Pre-release marketing checklist — what working artists actually do in the 8 weeks before release
The full pre-release checklist: distribution setup, content ramp, fan warming, playlist pitching, paid amplification.
Pre-release marketing checklist. Built for all active releasers. The framework adapted for where you currently are. The first move: distribution checklist (16 items).
Independent artists who treat music as a system earn $2,000 to $5,000 a month. Artists who treat music as art that might also be a business earn $43 a month from streaming and wonder why they cannot afford to keep making it. The difference is talent. The difference is structure. The page below gives you the structure.
What this page covers
Artists skip 5–10 pre-release items and wonder why Day 1 under-delivers
This is written for primary — all active releasers, structured as a one-pager you can read in one sitting.
The framework
- Distribution checklist (16 items)
- Content checklist (8 items)
- Fan warming (4 items)
- Pitch logistics (2 items)
Each step in the framework builds on the one before. Skip one and the next under-delivers. The compaction is what working artists do differently from artists who try every channel on its own.
Find your biggest gap — free scorecardWhere this fits the larger system
The 11 modules of the Artist Operating System at Leverage Academy cover this topic and 80+ others: distribution, algorithmic growth, content architecture, email funnels, sync licensing, merch, touring, AI tools, and royalty mechanics. Each module ships a concrete artifact you can put to work the same week: a release calendar, a pitch script, a media-kit template, or a dashboard you actually maintain.
You can take the full system for $397 one-time with lifetime access and a 30-day money-back guarantee. If the framework above is useful, the system applies the same logic to every income stream and channel you would touch as an independent artist. Start here.