For The Music Industry, Christmas Is Here: How To Give Your Career A Holiday Boost

If you're planning to release your new hit holiday single this Thanksgiving, you're going to be a little late to the party. According to this article, if you want your tunes to grace the festivities this year, the time get them released is now.

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Guest Post by Chris Robley on The DIY Musician

When the Biebs, and Ariana Grande, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and Michael Bublé record new Christmas music, when do you think their labels really start gearing up to promote those releases? November? Wrong! Right now. (Actually, probably early summer).

And yet every year at CD Baby, we receive hundreds of new holiday-themed albums and singles from artists who want to distribute that music at the very last minute.

Even CD Baby’s own VP of Marketing, Kevin Breuner, whose band Smalltown Poets put out a Christmas single last season that was getting quite a bit of radio play, missed some opportunities to create more momentum for the song because they were late in launching their promo campaign (due to recording delays, I think). So yeah, it’s a common problem, artists not properly planning in advance for holiday releases.

The day after Thanksgiving is NOT the optimal time to record your holiday song, or to get discs manufactured, or to line up distribution. That time is now. If possible, your music should be available online for purchase BEFORE the holiday fever begins. CDs should be in the hands of radio promoters long before the holiday stations switch on for the season. And you should be booking your Christmas music events today.

So, with that in mind, here are a few articles on how to make the most of your music during the holidays:

1. Fifteen ways to make more money from your music this holiday season

2. Six ways to earn more money from YouTube this holiday season

Are you gearing up to launch a Christmas album or single? What are your promotion plans? Let us know in the comments below.