Throughout our journey in the Music Industry, we have come across amazing artists who didn’t get enough plays on their songs and, more than once, this is due to not having a music release strategy on YouTube.
Considering that planning a music release can be quite a complicated task, today we want to give you some tips on how to organize the release strategy of your next album on YouTube in order to reach the audience you want.
What is a music pre-release?
Before getting into the subject, we have to go through an important point that, in most cases, goes unnoticed: the musical pre-release.
A music pre-release is the strategies used to promote your music shortly before the moment of presenting an album or a new song. Having well-defined and organized pre-release strategies in mind can make the difference between success and failure.
An organized pre-release campaign can define the success of your music.
Therefore, one of our first recommendations is that you examine the current trends in the Music Industry to get a more comprehensive view on how to promote your new album.
So, to sum up, when asking what is a single release, is the strategies you do before, during and after the single release.
Prepare your music pre-release
To properly organize a musical pre-release strategy you will have to take into account the following tips:
1. Take care of your social media
Take a look at all your social media and consider if they need a makeover shortly before releasing your album on YouTube.
What is the main theme of your album? What are the colors? You can upload images or quotes related to your music album so that, when it comes out and you want to share it, everything keeps a visual coherence.
To make more progress, here we recommend some customer acquisition strategies within the Music Industry so you can continue to get followers before, during and after your launch.
2. Singles
Before releasing the full album, we advise you to have one or two singles ready. If you are wondering how long you should wait between singles releases we recommend you to wait, at least, one month and a half.
Choose the song or songs that you think will appeal to both your consolidated fans and attract new fans who will be interested in it.
To do this, look for the song with the catchiest beat or the one with a chorus that is easy to memorize.
Nowadays, with the emergence of TikTok and YouTube Shorts, we also recommend considering whether it would be easy to use a part of the track to record videos on these platforms.
Consider whether your single can be used in videos for TikTok and YouTube Shorts
3. The cover
Although it may seem obvious at first sight, you’d be surprised at the number of artists who release their album without having a cover ready.
By having a cover, you will be able to use it to promote the album before it comes out.
For example, you can turn your cover into a puzzle and post a photo with a new piece every day. This way, you’ll have the attention and participation of your fans, who will be watching your social media every day until they discover the complete cover.
4. The tracklist
The same goes for the tracklist that will be on the new album. Don’t post anything until you are sure which songs will be included and the order in which they will be presented.
This way, when you are close to the final release, you can post the official tracklist, making sure your fans don’t forget that you are about to present new music.
For example, shortly before the full release of her album Motomami, the singer Rosalía shared on her social media this image with the tracklist:
5. Optimize your YouTube channel
Just as you can improve a website for Google, you can also optimize the SEO of your YouTube channel.
To do this, you will have to choose keywords, think carefully about titles and descriptions, as well as other SEO strategies that can help you position better in the YouTube search engine.
If you need some more tips to improve your YouTube SEO step by step, feel free to check out the link!
6. Have an Official Artist Channel
Finally, since we have already talked about SEO on YouTube, check that you have official artist accounts on the different streaming platforms.
On YouTube it is highly recommended to have an Official Artist Channel when you are dedicated to music, as the platform understands the function of your channel and adapts to it.
Having an Official Artist Channel on YouTube will give you advantages and new features
If you don’t have your artist channel yet, we provide you with this step-by-step guide to get your Official Artist Channel on YouTube, but remember to apply for it on all platforms!
By following all these tips you will generate expectations in your audience and you will have the possibility to get new followers in your social networks.
How do you create a release strategy for a single?
Now that you know what you need to have planned before launching your music, it’s time to give you some tips on what to do on a single release day.
Tips to launch your music on YouTube
1. Organize the release day
The question “What day is a good day to release a song?” is on the minds of many artists. Although most of them think it doesn’t matter, in fact there is a day and it’s Friday.
Friday is the best day to launch a new song
This is because, by releasing your song on a Friday, you are more likely to appear at the top of the various Billboard charts, as well as the YouTube Charts.
So instead of letting the streaming music platforms choose for you which day to upload the song, set the release date to fall on a Friday.
2. Make a YouTube premiere
One of the best ways to plan your music release on YouTube is to organize a premiere.
Prepare a YouTube premiere will allow you to:
- Remind your subscribers the release
- Consolidate your fan community with the live chat
- Share the premiere to create expectations
3. Create several YouTube Shorts with your new music
YouTube’s Shorts feature is a tool that can help you connect with your followers on another level, as well as promote your music.
Therefore, several hours after releasing your music, make several YouTube Shorts asking your fans what they think of your new songs or what kind of challenge they would do. You can encourage them to create their own challenges, something that will give more exposure to your music!
However, if you want to discover more ways to take advantage of Shorts, you can read this blog where we tell you everything you need to know about YouTube Shorts!
4. Announces a live on social media
You can surprise your fans by going live on Instagram or TikTok.
To do this, you can announce the live in advance by mentioning that you will be giving some very important news to create hype. Once you’re live and talking to your fans, tell them that they can already listen to your singles or album on YouTube!
By doing this, they will be surprised and feel the urge to go watch it, ensuring you more views in the first 24 hours.
Use social media lives to promote your premiere on YouTube
5. Upload a behind-the-scenes video to YouTube
Filming a video that shows the creative process of both the music and the music video will create an image of transparency and trust in the eyes of your fans.
You can upload a complete video to YouTube or, on the contrary, record several videos for YouTube Shorts. In addition, this release strategy can also be used before the launch day.
6. Use UGC videos to promote your music
UGC content is content that users create using your assets, such as your sound recordings or video clips.
Fan videos are a free and very effective way to promote that new album you just released. So, share the content of your fans that catches your attention the most, such as:
- Reactions to your music video
- Dances
- Blind reactions to your music
- Reviews
- Funny parodies
7. Host a Listening Party
Since the pandemic, online listening parties have become a very original and fun trend to promote a new release strategy.
Listening Parties consist of selecting several fans —through a draw, for example— and allowing them to listen to the whole album or part of it with you.
Listening parties consist of listening to an unreleased music album with the artist.
This will give your fans an unforgettable moment and, thanks to the draw, you will have new followers and a lot of promotion and expectation.
Now that you have all these tips for your music release strategy, there’s nothing stopping you from uploading your song to YouTube!
