Effective Music Release Plan 2023:
10 Steps to Success Guide

Searching for a FREE and user-friendly framework to organize your upcoming album, track, or video launch? We have just what you need!

Save time AND money.

We put out a Music Release Plan back in 2021 and a lot has changed since then. Get even better results, reach the right audience, book in the best venues, apply to festivals, get promotion, and much more.

Streamline your release process, effectively plan and execute your next music releases with ease.

Still not sure how to launch your releases? Book a call with us

This plan is based in part on watching more than 50 videos and putting their plans together as well as our previous experiences launching the Kiremico Sessions Videos.

To get started, we invite you to download our meticulously crafted Release Plan, tailored to meet the unique needs of musicians like you. This template offers a step-by-step guide to help you organize every aspect of your music release, ensuring that no detail is overlooked.

At Kiremico Media, we understand the importance of a well-structured release plan in achieving success in the competitive music industry. That's why we have developed this comprehensive template, offering you a valuable resource to optimize your music launch.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to organize and execute your music releases like a pro. Download our Release Plan now and embark on a journey towards a successful and impactful music career.

Remember, strategic planning is the key to a successful music release. Let our template guide you toward achieving your goals and reaching a wider audience with your music.

HOW TO USE THE RELEASE PLAN

You can Copy / Paste the Google Sheets with the Launch Plan from the button above. There you’ll find a document with 3 Main Tabs.

The ‘RELEASE PLAN’ Tab is a 30-Day Plan that you can follow, day by day to achieve a successful launch. This is the essential part of the work, It is wise to follow, measure, learn, and improve.

The ‘CONTACT LIST‘ Tab is where you can have your contacts organized for the individuals and organizations you’ll be contacting to achieve your goals.

The ‘WATCHED VIDEOS‘ Tab is where we listed all the videos watched and their campaign plan. Even many of them were not very structured about what to do, we tried to make sense of what they talked about and frame it in a more useful way.

In this blog, we will delve into the strategies and 10 actionable steps you can employ to effectively release your music, maximizing the impact of your release and doing promotion successfully.

Additionally, we created some useful email lists: venues, festivals, bookers, blogs, online magazines, and much more to help you with every aspect of the guide. All are FREE TO DOWNLOAD for your personal use ;)

If you're ready to learn the best way to release your music, whether you are releasing a single, an EP, or an album, follow this guide and save time.

1) DEFINE YOUR VALUE AND TARGET THE RIGHT AUDIENCE WITH CHATGPT

“Who Am I Providing Value?“

This is a question that many music creators actually do not ask themselves but it is a Step-1 on the road to success.

Releasing your music can feel overwhelming, especially with the question of how to ensure it reaches the right audience. If you do not know which audience you provide value, satisfaction, joy, nostalgia, or to whom your Music Resonates, you may be sending messages to nobody.

The truth is, there's no one-size-fits-all approach, but ChatGPT is here to stay, so use it to your advantage!

ChatGPT Prompt 1: I am a musician making music that fits these genres: ['alternative rock', 'art pop', 'chamber pop', 'indie rock', 'modern folk rock', 'neo-psychedelic', 'noise pop', 'philly indie', 'singer-songwriter', 'stomp and holler']

Provide 5 specific target audiences that could consume this music.

The purpose is, from the genre of music you do, to identify the valuable keywords relevant to your music in social media, festivals, partners, etc.

ChatGPT Prompt 2: Based on the previous target audiences, what type of places should I do offline advertising to reach them? 

ChatGPT Prompt 3: What type of IG Hashtags do they use?

2) CRACK YOUR ALGORITHM: Make the most of what you have!

Look. At. The. Numbers.

The main goal is to get many people to listen to your music or watch your videos as soon as they are available on the platform. It's important for the platform to see that you add value to users and that these users stay on the platform.

If there is an algorithm to "Hack" here is YOURS. It's like basic math mixed with reality. You need to figure out the percentage of your overall followers who will actually go where you want to take them. Try to increase the number of followers and conversion rates for future releases.

