You’ve finally done it. You’ve finished your track, album, or EP. But before you start sending it out to every record label in existence or blasting it across your socials, it’s time to figure out how to release music in a way that maximizes its potential.
This means carefully choosing a music release strategy to meet both your short and long-term goals. Whether it’s getting your track added to as many playlists as possible or simply generating excitement before its release date, figuring out how to release music that resonates with fans is no easy task. This post will break down a step-by-step guide so that you can build a fanbase along the way.
Table of Contents:
- Preparing For Your Release: Essential Steps
- Choosing the Right Audio Format: A Deep Dive into Sound Quality
- Making Business Decisions: Licensing Your Music
- Marketing Strategies That Go Beyond Traditional Methods
- Don’t Stop Believing. The Post-Release Game Plan
- FAQs about how to release music
- Conclusion
Preparing For Your Release: Essential Steps
Pouring your soul into your musical creations takes time and lots of effort, but there are still some essential details you’ll need to get right before you send your music out into the world.
Choose Your Music Distribution Platform
A music distribution platform serves as a bridge between music creators and popular streaming services. Some popular streaming services are Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal. Distribution platforms ensure that your music reaches the widest possible audience.
Three popular options dominate the industry today: DistroKid, Tunecore, and UnitedMasters. Although they vary in their fees and the specific services they offer, each generally helps you:
- Upload your music to major digital streaming platforms.
- Collect your royalties.
- Access analytical data about your listener demographics and streaming counts.
Take some time to explore their options and find one that works for your music career goals and budget.
Setting Up Your Accounts and Defining Your Sound
Most platforms make setting up your account simple. You’ll need basic info about your track, including its title, artist name(s), featured artist(s) (if applicable), language, and genre. This information serves as a key signpost that tells the different streaming services’ algorithms where your music belongs.
However, avoid being too general or vague. Some distributors offer users additional tags to define their sounds more clearly, such as sonic elements (e.g., “female vocals,” “synth”), moods or vibes (e.g., “melancholy,” “party anthems”). Using as many relevant tags as possible will help your target audience find your music.
Choose the Right Cover Art
Cover art is more than a visual placeholder. In an age of digital consumption, it’s the first thing that greets potential fans before they hear a single note of your music.
Commission a local artist, check out online freelance platforms like Fiverr, or even tap into design programs like Canva to create press shots that accurately represent your sound and artistic identity. Your press kit will thank you later.
Choosing the Right Audio Format: A Deep Dive into Sound Quality
Audio quality can make a big difference to listeners. You’ll need to make a crucial decision: MP3 or WAV? MP3 is more compressed but easier to share and stream, while WAV files have better quality but larger file sizes. Here’s why these differences matter when you release music:
Format | Audio Quality | File Size | Pros | Cons |
---|---|---|---|---|
MP3 | Lossy (Compressed) | Small | Easy to stream and share, compatible with most devices. | Lower quality than WAV, noticeable compression artifacts with higher compression levels. |
WAV | Lossless (Uncompressed) | Large | High audio fidelity, ideal for professional audio work, perfect for listeners seeking pristine audio quality. | Larger files take longer to stream and download, potentially creating frustration for listeners with limited data or bandwidth. |
The right format often depends on your specific needs. Many distributors now automatically encode tracks to MP3 before they appear on streaming platforms. However, they still give you the option of uploading higher-quality versions for listeners to download directly from their platform.
Making Business Decisions: Licensing Your Music
Think carefully about how you want to license your music. Most distribution platforms offer various choices regarding how much control you retain as a creator. This refers to how others can use and share your music.
Although you’ll likely have more licensing options later as your work is picked up by others (e.g., getting synced with television shows or video games), think carefully about how much control you want to keep versus how much freedom you want to give your listeners to interact with and share your music. Make sure you understand music licensing inside and out.
Marketing Strategies That Go Beyond Traditional Methods
After deciding where to release music, think about how you’ll promote it. It’s about targeting those interested and finding the most effective ways of keeping them invested in you as a creator. You want listeners to listen to your music on repeat. Don’t sleep on radio plays, either. If you can get radio stations to add you to their rotation, it can be very lucrative for your music career.
