How to write a press release for a single: the UK version

Before you write it: the six things it needs

1. A date within eight weeks. A release date, a launch night, a show, a premiere. Further out than that and the outlet has nowhere to put it; past and it's news nobody can use.
2. A story you can source. One true thing about this single that you can back up: where it was made, what happened, what it's for. Your words, your facts. If you can't say where a claim came from, it doesn't go in.
3. A photo that can be printed. One image, wider than it is tall, a couple of thousand pixels on its long side, with your name in the file name. A screenshot of your profile picture is the fastest way to be ignored. The photos we're sent are often too small to use.
4. A track that plays. A private streaming link before release, a public one after. A file attachment gets the email bounced.
5. Your own yes. If someone else is sending on your behalf, you've read every line and said yes in writing. It goes out in your name and you'll be asked about it.
6. A bio and a look that match. The one-line story from your bio, and a profile that looks like the photo. The bio guide has the line.

Miss one and fix it before you write. The tests take ten minutes and save you from sending something you'd rather take back.

The page, top to bottom

Headline. Your name, what it is, and the one thing that makes it a story, in under fifteen words. "Artist launches debut single with a show in a dark room in their home town" is a headline. "New single out now" isn't.

First paragraph: the facts. Who you are and where you're based, what's out, when, and where it can be heard or seen. Everything a listings editor needs in three sentences, so the release still works if they read nothing else.

Second paragraph: the story. The one true thing from test two, told plainly. How it was made, what it's about, why now. Two or three sentences. No adjectives doing a fact's job.

The quote. One, from you, in words you'd say out loud. It's the only place your voice goes in the release, so don't waste it on "I'm so excited". Say what the song is for.

Listings block. What, when, where, tickets or link, who else is on. As a list, with the full date and the day of the week. This is the part that gets copied straight into a listing, so make it copyable.

Short bio and contact. Your 50-word bio, then your name, email and a link. Not a friend's email. Not a form.

That's the page. If it runs onto a second one, cut the story paragraph before you cut the listings.

What to leave out

Our team keeps a list on every release we draft called "left out on purpose". Yours should have:

• Anything not confirmed. On one release this autumn the streaming date wasn't settled, so the release never used the words "release date" and was about the launch night instead. A CD that was being ordered was "will come on CD", never "on sale". Write only what's true on the day you send.
• Claims about reach. "Sold out", "unmissable", "tipped by", "went viral". An editor can check the first one and won't believe the rest.
• Names you haven't asked. A producer, a venue owner, a collaborator, a station that played you once. Only with their yes, and only if it's true in the way you've written it.
• Your private life. Health, family, the strain of the past month. You decide what stays yours before you write, so that it doesn't leak in through the story paragraph.
• Things that can change. Track counts, times, support acts. Put them in only if you'll re-check them on the day you send.

A shorter release that's all true beats a longer one with a line in it you have to apologise for.

Who sends it, and in what order

You do, from your own name and address. Nobody is your publicist until they are, and an editor who replies wants to reach you.

One outlet at a time, and the first line of the email changed for each one so it's clear you've read what they publish. Local press and genre sites first, because they're the ones that cover artists your size. Listings first of all, because they run on dates and need the least persuading. Most routes take singles and few take albums, so if you've got an album coming, the release is about the single or the launch night.

On lead time, nobody publishes one. A release for a night in three weeks should go now. If there's a submissions page, use it, because that's where the editor actually looks; a guessed email address goes nowhere. Never buy a list of journalists. The radio guide has the parallel order for stations, which is a different send.

The day you send, re-read the ticket page and every link in the release. One of ours had a capacity listed on the ticket page that didn't match the venue's own, and that's the kind of thing you want to find before the editor does.

After you send it

One follow-up, a week later, two lines, with the link again. Then stop. Silence is a no, and chasing twice is remembered for the wrong reasons.

When a piece runs, it's worth more than the day it runs. It's a credit on the next funding form, a line in the long version of your bio, and a link in the next release you write. Save the link the day it goes up; pieces move and disappear.

If nothing runs, the single still goes out, and the release still did its job: you now have a page with your facts straight, a photo that can be printed and a story in your words. Send it to the promoter for the next show. Put the quote on the streaming profile. None of it is wasted.

Where this fits

This is the support stage of artist development, and it sits in the last four weeks of the release plan, after the bio and before the radio send. The UK release checklist has where it goes in the eighteen things. If you're thinking of paying someone to do it for you, the paid promotion guide has the questions to ask first. And if you'd like a second pair of eyes on yours before it goes, that's what the community sessions are for.

• Artist development: what it is, what it costs, and how to tell it's working
• How to write a musician bio: start with your fans' words
• How to get your music on UK radio: BBC Introducing and after
• The UK independent release checklist (2026)
• Plan your release back from the date
• How to get gigs as an independent artist: the first rooms
• Should you pay for music promotion? A decision rule
• The HyperTribe communityartists at your stage, in your city
• How to make an EPK
• Artist bio generatorfree tool
• EPK templatefree tool

Questions artists ask