Artist Release Timeline & Checklist

Pressing vinyl isn't complicated, but it does have a fixed order. Skip a step or leave a decision too late, and you'll find yourself waiting on something you could have sorted out weeks earlier. Here's the order that actually works.

1. Decide your format and quantity

Before anything else, settle what you're pressing and how many. This shapes your budget and your timeline both, so it comes first. If you haven't landed on this yet, our pricing page breaks down what goes into a quote.

2. Get your audio mastered for vinyl

Vinyl mastering is different to a streaming or CD master. Talk to your mastering engineer about cutting for vinyl specifically, particularly around bass and side length. This needs to happen before a lacquer can be cut. You can find more about mastering in this interview with Mastering Engineer, Matt Gray here and a Youtube video of Mastering Engineer William Bowden here

3. Sort your artwork early

This is the step that delays releases more than anything else. Jacket, inserts, centre label design, all of it needs to be print-ready, not just visually finished. Start this in parallel with mastering, not after it. Your can find out more about getting your vinyl printed parts ready here in our knowledge base.

4. Submit what you have

You don't need everything finished to get started. Audio can go in before artwork is locked, and a deposit is one of the three things (alongside audio and artwork) that locks in your production date. Send through what's ready and keep the rest moving behind it.

5. Approve your test pressing

Once the stamper is cut, you'll get a small batch of test pressings before the full run goes ahead. Listen on a proper system or get your mastering engineer to check them. This is your last checkpoint before the full quantity is pressed. You can learn more about test pressings for vinyl and how to check them here.

6. Plan for the full run and delivery

Once the test pressing is approved, the full run goes into production. If you're shipping internationally or splitting your order across addresses, factor that into your release date, not after it.

7. Set your release date around the real timeline, not the other way around

The most common mistake is locking in a release date first and working backward. Vinyl has a fixed production chain that doesn't compress under pressure. Build your date around the process, not the process around your date. To be safe, allow 8 weeks from approval of all assets.