Please release me, let me go
So you want to release your album independently. It’s so good that you want to get it out NOW, but how? You’re confident the fan base that you’ve developed will love it, and you don’t want to waste time with a major label dog and pony show. You know if your song gets enough radio airplay, a label may show interest anyway. You really believe in this collection of songs and feel like you can’t sit on it anymore. We are right there with you…and just want to make sure you tick off these steps to insure you’re ready to go!
Together, step by step
Step One: It might seem super obvious, but the first thing you want to do when you have a completed album is to make sure it’s mixed and mastered. Recently we interviewed producers Daybreakers and Felix Fung for our 10,000 Hours series and you may want to go back and read both of those for reference. Regardless, make sure you’re mixed/mastered.
Step Two: Register your songs – this is super important. If you’re at the point of releasing your music, we are assuming you have a music publisher. If you are self-published make sure you have everything registered with the PRO (publishing rights organization) for your country (read: ASCAP or BMI in the US – SOCAN in Canada etc). You can also consider copyrighting your songs with an entertainment lawyer. DIY indies might not have that in the budget yet, so very least make sure everything is registered properly! If you own your masters you can register your release’s recordings with SoundExchange. Don’t forget to register your recorded performances with SoundExchange too! Read up about the difference between featured performers and session musicians before submitting to ensure everyone gets their fair share!
Step Three: Chose an album cover! Whether you hire a local artist, graphic designer and/or photographer – make sure it’s original and captivating. If you like someone’s existing art – reach out to see if you can license it for a fee! Then put it on your social media channels! Get some promo photos taken that you can use for various instances like media features, socials, show posters – oh my! Write a press release announcing the release and the single you’re going to promote to radio! If you don’t have a professional bio, write a paragraph about what you, or your band and the forthcoming release are about! Make sure it’s interesting and make people want to learn more about you and your music!
Step Four: Choose a distributor. There are several out there, and while we’re not going to go over their pros and cons in this blog, you DO need to engage with one so people can FIND your album on DSPs and listen/download it. For digital there are loads of options out there, many of which offer additional marketing services like Play MPE’s partner Symphonic for example! Physical copies? RAD. Make sure you have a plan for where you’re selling them – online? At live shows? Actual record stores? Gonna offer bundles? Let’s go! If you’re an indie you can sell digital downloads and physical merch on sites like Bandcamp! Make sure to add your new release there whether it be digital, vinyl, cassette or CDs from the stone age! Bandcamp loves to support indies earning more via BandCamp Fridays – learn more here.
Step Five: Upload and/or include all of your release’s meta data (ISRC, UPC, catalog #, song titles, lyrics, songwriting and publishing credits, etc). Tedious, yes. Necessary? Absolutely. Especially ISRCs (International Standard Recording Code) !!! This absolutely integral since it is how PROs track and pay out royalties.
Step Six: Put together a marketing plan, which includes a timeline. Assuming you want to submit a song to radio and media – we’d be remiss not to recommend using Play MPE’s Caster when it comes time to promote your song. You can choose who you want to reach by targeting specific curators by music format and market. Caster integrates with Play MPE’s MTR, a radio tracking tool, so users can promote music and then track radio airplay! Knowing where your release is getting airplay can help inform a lot of decisions whether that be where to book shows, or run contesting.
Step Seven: Speaking of booking shows… Perform live! This is the connection to your fan base! Take this incredible music you’ve recorded and perform it live for people who want to hear it. Even if you do a local residency, it must be a part of your independent album release plan. Keep tabs on your radio reporting and book a tour in all of the cities where your song is getting spins. Reach out to local media, run a ticket give-away. So many options when you have that information!
Move along, move along, like I know ya do
While we hope this check list is helpful, it would have to be a much longer if we covered every single thing you need to do. Consider it a “packing list” highlight of the things you can’t leave out if you want your music to be heard. Releasing an album, or EP, independently is so much more common now than ever before – in fact, you should be able to ask for, and get, support from other bands you know in similar circumstances. Helping to promote each other’s music not only helps spread the word but helps more people hear more good music – and that’s nothing but a win!