Producers usually sign music directors for a movie in the planning stages itself. Sometimes the music directors are brought in after the story is completed. The producers then tie up with a music company. The marketing of a movie starts usually a month before the release of the music of the film, through print ads, posters, billboards and signboards. Once the music is released, trailers are shown on various television channels. The promotion costs are either borne completely by the music company or shared by the company and the producer. The overseas distributor is responsible for promoting the movie in the foreign markets. The promotion is sometimes continued even after the movie's release, depending on its performance.

Acquiring the rights to the music of a new Hindi film is costly, with the acquisition costs ranging between Rs 20-120 million. With the market being price sensitive, margins were low and the break-even volumes were high. There was considerable risk as predicting the success of a soundtrack was extremely difficult. The initial promotion costs for the music companies ranged from Rs 10-20 million. Besides this mode of paying an up-front amount, another model followed was the Minimum Guarantee plus royalty model, wherein the company paid a smaller amount to the producer and committed to paying royalty only if the income from the album exceeded a certain amount.