The quickest and easiest method to launch your career as an artist, gain exposure for your music, and take your first steps in the music industry is to release a single.
But as we all know, the music business has undergone significant transformation and is still developing. This means that before releasing a single in 2023, new musicians joining the market should now consider various factors.
Choose the Right Distributor
You should be aware that successful distribution involves much more than simply moving digital files from one location to another when you register your song for release to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and other music streaming platforms. How and where you choose to release your song will significantly impact how many new listeners and potential fans it attracts. Additionally, it will impact the revenue you receive from track streams.
Do your research and ensure you get a quality distributor for your music before you start.
Think Ahead
Outline the various phases and a marketing strategy. Establish a schedule, and be sure to follow it. Plan how to launch your single, generate excitement, increase revenue potential, and maintain momentum.
Create a Hook
Online, it takes a lot to attract our attention. Therefore, a consistent message is essential. And when there's a hook other than "new song coming soon," your message will be emphasized when you tell people about your most recent hit.
Create Assets and Artwork
Your artwork has to be polished, on-brand, and fantastic! For Instagram, request that your designer animate it or divide it into tiles, then resize it for all your social media postings. Make sure you have at least 3–4 excellent pictures.
Variety is crucial. Photos that are square or horizontal are the norm for music blogs. When having photographs done, consider your brand and consider a variation to keep your images interesting over time.
Create a Pre-Save Campaign
You'll need to launch a campaign to pre-save that Spotify song! There are many wonderful websites to pick from.
Action Pages on Feature.FM might help you grow your following.
Toneden can help with email addresses for free downloads and social media likes and following. Additionally, Toneden allows you to optimize and modify Facebook advertisements more than you can with the Facebook Advertisements Manager.
You can utilize Show.co because it is integrated and controlled by CD Baby.
Make a Music Video
Making a music video gives your campaign and song another depth, which can strengthen the bond between your work and your audience. Before releasing your new album, prepare and develop your music video to be ready to go on release day. A detailed timeline and strategy will be needed to produce a music video. To prevent any scheduling conflicts, start production before your planned release date.
Should the Song or the Video be Released First?
There isn't a correct response to this issue, which is frequently asked concerning singles promotion. However, we tend to agree that you should release the music first, followed by the video.
When someone views the video, they have simultaneously ingested the music and the visuals. Accessing the track via streaming or download is less of a requirement after they have seen the music video. If the music is released first, people will listen to it and still be interested in watching the video when it is released.
Send Music to Playlists
One of the best methods to have your music discovered and listened to by new fans and audiences is to get it playlisted. Nowadays, playlist listening is the standard rather than just listening to single songs independently.
Of course, it's simpler said than done! Finding curators is difficult, but it is doable with some effort. The best places to start are Google and all the social media. There is a live Spotify Playlists page on Reddit, and you can view quite a few on SubmitHub for a nominal price.
However, if all this seems like too much work for you, you can always use a service like GetPlaylisted, which will pitch your song for you to their collection of organic playlist curators to help your music stand out.
Make Use of Social Media
All the assets you require for your release should be included on your social media content calendar, and the due dates for each asset or action. Your content calendar can contain countdowns, art unveilings, listening events or live release party statements.
Write a Music Press Release
Sending a music press release is one of the most effective strategies to increase online media and editorial attention for a new tune, even though it can seem a little old. List important items like your prior music releases, current track, recent press images, links to your music, social media accounts, and website.
Update Your EPK
You'll also need to update your music EPK (Electronic Press Kit) to incorporate all the details about the single. Update your press kit on your website, edit your artist bio to incorporate information about the new single or your artistic direction, take and include any images or new artwork, and include pertinent streaming and download links. Simply said, this makes it simpler for bloggers and journalists to write about your song when they come across it.
Keep Up The Momentum
By planning countdowns throughout your social media, you can maintain enthusiasm. Look for possibilities to sponsor events, arrange performances at well-known locations, and seek out additional press attention. Be proactive and take advantage of the time after release.
Ask your superfans through email to post about your new music on social media on the day it is released. Give them the resources they need to complete this task correctly. This implies creating the content for them to share and supplying the visuals!
Other inventive and creative ways to keep the excitement of your current single going include posting online videos, images, hints and teasers about what's coming up next, in addition to things like stories or information about the song.
The most lucrative moment to release a new single is immediately following the one you just released, right before its popularity wanes.
Final Thoughts
Whenever you release music, take some time to feel good about yourself. Amid a release cycle, finding a means to escape the world of competition and people-pleasing would undoubtedly improve the experience. Ultimately, it's a celebration of all your hard work and talent!
