How to record, release, and promote an album in 90 days
We’ll help you plan and organize all the events and decisions that go into making an album — from day one in the studio to your continuing sales and promotion efforts. Read the post.
album release checklist
Ready to launch a music project? Do these four things first!
Whatever your next music project is — be it an album, tour, video, single, or anything else — the first step is always planning. These four steps will get you off on the right foot. Read the post.
Some things I wish I’d known before making an album
In life, and when making an album, things happen. The more you understand about the process and the more detail-focused you are, the better your chances for success. So here are some things I wish I had been told before I started putting together an album’s worth of material to be pressed and distributed. Read the post.
Music metadata: Gracenote and its expanding data empire
Music metadata is the information embedded in a digital audio file that is used to identify the content of the song, including the song title, band or artist’s name, the name of the album on which the song appears and which number track it is, the genre of music, and year the song was released. Read more.
Test your music products before you go to market
Testing and feedback should be part of the process of getting your music products into releasable form. Testing material on your most likely fans, and making necessary improvements and decisions before committing your time and money to the recording, manufacturing, distributing, and promoting it. Without market research, you could easily spend hundreds (or thousands) of your hard-earned dollars recording music that’s unmarketable to music supervisors, labels, radio stations, and even your own target fans! Read more.
How to launch a music publicity campaign
Most bands do a traditional media campaign (newspapers, magazines, radio), as well as a new media campaign (podcasts, music blogs, MP3s). Music publicity is not just compiling lists and following steps mechanically, it should be fun and is a chance to channel the same creativity you put into your music to build a buzz. Read more.
‘Tis The Season (To Sell CDs)
The holiday season, especially the golden month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, is the most lucrative time of the year for retail sales. As an independent musician, it can be a time for you to move a ton of product – professionally manufactured CDs, merch, and more. There are many ways to take advantage of this time of the year, and our new guide answers questions about how to prepare your order and make your new release something special for the holidays.
Read more and download your FREE PDF.
Is your project ready for CD manufacturing? A DIY album release checklist
Before scheduling your album release, plan for the steps that lie between songwriting and CD manufacturing. This DIY album release checklist will help. Read more.
Valentine’s Day might be the best time to release your album
The first quarter of the year (Jan to March) is often the best time of the year for a new artist to release an album, as it’s the least competitive. Plus, the Valentine’s Day period is one of the biggest sales periods of the year. Read more.