Waterfall Release: Singles Into an EP

A waterfall release spreads an EP or an album over several dates. You put some of the songs out as singles first, then release the EP that carries those singles together with the songs nobody has heard yet. Each step is a release in its own right, with its own store page, artwork and date, and the later release brings the earlier songs along with it.

The idea is simple and the paperwork is not. Every earlier single has to arrive on the EP as exactly the same recording, and the EP itself has to arrive as a new product. This guide explains which identifiers carry over and which are new, how the release date differs from the original release date, what to settle before you fix the track order, the mistakes that create duplicate listings, and a six-week schedule that respects the 14-day minimum on the Free plan. It makes no promise about streams, playlists or how a store ranks music, because the sources do not support one.

What a waterfall release is, and what it is not

Spotify describes the pattern for distributors on its provider support site. It says it does not currently support prerelease or “instant grat” releases, where one multi-track release goes live a track at a time. A release in that shape shows on the artist page with only some of its tracks live and no sign that more are coming. What it does support is the waterfall. Each release is its own product with its own URI, and a single that should be out before the album is delivered as a separate single release.

So a waterfall is not a way to drip-feed tracks into one release that stays open. It is a sequence of finished releases. In the same spirit, the Release Wizard locks a release once it has been distributed: its audio cannot be changed and no track can be added to it. A bigger track list, or a different recording, goes out as a new release.

Why choose it? A waterfall gives every song its own cover, date and store page, and it gives you several dates to announce. The cost is more submissions, and every submission is another chance to mistype a title or a code. If the songs are not finished, a waterfall does not fix that, and if you would rather have one release day, that is a perfectly good plan too.

What carries over to the EP and what is new

The single is a product. The EP is a different product that happens to contain the same recording. That distinction decides every field in the table below.

Field	What to do on the EP	Why
Audio	Upload the same final master as the single.	A new export with a different level or a trimmed ending is a different file, and a different file is a different recording.
ISRC	Type the single’s ISRC into that track.	An ISRC follows the recording from release to release. An empty field gets a new code.
Title and version	Identical to the single, letter for letter.	A change gives the store a reason to treat it as another recording.
Artists and credits	The same people, roles and spelling.	A name that differs by one character can create a second artist profile.
UPC	Leave it blank so a new code is generated.	The EP is a new product. The single keeps its own UPC.
Release date	The day the EP goes live, inside your lead time.	The single’s date stays with the single.
Original release date	Leave “distributed before” unticked.	The field is for a release that has already come out. The EP has not.
Cover and track number	The EP’s own artwork and the track’s place on the EP.	Both belong to the product, not to the recording.

The reasoning behind the two identifier rows comes from two sources that agree. IFPI, which maintains the ISRC standard, says a recording that already has an ISRC should not be given another, and that the code should stay the same across different releases and formats. Spotify’s onboarding guideline says that, for a re-delivered track to link to the earlier one, it should match in audio, duration, title, version, artists and ISRC, and adds that linking is never guaranteed. Reuse the code, send the same recording, and accept that the store, not you, decides how counts and links are joined. ISRC and UPC codes explained covers what the codes are and when a changed recording needs a new one.

Where do you get the single’s code? From your own release details in WBBT, which show the UPC and the ISRC of each track once they are assigned. Copy them from there into your planning sheet. Do not retype them from memory: the wizard checks that an ISRC is valid and tells you when it is not, but it cannot tell whether a valid code belongs to the right song.

The EP’s release date and the single’s date

The Release Wizard has two date fields, and a waterfall touches only one of them. The Release Date, on the Stores step, is the day this product goes live. It must respect your plan’s lead time: on the Free plan that is at least 14 days from the day you submit, and the date picker moves a date that is too soon to the earliest day your account allows. The Original Release Date appears only when you tick “This release has been distributed before?”. It is for a release that has already come out, and the form wants a real date that is not in the future and not after the release date.

A new EP has not come out before, so leave that box unticked. Do not enter the single’s date there to show that the EP contains older songs. It would describe the EP as something it is not, and the single’s date already lives on the single. The box is for the case in the distributor switching guide, where the same product returns unchanged.

How a store displays the date of a song that has been on two releases is the store’s decision. Apple’s Music Style Guide gives a flavour of the rules distributors work to: a release carries the date of its original issue, an extended album takes the date on which the extended version came out, and each track carries the date on which that specific track was released. The guide does not describe singles that later join an EP in so many words, so do not plan around a particular display.

