Plan Your Release, or Release Your Plan?

We’ve all been there… after a long period of little inspiration and mediocre concepts, you finally write your best song yet. You’re thrilled to share the demo with your friends, only for them to turn the volume down mid-play to talk about something else! It feels like such a letdown. The first listeners of your amazing idea don’t seem to share the same excitement you feel about your song.

So, you refine the arrangement, head back into the studio, hire a guitarist for a solo two-thirds into the track, and this time, you play the song for your friends without interruptions (ahem). Now, they think it’s fantastic! Surely, the production is ready for release, right? You announce the song on your socials with a release date set for a week later. Fast forward four weeks post-release: 10 streams. How is this possible?

Announcing Isn’t Enough

Let’s face it, some tracks just don’t get the traction they deserve. It all comes down to the goals you set. If you aim for 100 plays, you’re more likely to be satisfied than if your goal is 100,000 plays. Creating the song is just one part of the equation. Promoting it is a skill in itself, often underestimated or paired with unrealistic expectations. The hard truth? People who don’t know you personally aren’t likely to listen to your song just because it’s out there. No matter how much effort you put in behind the scenes, what happens in front of the scenes often determines success.

Too often, we see musicians dedicating countless hours during studio sessions to perfect their production, hoping for a hit song. But then, they announce the song with a single social media post and start counting down to the release. Announcing alone isn’t enough – you have to spark curiosity! If play counts aren’t your goal, that’s perfectly fine. But for musicians striving to reach a broader audience, it can be incredibly frustrating when this doesn’t happen.

Uh… what Was Your Name Again?

Let’s shift perspective for a moment. I’m not great at remembering names. I introduce myself, exchange names with someone, and moments later think, “Uh… what was your name again?” It’s only after spending more time with that person, talking, and creating associations, that their name sticks.

This same principle applies to your music releases. If you only introduce your song, announce it, many people will simply forget about it. However, if you tie your release to a visual theme, a specific experience, engaging content, or some other form of association, you significantly increase the chances that people will remember it.

You don’t always need to say, “A new song is coming!” Instead, you can make your audience wonder, “Is a new song coming?” Take Roddy Ricch as an example. In a recent music video, he included a snippet of an unreleased track at the end. Just a short piece. With tools like YouTube analytics, you can track how often that specific snippet is replayed. This can gauge curiosity. Once the buzz aligns with your goals, you announce the song! It’s like a pre-announcement.

Build and answer anticipation

If your goal isn’t to gain listeners and you just want to make music for the love of it, none of this applies. But if you’re looking for recognition or want your message to reach as many listeners as possible, it can be disheartening when that doesn’t happen. A well-thought-out plan, built around momentum, often works much better than just “dropping” your song.

There are countless creative ways to introduce your new music to listeners. Develop a release plan that suits your track, set periodic goals, put it into action, and base your next steps on the results! What I’m also saying here is: don’t decide on a release date before you have some understanding of momentum. How can you know if your plan will work in advance? Tease the song in specific ways, and once your momentum goals are met, then set a release date. Build anticipation for your track and answer that anticipation at the perfect moment, rather than the other way around.

If you’re interested in exploring this further, look into frameworks like the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) or AIDA (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) models, which are also widely used by marketing agencies in the music industry.

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