In 1995, TLC warned us against chasing waterfalls.

However, these were not the kind they were talking about.

A waterfall release strategy is a series of releases where each new stage adds another song while carrying forward music that has already been released.

Instead of dropping an entire album or EP at once, you gradually build toward it.

Done correctly, that gives several songs their own release moment while letting the project grow over time.

Why use a waterfall release strategy?

The biggest advantage is time.

If you release a 10-song album all at once, your team has one release date and usually one main focus track to work before the project goes live.

With a waterfall strategy, several songs can have their own release dates, marketing campaigns and pitching opportunities.

That can help you:

• give more songs individual attention
• extend the life of the overall project
• build an audience before the album or EP arrives
• learn which songs listeners respond to
• create more reasons to talk about the project
• spread marketing work across several months

The strategy is not about tricking streaming services into thinking old songs are new.

Instead, each stage introduces a genuinely new unreleased track while carrying the earlier recordings forward.

How Spotify pitching fits into a waterfall

Spotify currently lets an artist team pitch one unreleased song at a time through Spotify for Artists.

Once that pitched song goes live, you can pitch another eligible unreleased song from a future release.

Spotify requires delivery at least seven days before release for editorial consideration. At Syntax, we recommend considerably more lead time for priority music so the distributor, marketing team and streaming services have time to work the release properly.

Our guide to selecting a focus track can help when deciding which song deserves that attention.

A waterfall therefore does not bypass Spotify’s pitching rules.

It creates several legitimate release windows within those rules.

Step 1: Release the first single

Start with one song.

For the first stage, the release title will normally match the single title, with artwork created specifically for that release.

The release also gets its own UPC, or Universal Product Code, which identifies the release as a product.

The recording gets an ISRC, or International Standard Recording Code, which identifies that particular recording.

For example:

• Release title: Single 1
• UPC: AAAAAAAAAAAA
• Focus track: Single 1
• Single 1 ISRC: 111111111111

Release and promote that single normally.

Step 2: Add the next single

For the second stage, create a new release containing both songs.

The new song appears first, followed by the previously released song.

For example:

• Release title: Album or EP Title
• UPC: BBBBBBBBBBBB
• Focus track: Single 2
• Track 1: Single 2 — new ISRC 222222222222
• Track 2: Single 1 — existing ISRC 111111111111

Notice what changed and what did not.

The release gets a new UPC because it is a new product.

However, Single 1 keeps its original ISRC because it is still the exact same recording.

That part is important.

Keep the same ISRC for the same recording

Do not create a new ISRC every time an existing song appears in another stage of the waterfall.

The same recording should keep the same ISRC when it moves from the original single into a later release.

Spotify itself recognizes that the same recording can appear across several releases with different Spotify track identifiers. It groups identical or very similar audio and metadata together at the song level.

Keeping the audio and metadata consistent helps services understand that the carried-forward track is the same recording rather than a brand-new version.

If you actually create a different recording, such as a live version, acoustic version or remix, that is another story.

Our guide to ISRCs and UPCs explains that distinction in more detail.

Step 3: Add another song

Now repeat the process.

The third release might look like this:

• Release title: Album or EP Title
• UPC: CCCCCCCCCCCC
• Focus track: Single 3
• Track 1: Single 3 — new ISRC 333333333333
• Track 2: Single 2 — existing ISRC 222222222222
• Track 3: Single 1 — existing ISRC 111111111111

Again, the release gets a new UPC while the previously released recordings keep their existing ISRCs.

Meanwhile, Single 3 becomes the new unreleased song your team can work around that release date.

What happens to the older releases?

As the newer waterfall stages go live, streaming services may connect matching versions of the carried-forward recordings.

At Syntax, we confirm that the music has matched correctly before removing an older stage when the plan calls for a cleaner artist profile.

Do not assume that every digital service provider, or DSP, will update on exactly the same timetable.

A DSP is a streaming or download service such as Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music.

Coordinate any takedown with your distributor rather than deleting an earlier release simply because the next one appeared.

The goal is to maintain the continuity of the existing recordings while allowing the visible project to grow.

How far apart should the singles be?

Four weeks between stages is a common starting point, but it is not a rule.

Some campaigns need more time. Others can move faster.

The better question is whether each song has enough time to do what you released it to do.

If the team is still promoting Single 1, working publicity, pitching radio and creating content when Single 2 arrives, releasing another song just because four weeks passed may work against you.

Let the campaign determine the calendar.

Also remember that Spotify’s seven-day pitching requirement is a technical minimum, not a recommended overall release schedule. Our guide to proper release lead time explains why Syntax generally wants priority music much earlier.

Spotify now supports waterfall releases more directly

Waterfall releases have become common enough that Spotify now builds some of its artist tools around them.

Spotify specifically describes its Countdown Pages as supporting waterfall releases. Eligible artists can build anticipation around an upcoming album or EP while continuing to add singles, merchandise and other campaign elements before release.

Our guide to Spotify Countdown Pages explains how that tool works.

That can help keep the final project visible even while individual songs arrive along the way.

Do previously released songs become new again?

No.

This is an important distinction.

Putting Single 1 onto the next waterfall stage does not make Single 1 an unreleased song again.

Spotify’s Release Radar also excludes rereleases of songs that were already available on Spotify.

The opportunity comes from the genuinely new song added at each stage.

That is another reason to preserve the original ISRC for carried-forward tracks rather than trying to disguise them as new recordings.

How many singles should you waterfall?

There is no perfect number.

Some artists release three or four singles before an album.

Others release most of the project over time.

The original version of this article joked that the world is your oyster, and that is still mostly true.

However, every additional stage creates more metadata, artwork, scheduling and marketing work.

At some point, stretching a project longer does not automatically make it stronger.

Choose the songs that deserve their own moment.

A real Syntax example

We saw the momentum-building potential firsthand with Candace Coker.

When she released a double single in October 2022, she had fewer than 500 monthly listeners. Neither song landed on an editorial playlist.

By the time her full album arrived in February 2023, she had grown to nearly 20,000 monthly listeners.

The album’s focus track, “Bare and Bones,” then landed the cover and No. 1 position on Spotify’s New Music Friday Christian and No. 99 on the overall New Music Friday playlist.

Those placements pushed her monthly listenership to nearly 30,000.

The waterfall did not guarantee the playlist placement.

What it did was give the artist several months to release music, reach listeners and build momentum before the larger project arrived.

Waterfalls give songs room to work

A waterfall release strategy is not a loophole.

It is a way to divide one larger project into several smaller release moments.

Each new song gets time to breathe. Previously released recordings carry forward with their existing ISRCs. Each new release gets its own UPC. Meanwhile, the artist has several opportunities to promote the project and learn from the audience before the final album or EP arrives.

That can make a lot more sense than dropping 10 songs on Friday and immediately asking which nine everybody forgot about.

So maybe TLC was wrong after all.

Sometimes you should chase the waterfall.