A proven music release strategy for independent and D.I.Y. artists
What’s the best way to release music as an indie artist in 2024? Well, one of the smartest things to try is…do what’s working for other artists. In this post, we’ll look at a release strategy that has worked for both new and established artists.
by Caleb J Murphy from Bandzoogle
The release strategy
The release strategy is simply this: release good music often.
It could be every week, every two weeks, or every month. But frequency does a few things:
- It keeps your listenership entertained
- It keeps you in a creative flow
- It feeds the algorithms (like Spotify and social media sites) so they push your music out to more people
This is how indie rapper Russ blew up. Starting in 2011 for about three years, he put out 11 albums. But his music still wasn’t gaining the traction he wanted, so he started putting out one song a week on SoundCloud for another three years. Eventually, two of his songs reached the US Billboard Hot 100. And now he has about 15 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Another indie rapper named Nic D took a similar approach. Since 2020, he’s been releasing a song every 1-2 weeks. And now he has around 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Taking notes from Nic D, yet another indie rapper named Connor Price started following this release-good-music-frequently strategy. And as of this writing, Price has over 7 million monthly listeners.
At the end of 2022 and throughout 2023, I also tried this release strategy. I recorded and released a song about every month. And, according to my Spotify Wrapped, I saw a 1,000% increase in listenership, streams, saves, and playlist adds.
Do you see my point here?
This idea is actually not that crazy (or new)
The idea of releasing good music frequently is not new. And it’s actually not that crazy – all of the bands and artists whose music has lasted generations have put out a ton of good music.
Let’s look at The Beatles as an example. In 1963, they released 28 songs across two albums. That’s an average of nearly two songs a week. In 1964, they put out 27 songs; in ‘65, 26 songs; in ‘67, 24 songs.
Or there’s the great singer Ella Fitzgerald. In 1959, she released over 70 songs. Granted, these were mostly songs she did not write, but 70 songs in a year is impressive.
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How to release one song at a time
As you can see, this strategy has actually worked for a long time, and it continues to work for artists today. So how do you follow this strategy?
Stack songs
If you feel overwhelmed at the idea of releasing a song every 1-2 weeks, then stack songs before you start this release strategy.
Instead of writing, recording, and releasing a song all in one week, first spend time making a bunch of songs. During this period, you may not have any music to release, and that’s fine. Because once your batch of songs are done, you then start releasing them one at a time on a regular schedule.
And while you’re releasing those songs, you can make more music that will come out after the initial batch. This gets you into a creative flow and allows you to keep up the momentum.
Pick a distributor
Choose a distributor to send your music to Spotify, Apple, and everywhere else. Whenever someone asks which distribution company they should choose, I point them to the Ari’s Take in-depth review of each distributor.
You could also check out Spotify’s preferred distributors, which usually get new features first and can potentially distribute your music faster.
Create content
Music marketing is just excitedly and creatively sharing something you made. And that’s where content comes in.
One of the best ways to drive streams and gain exposure today is to post entertaining content that features your music.
This is how countless indie artists have blown up and found themselves being full-time musicians. Creative, entertaining content featuring their new song. And they put out content the same way they put out music – frequently.
Don’t lose momentum
This goes back to stacking songs. Frequently putting out good music causes a snowball effect. The algorithms start to kick in. People start paying attention to you because you won’t go away. You’ll gain momentum. And if you keep it up, you’ll get better at the whole process, and your music career will continue to grow. You can only win if you don’t quit.
Singles → Album
Maybe you’re like me and you love albums. You not only appreciate listening to albums, but you also enjoy the process of creating an album. And maybe you’re turned off by the idea of only releasing singles.
Well, good news: with this strategy, you can please the algorithms, listeners who like singles, and also listeners who like albums.
First, make an album like you normally would. Then just release each song as its own single. Consider releasing the strongest songs first, or even try to coordinate the songs to the time of year and what you think people would be listening to during that season.
Once all the songs are released, drop the album with the tracks in your preferred order. Then all of the album-lovers can enjoy your record, and you can finally share the project the way you truly want to.
And along the way, you will have grown your audience and gained traction.
The best kind of release strategy is one that works for you as an artist. Think about stacking songs, creating content to support them, and releasing your music frequently. Not only will it help build your fanbase, it’ll get you into a familiar creative flow. And that can only be good for both your music progression and your career.
Caleb J. Murphy is a singer/songwriter whose music has been on NBC, ABC, and in hundreds of indie film projects. He also sends a twice-monthly email to indie musicians called 5 Things To Help You Keep Going.
