Whether preparing to launch a new release, embark on a tour or simply manage the daily admin of music promotion, staying organized assists immensely in terms of both sailing through the workload and increasing the success of your efforts.
Across the C Squared blog, our articles explore the importance of the groundwork including developing your branding, finding *your* audience, and ensuring that your music is fundamentally as good as it can be. For most bands and artists, there are multiple aspects of creating, promoting and performing your music that require managing. Taking the time to create a realistic schedule will not only help in terms balancing the workload but it will help to ensure there are no faux pas or ‘to do’ list items left incomplete.
This article focuses on planning for an upcoming music release with advice on how best to select a release date and the preparation steps for taking on a PR service to promote it.
Tips For Effective Scheduling
When planning new releases specifically, firstly, inform any and all relevant parties of your thoughts and plans. Where possible, avoid any dates that overlap or surround major holidays – check internationally holiday dates as they can also impact the success of your release. Festival season is also generally best avoided.
Take a look at who else is releasing music throughout the year. You want to avoid competing with major bands for press coverage and general attention. Focus on quieter periods of the year for your releases. For album planning, also consider where any single and video releases may fit in both prior to and post- the album release date.
For touring bands, explore possibilities of combining a new release with your tour. A new single prior to, or even during, a tour can be beneficial as your music will be reaching both existing and potential new audiences.
Promoting A New Release
Before you can begin promoting a release or tour, whatever it may be, you need all of the relevant information and high-quality promotional materials to be finished and ready for use. If you choose to hire a PR company to push your next release, for example, as a minimum the final masters of your tracks should be ready when you make first contact so your agent understands exactly what they are working with. Assets such as band photo(s), release artwork, music videos, tour poster/graphics – all of these are needed as early as possible. The press kit cannot be sent out to media outlets without all of the key information and assets that journalists require included.
Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, plans go awry. Don’t panic! There are always steps you can to mitigate the impact. Issues with final mixes or final edits for photos do occur from time to time, perhaps a video is taking longer to edit or there is an issue with music distribution, in this situation, keep your PR, and anyone else involved, fully informed. If the expected completion time for these aspects is unknown, it is better to postpone your initial release date (if possible, this will depend on your specific circumstance) than to rush your PR promotion with too little lead up time.
Checklist of Best Practice:
- Quality check all of your promotional materials – are they on brand? Are they of a high quality?
- Create a realistic social media schedule that you will be able to keep to consistently.
- Ensure all band biographies and photographs are up to date across all platforms.
- Plan your forthcoming releases allowing reasonable time for music distribution, video production, merchandise manufacturing, etc.
- If you choose to sign with a label for a new release, for example, ensure any legal documents or contracts are checked by a music lawyer before being signed
There are always multiple aspects that can influence the success of your release. The key is to focus on what is within your scope. Taking the time to carefully prepare a release schedule and staying organized with your plans and assets will not only help your music promotion strategies run smoothly, it will also reduce the negative impact in the unlikely event anything goes wrong.
If you are interested in our hybrid marketing and PR services, find more information available HERE. For any C Squared inquiries please get in touch with Cori (corinne@csquared.info) or Curtis (curtis@csquared.info) to discuss how we can help.