Always create numeric goals, so based on your existing contacts, you can follow these steps:

  1. Calculate the Total Reach: Add up the number of contacts you have across different platforms. For example, if you have:

    • 1250 Facebook friends

    • 250 Facebook Page friends

    • 1500 Instagram followers

    • 250 WhatsApp contacts

    • 65 Spotify Followers

      The total reach would be 1250 + 250 + 1500 + 250 + 65 = 3315 contacts.

  2. Determine a Realistic Conversion Rate: Conversion rate refers to the percentage of contacts who will actually go and listen to your music. As a starting point, let’s make it around 20%.

  3. Calculate the Goal: Multiply the total reach by the conversion rate to determine the number of people you can expect to listen to your music. For example, if you have a total reach of 3315 contacts and assume a 20% conversion rate, the goal would be 3315 * 0.20 = 663 people. This means that 663 (20%) of your total contacts are likely to listen to your music.

  4. Set Incremental Goals: Set incremental goals to track your progress and maintain motivation. For instance, you can aim to reach 1000 streams in the first week, 250 streams in the second week, and so on. This allows you to focus on achievable milestones and adjust your strategies if necessary.

  5. Evaluate and Adjust: After the release, assess the real-life results and compare them to your goals. Analyze factors that may have influenced the outcome, such as the effectiveness of your promotional efforts, engagement levels, or external events. Use this information to refine your goals and strategies for future releases.

Don’t worry, this math will be made for you in our Plan. Just change the contact numbers.

3) GET MEDIA ASSETS READY

Start the process by getting the right images, videos, and Album Covers that you’ll use during the plan to engage and tease your audience about the next cool thing that is coming over on Day “0” and the following days through the Video or the Live Concert.

You’ll also want to send out a massive campaign to get more online media and editorial coverage for a release. And you’ll need a press kit for that. So keep your bio and pictures up to date with the latest information and current photos.

Make sure that the Assets also include Call-to-Action Text that let people know what to do (Pre-Save / Watch / Subscribe / etc). If you’re not the most skilled graphic designer, you can use our already-made Canva Templates linked inside the Music Release Plan.

4) UPLOAD MUSIC TO THE DISTRIBUTOR

Getting your music on streaming platforms is crucial for legitimizing your artist status and boosting visibility. But you already knew that.

There are various distribution options like Distrokit, Ditto, and CD Baby to choose from. Select the one that aligns with your budget and enables you to create a Pre-Save link for driving traffic to your desired platform.

At this time is also good to upload your track or EP to a Secret Link, this will come in handy for the next step.

5) SET AUTOMATED EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

Now that you have some content for social media, it’s time to create a pre-save campaign and start promoting the release on social media. Having a lot of pre-saves can give your track or album a big boost, increasing its chances of going viral on release day.

For instance, accumulating pre-saves on Spotify ensures that all your fans and followers will see your music in their library right from the start. This helps generate a high number of streams and builds early momentum for your release.

If you have a newsletter for your fans, now it’s a good time to put that list to use. If you have industry contacts, start organizing them by type of contact on the Music Release Plan spreadsheet. We’ll dive deeper into each campaign in the next steps.

6) SPOTIFY PLAYLIST PITCHING

There are 3 ways to do this:

  • You can pitch your new single at least 7 days before the release to Spotify Editorial playlists through the Spotify for Artists page.

  • Use a paid Playlist Pitching service like SubmitHub or Groover.

  • Search for playlists that accept free submissions, send them an email and wait for a reply.

Always try to pitch to Spotify Editorial Playlists, since it’s free. Nothing to lose here.

If you have a few bucks to spare, use a Pitch Service and try your luck.

And if you decide to go no-cost, search “@gmail.com” into the Spotify Search bar, and filter by Playlists. This will only show you Playlists which have email addresses in their description. Give them a listen and decide if it fits your style.

We even made a template for you to pitch your music to these playlist curators.

You’ll have to either contact them one by one or reach them through an email campaign if you can manage to self-organize all the information in a spreadsheet.

