The Waterfall Release Strategy: How Emerging Artists Are Rewriting the Rhythm of EPs in 2025 for Spotify and Other Streaming Platform Promotion

The water-fall release strategy

There’s a quiet revolution happening in music promotion right now—not loud, not brash. Just intentional. Like the soft drip of a faucet before it becomes a stream. It’s called the waterfall release strategy, and honestly, I’m starting to believe it might be one of the smartest ways emerging artists are rewriting their stories in this crowded, scroll-happy era.

If you haven’t heard the term tossed around yet, it’s not because it’s new—it’s just evolving. In the simplest terms, the waterfall strategy is a staggered release model where tracks from an EP or album are dropped one after the other, single by single, over time. Each new song builds on the momentum of the last, often culminating in a full project where all previously released singles appear. Think of it as the digital-age version of a slow burn. Not everything has to explode. Sometimes, it’s the steady flame that lasts the longest.

And what makes it special? Focus. Space. Opportunity. You’re no longer bound to picking just one “lead single” to carry the weight of your campaign. Each track gets its own moment. Each has a shot at discovery, at playlisting, at standing in the light. No song left behind.

A few weeks ago, I got a message from Anjte Ohenlen—a gospel worship singer with a voice like morning prayer and an earnestness that sticks. She’s preparing to roll out her forthcoming EP, and she wanted to talk campaign strategy. But more specifically, she wanted to talk waterfall.

The logic behind her decision was sharp, and I thought to myself: “Why should she have to choose one track when each carries its own message, its own anointing?”

And that stuck with me.

Because in her world—where each lyric is breathed with intention and each melody crafted to stir spirit as much as sound—playing favourites didn’t make sense. And I saw it: how the waterfall approach offered her room to honour each song individually, while still building the larger narrative of her project.

She wasn't chasing virality. She was creating a journey.

Antje Ohenlen

By rolling out her EP one track at a time, we could align each song with its own story arc. Its own targeted pitching window. One week, we’d push “Be Still” to Spotify’s Gospel Rising for spotify promotion. The next, “Glorious King” would glide toward Apple Music’s Worship Today. Every release reset the algorithm’s clock. Every pitch was a fresh start.

And she’s not alone. I’ve been noticing a subtle uptick—more and more indie and emerging artists reaching out, wondering if the old way of dropping everything at once is just... too much. Too fast. Too final.

Because the truth is, in 2025, attention spans are unpredictable. And releases that used to live for months now have a shelf life of mere hours unless they’re fed—amplified, supported, and spotlighted with intention. The waterfall method gives artists a second (and third... and fourth) chance at being heard. It’s not just a strategy. It’s a philosophy of patience in an impatient world.

And now, I can’t help but wonder: will the major players start to lean in too? Will we see legacy acts breaking their tightly packaged drops into breadcrumb trails, giving fans space to savour, not binge?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But for artists like Antje, and so many others finding their footing and their frequency in this digital wilderness, the waterfall isn’t just working—it’s liberating.

It’s not about flooding the market.It’s about dripping presence.Building anticipation.Letting songs stretch their legs before they’re stacked in a playlist tomb.

And maybe, just maybe, this is the way we learn to listen again.