7 Things To Do Before Releasing Your Next Single
So you just finished writing a B A N G E R, huh? Gonna go ahead and upload that to the streaming platforms and call it day? Wait! Don’t be silly, let’s maximize this release.
Look, I’m no expert, but I have witnessed a few things that DEFINITELY help when releasing a track and it’s pretty easy. Just takes a little patience and prep work. So here’s seven things you could (and absolutely should) do before releasing your next single.
1. Set Your Release Date with Enough Lead Time:
“Setting a release date without a plan for promotion is like walking up to the counter to order food without knowing what you want yet. Just because you’re hungry doesn’t mean you’re ready. You’re going to annoy everyone around you and all you had to do was step back for a few moments and make a plan.” My buddy Kyle said that to me and hollly fuck is it true.
Pick a date in advance and give yourself plenty of time to plan out how you’re going to release this thing. I suggest giving yourself four to six weeks lead time, but if you think you need more, feel free. Unless there’s a label breathing down your neck, there’s no rush to deliver your single on a certain date. Also, if you plan on hiring a publicist, radio promoter or Spotify promotion team, it’s a good idea to reach out to these people before you set the date, to make sure it works on their end.
I’ve worked with tons of artists who basically try to release a song the day after they get the final mix. Don’t get me wrong, it can be cool and exciting just to throw something up when it’s fresh and I personally know what it’s like to finish new material and just want to get it out there ASAfuckingP. Unfortunately, unless you’re a big name, it’s probably just going to get lost in the ether of the other 40,000 songs released every day unless you do a little bit of promotion.
2. Create a Spotify Pre-Save Campaign:
A Spotify pre-save is basically the 2019 equivalent of a pre-order. It’s something that can really (legitimately) boost those first day streaming numbers. Did you know that if someone pre-saves your song, it’s automatically added to their “Release Radar” playlist?
The way it works is you setup a campaign via a platform like @soundplaterecords or @metablocks (there’s a tooon of others out there, definitely be sure to do your research), which generates a fancy link to share with your fans. Fans click the link and go to a page that allows them to “pre-save” your upcoming track. On release day, your track is automatically added to that fan’s Spotify library. In addition to gaining more streams for your track, the more “saves” you get increases the likelihood of ending up on one of Spotify’s algorithmic or editorial playlists.
3. Jazz up Your Spotify Profile:
“First impressions are everything.” That’s just not some hokey shit your grandpa told you to convince you to wear a tie, it’s true when releasing music on Spotify. A profile that uses the latest release cover as the profile picture and has no additional info on the artist just looks lazy. It’s like the artist is saying “I don’t really care enough about this platform to take ten minutes and make it look nice” and that can make some people wonder if they should care enough to press play.
Spotify gives you a chance to engage with listeners WHILE they’re listening to your music. Why not seize that opportunity? Make the most of your profile by adding a thoughtful bio, tour dates, links to your socials and plenty of pictures. I can almost guarantee you that curators look at this info as well when deciding whether or not to put your music on a playlist.
Bonus tip, after your single is released, go back to your profile and make it your “Artist’s Pick.” It’s one of the first things listeners will see when they go to your page and it will help highlight the new release. You can even add a little text to that section like “check the new tune, it’s litty AF” or something less lame. Be sure to revisit your profile whenever you have something new going on to make to it’s up-to-date!
4. Submit for Official Spotify Playlist Consideration & Release Radar:
Via your Spotify for Artists dashboard, you can submit your track to the Spotify editorial teams. You need to do this AT LEAST 7 days before your release, but do it sooner if you can (the New Music Friday playlist is picked a week in advance). This will also guarantee to you placement on the Release Radar playlists of any person that follows you.
5. Reach Out to Press and Independent Playlists:
Did you know there’s a tooooon of blogs and playlists that love supporting emerging and underground artists? Having those tastemakers champion your name can really help hype up your music and make people think “oh shit, this is a band I need to check out.” One thing artists don’t realize though is it’s really beneficial to reach out to these people BEFORE your song is released. For writers, it’s helpful since they tend to plan out their coverage ahead of time and don’t want to write about old music. With the curators, it’s good to reach out to them early so that you can hopefully get your song on their playlist the same day it is released.
So how do you do it?
First, create a private link for your track to share with press and curators before it’s released. Stick with Dropbox, Soundcloud, Haulix, YouTube, etc. Don’t use a platform that will make someone sign in or request permission. You don’t want to create any additional steps or barriers.
Next, you’ll want to create a story around your next single. What’s it about, why’s it important, why people should be listen, etc. You’ll put all this together in a press release or EPK with photos and links to your socials (if you don’t know how to create a proper press release or EPK, this is where a publicist can come in handy….wink wink).
Once you have the press release ready to go with a link to your song, you’ll compile a short list of blogs/music mags and playlist curators. When reaching out to them, be respectful, introduce yourself, give them your short pitch on why your song is great and drop them the link to the song and your press release. If an outlet really digs it, they may even want to be the first blog to premiere it. Doing all this will make a huge impact on release day. If you can grab a couple of playlists and blog posts on release day/week, it’s going to really help drive traffic to your song as well as give you some great content to share on your socials. Oh yea, SHARE any coverage you get. Nothing burns a bridge faster than not sharing the free work someone else has done for you.
6. Tease on Socials:
Make a few promo graphics for your FB banner, IG etc, that promote the fact that your new single is releasing on a certain day. This can help build a bit of hype among your followers, but please don’t do that thing where you make a post saying “We have a BIG announcement coming!” and then a week later you announce that a song is releasing later. People have really grown to hate when a band teases an announcement of an announcement, ha.
7. Prepare All Your Day of Social Posts:
This part probably sounds like something you don’t need to do ahead of time, but have you ever been about to share some new material and then spent an hour trying to think of the perfect caption? Then another hour finding the right hashtags so you can get as many eyes on the post as possible? Yea, uh…me either. But anyway, take some time to type up what you want to say and revisit it later to make sure you still like it (and make sure it’s free from grammatical errors).
So there’s my not-so-secret recipe of 7 herbs and spices to help make a delicious single release. Fuck, I’m hungry now. Anyway, if you have any questions or would like some clarification on any of this, feel free to email me (jesea@highroadpublicity) or hit me up on Instagram (@jesealee).