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

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

Release Research

Statics show that most music is consumed online via streaming services and 'people are less likely to pay for physical copies.'(1)This means that when I release music it needs to be on as many available streaming services. "Smaller artists with less buzz will benefit from releasing additional singles before releasing a album"(4) As I am a not very well known artist releasing more singles before attempting to release a album would help create a buzz for the album. This article states how releasing singles in a structured way could be the best release strategy. "Give your audience content monthly and don't waste your material by dropping it all at once"(1) Staggering content will mean I will alway have music to release and can create a release schedule. Music videos can be used along side releases to help the music tell its story. "Try using videos to explain each single" (1) videos produced should be relevant somehow to the vibe of the song. 

"Lead single, Deep Diver, The B-side, The bouns content, The Collaboration, The featured artist track" (2) These are types of singles that could be released in staged to compile as an album at the end of the release. When releasing these singles I need to thing of a hook for each one "find a hook and make everything swirl around it."(2) "Depending on the scope of your campaign you might even need 1-3 months of preparation"(2) I need to leave time to promote the release in ways such as "Press, Radio and pre savers." It would benefit me to have a song out now so that I can set up a pre saver for my next release.

This venn diagram show all the key parts of promoting yourself a independent artist. 

"The music industry is build on appearances. you need a modern functional site you can update yourself." I will look into online website makers as they are simple to run yourself and still look clean and professional. Aswell as having a website alot of traction can be built up using social media. "Your content calendar is a crucial component to your social media success"(3). As with the releases I need to have a upload schedule for all social media platforms. (https://cyberprmusic.com/musicians-guide-to-marketing-plans-part-1/ This website has a "Musicians guide to each social media platform)

"Email is still the most vital asset you will build for generating revenue."(3) Email is the next step to turning fans on social media to customers with email. I need to create a professional looking email and come up with ways to capture fans emails. 

Once my track is released I will message micro influencers. These are influencers/vloggers that have from 1000 to 50 thousand followers on their platform. Because these influicers have a smaller following a lot of them are more engaged with there following. This means there followers are more likely to check out something they're promoting compared to paying/asking a bigger influencer. I will approach people who's content I think my track could fit in with.(5)

(1) https://burstimo.com/best-release-strategy/
(2) https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/it-all-starts-with-a-song-10-strategies-for-releasing-a-single/
(3) https://cyberprmusic.com/musicians-guide-to-marketing-plans-part-1/
(4) https://sonicscoop.com/2019/01/16/6-crucial-steps-to-planning-a-successful-album-release/
(5) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_UxfdcLCYI