First Music release advice needed?

[patdavidmusic]

Evening gents,
I'm just about to release my first instrumental album (rock, with soundtrack score vibes). Being my first release I'd love to get your thoughts or experiences with releasing music.

At the moment I'm thinking iTunes, Amazon and google play but only available to purchase. No free streaming on Spotify or Apple Music, there will be a free youtube stream however. But I've read a lot of research about how if money is spent on anything (an app, music etc) people are more likely to listen to the whole thing in order to unconsciously justify the purchase. Price wise I'm thinking $4.99 for the four tracks.

This is certainly not a money making venture but I really want people to listen to the album from start to finish,

I would love any feedback, thoughts, experiences or advice,

Thank you for reading this far,

Pat

 

[cwhitey2]

I do not have advice, but i think you are correct about thw start to finish aspect.

Is it a concept album that you need to listen to start to finish?

Personally I NEVER listen to random tracks on cds, i only listen to songs in numerical order...ocd or something

 

[patdavidmusic]

I do not have advice, but i think you are correct about thw start to finish aspect.

Is it a concept album that you need to listen to start to finish?

Personally I NEVER listen to random tracks on cds, i only listen to songs in numerical order...ocd or something

Me too! I always feel if it's in order that's perhaps what the artist wanted.

Kind of a concept the first track certainly has melodies and chord progressions that are returned to in the final track but with tempo changes and minor to major chord theme changes. It makes much more sense once you hear it

 

[cwhitey2]

Me too! I always feel if it's in order that's perhaps what the artist wanted.

Kind of a concept the first track certainly has melodies and chord progressions that are returned to in the final track but with tempo changes and minor to major chord theme changes. It makes much more sense once you hear it

I guess dont sell single tracks then if that's an option.

 

[cip 123]

Put it on Spotify. Put it everywhere.

A distributor such as Distrokid or Emubands is good as they'll put it up everywhere for a small fee.

You may have read research saying people will listen to it back to front if they pay for it, but I trust you've read the research that a price automatically turns people off? Even if you have put the classic $4.99 instead of $5.


The more options people have the more likely they are to listen to any of it, let alone all of it. Sadly you just can't guarantee it in this day an age, attention spans are so short, it's why singles at 3 minutes are so popular.

That all said, I checked out your channel and with a 60K following you might make a little money selling it. Though you could go the "Pay what you want" route.

 

[patdavidmusic]

Put it on Spotify. Put it everywhere.

A distributor such as Distrokid or Emubands is good as they'll put it up everywhere for a small fee.

You may have read research saying people will listen to it back to front if they pay for it, but I trust you've read the research that a price automatically turns people off? Even if you have put the classic $4.99 instead of $5.


The more options people have the more likely they are to listen to any of it, let alone all of it. Sadly you just can't guarantee it in this day an age, attention spans are so short, it's why singles at 3 minutes are so popular.

That all said, I checked out your channel and with a 60K following you might make a little money selling it. Though you could go the "Pay what you want" route.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write, the research I've read shows these days if you're giving something away for free people almost aren't taking it seriously or thinking that it has any worth, Thanks for your feedback


Has anyone else had experiences on other digital mediums?

 

[Acaciastrain360]

I do not have advice, but i think you are correct about thw start to finish aspect.

Is it a concept album that you need to listen to start to finish?

Personally I NEVER listen to random tracks on cds, i only listen to songs in numerical order...ocd or something

Me too, especially when the album can tell a story if they really think about it

 

[SovereignSun]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write, the research I've read shows these days if you're giving something away for free people almost aren't taking it seriously or thinking that it has any worth, Thanks for your feedback


Has anyone else had experiences on other digital mediums?

I would be careful when using psychology to presume how people will react. I, for example, would never buy music that I haven't either heard before and know that I like, or like the band enough to trust that their release will be worth spending money on. My budget is simply too tight for something like that.

Seeing as this is your first release, it's a little too early to think that everyone who finds a link to your music is going to listen straight through.

If you want my advice, release it on a few platforms where people can buy it, but release it elsewhere where people can listen for free as well. Make a bandcamp that has a limited amount of free listens, and after that let people buy it for your $5 price point. Also, have a stream of it on YouTube, maybe a sample like 30 seconds of each song blended into the next one just as a sort of advertisement for the whole EP.

My basic idea here is that you need to give people some way to try it before they buy it, and the most important thing for you right now is exposure. For every listener you get on a free release you're building reputation and an audience for your next one. Establish that trust with your listener base and selling your work will be much easier the next time around.

 

[TedEH]

No free streaming on Spotify or Apple Music, there will be a free youtube stream however.

I don't understand the reasoning behind this. Why would you put it on youtube but not Spotify?
I think that being very concerned about making a bunch of money off your first release is shooting yourself in the foot. Even if you do absolutely everything right, you're not likely going to make a ton of money. IMO you're better served by getting your material in front of as many people as possible, which means reducing any barriers or friction to that end. I don't listen to music on youtube - so I wouldn't ever put that music in regular rotation even if I like it. But if I find stuff I like on Spotify. it ends up in pretty regular rotation. I'm sure many are like myself.

Anything I've ever released has made most of it's money from.... bandcamp, mostly by people who just wanted to throw money at me because they wanted to make a point of being supportive, even though they could still listen for free.

 

[Ola Englund]

Just put it everywhere man, not sure what your goal is with your album but if you want it to be accessible as possible and a chance to get as much traction as possible, it has to be available everywhere. Roll with the times, most people are listening to music in a different way than before.