Too much hassle? Then download our Playlist contacts, use our template, and send an email campaign using Hunter.

You can find emails for submissions by searching “@gmail.com” into the Spotify Search bar

7) PITCHING TO YOUTUBE MUSIC CHANNELS

In case you didn’t know, Youtube has plenty of channels that are constantly looking to uncover new music from artists and be the first to share it with their audience.

YouTube music curators operate and maintain their channels uploading music from their favorite genres and artists. Some of these music curators have gained an enormous following of loyal subscribers who trust the curator's taste in music. You'll be surprised at just how effective these channels can be!

Being featured on popular YouTube channels not only exposes your music to a larger audience but also opens doors for potential collaborations and partnerships, extending your reach even further.

Don’t know how to contact these Curators? Use our template.

Again, you can easily use ChatGPT in order to discover which Youtube Music Channels fit your music style.

ChatGPT Prompt: “Can you create a list of 10 to 20 Youtube Music Channels for [indie music] that I can submit my music to?”

Most of these channels will have their contact / submission information on the description of their videos.

8) REACHING MEDIA OUTLETS: BLOGS, MAGAZINES, RADIO, PODCASTS

To promote your music effectively, creating a mailing list is crucial. This list should include contacts for music magazines, music blogs, booking agents, and whatever other industry contact you have. Remember, building and expanding your contact list is an ongoing process.

For a single release, the ideal time to send your press release is 3 weeks before the release date. This allows for ample time for communication and planning.

Always add value to these potential partners by first sending a “cheer up” message such as “Hey, I love what you’re doing, keep it up” in order to get a response from them.

Radios are looking mainly for advertisers, but if you dig into the Local Radio Stations or University Radio Stations, then you can make a Win, using the same SEO-Rich Content of the Blog Strategy + They may help you to your future strategies.

Remember that Podcast World is a great way to promote your music. You can offer the track to be played and many small Podcasters will be happy to engage in a cross-posting collaboration.

9) REACHING LABELS AND BOOKING AGENCIES

If you’re planning to tour or an EP release show, you’ll need to send your EPK to venue owners, event organizers, and booking agents months in advance to secure dates.

The game for Labels and Bookers is the same: Avoid the “Me, Me, Me“ and work strategically before contacting them, and provide value.

Search for them on LinkedIn, if you know their name, or if not, search for the Label. Most of the company profiles have the people who work in it and their roles. Once you found someone, you can connect with them, you can send them a message, you can search for their email. Use this wisely.

For Booking agents, you may want to have a few videos ready and propose to them an Online Concert with their Logo watermarked, so they can publish them on THEIR Social Media. Ultimately, you want to engage with booking agents by providing value to both them and yourself. You Make the content for them, they’ll distribute that, and you’ll potentially gain a new Fresh Audience.

10) FACEBOOK AND REDDIT GROUPS

Facebook and Reddit groups are still a good source of Traffic to exploit, and you should also do it wisely and engage with others before you post there randomly.

If you have a Playlist you can make a big banner promoting the playlist through your Artist community. Also, any sort of Strategic collaboration with other musicians could also work fine.

When collaborating with Musicians, it is recommended that you can do it with those that are already having some traction on the platform that you want to dominate (For Example: Bandcamp) and that hopefully have 2x to 4x more followers that you do.

Make sure that the messages are effective, and to the point, using big letter banners.

  • Of course, we prepared a Music Release Plan for you to use, and hey, it’s free. Download here.

    Deciding on a release date is really important early on. You can develop your timeline for the rest of your release plan based on this date.

    For a marketing and release strategy, you’ll want to start 2 months in advance from the release date. We recommend that you release on a Friday, since many playlists feature new releases on that day.

    Create a timeline and make sure you stick to it. Make notes on how you’re going to introduce your single, create hype, boost the potential for earnings & keep the momentum going.

  • Getting your music on streaming platforms is crucial for legitimizing your artist status and boosting visibility.