Fix the track order and the track count first

The running order is part of the product. The wizard lets you drag tracks or use the arrows to reorder them, and the order you leave is the order that is delivered. Spotify’s onboarding guideline says the disc and track structure of a product cannot be altered once it has first been ingested. To change it, a distributor delivers an amended version under a new UPC and takes the previous one down. Settle the order and the count before you submit, because changing either later means a new product and another round of checks.

Keep to the wizard’s own sizes as well. It describes a single as exactly one track, an EP as two to six tracks and an album as seven or more. A seven-track project is an album as far as the form is concerned, so trim it or choose Album from the start. Whether the singles open the EP, close it or sit in the middle is an artistic choice. Nothing we read connects position with results, so choose the order that works for a listener who plays it in one go.

Mistakes that create duplicate or split releases

• Leaving the ISRC empty for a song that is already out. The EP then carries what looks like a second recording of the same song. Type the single’s code instead.
• Bouncing the master again. A new export with a different limiter setting, a shorter tail or a changed fade is a different file. If you want the changed version on the EP, it is a different recording, and you should ask support whether it needs its own ISRC before you reuse the old one.
• Retitling the song. “Night Shift” on the single and “Night Shift (EP Version)” on the EP is not the same title. Put mix information in the version field and keep the title to the song’s name.
• Respelling an artist or a guest. Keep one spelling everywhere, including the featured artists. A second spelling can split an artist profile in two.
• Using the single’s UPC on the EP, or ticking “distributed before” on it. Both tell the stores the EP is something it is not.
• Uploading the single again as a fresh release to change its cover or its date. Ask for a correction to the live release instead, and let the stores decide which changes they accept.
• Putting one song on the EP twice. The wizard refuses a repeated title (“Give it a different title or version”) and a repeated ISRC (“Every recording needs its own ISRC”). An alternative take is a different recording and needs a different version.
• Taking the single down before the EP is live and checked. Removal is processed store by store, so a removal that comes too early can leave a gap while the replacement is still being processed.

An example six-week schedule

This example is a planning aid, not a promise of how long any store will take. It assumes a four-track EP made of two singles and two new songs, with every release going live on a Friday. The first table shows what goes live and when, and how the 14-day Free plan minimum fits. Paid plans can have a shorter lead time, and the wizard always shows the earliest date your account can choose.

Release	Goes live	Latest submission on the Free plan	A less tight plan
Single 1	Friday, week 1	14 days earlier	3 to 4 weeks earlier
Single 2	Friday, week 3	Friday, week 1	Monday, week 1
EP (both singles and two new songs)	Friday, week 6	Friday, week 4	Monday or Tuesday, week 4

Single 2 waits until Monday of week 1 on purpose: by then you have seen how the review of Single 1 went, and you can apply anything it taught you before the second submission.

Week	What to do
Before week 1	Submit Single 1. Build the planning sheet with one row per EP track: source file, title, version, credits and, once known, the ISRC. Finish the masters of the two new songs.
1	Single 1 goes live on Friday. Check each store, then copy its UPC and ISRC from your release details into the sheet. Submit Single 2 at the start of the week.
2	Single 2 is in review. If a reason comes back, change only what the reason names. Finish the EP cover and fix the track order.
3	Single 2 goes live on Friday. Check it and copy its codes. Once both singles show their ISRCs, start the EP draft.
4	Submit the EP early in the week. Friday is the last Free plan day for a week 6 Friday, so treat it as a reserve and not as the plan.
5	The EP is in review or has been returned. Fix the reason without touching anything that must stay identical. Set up the pre-save link and the announcements described in the release-day plan.
6	The EP goes live on Friday. Check every track, the order and the artwork in each store, and keep dated screenshots of the EP and of both singles.
After week 6	Ask support what they recommend for the singles. Send an evidence packet if a store shows a duplicate or the wrong profile.

Notice what the schedule keeps constant: one planning sheet, the same masters, and no change to a title or a code between the single and the EP. The calendar can move; the sheet should not.

