Choosing a release date
Why two to four weeks ahead matters for playlisting.
Set your release date at least two to four weeks ahead. This is the single most common thing artists get wrong, and it costs them editorial playlisting.
Why the lead time matters
Spotify's editorial team only considers unreleased music. Pitching through Spotify for Artists requires the track to be delivered and still upcoming, and their guidance is to pitch at least a week out — in practice, more. If you set the date for next Friday, the delivery may not clear store processing in time to pitch at all.
Release time
You can set a specific release time as well as a date. Most releases go out at midnight local time, but if you are coordinating a video premiere or a global moment, set the time explicitly rather than assuming.
Changing the date after delivery
Moving a date later is usually possible while the release is still upcoming. Moving it earlier often is not, because stores have already scheduled it. Take down and redeliver only as a last resort — it loses any pitch you have made.
Fridays are the industry standard release day and how the charting week is counted. You can release any day, but a Friday date puts a full week of streams into one chart period.