Singles Vs. Albums: What Performs Better In 2020 [VIDEO]

As the music economy continues to shift the ways in which we consume content, opinions differ on the ‘best’ way to release in the year. Here we look some tips for at least deciding on what strategy works best for your career.

Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix

The debate on the best way to release music rages on, but we can help decide what will work for your career.

Streaming changed the business of music forever. That statement has been repeated over and over for the last decade for good reasons. The music industry looks nothing like a did before services like Spotify began luring consumers away from physical media. From how we enjoy music to the amount of music consumed, the number of opportunities for music discovery, and the way an artist makes money, everything is different. Some changes are good, others not so much, but the only thing artists can do is adapt.

Recently, we spent a week in Los Angeles speaking with labels of all sizes about their approach to releasing music and signing artists in 2020. Almost everyone we talked to told us they struggle to break new artists in the current media landscape. Some are even changing their signing offers to focus on singles first as a way to ensure they don’t spend too much developing an artist that goes nowhere. They believe in new music, but they also need to be economical.

With this in mind, we got to thinking about unsigned artists and how they can best approach a career in the streaming age. There is no one way to establish yourself. What works for some musicians will not work for others and vice versa. That said, we can give you the insight you need to decide what is best for your career, which is precisely what today’s episode of Music Biz is all about. Check it out:

James Shotwell is the Director of Customer Engagement at Haulix and host of the company’s podcast, Inside Music. He is also a public speaker known for promoting careers in the entertainment industry, as well as an entertainment journalist with over a decade of experience. His bylines include Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Substream Magazine, Nu Sound, and Under The Gun Review, among other popular outlets.