Hello friends & welcome back, I hope you are all enjoying the beginning of Spring!
Spring is “a time or season of growth or development” and after a long Winter of hibernation and careful cultivation for the next year ahead, it is the perfect time to re-emerge from our long Winter's nap. Hopefully, full of energy and ready to burst into gear alongside the varying forms of new life we are blessed to be surrounded with at this time of year.
For me, the year really Springs into action around March and as one who often feels the immense societal pressures of January's New Year's resolutions and all the expectations they encompass, it’s a refreshing and comforting thought that even in Nature itself, it’s not until Spring that life begins to stir above the surface again. So blow away any thoughts of doubt, especially if the year isn’t quite going how you expected so far and take the pressure off. It’s not too late for a sensational 2023 and perhaps we could all take a leaf out of Nature's book and tune into the seasons and cycles more.
Spring also makes for a fabulous time to enter into a release cycle, to start sharing singles in preparation for an upcoming EP in Summer, or for a longer-term album release in Autumn.
When planning releases, it’s always best to give yourself a little more time than originally intended. This allows for any delays, particularly if you are still awaiting final mixes, artwork, videos and press photos to be completed. If possible, make sure you have all these assets ready and collated before committing to a release date.
As a rule of thumb anywhere between 4-6 weeks pre-release for a Single/Music video (longer for an EP or album) is a good period of time to aim for, to have everything ready for pitching and promotional activities. If you’re doing a DIY campaign you’ll need time to gather assets, create a press release, pitch to Radio, Spotify editorial via Spotify for Artists, Amazon Music, promote on socials and pitch to press outlets. To help prepare for any upcoming projects I’ve created a little assets/pre-release checklist to help make things easier. Top tip: Google Drive makes for an excellent, easy and free resource to collate and share all your assets.
Pre- Release & Pre-Pitch Checklist:
- 4-5 new press photos, single artwork (+ photographer credits).
- Private Soundcloud/Disco link.
- Unlisted Youtube link (for music videos).
- Final MP3/WAV.
- Up-to-date artist Bio.
- Short paragraph from the artist. (This can be dissecting the songwriting process, what the track means etc)
- Up-to-date social links.
- Any other visual assets, Spotify canvas video, Social Media clips etc.
- Pre-save link.
- Press release + press folder to hold all these assets.
Next time we’ll dive more into the world of PR in order to help support any upcoming releases. In the meantime, best of luck with any planning.
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