How To Release A Single Successfully - 7 Steps You Must Do
Hey everybody. It's your girl, Debbie Ann Shaw, and this is Artist Hustle TV. Today we're talking about the seven things you must do before you release music. These are the foundations for when you want to release your project as an independent musician. Subscribe to the ArtistHustle Youtube Channel for more great content to build a business around your music.
Step One: Create a Marketing and Promotion Plan for your single
One of the first things you guys have to remember, you have to do is create a marketing and PR promotional plan. This breaks down your budget, this breaks down where you're going to target whom you're going to look for, If you're going to do it yourself, if you're going to hire a team, if you're going to hire a business, you need to know exactly what you're doing. Your sales, your numbers, your fan base, all of that, your diving into that stuff. So, take the time you guys, three months out, two months out, and plan this out.
Step Two: Set up your music distribution channels for your music single
The next thing you need to do is think about your distribution channels and your methods, whether it's online, offline, a combination of both, you want to make sure you have a variety of different ways for people to get your music. So, think about your budget. Think about where your fans are, how they consume music and the best avenues for you to release your project. So, do your research on the best music distribution platform for your single.
Step Three: Register your single with the U.S. Copyright Office, Performing Rights & Sound Exchange
The next thing to think about is registering your music single on the US copyright office, the performing rights organization (BMI and ASCAP), and SoundExchange. It's important to learn the legal side of releasing and promoting and branding yourself in this business.
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Step Four: Create your visuals and content for the single
The next thing to think about is creating visuals and content to go along with your release.
Never just think, okay, I'm just going to put out a project, or I've just put out a piece of music and that's it. Everybody needs visuals. Everybody does not just need visuals, but you need content around the release. It could be a contest, It could be a behind scene, It could be anything you can think of that would be exciting to get people excited and wanting to download, buy whatever you want them to do for your music.
Step 5: Create or update your website and online presence to promote your single
The next thing to think about is updating your website and your online presence. You have to let people know it's coming, a countdown, whatever you have to do make sure you update everything, your press kits, your website, your social media, your everything, your business cards. I don't know what else you guys have that you need to update. So, make sure you guys do that.
Step 6: Plan an event for your audience around releasing the single
The next thing you need to do is plan an event around the release. So, it can be a release show. It can be a listening party, it can be a tour date that's coming up or upcoming shows, but you got to have that stuff planned out even before you release it. So, once you release it, everybody already knows. All right, you're performing here, you're performing there. Come and see me. Come support me, etcetera.
Step 7: Keep the momentum going after you release the single
The last thing to think about is to keep the momentum going. Even after you've released the project or your song, you have to remember this because if you don't have anything planned after you release it, then it's going to die out. So, make sure you guys have a plan. What else am I going to do once I release it? Am I going to do a remix? Am I going to do a collaboration? What am I going to do to get people excited about me and my project and continue to support me?
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