

Design at 4000 x 4000 pixels in sRGB and you cover both. Export a high-quality JPG or PNG.

• No social handles, emails, website addresses or logos on the cover ^[3].
• No prices, dates, years or barcodes ^[3].
• No images you don't own or have written permission to use ^[3].
• No parental advisory logo unless the release really is explicit ^[3].
• Text should be only the artist name and the exact title as released ^[3].

Step 3: get your details (metadata) right

Metadata is everything written about the song: title, artist name, featured artists, songwriters, producers, explicit flag, release date. Spotify displays it exactly as your distributor delivers it, and fixes have to come back through them ^[4].

Keep your artist name spelled the same way every single release ^[4]. Don't put artist names in the song title, use the featured artist field instead ^[4]. Mark explicit songs as explicit in the settings, not by writing (Explicit) in the title ^[4]. Credit your songwriters and producers, because those roles decide who gets credited and where the song shows up ^[4].

Each recording also needs an ISRC, a code that identifies that exact recording for life. In Australia ARIA runs the ISRC system, and most distributors can issue one for you ^[16]. Our metadata guide goes deep on codes and credits.

Step 4: pick a release date and work backwards

This is where most first-timers trip. Spotify recommends setting your live date at least 7 days ahead so you can pitch the unreleased song to its playlist editors, and warns distributors can take a few days to deliver ^[4]. Pitching at least 7 days out also gets the song into your followers' Release Radar playlists ^[5].

Seven days is the bare minimum. We recommend uploading three to four weeks before release. That gives time for delivery, fixing any rejection, claiming your profiles and building a bit of noise. That's our advice, not a store rule.

1. Mon 26 Oct: master and artwork finished, credits written down.
2. Fri 6 Nov: upload to your distributor (three weeks out).
3. About two days later: the song appears in the Upcoming tab of Spotify for Artists once delivered ^[7]. Pitch it straight away.
4. Fri 20 Nov: the last possible day to pitch for Release Radar (7 days out) ^[5]. Don't leave it this late.
5. Fri 27 Nov: release day.

Step 5: choosing a distributor

Most distributors charge a fee or take a commission, and every service is different, so Spotify suggests researching before you pick ^[15]. Spotify keeps a list of preferred and recommended providers that meet its standards for metadata quality and anti-infringement ^[15].

Our distribution guide explains the fee models, payout timing and how to switch later without losing your streams. The short version: read the fine print on what happens to your music if you stop paying, and keep your own copy of every ISRC.

Step 6: claim your artist profiles

Spotify for Artists is the free dashboard where you edit your profile, see stats and pitch songs. If your music is already live, request access at artists.spotify.com with links to your website or socials. Spotify reviews requests by hand and says approval can take a few days ^[6].

First release with nothing live yet? Spotify says to get your artist link or URI from your label or distributor, then contact Spotify support with that link and the UPC or EAN of your upcoming release ^[6].

Apple Music for Artists is different: your music has to be live on Apple Music for at least five business days before you can claim, and only the primary artist or their manager can claim the page ^[9]. Put a reminder in your calendar for the week after release.

Step 7: pre-save and smart links

A pre-save lets a fan tap once before release so the song lands in their library on the day. Spotify's built-in Countdown Pages are only for albums and EPs from artists with at least 3,000 monthly active listeners, and singles don't qualify ^[8]. So for a first single, a smart link page is the usual way to do it.

Once your song is delivered, Spotify for Artists lets you copy the release link (URI) for pre-saves and marketing ^[7]. Drop that into a smart link page and you have one link for every platform to put in your bio.

Step 8: what to post (and what not to)

You don't need a content machine. You need a few honest posts that make people curious. Real beats polished. People want to see the person behind the song.

One thing to never do: pay for guaranteed streams. Spotify says paid services that guarantee streams aren't legitimate and can get your music removed, with royalties withheld and stream counts corrected ^[11]. We've seen artists burn money on it and get nothing. No bots, no BS.

• Three weeks out: a 10 second teaser of the best bit, with the cover.
• Two weeks out: the story. Why you wrote it, where, what it means.
• One week out: a behind-the-scenes clip (the bedroom setup is gold).
• Release day: the link, a thank you, and ask people to save it, not just play it.
• The week after: a lyric clip, a reaction, or a live acoustic version.

Step 9: release day and the week after

1. Morning of release: search your name on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. Check the song is on the right profile with the right cover.
2. Update your bio links to the live smart link.
3. Send it to friends personally. A real message beats a group blast.
4. Upload to triple j Unearthed. You need an ABC account, and staff listen to every track before approving it, which can take up to 10 business days ^[13].
5. If you write your own songs and they're streaming, look at joining APRA AMCOS. It's free to join, and it collects royalties when your songs are performed, broadcast or streamed ^[14].
6. Five business days after it's live on Apple Music: claim your Apple Music for Artists page ^[9].
7. End of week one: check Spotify for Artists to see where listeners came from. Write down what worked.

Realistic expectations

Most first songs don't blow up, and that's fine. First releases are about learning the process, building a catalogue and finding your first real listeners.

One number worth knowing: Spotify only pays recording royalties on tracks with at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months, and a minimum number of unique listeners it doesn't publish ^[10]. If your first song does 400 streams in a year, it earns no recording royalties on Spotify. That's not failure, it's normal, and it's why most artists build over several releases.

Spotify also says pitching doesn't guarantee playlist placement ^[5]. Pitch anyway, it's free. Then focus on things you control: the next song, playing live, and talking to the people who did listen.

Common first-release mistakes

• Uploading two days before release and missing the pitch window ^{[4] [5]}.
• Mastering too loud and getting distortion after Spotify's processing ^[1].
• Artwork with a social handle or website on it, which Apple doesn't allow ^[3].
• Spelling the artist name differently from last time, or typing feat. into the title ^[4].
• Forgetting to tick explicit on a song with swearing ^[4].
• Paying for guaranteed streams or playlist spots ^[11].
• Getting attached to someone else's artist profile with the same name.

Questions people ask

Sources

General information, not legal or financial advice. Last checked 2026-10-26.

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