diff --git a/RELEASE_NOTES b/RELEASE_NOTES
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..851701a735
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASE_NOTES
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+
+            ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
+            │ RELEASE NOTES for FFmpeg 7.1 "Péter" │
+            └──────────────────────────────────────┘
+
+   The FFmpeg Project proudly presents FFmpeg 7.1 "Péter", about 6
+   months after the release of FFmpeg 7.0.
+
+   A complete Changelog is available at the root of the project, and the
+   complete Git history on https://git.ffmpeg.org/gitweb/ffmpeg.git
+
+   We hope you will like this release as much as we enjoyed working on it, and
+   as usual, if you have any questions about it, or any FFmpeg related topic,
+   feel free to join us on the #ffmpeg IRC channel (on irc.libera.chat) or ask
+   on the mailing-lists.