Creating a successful release involves more than just great music, it requires careful planning, strong coordination, and having the right tools in place. LabelWorx is designed to give labels the essential tools they need to manage their releases independently, with the flexibility to work at their own pace.
To help you navigate the release process from start to finish, we’ve broken it down into five key stages. Whether securing contracts, preparing distribution, or promoting your release, this guide provides some tips for each step, ensuring nothing is missed and every release has the best chance of success.
STEP 1: Finding and Signing Music
Signing the right artists and releases starts with discovering fresh talent, reviewing demos, and building relationships early in the A&R process. From first contact to contract, each step shapes the release.
Once the deal is in place, the focus shifts to collecting assets, meeting deadlines, and ensuring tracks are delivered fully mixed and mastered. For a deeper look into the A&R process, check out this article.
STEP 2: Release Assets
Preparing all assets early, from pre-masters and artwork to metadata, ensures a smooth release process and maximises your music’s impact.
Check out the Getting Your Assets Ready article for tips on how to prepare, store, and deliver every component of a release to avoid any last-minute issues.
STEP 3: Creating The Release
Once the contracts have been signed and all assets are ready to go, it’s time to create your release in the LMS (Release Management ➜ Release List ➜ click the New icon).
To ensure you maximise the tools available to you when creating a release, we highly recommend checking out the Introduction to Releases, Tracks, and Artists for a full overview of this process.
STEP 4: Pre-Release Promotion
Once your release is locked in, promotion should begin. From pitching to playlists, to setting up social campaigns and pre-saves, this phase is all about building momentum in the lead up to the release date.
Ideally, you should kick off promo efforts at least five weeks before release day. We've outlined 10 of our top tips for promoting your release ahead of the big day in this article.
STEP 5: Post-Release Promotion
The release day isn’t the finish line, it’s just the start of the next phase! Keep your promotion going with targeted campaigns and other ongoing engagement tactics to keep your release visible long after it’s out.
Check out our Post-Release Promotion guide to learn what you can be doing on release day and in the post-release period to maximise exposure, engage fans, and set up your release for long-term success.
STEP 6: Paying Your Artists
Once statements are issued, paying your artists promptly is crucial for maintaining trust, encouraging ongoing collaboration, and ensuring that your roster feels valued for their work.
Managing royalties and splits can be complicated, but if you want to streamline the process and simplify your royalty management, try RoyaltyWorx for free and spend more time signing great music instead!