Release / Rollout Blueprint · Wren Hollis (demonstration artist)

Calendar

Every date is a real Friday counted back from release. Two are marked hard: miss those and there's no fixing it for this release.

Closed window

Twelve-week long-lead press passed on 17 July. Monthly print and the larger blogs plan that far ahead, so for this single they're out. The eight-week window runs to Friday 14 August, and that's where the realistic press is. Saying it here rather than burying it is the point: a plan that pretends a closed window is open is worse than no plan.

When	What
Fri 17 Jul12 weeks outPassed	Long-lead pressMonthly publications and the larger blogs. This one has gone for County Line.
Fri 14 Aug8 weeks out	Short-list press outreach opensRegional and genre press, the ones who work four to eight weeks ahead. Nine names on the pitch list below.
Fri 28 Aug6 weeks out	Master and artwork finalEverything downstream needs finished files. Artwork must be 3000x3000 with no URLs or logos on it, or the stores reject it.
Fri 11 Sep4 weeks outHard deadline	Delivered to the distributorDistributors need two to three weeks to propagate. Later than this and the editorial pitch window closes with it.
Fri 11 Sep4 weeks outHard deadline	Spotify editorial pitch submittedThrough Spotify for Artists, on the unreleased track. You can do it once, only before release, and there's no second chance for this song.
Fri 11 Sep4 weeks out	Pre-save link livePre-saves feed the release-day signal. Goes in the Instagram bio.
Fri 18 Sep3 weeks out	Announcement post, and everything before it stays quietThe reveal. Artwork, date, pre-save. This is the first the audience hears of it.
Fri 18 Sep3 weeks out	Content assets produced, all of themBatch in one session so you don't spend release week making things. Seven pieces, listed below.
Fri 18 Sep3 weeks out	Short-lead press, blogs, community radioWeeklies and the Austin community stations, who work three to four weeks out.
Mon 5 Octrelease week	Release week beginsDaily cadence, day by day below.
Thu 8 Octrelease eve	Tin Lantern residencyThe monthly falls the night before, which is the only stroke of luck on this calendar. Forty-five people hear County Line live, played by the Duo plus friends, the day before anyone can stream it.
Fri 9 OctRelease day	County Line is outEverything below this line is the two weeks most people waste.
Fri 23 Oct2 weeks after	Post-release window closesThe fortnight where the track can still catch. Most people stop on day one and waste it.

Assets

Asset list

Asset	Spec	Status
Mastermixed 22 July	WAV 44.1kHz / 24-bit	Have
Artwork	3000x3000 RGB, no text overlay of URLs or logos	Needed by 28 Aug
InstrumentalNeeded for sync, not for release.	WAV, same master chain	Not bounced
Vertical video, 3 clipsShoot at the September residency night	9:16, 1080x1920, 15 to 30 seconds	Needed
Square artwork variantDerived from the artwork	1:1 for the pre-save card	Needed
Press photoMarch shoot still current	300dpi, horizontal and vertical crop	Have
Lyric sheetFifteen minutes	Plain text, for press and credits	Needed
Writer credits	Sole writer, confirmed	Have

Pitch dates

Who gets contacted when. Names and angles are in the working file; this is the timing.

Who	When	Angle
Regional Americana blogs, 4	Fri 14 Aug	Second EP follow-up, first single of the new run
Austin community radio, 2	Fri 14 Aug	Local residency plus a local release date
Genre newsletters, 3	Fri 28 Aug	Song-first, no bio padding; these ones only want the track
Spotify editorial	Fri 11 Sep	One submission, unreleased track, through Spotify for Artists
Independent playlist curators	Fri 18 Sep	The target list and per-tier pitch copy are delivered with the plan
The 640 on the mailing list	Fri 18 Sep, then Fri 9 Oct	Announcement, then release day. Nothing between.

Content prompts

One per planned post, specific enough to shoot without deciding anything on the day.

When	What
Fri 18 SepAnnounce	The artwork, full frame, no crop. Caption is the title, the date, and the pre-save link. Nothing else. Don't explain the song.
Tue 22 Sep	15 seconds of the second-verse vocal over the artwork, still frame. No caption beyond the date.
Sat 26 Sep	Phone video from the residency, the moment the room goes quiet before the last chorus. Shoot this at the September night; you can't fake it later.
Wed 30 Sep	The lyric that people already shout back, as plain text on the artwork color. One line, no quotation marks.
Mon 5 Oct	Four days out. The pre-save link, the artwork, and one sentence about where the song came from. This is the only post that gets a story.
Fri 9 Oct	Release post. Link first, artwork second, thank the room third.
Sun 18 Oct	Nine days after. A clip of the song played live at the residency, cut to the chorus. This is the one that reaches people who missed the release.

Release week

When	What
Mon 5 Oct	Four-days-out post. Check the pre-save link still resolves. Confirm the distributor shows the release as delivered and scheduled.
Tue 6 Oct	Confirm the residency set list puts County Line third, not last.
Wed 7 Oct	Quiet day. Reply to anyone who responded to the announce. No new posting.
Thu 8 Oct	Schedule Friday's posts tonight so you don't spend release day in an app. Check the Spotify profile artist pick is ready to swap. Play the residency.
Fri 9 OctRelease day	Release post at 9am. Swap the artist pick. Send the list. Don't check numbers.
Sat 10 Oct	Post the room from last night. This is the highest-reach post of the week and it costs nothing.
Sun 11 Oct	Nothing. Genuinely nothing.

Two weeks after

Two weeks after release

The song can still catch through Friday 23 October, and this is the part almost everyone skips.

When	What
Mon 12 Oct	Pull the first week's numbers. Where listeners came from matters more than how many.
Wed 14 Oct	Second push to anyone on the list who didn't open the release email. Same email, different subject line.
Sun 18 Oct	The live clip, per the content prompt above.
Tue 20 Oct	Follow up the six press contacts who didn't reply. Once, briefly, and then leave it.
Fri 23 Oct	Window closes. Write down what worked while it's still fresh; the next rollout starts from that note.

Built 7 August 2026 against a release date of Friday 9 October 2026. Dates count backwards from that day, so moving the release moves everything here with it. The platforms set the deadlines marked hard, not us. Nothing in this document promises placement, coverage, or a result.