As an artist, your goal is to get your music heard. Because of that, you need to know how to release music the right way.
There are many things to consider to ensure you make the most of your release day and beyond. The most important thing is to prepare your release and submit it to distribution early.
Here we have six good reasons why preparing early will make your life easier and make your release day go as smooth as possible.
1. Give Yourself Time to Fix Mistakes
Sometimes, issues can come up within a music release. You may accidentally send in the wrong sound file. Apple Music or Spotify may reject your artwork and you’ll need to correct it.
You won’t need to worry if you gave yourself time to get your release corrected. Otherwise, you may have to rush to fix a problem.
2. Technical Difficulties.
We all know that websites and servers can experience technical difficulties. The same can happen for digital distributors and streaming platforms.
If you try to rush your release, you have a higher chance that a server error or other issue could impact the song being distributed correctly and on time.
Also, some digital stores require longer lead times for the song to go live. Make sure to check with your distributor and follow their recommended guidelines on how early to schedule your release.
Here at Gvng Music Distribution we recommend uploading at least 2 weeks prior to your release date.
3. Take Advantage
If you prepare your release early you can take advantage of more resources to push your song.
For example, the pre-save feature. Pre-saves allow your fans to save your song to their music library prior to the official release date. This feature not only builds anticipation, it encourages more plays once the track is released.
You will also have time to reach out to blogs. You will know that your upload to distribution has successfully gone through so you can confidently tell media outlets your release date.
4. Pitching for Playlists
Official playlists can be a huge component of a release rollout, but you must submit in advance.
Spotify states: “The earlier you pitch the better.”
Playlist editors within DSPs (Digital Service Providers, aka Streaming Platforms) require that you submit your song days at least 7 days in advance. Once the song is released, it’s too late to do so.
If you’re thinking “I’m not big enough to get on editorial playlists,” remember that even algorithmic playlists like Release Radar and Discover Weekly require you to submit your song for playlisting through your Spotify For Artists account.
5. Create a Rollout Strategy
You’re competing against other artists to get your music heard. Spotify states that artists release over 40,000 new songs on their platform every day.
However, creating a strategy will help you stand out from the crowd. There are many types of content that can help with getting more eyes on your release.
By preparing early, you will have time to create content surrounding your release, which also gives your fans more to look forward to. Even something as simple as posting album art and song snippets to social media during the lead up to the release date can be a big help!
You can also be interviewed on blogs or podcasts to get the word out. However any media that requires filming, editing or bookings must be planned out ahead of time.
6. Build Hype Around the Release
By having content to present on social media it gives your fans an opportunity to engage.
They can comment, which gives you a chance to interact with your true fans and build a relationship. They can even share your post, which will help bring more ears to your song release.
If you drop a song suddenly, you can’t build up any hype or engagement from your existing audience. First, fewer of your existing fans will hear the song. As a result of the lower engagement, streaming services will be less likely to show your song to potential new fans on algorithmic playlists. So, preparing your release early, advertising it to your existing fans, and running a pre-save campaign will help you in more ways than one!
Final Thoughts
So now you have six good reasons to prepare for a release early.
In today’s music world it’s hard to catch people’s attention and easy to lose it. By going through these steps and preparing your releases in advance you are putting yourself in a better position to gain more from the release.
Gvng Music Distro
Check out Gvng Music Distribution to get your next music release out, plans start at just $14.99 per year for unlimited uploads.
For more advice on how to release music, follow @gvngmusicdistro on Twitter and Instagram.