Remember to submit your song to relevant Spotify playlists through Spotify for Artists to maximize your potential audience. It’s one of the best ways to get on algorithmic playlists, which is how you increase your streaming royalties. You can even submit tracks a week before the release date to increase your chance of inclusion. It’s important to start making your release plan early.
Boosting Visibility
Don’t just depend on Spotify to handle the heavy lifting. Studies by music distribution platform LANDR show that social media is a great way to release music. It allows for direct communication with fans and helps promote music. This is where it’s important to find your target audience on each platform.
Use catchy cover art and snippets from your music video (if you have one) as social media teasers. Share your song link to your bio so your followers can stream your work directly from their social feed. Alternatively, promote your song through engaging short videos, lyric drops, Instagram Reels, and even tapping into the occasional social media trend. There are many ways to use social media to your advantage.
Embracing the Power of Email Lists
Although email may not be the first thing that springs to mind, you can use this digital communication tool as a powerful reminder of upcoming releases. Send pre-release links to generate buzz about new music.
Some distribution platforms even give their users customized emails templates for various releases to save time and effort. You can even use email campaigns to get more feedback about your release so you can figure out what works and what you can improve on.
Don’t Stop Believing. The Post-Release Game Plan
Release day is an important step but it’s just the start. Your task now: staying in fans’ minds. That requires effort, which means keeping your promotional game strong, building excitement for future projects, and learning from each release. The music industry is all about staying top of mind.
Collaborations
Reach out to independent artists you admire. By using music as a social exchange, you may even get to play live with them or collaborate on a remix. If your track really takes off, you may even get asked to join them on tour as their supporting act. Think Charli XCX; she found her drummer on Instagram.
Or think about collaborating with others on visual assets. Commission local illustrators or animators to reimagine your cover art. Sharing the results through social media helps build visibility across various platforms. This exposes both creators to larger audiences and opens up additional opportunities.
By making collaboration a vital element in your marketing strategy, you can continually generate fresh content. The key takeaway is simple: build genuine connections, make interesting music, and stay focused on releasing music. Continue to pitch songs to music blogs, radio hosts, and anyone who will listen. Invest time into creating artwork, an artist bio, and a solid electronic press kit. Make sure you send music out to all the major platforms, and you will see results.
FAQs about how to release music
How to release music as a beginner?
If you’re new to music creation, use online distributors like DistroKid, Tunecore, or CD Baby to release music. They make it simple to get on popular streaming platforms. Start with a single or EP and gradually build your catalog.
How do I release my first song?
Choose a music distributor, create your account, gather essential track details, craft eye-catching cover art, and format your audio files (usually in WAV). When you submit your music for distribution, you can decide on the release date and licensing terms for your work. Once your song is released, start thinking about your next release.
How do you release music legally?
Make sure to own all the rights for your track, including any samples or vocal tracks that other artists may have contributed to. By choosing reputable distributors and getting your music registered with Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) like SOCAN (Canada), ASCAP or BMI (USA), you can ensure that your music is fully protected, enabling you to fully profit from all those streams, shares, and sales. You can then use this money as another revenue stream for your promotional efforts.
How do I get my music released?
Choose your preferred music distribution platform (DistroKid, Tunecore, UnitedMasters are three common options), create an account, upload your finished song (make sure it’s mastered), add appealing artwork, set your release date, and choose your licensing terms. Once approved, your distributor will handle the delivery of your song to various streaming platforms.
Conclusion
Learning how to release music involves more than getting your music out into the world. The right strategy allows you to gain control over your sound’s destiny and opens up many different opportunities for your musical journey.
Don’t rely on any one strategy. By mixing tried and true marketing techniques (like using social media to your advantage) with simpler options like building a strong email list for those excited to hear more, learning how to release music opens the door to sharing your artistic talent with more people than you’d imagine. Don’t forget to write up a compelling music press release, too.
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