Plan your release
What to Do When Your Song Release Date Changes
The quick answer
When your song release date changes, check the release’s status with your distributor before announcing a replacement date. Pause scheduled posts that show the old date, tell the people working on the release, and make one list of links, files and messages to update. Mark the new date as proposed until you’ve checked what can actually change. Then rebuild the remaining tasks around the agreed date and check the public pages again.
Find out where the release is now
Open your distributor’s dashboard and look at the release itself. Is it still a draft, being reviewed, already delivered to streaming services, or live? Write down the status and the date shown. A date in your calendar doesn’t tell you what has reached a music service.
If someone else handles distribution, ask them to check. Keep the release name, current date, proposed date and any support reference together. You want a clear answer about this release, not a guess based on what happened with an older song.
| What you find | What to do next |
|---|---|
| Still a draft or under review | Check how edits work at this stage and whether changing it restarts review. |
| Delivered but not live | Ask whether a date change is still possible and how you’ll know it has reached the services. |
| Already live somewhere | Record which services and links are live, then ask your distributor about the available options. |
Check the rules before picking a replacement date
A new date you’d like and a date your distributor can arrange are two different things. Check the current rules for the service you use. If a deadline is close, ask support what is still possible before making another public promise.
For example, CD Baby’s current date-change guidance says a future-date change requires the release to be not yet live, with both the current date and the requested date more than two weeks away. Its team handles the request. CD Baby also says it can’t guarantee that every partner will honor the change or process it in time. Those are CD Baby’s conditions, not a rule for every distributor.
The stage of review matters too. CD Baby’s separate guidance for changes before delivery says pulling a project from inspection, editing it and resubmitting puts it back at the end of the queue. The inspection timeline starts again. Check that consequence before assuming an edit will take only a few minutes.
Keep the reply or status update. If the new date is still being checked, label it “proposed” in your own plan. If the song is already live, don’t treat a takedown and re-upload as a simple calendar edit; ask your distributor what applies to that release.
Sources: CD Baby: Conditions for changing a release date · CD Baby: Changes before delivery and the inspection queue
Find every place the old date appears
Pause the announcements you control that are about to go out with the old date. Then search your release folder, notes and scheduled posts for that date. Try the written month as well as the number format you’ve used.
Check the actual image and video files too. Fixing a caption won’t change a date printed inside a clip. Keep a copy of the old version for your records, but make the current one easy to identify.
| Place to check | What might need changing |
|---|---|
| Scheduled posts | The scheduled time, caption, image and any date shown in the video. |
| Song link or pre-save page | The displayed date, destination and what the page says will happen next. |
| Press kit and artist bio | Release details, download files and wording such as “out this Friday.” |
| Messages already sent | Who received the old date and whether they’re preparing something around it. |
| Collaborator files | Editor briefs, promo graphics, captions and the approved version of each. |
Give people a clear update they can use
Start with people who have work scheduled around the song: your editor, designer, collaborators or anyone preparing agreed coverage. Say which release changed, which date is no longer right, what is confirmed now, and what you need them to do. You can keep the reason brief.
Here’s a made-up example. Ellis Rowan and the song Side Street are fictional. Ellis had announced November 27, but the replacement date is still being checked. A collaborator note could say: “Quick update on Side Street: November 27 is no longer the plan. Please hold the dated teaser and don’t export another version yet. I’ll send the replacement date and caption once they’re confirmed.”
A public update for that same fictional situation could be: “Side Street needs a little more time, so it won’t be out on November 27. I’ll share the new date when it’s confirmed. Thanks for waiting with me.” Use a reason that is true for your situation; you don’t need to publish private details or blame someone else.
Once Ellis has a confirmed replacement, the update can name it plainly: “Side Street is now planned for December 11. I’ve updated the release details on the song page.” These dates are examples, not a suggested delay or a promise about delivery times. Check the page before saying it’s updated.
Recheck song links and any pitch you’ve prepared
Open the exact song link you’ve shared. Does it still lead to the right release, and does it show the right information? If you use a pre-save service, check its instructions and the saved page after the date change. Don’t assume editing your distributor’s date also updates a separate page.
If you’ve pitched the song in Spotify for Artists, revisit the pitch and the release shown under Music, then Upcoming. Spotify’s current song-pitch guidance says Admins and Editors can edit a pitch up to release day, but its editors may not see the changes. It also says to deliver music at least seven days before release so editors have time to listen; songs that are already live are no longer eligible for pitching.
Use that guidance to check your remaining time, not as a reason to promise playlist placement. A revised date doesn’t guarantee that a pitch will be read or accepted. If the release information still looks wrong, check with the team handling delivery before building more announcements around it.
For a writer or radio contact who already received the old date, send a concise correction when it affects their plans. Keep it in the existing conversation where practical, and follow any submission instructions they gave you.
Move the work that still needs to happen
Keep finished work marked as finished. Review the tasks that depend on the release date: final checks, dated graphics, announcements and launch-day links. An extra week doesn’t mean every part of the project needs to be redone.
Put a person and a next step beside each change. For example: “Ellis checks the song page after the date update,” “editor replaces the date card after approval,” and “Ellis previews the scheduled post before it goes out.” This makes unfinished work visible without rebuilding the whole campaign.
In AirTrax, keep the change note in Notes and add the checks to your campaign task list. Include the old date, proposed or confirmed new date, and anything you’re still waiting on. Update your distributor and posting tools separately; a note or task in AirTrax doesn’t change their schedules.
Check what people can actually see
After making the changes, open your main release page, press kit and scheduled-post previews again. Check them on a phone too. If an old public post can’t be edited, add a clear correction where people looking for that release can find it.
When the revised release day arrives, check the listening destinations you plan to share before posting that the song is out. If it’s available on some services but missing on another, describe what you can verify and follow up with your distributor about the missing one.
Finish your change note with what you checked and any remaining issue. That gives you somewhere to look if a collaborator asks which date or file to use later.
- The public date and the current release plan agree.
- Scheduled captions, images and videos use the right wording.
- The main song link opens the intended page.
- People doing time-sensitive work have the latest details.
- Any unresolved delivery issue has a clear next step.
Common questions
Can I change a release date after uploading my song?
It depends on your distributor, the release’s current status and how close the dates are. Check the release in your dashboard and the provider’s current instructions. A requested change is not the same as confirmation that every service has processed it.
What should I say if I don’t know the new release date yet?
Say that the old date has changed and that you’ll share the replacement once it’s confirmed. Keep the explanation true and brief. Give collaborators a specific instruction about dated work, such as holding a teaser until you send the revised details.
Should I delete all my old promotional posts?
Review what each post says. Some may still work without a date; others need an edit or a clear correction. Pause scheduled posts with incorrect details, and make the current information easy to find. You don’t need to restart every useful piece of release content.
Where the facts come from
We checked the platform details using these official pages. The plan and examples are our suggestions, so adjust them to fit your music and your time.
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