Wavs Digital · Pre-release campaigns
An eight-week campaign: pre-sale, exclusive content, merchandise, then DSPs.
The problem
You release a song, wait 30 days, and collect a check that does not cover the mixing bill. You built the audience on platforms you do not own, and you have nothing to sell them.
Followers are not a customer list.
The reframe
The old order
The release starts on platforms you do not own, with no store, no list, and no product. Every stream is a rented impression and the payout lands a month later.
The new order
Fans buy direct at the start. Exclusive content, then merchandise, then DSPs. Streaming closes the campaign as a scale play. Fans who already paid are the most reliable early streamers.
How it works
The store opens before streaming, exclusive content sells in that window, merchandise drops around week four, and DSPs close the clock. Each piece is built to hand back to you at the end.
The record goes up for sale before it hits streaming, with exclusive content only available in that window. The storefront matches where you are — a full shop or a simpler drop — so selling can start without waiting on a custom site.
A week-by-week content calendar from pre-sale through DSP day. Narrative, hooks, and captions the whole team can run.
Around week four, merchandise drops into the same campaign. Bundled with the music first, so the object keeps the record in rotation instead of competing with it.
Streaming closes the campaign. Fans who already paid are the most reliable early streamers. Distributor timing, pre-saves, and the conversion from buyer list to day-one plays.
The campaign calendar
Pre-sale, exclusive content, merchandise at week four, then streaming. The clock starts when the master is final and does not move for content.
Week 1
The store goes live. Exclusive content is only available here, before streaming.
Email and SMS capture starts on the first checkout.
Week 3
Master and artwork go out with the DSP date locked.
Pre-save setup and playlist pitch coordination begin.
Week 4
Merchandise enters the campaign. Bundles with the music first.
The record is the audio bed on every product post.
Week 6–7
The song goes live on streaming as a scale play.
Buyers get converted into day-one streamers.
Week 8
Revenue, margin, and sell-through reviewed. The campaign is yours to run again.
Marketing, promotion, and PR stay optional — funded from what you already made, if you want them.
Consultation first. We confirm you are ready before the clock starts. A tighter 4-week version exists if the date is already close — the consultation decides which one fits.
The campaign
Pre-sale with exclusive content. Merchandise around week four. Rollout until the record is on DSPs. The goal is as much direct revenue as possible, so you get paid first — and marketing or PR become optional, funded from what you already made.
Quoted after consultation
We do not start until a consultation confirms you are ready. Master final, audience real, eight weeks that can actually hold. If any of the three is off, we wait.
Book a consultationA shop or a simpler drop page, matched to where you are, live before the record hits DSPs.
Downloads, stems, extras, and files that only exist in the pre-sale window.
A drop tied to the record, bundled with the music, rolled into the same calendar.
Calendar, captions, email, SMS, and weekly reporting through DSP day.
Distributor timing, pre-saves, and converting buyers into day-one streamers.
Store, list, and playbook stay in your name. Built to run again without us.
Scope
The fee is for the plan, the build, and the run. Hard costs — ads, merch production, PR — are yours, in your name, and approved before they are spent. Marketing and PR are optional after you have campaign revenue.
| Cost line | How it is handled | Billed by |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend | Budget set with you, run on your accounts and your card. | Platform |
| Music production, photography, videography | Your producers and shooters, or ones we recommend. | Vendor |
| Merchandise materials and production run | Supplier invoices at landed cost, approved before purchase. | Supplier |
| Fulfillment, shipping, distribution, platform subscriptions | Accounts stay in your name on your payment method. | Platform |
| Marketing, promotion, and PR | Optional after the campaign. Funded from pre-sale revenue if you want it — not required to run the eight weeks. | Vendor |
| Influencer fees, travel, outside contractors | Scoped and quoted before anything is committed. | Vendor |
Ad spend
Budget set with you, run on your accounts and your card.
Music production, photography, videography
Your producers and shooters, or ones we recommend.
Merchandise materials and production run
Supplier invoices at landed cost, approved before purchase.
Fulfillment, shipping, distribution, platform subscriptions
Accounts stay in your name on your payment method.
Marketing, promotion, and PR
Optional after the campaign. Funded from pre-sale revenue if you want it — not required to run the eight weeks.
Influencer fees, travel, outside contractors
Scoped and quoted before anything is committed.
Every line above is quoted before it is committed and approved by you before it is spent. Nothing is billed through us.
Your side
Six things. The first one starts the clock. The last one keeps it.
Mixed and mastered. The clock starts when the audio is final.
Cover, product art, and campaign assets.
Whatever list already exists, however small.
Someone with authority to approve without a committee.
Time on camera inside the campaign window.
Slow sign-off is the only thing that breaks the calendar.
Ownership
Store, list, product line, tracking, and playbook stay with you. Every account in your name. The campaign is built to run again without us.
The consultation
Nothing starts before this. We confirm the master is ready, the audience is real, and eight weeks can hold. If any of the three is off, we tell you and we wait.