    There are various distribution options like Distrokit, Ditto, and CD Baby to choose from.

    Select the one that aligns with your budget and enables you to create a Pre-Save link for driving traffic to your desired platform.

  • Don’t know where to start? You can use our Free Canva Templates and modify them for your project.

    Prepare all the necessary visual assets well in advance to streamline the promotion of your single once it's released

    Create eye-catching artwork, album imagery, social media posts, and any other visuals you may need.

    It's crucial to have a visually captivating thumbnail that can be shared across social media platforms, posters, and incorporated into your music or lyric videos.

    We highly recommend including a call-to-action text in your assets, guiding people on what to do next, such as Pre-Save, Watch, or Subscribe.

  • Now that you have some content for social media, create a pre-save campaign and start promoting the release. Having a lot of pre-saves can give your track or album a big boost, increasing its chances of going viral on release day.

    For instance, accumulating pre-saves on Spotify ensures that all your fans and followers will see your music in their library right from the start. This helps generate a high number of streams and builds early momentum for your release.

  • There’s 3 ways to this:

    • You can pitch your new single at least 7 days before the release to Spotify Editorial playlists through the Spotify for Artists page.

    • Use a paid Playlist Pitching service like SubmitHub or Groover.

    • Search for playlists that accept free submissions, send them an email and pray for a reply.

    Always try to pitch to Spotify Editorial Playlists, since it’s free. Nothing to lose here.

    If you have a few bucks to spare, use a Pitch Service and try your luck.

    And if you decide to go no-cost, search “@gmail.com” into the Spotify Search bar, and filter by Playlists. This will only show you Playlists which have email addresses in their description. Give them a listen and decide if it fits your style.

    We even made a template for you to pitch your music to these playlist curators.

  • Being featured on popular YouTube channels not only exposes your music to a larger audience but also opens doors for potential collaborations and partnerships, extending your reach even further. For artists seeking to grow their online fanbase, we encourage you to submit your music to online channels through the provided link. It's an excellent opportunity to gain visibility and make meaningful connections in the digital realm.

  • You’ll want to send out a massive campaign to get more online media and editorial coverage for a release. And you’ll need a press kit for that.

    Keep your bio and pictures up to date with the latest information and current photos. You can create your EPK easily by using our template.

  • To promote your music effectively, creating a mailing list is crucial. This list should include contacts for radio, TV, music magazines, newspaper segments, music blogs, booking agents, event organizers, and your fans. Remember, building and expanding your contact list is an ongoing process.

    For a single release, the ideal time to send your press release is 3 weeks before the release date. This allows for ample time for communication and planning.

    However, if you’re planning to tour, more time is needed. In such cases, it may be necessary to send your EPK to venue owners, event organizers, and booking agents months in advance to secure dates.

    In addition to online promotion, having a real-world presence is vital. Plan live gigs around your releases to promote your music and provide opportunities to sell merchandise like CDs, vinyls, or t-shirts. Booking an album release show is a fantastic way to celebrate your hard work. Playing live not only helps establish your name but also facilitates professional connections within the music industry.

    If you aspire to take your music on the road and reach new fans, check out our blog on booking your own tour as an independent artist.

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  • Embrace the waterfall strategy, which involves releasing a series of singles before unveiling the EP or Album.

    We strongly advise releasing a NEW single while the buzz surrounding your current one is still fresh. By capitalizing on the success and efforts of the previous release, you can fuel the initial success and momentum of the next one.

    This well-established strategy has proven to be highly effective in boosting engagement on streaming platforms, optimizing algorithms, and sustaining momentum.

    During this post-release phase, actively seek more press coverage, book gigs at popular venues, and keep an eye out for sponsorship opportunities. Take proactive measures to leverage this period to your advantage.

    To sustain the momentum of your current single, explore new and creative ways to engage your audience. Share online videos, captivating images, hints, and teases about what's coming next. Additionally, consider sharing backstories or interesting facts about the song. These efforts will help keep the excitement alive and maintain interest in your music.