Your artist has poured their heart and soul into their project – they’ve written the best songs they can write, you hooked them up with a killer producer, and you guys got epic graphic design work done. Now what? How do you get their CD out to the masses successfully?

Start planning early

I don't mean like two weeks early. I mean at least six months! The earlier the better. Begin creating a release schedule as soon as possible and work on building momentum up to and through the release date. The more prepared you are, the more sales you will get. I promise.

Pick your single

A lot of music business professionals have the impression you need to pick your single after the album is released. That’s not the right way to do things. I know it may seem backwards, but you should be picking your single long before the album is out – some major artists have 2 or more singles before their album is actually released. Think of it as a commercial for the album – you’re showing off the new sound so people can know what they’re buying ahead of time. You want to create demand (or ideally build on demand that’s already there), so you move more CDs when the release date rolls around. It’s also important that you pick just ONE single at a time. When my band had an album we were releasing, we made the mistake of not designating a particular single. Radio stations just played whatever they wanted, and we were happy to get the attention – not realizing that this created confusion and diluted our product. Get with your artist and decide what track to push up front – only consider changing course midstream if it doesn’t get a good reponse.

You should be picking your single long before your album is out – some major artists have 2 or more singles before their album is actually released. Think of it as a commercial for your album.

Talk up your album

Are you tweeting about your album? Posting on Facebook? You should be taking lots of studio pictures – maybe even make a sneak preview – and posting them for your artist’s fans.  Another great tactic is to get the fans involved – ask them to vote on the next single or artwork. Maybe even start a Kickstarter or GoFundMe – fans will feel more invested if they actually are invested — even if it’s just a dollar or two. Plus, you can alleviate some of the financial strain of recording an album! Bonus!

Tying back into timeline, we find that increasing the frequency of your content releases and social posts gradually up until the release date is a great way to schedule your release. For example, one month before your release date you could have one blog post about your chosen topic and two social posts a week specifically about the album. Two weeks out you could have two blog posts going out a week and five social posts. The week of you could have a daily blog post that explains the lyrics behind a particular track (while including a short preview on the page) that also doubles as a countdown to the album release.  

Make sure your important content lives on the site. By setting up your content this way, you're training fans to rely on your site for new content, and that's when real sales begin.

Revamp your website

New album releases are a great time to freshen up your artist’s image – a lot of teams I know take this time to brand their website as well. The point is, you want to make it look like things are happening – changes are afoot, and your artist is doing something interesting. Don’t forget to allow people to pre-order the new album, talk about it in your news section, and use socials to direct people back to the site. Make sure your important content lives on the site. By setting up your content this way, you're training fans to rely on your site for new content, and that's when real sales begin. Think about it — if your fan is on Facebook and sees your post, there are all kinds of distractions pulling them away from interacting with you. But when that fan is on your site, their complete attention is on your artist and your brand.

Also, when it’s available, don’t forget to put it on iTunes, CDBaby, etc. as well as streaming stations like Spotify and Pandora! 

Throw a party

This is actually a lot harder than it sounds because there are so many factors – picking the right venue, the right opening acts, making sure the CD is done on time, etc. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time for anything to go wrong. Things get delayed all the time, and the unforeseen can happen. There’s no need to make things more stressful – for yourself or your artist!  Overall, though, the most important thing in all this is promotion – publicize the event well in advance by building it into your content/album release calendar. Talk it up at your shows, on your social media accounts, and on your e-mail list. The more people you can pack in, the better off you are.

Have a sale

Again, this may seem counterintuitive – shouldn’t you discount the album after it’s been out a while? Possibly, but remember the goal is to get that CD in the hands of as many fans as possible. Why not have a special “release day” sale, with an exclusive price for everyone who attends? Or maybe throw in a free T-shirt, stickers, or signed headshot? Another option is to charge or admission – say, $5 – and everyone that comes gets a CD. This way, they’re not only paying something towards the CD, but every audience member is leaving with one.

These are just some ideas to get you thinking – get creative in both your sales and your promotions. Just remember to start early, plan ahead, and build momentum and fan interaction throughout your release!