Entering the EP in the Release Wizard

1. Start a new release and choose EP. Check that the number of tracks fits the wizard’s two to six.
2. Upload the audio. Use the same final WAV for each earlier single, and new masters for the new songs. WBBT’s published guidance is WAV at 16-bit or 24-bit and 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz.
3. Enter each earlier single’s ISRC. In the track details, type the code in the ISRC field. For the new songs, leave the field empty (it reads “Auto-generate if empty”) and WBBT assigns the codes. Copy the title and version exactly.
4. Bring the credits across. The “Import from Song” button brings producers, writers, contributors and genre from a track already in your catalogue. It never imports the title, the ISRC, the version or the audio, and it leaves primary artists alone, so pick them from your saved artists. “Apply to All” copies the selected track’s credits to every track and overwrites the fields you tick, so use it before you edit individual tracks.
5. Leave “distributed before” unticked. Leave the UPC / EAN field blank so that a new code is generated.
6. Choose stores, territories and the date. Select only territories where you hold the rights, and a date inside your lead time.
7. Read the Review screen, tick the five confirmations and press Distribute. Compare every title, version and credit with the single’s page before you do. The metadata and artwork checklist lists the usual reasons for a return.

If you prefer to prepare the draft in a chat, an assistant connected through WBBT MCP can create and check a draft, but it never submits. You still read the result and press Distribute yourself.

After the EP goes live

Do the checks in the stores themselves, not only in your delivery log. Open the EP in each store you care about and look at the track list and order, the artwork, the credits, the version names and the artist profile it sits on. Open each single and check that it still plays and still sits where you expect. Save links and dated screenshots. If something is wrong, send support the store link, the link to the correct artist profile, the UPC and the ISRCs, and say plainly whether you see a duplicate, the wrong profile or a missing country.

Resist the urge to upload a corrected EP as another release. A second product adds a second set of listings to untangle. Spotify’s onboarding guideline, written for distributors, also recommends comparing play counts on the old and new releases before the old one is removed. That is a sensible habit for anyone, and it means the order of events matters. Do not ask for a single to be removed on EP day. Ask support what they recommend for your releases, wait until you have checked the EP, and remember that removal is processed store by store and is not instant.

Frequently asked questions

Will my singles keep their streams when they appear on the EP?

Nobody can promise it. Spotify’s own guideline says track linking is never guaranteed. What you control is the evidence: the same audio, the same ISRC, the same title, version and artist names. The stores decide how counts and links are joined, and a request to support cannot force a match.

Does the EP need a new UPC?

Yes. The EP is a new product, so it takes its own UPC, and each single keeps the one it already has. Leave the UPC field blank and WBBT generates the code. Do not reuse a single’s UPC for the EP.

Can I add a track to a single that is already live?

No. The Release Wizard tells you that the audio of a distributed release cannot be changed and no track can be added to it, and that a different recording goes out as a new release. A single that grows into an EP is therefore always a second release.

Should I take the earlier singles down when the EP is out?

Ask support before you request any takedown. Spotify describes a waterfall for distributors in which the earlier release is removed once its tracks have linked to the new one, but that is a distributor procedure, and whether it suits your catalogue is a separate decision. Removal is processed store by store and is not instant. The continuity checklist explains why a replacement should be checked before anything is removed.

What if I want a different mix of a single on the EP?

Then it is a different recording, not the single again. Ask support whether it needs its own ISRC before you reuse the old code, and do not reuse an identifier for a materially different performance just to keep play counts together.

How far ahead must I submit each release?

The Free plan needs a release date at least 14 days after the day you submit, and the wizard shows the earliest date your account can choose. Other plans can differ. For a planned campaign allow more than the minimum, as the WBBT FAQ advises.

Is a waterfall better than releasing the EP in one go?

Nothing we have read shows that either is better for every artist. A waterfall gives each song its own date, cover and store page, and it also means more submissions and more chances for a metadata mistake. Choose it for the way you want to release the music, not for a promised result.

Sources and next steps

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Store documents change, so check the current wording before you rely on a point.

• You want to deliver music as a prerelease or Waterfall release, Spotify Provider Support (accessed 25 October 2026).
• Spotify Onboarding Guideline, version 2.14, on track linking and on changing a product’s structure (accessed 25 October 2026).
• When not to assign an ISRC, IFPI (accessed 25 October 2026).
• Original release dates, Apple Music Style Guide (accessed 25 October 2026).

To go further, read the pillar guide on switching distributors without losing streams and the companion article on re-releasing old music. The seven-step distribution guide covers the rest of the route to a live release. Compare the plans on the pricing page, read the WBBT FAQ on identifiers and corrections, see the music distribution page, and submit your music when the first single is ready.