Music self release guide

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JAY ESKAR'S SELF-RELEASE GUIDE When it’s time to finally release your latest masterpiece, you have to be ready for whatever comes your way. The best way to ensure your release’s success is to plan for everything and do it way in advance. In this PDF, you will find (most) key elements necessary to increase success on your soon-to-be-released song or even on already-released music!

RELEASE TIMELINE 6 weeks before the release date ●

Submit release on your preferred distro (You basically have 2 options, using a FREE or PAID distro) There is no “best music distribution company” necessarily because each company has unique features that may be super important to some artists and not at all to others (distros are a complex topic so do your research). Either way, let me give you a good starting point: Best PAID distros IMO: Distrokid, Symphonic, etc Best FREE distros IMO: Amuse.io, RouteNote, etc

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Secure venue for listening event or release show and promote (This can also be a discord listening event, be smart and use what you have) Start testing the song on short format videos (Tiktok, Reels, Etc, to see people’s reaction. If it gets somewhat viral then you win, but don’t stop posting even if it doesn’t) At this point, you should have your song and artwork fully done (otherwise you can’t even submit it to a distro lol). Start working on every other asset necessary like swipe-ups, banners, all the branding of your song, etc. (Get it ready for release date) Submit Playlist Pitching Form (Most distros have one. This also applies to user-generated playlists) so find it on your distros’ website. They will ask for marketing drivers so read the whole guide first before sending this to your distro!)

4 weeks before the release date ● ● ●

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Secure media partner to premiere release (Youtube Channel, Radio Station, anything works really) Register your song online on your preferred publisher (BMI, ASCAP, etc) Register your song on Soundscan (If you want to have a chance at making the Billboard music charts, your release must be registered with SoundScan using a UPC number (for the whole album) and ISRC codes (for the individual tracks) Initiate pre-save/pre-sale campaign, use whatever service you like, the most famous ones are Feature.fm and Hypeddit. Share pre-save/pre-sale on socials with click incentives such as previews, etc. anything that can work as a hook, USE IT Contact remix competition platforms such as label radar or organize one yourself using a specific hashtag on SoundCloud to keep track of remixes (You don’t have to give away something expensive if you can’t, a collab with you, a T-shirt with your band name and a proper official release works too!)

3 weeks before the release date ● ●

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Enlist influencers, friends, family, fans, and colleagues to share (not by forcing them lol, send a cool promo video with it and see if they like it) Pitch your release on Spotify For Artists platform to promote algorithmic playlist potential (Try to do this way before! The longer it takes to be released the higher the chances for curators to actually see it) Tracklist 1001 promo (3rd party promo like inflyte or make your own list) + Youtube Channels Submissions (Make sure to reserve a premiere spot for your favorite promo channel as stated in week 4. You will have to whitelist it but trust me its worth it since they will drive a ton of traffic to the song) YOU NEED to make sure your track will be on shazam by release date otherwise if it gets played by a big DJ nobody will be able to find it once it’s out. There are many third-party companies that offer DJ promo and it really depends on what genre you are making but in my opinion, any company that has a relationship with INFLYTE will work wonderfully. (I get big DJ’s promo from them so that says a lot) Don’t stop creating TikTok, reels, and youtube short content with it! You should have a pre-save link by now so it will come in very handy!

2 weeks before the release date ● ●

Continue sharing and creating content with it, especially short videos! Add a quality Canvas: Add a three- to eight-second looping visual to your tracks on Spotify through Canvas. When listeners see a Canvas, they are more likely to keep streaming (+5% on average vs. control group), share the track (+145%), add to their playlists (+20%), save the track (+1.4%), and visit your profile page (+9%).

