Independent artist release checklist

1. Rights and masters

Before you distribute anything, know who owns the master and the composition. If you recorded with a collaborator, get the split in writing. If you used a sample, clear it or replace it. A release with an uncleared sample is a liability that follows the catalog, not a small detail you can fix after launch.

Keep the archival masters in a place you control, in a lossless format, with a backup. The public stream is a compressed copy; the master is the asset. The streams vs masters guide explains the difference.

2. Metadata

• Artist name, track title, album, release date, and genre — consistent everywhere.
• ISRC for each recording; a separate code for each distinct version.
• Composer and publisher credits, splits, and contact information.
• Explicit-content flags where required, and correct language tags.

Bad metadata is the most common reason a release is hard to find, hard to pay, or hard to correct later. Write it down once in a master spreadsheet and copy it; do not retype it into every platform.

3. Artwork and files

Use a square cover at the distributor’s required resolution, with no unlicensed images or fonts. Keep a clean version without text for reuse. Deliver the audio in the format the distributor asks for, and keep the lossless master separate from the streaming copy.

4. Distribution and your own room

A distributor gets you into platforms; it does not give you a home. Put the release on your own site too: a player, a page with credits, and a way to contact you. That page is the one you control if a platform changes terms or delists the track.

This site is an example of the own-room model: a free browser player, a public catalog, and a clear listening license. You do not need a 10,000-track catalog to do it; you need one page that works.

5. Promotion without spam

Pick the three places your actual listeners are and tell them once, clearly. A direct message to a friend who likes the genre is worth more than a mass post. Share the player link, not a re-upload. If you pitch a playlist or a blog, include the one-sentence reason it fits.

6. Money and records

Track royalties, splits, and expenses in one place from the first release. Register with a performance rights organization if you perform or broadcast; keep receipts; pay collaborators on the agreed schedule. A small catalog with clean books is easier to grow than a large one with a mystery spreadsheet.

A 30-day release timeline

Four weeks out: confirm the master, the splits, and the metadata. Order the ISRCs, finalize the cover, and upload the lossless files to your own backup. Write the release page and the one-paragraph description while the work is fresh.

Two weeks out: deliver to the distributor, check the preview, and fix any metadata mismatch before it goes live. Tell the three people most likely to care. Prepare three short posts: the story, the sound, and the link. Do not schedule ten posts; schedule three good ones.

Release week: verify the platform links, the own-site player, and the contact form. Post once on the day, once with a detail people missed, and once when a playlist or friend shares it. Answer every message that week; the release is a conversation, not a broadcast.

After: record what sold, what was played, and what was ignored. Pay collaborators on the agreed schedule. Keep the master and the metadata; the next release starts from the same folder.