Music Business For Dummies
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After you get the masters back, it’s time to just release it, right? Wrong! In the music business, the biggest mistake that happens after musicians get the final master back is that they rush to release the music and go to that mindset of “as soon as they hear it, it will sell.” Unfortunately with no preparation between the post-recording part and the pre-release, the bulk of these recordings fizzle and die out before they have a chance to shine.

After you put all the time and effort into making the music, give it the attention it deserves by being patient and preparing the launch for the most effective release to give it the best chances at creating as many sales and opportunities as possible.

Setting up your release plan options

Depending on your budget and your plan, the marketing of your release needs to begin before the release date, not after. Regardless of having a major budget or a grassroots budget, working on building the momentum, optimization, information, and promotional materials before a release date helps the release date, the release, and your marketing as a whole have a longer life.

You’re delivering more than a product — you’re releasing a marketing campaign with all sorts of online and physical attributes that draw people to the main product and the promotion of your shows.

Releasing materials in order

Spread out the release and the subsidiary products over a span of time. Don’t just launch a recording and then give a link to a site that can create a dozen one-off products. That leaves you with a lot more work to do in order to continually draw the interest of a new fan, while maintaining the interest of an existing one.

By breaking up a large recording into a couple EPs as well as adding some songs only for download, then releasing different products like T-shirts, cups, hats, and posters at different points in time, you’re able to keep interest up in both new fans and old ones as they are offered new elements while advertising the main product or products.

Understanding exclusivity in song sharing

Stay with the idea of sharing and posting snippets and samples of songs, instead of putting up full songs that can be stolen. At the same time, be careful what you put out for free. Although free songs can be a way to market, you most likely won’t be able to charge for them later.

If you found out about a product that was given away for free for a long time, and all of a sudden had a price tag on it, would that turn you off or make you want to buy it? Think of how your marketing ideas will affect your products. On the same side of the coin, imagine you have a song that’s on the Internet for free and someone wants to license it exclusively. If they found out it was out there for free, they might lose interest.

Providing music samples, freebies, and teasers

The best route to go with marketing your product and release is with the samples of the songs from the release. If you choose to have a song that’s available for free, that can be used too. Sometimes releasing a live version without the best mix for free can draw in people to buy the fully produced and mixed version. Adding samples that are spread out over time is the way to go.

Once a week, add a new sample track, instead of releasing them all at once. Use samples of the outtakes, flubs, mistakes, and bloopers, too. The more you can share over more time with samples, freebies, and teasers, the more interest you can gain and maintain in your primary product.

Make sure those samples leave them wanting more. Fade out on unresolved chords or places where big changes are taking place. Tease their ears and make them want more!

Take every production element into consideration as you create and execute your production plan with every detail addressed, the patience required, and due diligence to ensure you’re working with the right people. This ensures that your plan turns out a product that represents you in the best way as it creates the best opportunities for profit and exposure.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Loren Weisman is a music business consultant, speaker, and author who has been a part of over 700 albums. He also maintains TV production credits for three major networks and has served as a media consultant for many businesses in and out of the arts and entertainment fields. Loren is an executive producer and co-creator of Leveraging Smart, a new reality business TV show airing in 2016.

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