Week of release ● ● ●

Premiere the release on your media partner’s site, radio station, Youtube channel, etc. Throw your listening party, release show, etc. Push hype-creating content on TikTok, reels as short videos (Again short videos yes I know its annoying but nothing else really works nowadays)

Release date ●

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Share across ALL socials- don’t be shy about CTA (call to action) fans to stream / DL (most of the time you gotta tell people what to do otherwise they won’t do what it’s obvious lol) Update all of your socials with all of the assets (branding) you created for the release (banners, artwork, visuals, etc) Share any DSP pickup and other support, and be sure to tag and thank anyone who has supported/featured the release! (this will help you build a relationship) Repost fan shares (or some of them because some of your followers will hate spam) Beatport Chart ▶︎ https://www.beatport.com/dj/charts/new Please make a Beatport chart titled [Artist’s ’Title’ Top 10 Chart], Beatport features these charts on their homepage. (Note that Beatport doesn’t update till 4 PM CET today, so please make a chart after that time) Update Spotify Playlists Repost on all socials including Soundcloud and get as many reposts as you can! (yes it still matters and works!) a third-party service for that such as submithub or scplanner can help you make sure you get some reposts. Make sure you update your Artist Pick: It’s at the top of your artist profile, giving you control over what song, album, or playlist people see when they land on your page. (Hint: Your new release is a great choice.) If you have merch available make sure to update that too! Please set today’s release as your artist pick on Spotify for the coming weeks. You can do this in the Spotify for Artists app or on their website artists.spotify.com. Create a Spotify Card to go with social posts https://promocards.byspotify.com/es Submit to playlists for consideration / Soundcloud reposts / Insta Stories for free https://www.submithub.com/ Now, you also have the option of using a third-party promo service that can make sure you get Spotify placements such as YouGrow, Artist Push, etc. I personally have used their services before, and I’ve gotten crazy results, promo services like that offer promotions for Tiktok, Instagram, and Youtube as well. In my opinion yes, organic promotion is best (for the wallet) but combining both types of promo is where results start getting BIG (and ofc, it can help you focus on making more tracks instead of just trying to promote your music lol)

Post-release ● ● ● ● ●

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Repeat everything from the release date Run CTA campaigns with an incentive for fans (like following them back or something) Remix competition launch! Write to media (blogs) Consider posting educational, entertaining, and informational video content about your release (ej. How Did We Make this kick?!, How much did it cost us to release this song? etc) Nowadays OUT SOON isn’t as good as OUT NOW so focus on this! Facebook/TikTok/YT ads can be a powerful tool, IF USED CORRECTLY, don’t do the automatic boost option lol, don’t waste your money.

MARKETING DRIVERS These are the things you usually send to music outlets like radio, blogs, tv, etc, to persuade them to feature you on their platform. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Premieres on media outlets and general press pick-ups Radio campaigns or plays from direct DJ relationships and other DJ support Music videos Tour dates and other POI - “shared stages with”, notable festival appearances, etc. Charting, ie. Hype Machine, iTunes, Billboard, etc. Third-party Spotify playlists DSP playlist placement and features Social media follower and engagement Brand and media partnerships Advertising to be run for this release Other marketing campaigns - wildposting, print, etc. Pre-save and pre-sale campaign data (iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, etc.) Sync and other licensing information Other artist development POIs - management, booking agent, TV/film appearances, etc.

CAMPAIGN INSPIRATION Here are some suggestions for promoting our release. Get creative and customize them to your brand and your audience. ● ● ●

Pre-save/Pre-sale campaign Countdown to release on social CTA to fans on socials - directly asking them to pre-save, DL, view, etc.

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Offer incentives to fans - Instant Grats, merch packs, exclusive tracks, autographed items, VIP meet and greets Invite other artists, friends, and influencers to share the release on their socials and do the same for them Create artists’ playlists on Spotify, etc. Partner with other distributors: Noisetrade, VNYL, etc. CRM - collect emails and send out newsletters via Mailchimp etc. inviting fans to pre-save, download, view, etc. Be sure all DSP and social profiles are up to date, verified where possible, and consistent Update all tour dates and enable direct messaging on song kick Consider expanding digital real estate - join and utilize TikTok, Triller, Snapchat, etc. if your audience Try to create a TikTok/Reels trend with a catchy part of the vocal (if it has one), or a cool transition, or do a backflip or something, be creative.

Hope you guys find this useful! Checkout my socials @jayeskar