I’m also about to release an album and I’m still contemplating on how I will release it, but today is all about building hype for a product(even though how unattractive it may sound, your album is a product). Your album might be killer and awesome, but the big mass has already forgotten about it within a week because there are so many other releases happening.
Good luck man

 

[ArtDecade]

The Swede has spoken. An, he is right.

 

[DrakkarTyrannis]

You'll want to put it everywhere. My first album went through a label who put it all over and it helped. Yes, the album is supposed to be an experienced that's listened to as a whole..that's how I designed it. The problem is that people don't really do that anymore. To me liner notes, album artwork, etc are all important and help set the tone because it's what I grew up with, but I had to keep in mind that music is disposable to a lot of people these days.

Sure it's a little frustrating but if anything it makes sure that whatever you're writing is more "hit single" oriented in the sense that you want to put your best foot forward with each track so there's no filler. You want them to listen to the whole album and you try to design it that way. At least that's what I attempt to do.

 

[Cheap]

I've always thought you should try and remove as many steps as possible to have people even give it a shot. I use distrokid and shotgun the release so it's available everywhere, but then promote the heavy hitters through social media (Spotify, Apple Music, etc). I've been lucky and have made back most of what I've put into my projects pretty quickly through streams alone each year and then there's an almost 100% drop off a few months in because I'm shit a promoting after awhile because I'm focused on the next thing.

If you have it available everywhere streaming I've found people are more likely to make an actual purchase AFTER they know they dig it through bandcamp. If you stream just on bandcamp alone it's hit or miss for how many purchases you'll close on

 

[patdavidmusic]

Me too, especially when the album can tell a story if they really think about it

I would be careful when using psychology to presume how people will react. I, for example, would never buy music that I haven't either heard before and know that I like, or like the band enough to trust that their release will be worth spending money on. My budget is simply too tight for something like that.

Seeing as this is your first release, it's a little too early to think that everyone who finds a link to your music is going to listen straight through.

If you want my advice, release it on a few platforms where people can buy it, but release it elsewhere where people can listen for free as well. Make a bandcamp that has a limited amount of free listens, and after that let people buy it for your $5 price point. Also, have a stream of it on YouTube, maybe a sample like 30 seconds of each song blended into the next one just as a sort of advertisement for the whole EP.

My basic idea here is that you need to give people some way to try it before they buy it, and the most important thing for you right now is exposure. For every listener you get on a free release you're building reputation and an audience for your next one. Establish that trust with your listener base and selling your work will be much easier the next time around.

Just put it everywhere man, not sure what your goal is with your album but if you want it to be accessible as possible and a chance to get as much traction as possible, it has to be available everywhere. Roll with the times, most people are listening to music in a different way than before.

I’m also about to release an album and I’m still contemplating on how I will release it, but today is all about building hype for a product(even though how unattractive it may sound, your album is a product). Your album might be killer and awesome, but the big mass has already forgotten about it within a week because there are so many other releases happening.
Good luck man

The Swede has spoken. An, he is right.

You'll want to put it everywhere. My first album went through a label who put it all over and it helped. Yes, the album is supposed to be an experienced that's listened to as a whole..that's how I designed it. The problem is that people don't really do that anymore. To me liner notes, album artwork, etc are all important and help set the tone because it's what I grew up with, but I had to keep in mind that music is disposable to a lot of people these days.

Sure it's a little frustrating but if anything it makes sure that whatever you're writing is more "hit single" oriented in the sense that you want to put your best foot forward with each track so there's no filler. You want them to listen to the whole album and you try to design it that way. At least that's what I attempt to do.

I've always thought you should try and remove as many steps as possible to have people even give it a shot. I use distrokid and shotgun the release so it's available everywhere, but then promote the heavy hitters through social media (Spotify, Apple Music, etc). I've been lucky and have made back most of what I've put into my projects pretty quickly through streams alone each year and then there's an almost 100% drop off a few months in because I'm shit a promoting after awhile because I'm focused on the next thing.

If you have it available everywhere streaming I've found people are more likely to make an actual purchase AFTER they know they dig it through bandcamp. If you stream just on bandcamp alone it's hit or miss for how many purchases you'll close on

Lads,

Thank you all so much for taking the time to write and respond -and in such great detail!-

The idea of charging was never as a quick cash grab but more to get people to listen to the album all the way through.

You’ve all given me so much food for thought and at the end of day you’re right I can’t judge what people might do before they do it, only learn from each release.

Thank you again lads!

Pat

 

[TedEH]

I found that people were the most likely to listen all the way through when they have a physical disc in hand - but the cost of it is a pretty big barrier. For bands I've been in where we're playing shows and setting up merch tables, having product to show off on the table is great, but anything I've put out solo just doesn't move cause it has no venue to be displayed in. The first "solo" CD I tried putting out - it wasn't amazing, but it wasn't the worst - I had CDs printed, and they now sit in a box in my closet. I have to make a point of giving them away to people otherwise they'll live there forever. Going forward, I can't imaging I'd print CDs again for solo stuff unless I start playing a lot of shows, or there's some demonstrable demand for it.

 

[GunpointMetal]

Most people I know IRL aren't going to pay for an album until they've heard it for free on Spotify/Apple Music. The thing with those research surveys is A LOT of people answering them morally or what they think the right answer is versus what they actually do. From personal experience the thought that "If I have to pay for this, it's legit." is actually the opposite of most people's thoughts. If they can have whatever major artist release from a label included in their Premium account, they're not gonna take a smaller artist any MORE seriously than an established artist because they are charging for their product. My 2 cents, anyways.
Edit: Having your music for free everywhere and having sweet merch available is probably more profitable than trying to sell zeros and ones copies of your music.