Exclusive Licensing
How to Time an Exclusive License Around Your Single's Release
By the Starchild Music team · October 14, 2026 · 5 min read
The short answer
Start from your release date and count backward: upload to your distributor three to four weeks early, pitch Spotify at least seven days ahead, and plan to promote well past release day. A 3-month exclusive usually covers that whole cycle for one single, so the exclusive should be active when you are ready to record, not months before.
An exclusive license is a calendar item. It lasts a set number of months, and the song is withdrawn from the marketplace while it runs. So the useful question is not only whether to buy an exclusive, but when its clock should run.
The best way to answer that is to work backward from your release date. Here is how the usual steps of a single's release line up with a 3, 6 or 12 month term.
Everything else hangs from release day. Choose it before you license, because the date decides when you need the song recorded, mixed and uploaded.
Many artists pick a Friday that is at least a month away. That leaves room for the steps below without rushing the recording.
Distributor lead time: three to four weeks
Your distributor needs time to process the release and deliver it to stores. Ditto Music's support page recommends uploading "at least 3-4 weeks before your planned release date," and notes that the extra time also lets you pitch playlists through Spotify for Artists.
Count that back from your date. For a release on a Friday in mid-November, the finished master should be uploaded around mid-October. That means the recording and mix happen before then, and an exclusive license needs to be in place before you record.
Playlist pitching: seven days is the minimum
Spotify's help page says to "deliver your music at least 7 days before release so our editors have time to listen." It adds that pitching an unreleased song at least seven days ahead also puts it in your followers' Release Radar playlists. Once a song has gone live, it can no longer be pitched.
Spotify's own release guide suggests pitching at least two weeks in advance. Pitching is a one-shot step, and it only works before release day. That is a good reason to buy the exclusive early enough that your recording is not the last thing finished.
Spotify's Countdown Pages, its built-in pre-save tool, are only for new albums and EPs. Spotify's support page states that "singles aren't eligible." If you release one song, you will use a link from a third-party pre-save tool, or simply promote the release date directly.
Either way, the point is the same. Fans can only act on a date you have set, which is one more reason to fix it early.
After release day: the cycle keeps going
Release day is the start of the campaign. Spotify's release guide says that "on average, 75% of a release's first-year streams happen after the first month." It also reports that over half of merch clicks happen in the first 24 days after a release.
So plan weeks of content after the date: a lyric video, a live performance clip, a story behind the song. The license covers using your recording in your own music video and lyric video, so you can build those without a second agreement.
Fit the term to the cycle
Add it up for one single. About four weeks before release to upload, release day, and then four to eight weeks of active promotion comes to roughly three months. That is why a 3-month exclusive ($60) fits a single with a firm date.
A longer term fits a longer plan, such as several releases from the same song over time or a full campaign. Our guide to matching the term to your plan walks through that choice. Exclusive licenses are priced at $60 for 3 months, $100 for 6 months and $150 for 12 months, and you can see them on the pricing page.
One practical habit: write the start and end dates of the term next to your release date, and look at them together. If the term ends before your campaign does, pick the longer one.
A sample timeline
Here is one way the weeks can stack for a single released on a Friday. Treat the numbers as a starting point, since your own recording time will vary.
- Seven or more weeks before release: choose the song, license it as an exclusive, and book recording time.
- Five weeks before: finish the vocal and the mix, and lock the cover art and credits.
- Four weeks before: upload to your distributor and set the release date.
- Two weeks before: pitch Spotify's editors and announce the date to fans.
- One week before: make sure the pitch is complete, since Spotify says "more detail gives your song a better chance."
- Release week: share the song everywhere and watch the first numbers.
- Weeks one to eight: post a lyric video, a live clip and a story about the song.
If the date slips
Dates move. A mix takes longer, a distributor review runs slow, a cover needs a redo. A date that slips by two weeks eats into the front of your term, not the back.
That is the argument for a little slack. If your plan is tight, add a few weeks of cushion before you choose a term, or lean toward the next term up. A short gap in the calendar is easier to live with than an exclusive that ends a week before your campaign does.
It also helps to buy the exclusive when you are ready to move quickly, not months ahead. The sooner you license, the sooner the clock is running.