The 6 tip off how to make a release.

It's Friday so I thought I would give this kind of a tip-off how to release. This is actually things that are really basic but it seems like quite many don't know them.

I will take a real example that I have been following just because they seem to do all errors that you can do.

It started with that a friend of mine tipped the artist off to seek us out to release their new single. It's their first single, but they have been artists for awhile so they're not new to releasing music.

They send me the whole album, asking me what would be the single, even though themselves like a particular song the most. First of all, they just asked for distribution but they opened up with a question like I would be there record label. There is no chance I will sit down and listen to a whole album of an artist that just is on distribution. Sure if I have a deeper relationship with a record deal or a publishing deal I would, but not like that. Of course, this had to wait I can't just drop everything to listen to an unfinished album to pick a single.

Then came next mistake 48 hours later they sent a message asking if I had listened to the songs and maybe we could do a co-operation to release it. I didn't come around to answer that mail. And just the next day they send a third email talking about how they would master the song they thought would be the single. And it would a professional mastering, done abroad in a famous studio, their problem was that if they master this then their other single that was mastered in Sweden wouldn't be really the same and confuse people soundwise. For me, that is really a non-problem, that just made me think they were one of those technical people that can rant around how the recording was done.

Already here they had burned their bridges. I just saw that I would have my whole damn mail filled with questions  if I worked with these people. They took decisions even waiting for the answer to the question they sought out.

Then my friend called me and in the conversation, he asked if I had the chance to listen to them. I explained the situation and just to do my friend a favor I would drop all my stuff and just listen to them over the weekend. He promised me that they where nice people.

I took a look at the thing and saw direct that half the songs were in English half was Swedish. The funny part they were debating that the different masterings would confuse their audience. Well, this is REALLY confusing people. In reality, an English song has a totally different PR strategy than a song in Swedish. No mastering in the world can change that. Then I just listen to the whole album. To tell the truth after three songs I was so damn bored. Sure like my buddy told me they were really good playing their instruments and the singer had a really good voice. Their songwriting skills were like as bad as their where good playing. And for a company like mine, I rather had bad musicians writing good songs. Good musicians are kind of easy to get, good songwriters are the hard part.
I went through their social media while listening, which was really none even though this project has been going on for three years at least. Then I saw one of them just got a baby like two weeks before that. This really means that this project really doesn't have the time to get off. Just got the first child and do a pop career? That takes a really special person to put that off.

I wrote back a mail to them asking some other questions like what was their plans for this release? I got answers back a day later. These answers became the blog post "If you give me this, I will work with you". They wrote back that they wanted a release like three weeks later. No plans whatsoever of how to promote it. They thought that we as distributors or publishers could do the PR. Of course, they wanted to get out and play it's just that they had spent time in the studio to get a perfect recording. But no gigs was set.Then, in the end, they started to chatter again around the mastering if that would confuse the listeners if one was done in a pro studio and the other not.

I just got really tired. Nothing was really right. This was a hobby project trying to be proffessional. So I just told them I was not interested. I still get their facebook posts and since I have been scouting around it I follow them and just see mistake after mistake.

They wanted to release in September. One of the questions I had was why the hurry. Well, they needed to get out before the autumn because.... It was a thing in their head it was no particular reason. Now late December when the Xmas music has taken over and most press are in for nominations for the best songs of the year they released it. I guess it wasn't that important after all.

1. My first tip-off. even if you are delayed, to find a good time there is a good reason to delay the release little bit more. In this case, it's just weeks until next year and already have delayed it for a couple of months. No one is really waiting for you to release something new. Just release it in january.

I wrote in the top how there had been really no social media activity around the artist when they had spent a year in the studio. Why I remember them is because, my friend asked me to like their page. And I really not just take things off so I got their social media in my feed. This is also the reason why Facebooks likes is not countble as one person liking the band.
They went from no social media to nagging about their single release in the whole of November. On top of that they released three posts on the 4 the of November, two posts on 10 of November and so on. In week they released several posts on the smae days. Also, they sponsored a lot these posts.

2 Tip-off. You can't do that in social media. You have to post other stuff otherwise people like me get really tired of you single and won't listen to it. Also, what's the point of knowing that you release it if I can't listen to it so don't sponsor those posts? Use the sponsor posts when I can get in and listen and you can get money for it. Sure the superfans would like to know but they will get it with a normal post. And please don't just tell about the new single add some other stuff in your feed.

Then the mistake comes that really only an amateur is doing. They release the song on a Saturday. The official release day is Friday worldwide. All reviews all the playlists and all media things are built around that you release on a Friday. Release on another day and not having a really good reason is wast of time. Not releasing on a Friday usually shows that there is no real PR behind it.

3. Tip-off. Release on a Friday.

The PR is also another story. This artist does the same mistakes as many artists do just depend on Facebook and sponsor some damn posts. Sorry but facebook don't really work that way and is not in a long way enough efficiant. I just check with our artist on googel what happend around the release and nothing really nothing is written or said around it. I guess the PR was just on Facebook.

But it could have been worse. It could have been that they released their video on the same day as the single release. Spread out your post so doing that is just waisting the video.

4 Tip-off, spread out the releases so you don't have to create more content than needed, and don't kill content with releasing on the same day.

Now they wait a week to release the video on next Friday.

5. So my next Tip-off, don't release a video on a Friday since that is the official day of releasing songs the video will drown since it's already released as a song.

Then they, of course, released their homepage the day before the release day. First thing when you release something. Have your shit together. Yes, you need to have press pictures ready (nope our artist doesn't have high res pictures on their new homepage). Have it also updated with a bio (our artist have written coming soon on the homepage during a release!). Also good if you did a funnel page to pick up traffic from Facebook if you keep paying for posts there.

6. Tip-off having your shit together. Yes, have press picture ready for any PR is done. Update your socials around a months before the release and use the different things a new content. have an updated bio. And try to have some live shows booked. The homepage and its content have been done before you have any PR done. and look so everything works no dead links.

Oh yes, the live shows. Here many bands just fuck up. They are to focus on the release and forget the most important to get out to the audience. And no not just a release gig in your local pub. I mean you spend money on the recording you should spend some time to at least have around three gig in the closest month after the gig.

This is just the damn basics. After this, it's a 100 more things you really have to get going. and if you can't fix this, well don't even think of releasing music. Then you can just release for fun like you do on Soundcloud it will be enough.