Launching a new Release is a stressful time for any musician. There are millions of thoughts playing through your head and a seemingly endless amount of tasks to get through to ensure you have a successful release.
Unfortunately, there is no easy way around it, and your release can only succeed if you do it correctly. You must do consistent research to keep up with the Music Industry standard and learn from other artists' success.
There are right ways and wrong ways to go about releasing your music, and it's crucial to know the correct steps to ensure the success of your music and career.
5 Crucial Things to Prepare for your Music Release
Budget
The reality of the Music Industry is that it's a give some, win some situation, and music careers cost musicians to start. Whether you're budgeting to buy the latest mix-making technology or budgeting for your Music Marketing campaigns, you're going to end up out of pocket to launch your career.
The difference here is smart spending. Throwing money at each obstacle is not the way to do it, and while some things will flourish if you spend a little, others might not, and you will have wasted your money.
Determining a budget for your release is crucial. But first, you need to factor in all the potential costs and take a deeper look at what you'd need to spend the money on.
Budgeting inclusions are things like:
- Spotify Promotion Services, like GetPlaylisted, for pre and post-release.
- Music Marketing Campaigns; will you hire a third party or handle it alone?
- Smart Links; Do you want Pre-save features?
- Radio Advertising
- Press Releases
- Music Media. Album artwork, Music Videos etc..
As you can see, there's a lot to think about when adding to your budget, so be sure you consider all factors and plan a budget that works for what you have and want.
Press
Your press release is a promotional tool to help organically attract listeners to your music and generate hype for your release. Whether established or undiscovered, you want to organize a press release that speaks to your fans and can help you attract new ones.
But this requires some organizing from your side. First, you need to sell your music to press companies and get them interested. Press releases don't generally come for unknown artists.
If you have put in the time to generate a decent social media following (which is important), you can pique their interest if you have enough followers.
Press releases come in many shapes and sizes; from interviews to newspaper articles, you can find various ways to get the press involved with your release. Make sure you have an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) prepared to give to them.
The upside to press releases is that you can use the content they create to generate content for yourself. For example, use snippets to add to your social media to generate hype.
Music Marketing Campaigns
Without music marketing, your efforts are all for nothing. Releasing a song without making any effort to market the release is highly unlikely to make that song a success. So it would be best if you prepared music marketing campaigns pre- and post-release in advance.
Pre-Release Music Marketing Campaigns:
Musicians release snippets of their music to their social media, developing interest from their followers and new audiences who stumble across it.
In addition, you can post the release date and keep fans up-to-date on the latest happenings with the release. Starting this process early gives you more time to boost your following, and when you're ready, hit them with a pre-save link for your streaming services.
Post-Release Music Marketing Campaigns:
It doesn't mean you can rest after you've released the album or single. On the contrary, you want to generate a lucrative listener base and will need to continue marketing your music.
This is where companies like GetPlaylisted and smart links come in handy. GetPlaylisted is a Spotify promotion service that will help get your music to playlist curators who boost your organic listener statistics. Smart links offer your fans the ability to find gig dates, merch and more in one convenient space while tracking your analytics.
Get Registered with the Relevant Authorities
Of course, the legalities play a crucial role in your release. They protect you from theft and ensure your potential earnings are safe and guaranteed after release.
If you're signing through a record label, look into the contract and what rights the label will have to your music. Copyrighting is important, and registering the song with your label is vital in ensuring its success.
You can find a useful article on Music Publishing that will explain the ins and outs of copyrighting and how it affects your royalties.
Regardless of how important you think this may be as an independent musician, we can assure you it should be a non-negotiable part of the pre-release setup. Don't open your music to fraudulent copies, and don't risk your potential royalties.
Do the research, and make sure you are legally covered.
Have a Structured Plan
Don't fit the stereotype old ‘Karens’ have that musicians have no objectives in life. Instead, have a well-structured plan ready and waiting for your release to help boost its success pre-and post-release.
You'll need to remember what crucial steps are required to ensure your successful release, some of which are mentioned above.
- Set up a music marketing campaign that starts a month or two before your release date, and structure it to create the most beneficial outcome. Bringing in new followers and generating enough hype that your release hits the floor running.
- Make sure you've planned ahead for all the legalities, press releases, etc., so the plan goes through flawlessly without having to push back the release date.
- Start planning for future gigs and get into contact with the relative Music industry professionals early.
- Set up your mailing list and get an email campaign ready to send your song and pre-save links to friends in high places.
- Plan for your post-release.
- Make sure you've planned out your budget and utilized it flawlessly!
- Messy music releases often have chaotic outcomes. If you don't plan around your release, you will not see the success you want.
