6 Essential Steps To Successfully Launch a New Single, EP or Music Video
1- Publish your new release — Music Distribution
Since downloads and streaming have become the most preferred way to consume music in 2019 according to the IFPI, Spotify and iTunes have become the ideal platforms for independent artists to release their new music. If you make music, it is important to find the right channels to publish it and share it with the world to collect the music royalties your work deserves.
Independent digital music distributors such as CD Baby and Tunecore will publish and license your music (copyright your songs), and offer musicians and rights-holders the opportunity to distribute, sell, or stream their music through digital retailers such as Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, Tidal, and other platforms.
CD Baby is the largest online distributor of independent music in the world and has been described as an “anti-label” company since it is the most popular distributor among self-publishing artists, with more than 700,000 artists and 10M tracks made available via over hundred digital platforms and services around the world. Always get a consultation with an attorney for the laws regarding music licensing in the country where you intend to publish your music if you’re not sure about how to proceed. Our team of experts at MusicPromoToday is here to help you throughout the entire process.
2- Write a press release — create a unique story
Writing a press release is a key element to successfully launch your project. Clearly identifying what you are promoting by choosing a very specific promotion goal to build your press release around is key. Finding your unique story is important so it can be presented as a story worth telling. It is necessary to highlight why your story is unique and to find a hook to keep the audience reading until the end. In case the reader does not go through the complete press release, make sure to highlight the essential info in the first few lines.
After all, so many other musicians are competing for coverage and promoting their releases. Finding all the interesting things that set you apart from the storm of competition out there is key to catching the eye of the reader in your press release.
3- Pick a Premiere Blog — exclusivity or not? Pick the right target!
Why do a premiere?
The real power of the premieres is to build an online momentum and excitement for the release, even among people who might not have clicked to hear every single track released. It has an exponential effect, leading to radio play and good press quotes. At the end of the day, it’s all about hyping your release, making the media privileged to have your record first.
Posting on the right blogs
It is important to send your track or release to genre-appropriate blogs — where your targeted audience surfs. For instance, not to send your pop-rock track to an EDM or Hip-Hop focused blog.
4-Have a press kit ready. This might be very useful!
Your press kit should ideally include:
- Your Discography
- Bio
- Press Clippings
- Any awards, special recognitions you have received
- Contact Information
The purpose of a press kit is to summarize to journalists and people in the industry who you are — what you have done in your career and briefly what they should know about you. In order to build professional relationships or meet executives, your press kit might come handy too. It’s always good to have it, it’s like your resume or artist card. The press Kit is the lure and the trap is for them to click on your website, social media gaining interest, and information about your work. When developing your Press Kit, the questions to answer are: what do you want the recipient to know, to understand and to feel about you, the artist? What is the connection between the journalist and the artist? How can that connection be strengthened through a press kit? Make sure your accomplishments, awards or successes are highlighted properly.
5- Target The Right Mediums: Radio, PR, News sites, Tv stations, digital influencers.
Targeting the right mediums is another key element in the music promotion and music pr of your new release. In today’s digital world, even the most innovative, original and exciting idea out there can die tragically if the wrong medium delivers to the wrong audience. Similar to the music industry, the best songs are not necessarily breaking or # 1 on the Billboard charts.
Choosing the right medium and digital influencers to work with is an art in itself and 3 main factors come as variables: the audience, the budget, and your core message.
The heaviest research takes place in looking for whom you are trying to reach; from Tik Tok to Instagram and previously on Vine — basically; from the first social platform your potential fans usually find you through a well fit ‘hashtag’. When running a social media influencer campaign, it is important to go with social/digital influencers that attract your targeted audience as well as share the type of content your music is about and engage the fans you ideally want to target.
The budget is to be taken into account in relation to the type of service you are buying. Compare a Tik Tok share price to an Instagram timeline share vs. an Instagram story share price. Sometimes — It is much more efficient to spread your budget over a few smaller influencer accounts rather than spending a one time large amount on a bigger influencer account. At other times — it’s best to go with 1 or 2 very famous influencers. Make sure to ask about the reach, impressions, profile visits and click counts of the last 5–10 posts of the influencer before paying anything.
In advertising; your message has to be short, captivating — the average attention span is very short on Tik Tok and Instagram as most users scroll through their feed very fast. Our marketing team at MusicPromoTodayrecommends that you make sure to target the appropriate media so that your content is exposed to the right audiences.
When running a PR campaign, make sure you earn your media coverage. Do not work with journalists that will take your dollars in exchange for an article. This is called Payola, also Pay for Play seen as the “dark side of PR” in the news. An artist can earn media free of charge when dealing with the proper journalist that likes the music or content. Earning media will allow you to build a long term relationship with the media person in question instead of being dependent on paying them every round. This will also allow you to work with people that actually enjoy, care and admire the work you do.
6- Follow up emails and contacts you reach out to
Let’s get to the point — following up on emails and contacts you reach out to brings solid results!
Since most people get a ton of emails every day, one of the only ways of reminding them that you exist is through follow-ups. These are all key elements in sustaining and growing a network of connections over time and expanding the base of contacts you can reach out to when needed. To start your relationships with media contacts — ‘follow-up emails’ are a must and the key to developing these relationships. With follow-ups, your average reply rates increase exponentially!
Wrap up
MusicPromoToday’s decade long experience has highlighted the importance of implementing a strategic plan for artists wishing to work with digital influencers, getting media attention and succeeding in the industry.
MusicPromoToday is here to help you create and improve your press, social media, and digital presence, as well as everything you need to make more noise around your music and propel your career to unprecedented heights.
NOTE: We’re launching an e-book in January 2020 on all of the above and much more. Stay tuned!
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