Summery/Evaluation

When preparing for a release I learnt that time and organisation are everything. I thought one month was enough time to prepare for the release. looking back this wasn't long enough. Afew things I was unable to do or do well because of the time I set my self.

• Distribution - On my release day not all of the streaming services had my release available. Next time I release I will submit my track 1 month in ahead of the release day rather than 2 weeks.
• Promotion material - When my release day came I had planned to release a short video to help with engagement on Instagram and Facebook. The person who was making the video said it would be ready but was unable to get it done. I will request it one month in advanced. This way if there are any issues with completion I have time to prepare something else.
• Promotion - By the time I had all my promotional material ready I was one week out from the release. Next time I release I plan to have all promo material 1 month in advanced as to promote the single properly I believe you need this much time.
• Email Lists & Blogs/Playlists/Radio - I underestimated how hard it would be to find relevant blogs etc. to send my track to. This will now be a constant task for me even when i'm not releasing so that I always have new audiences to expose my music to.
• Post release strategy - After the track released I have found that promoting the track with out over doing it and seeming spammy hard. Finding ways to promote the music in a way that doesn't seem like promotion will boost engagement with my track. 

Although my time planning was problematic there were things that went well for this release. 

• Distribution - I feel like the distributor I used (CD Baby) was a good choice because they have a lot of integrated tools & recourses to help market your release and they distribute to over 150 streaming services.
• Promotional material - I think I did a good job making sure my promotional material was cohesive with the artwork and the vibe of my release. 
• Email Lists & Blogs/Playlists/Radio - I have started to develop a knowledge of how to speak to these people and where to look for them. This should allow me to get more exposure from them for future releases. 
• Pre-save - now that I have artist pages on streaming sites I can utilise the pre save function on my next release campaign. 

With the research and lessons I've learnt from this release I am confident that I will be able to run release campaigns for my own and other artists releases. I will work on my time management so that I can work on each part of the release efficiently and to a high standard. My track is nearly at its first week target and I will continue to push it to reach this.

Music bio & Press kit

Antbhx is an artist from Birmingham U.K and has been making music in some way since 2010. Antbhx's music blends electronic and ambient sounds with head nodding drums to create music for people who like to chill to a good beat. He is a new artist finding his place in the scene and developing his sound.

Music is a big part of his life, from a young age he would skip class to learn instruments in his schools music department. This sparked an interest in electronic music composition and he began making beats for his and his friends' enjoyment. He has always shied away from releasing content but now feels it time to do something with the music he makes.

He is now developing connections with other artists & rappers to bring something new to his music. Be sure to look out for new singles and visual content from Antbhx. 

New Track titled Tubular! This track was the result of a period of insomnia. Riding through Birmingham at night and was fascinated how peaceful & quiet it is but now and then something would disturb the peace but no sooner had it disturbed the peace it was gone again. He reflected this in the track by making it calm but adding sections where it builds up with harder drums.

One liner: Hailing from Birmingham UK producer Antbhx blends electronic sounds with head nodding drums creating a chill vibe, be sure to look out for new content from him.

Music & Mixes; 

https://soundcloud.com/ant_bhx/tubular
https://soundcloud.com/ant_bhx/the-prospect-preview
https://soundcloud.com/ant_bhx/coolin-mix

Contact;
Email - antbhx@outlook.com
Instagram - antbhx
Twitter - antbhx
facebook - antbhx 
snapchat - antbhx
_______________

Below is a template for when I submit my track to blogs and radios.

Hello...

My new single is releasing on 21/06/19 and I would appreciate it if you featured it on your radio show. Linked is my press release with audio of my new single & press images and afew of my other tracks. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2qq5xj9z6928sww/Music%20Bio.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e65wjvy7ly5x9fw/AACqYR8tvGNlM6aZ6ZJYPor0a?dl=0

Thank you for your time 

Antbhx

_________________

A short written piece about the track the blogs can use.

This track was the result of a period of insomnia. I would ride my bike through the city at night and was fascinated how peaceful & quiet it is but now and then something would disturb the peace but no sooner had it disturbed the peace it was gone again. I tried to reflect this in the track.

_________________

A peice to send to vloggers;

Hello...

I have a new track out and wondered if you wanted to feature it in your vlog. I've watched some of your content and I think the track could match your vibe.

