Why you must submit music to distributors WEEKS before its release
Considering ‘lead time’ when releasing music is essential in order to ensure you keep your fans happy and don’t miss your announced release date.
from Horus Music
With so many factors to consider when distributing and marketing your music, it’s easy to forget that a major point to consider is lead time. Whilst our team can deliver your releases to stores in 24 hours, numerous factors come into play which may determine the amount of time you want to leave when looking to distribute and market your music.
Let’s start by looking at distribution. A quick turnaround time might seem like the top option for you if you’re aiming for a speedy release, but there is not always a guarantee your music will go live in time. Our team recommends submitting your tracks to us at least two weeks in advance of your release date. This is to leave sufficient time for any metadata amendments which may need to be completed and to ensure stores have enough time to fully ingest releases into their system ready to be put live. Some platforms process releases faster than others, so if you only leave a day or two from point of submission to your music going live, it may mean some platforms are able to display live whilst some need a longer timeframe. Allowing two weeks will provide you with enough lead time for a smooth distribution process and avoid the disappointment of your release missing your live date.
It’s also important to note stores such as Spotify require at least two weeks for playlist pitches to be submitted. Whether you’re pitching independently through Spotify for artists or requesting a basic free playlist plug from our team, you must adhere to the two-week guidelines in order to be able to submit to playlists.
Although we advise two weeks for distribution and basic playlist plugs, in terms of a more in-depth marketing campaign this may affect the lead time for when you want to upload your release. If you are implementing a full marketing campaign for your release, we’d advise submitting your music for distribution six weeks in advance. Many marketing campaigns require your music to have cleared the submission process in order to carry out successfully, so it’s important to get organized and plan ahead, obtaining your pre-order and pre-save links well in advance will allow more time to share and engage with your fans.
With Horus Music’s pre-release marketing campaigns, lead times play an essential role in the type of campaigns we can take on. As many of our services including traditional UK radio plugging, digital PR and playlisting, we require you to submit your music to us for consideration at least 6 weeks in advance of your release date. This allows time for our team to listen to your track, review your submission and if the campaign is accepted, sufficient time is needed to complete the invoice and collect the necessary assets before the campaign has even started.
We often find many of our artists submit their music for consideration for pre-release campaigns with either a few days or maximum a few weeks before their release date. Regardless of how good the music is, we cannot take on campaigns that do not fit with the required time guidelines which is why it is incredibly important to consider lead times when submitting to our team. In some cases, we may be able to offer a basic free playlist plug if we cannot take on a full campaign, but as discussed earlier this still requires a minimum two week lead time.
Successful marketing campaigns don’t happen overnight, so whether you’re looking to utilise Horus Music’s services or use our Starter package to go DIY with your promotion, it’s important to remember the importance of lead times when devising your campaign.
For more information on our distribution and marketing services, you can contact our team via email at alr@horusmusic.co.uk or give us a call.