Thanks 
Antbhx

Below is content embed for my track that can be put on websites such as blogs.

https://show.co/8GKQkki
https://fanlink.to/tubular

Is music worthless?

No, It may be virtually free today but it still valued, could you imagine a world you couldn't  listen to music of your choosing. consumers listen a song because they value the way they make them feel, they value & agree with the message it put out or we associate them with a memory. An artist makes music that is worth something to them, its worth the time they spent making it & the cost of the equipment they brought to make it. 

Musics monetary value maybe next to nothing these days but if you look back to the days of vinyl, CD & cassette people weren't impressed by how much you'd spent on your music but more by what you had in your collection, they were always more interested in the music. 

Saying this if artists markets themselves in a way that makes people want to buy into their brand then they can bring the monetary value back and "monetise the connection"(2). This is why the late unsigned rapper Nispey Hustle was able to sell 1000 physical copies of his mixtape 'Crenshaw' for $100 dollars each as well as having it up for free download. 

To round it off music has worth and an integral part of many aspects in our lives, "whats a movie without a good score/soundtrack"(3), a good BBQ without summer bangers. 

http://phil-cooper.co.uk/priceless-or-worthless-the-value-of-music-is-in-the-ear-of-the-beholder/ (1)  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2013/11/06/rapper-nipsey-hussle-and-the-100-mixtape/#7f6cb2d14bc0 (2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqfpvQQDH7I (3)

Artwork & promo material

This post contains the artwork for my single and promotional material stating the day its out and where it will be available. I will use this to promote the single on social media platforms. I will run Instagram story adds as you can target them very well, with things such as location, the hashtags people use, age and interests. they are also very cheap and get more engagement that other kinds of adds you can run.(1) 

I am also having a short eyecatching promotional video made to circulate on social media as this will help to draw people into following links to steam the track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7feO0-D_3R8 (1)

4 Week release strategy

Release date 21/06/19

Streaming goal -  100 streams across all platforms in the first week.

Pre release;

• Have artist accounts, distribution & PRS set up.
• Create facebook fanpage & start posting on it. 
• Find the story behind the music and tell it. (What inspired me to write it, where was I when I recorded it, was it in response to, was there any collaboration and what was the connection)
• Have a new music bio and press release written and ready to send to Blogs, Playlist curators, press outlets, radio, music websites and other music media outlets.
• Gather a list of contact emails to send the track & press release to.
• Create drafts of announcements for your social media updates/Bios for the release.
• Have promo material made for the run up to and after the release.
• Set all my social media cover and display picture to pics of the artwork.
• Find Spotify playlists that I this my song would suit and message the curator asking if they will feature my track.

The day of the release; 

• Set up a fanlink landing page so I can have one link for my track that will redirect fans to their preferred streaming method.
• Update all social media informing people of the release. Using insights I will target specific times for each site to maximise engagement with my audience.

Days following (30/40 days);

• Stagger posts reminding people the track is out for the next 30/40 days. I will do this because not all of my audience will listen to the track right away and this will encourage them to do so.
• Post snippets of the track and of other music i'm working on social media so that people will want to check out the track I have out and be interested in future releases.
• Use Instagram and Facebook ads to promote a captivating video paired with the track. 
• Message 5 people I already know each day asking them to listen to the track and give feedback.
• Ask content creators & vloggers to feature my track in their videos. By letting them do this for free if they put my fanlink in description my music will be exposed to there audience. 
• Cultivate new & old fans and develop a personal connection with them to turn them into a corefan. 
• Find college/university radio stations and ask them to play the track.
• Ask soundcloud pages to repost my track if I think it is similar to the tracks they have already posted. People are more likely to listen to something if they see it grouped with other music they already like.
• I will ask people who I see engaging with the track to send videos of them vibing' to it. This will give me more content to share and also get potential fans to see people already like this track.

Guide to writing a music bio - https://blog.landr.com/music-bio/

How to contact the right playlist curators https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-O3eBhJI-U, https://chartmetric.io/)
Make the track available for free download in exchange for email. https://backstage.show.co/2draVZct0wfK4p8AYY0bDp/campaigns
Tips for post release promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjXcfB3T29k&list=PLanR-2oSzljlSHsSYMoVJvbP82GdBEtpT&index=3&t=0s