The dilemma as to when you should release new music can be worrying for independent artists. But have no fear, we are here to help you.
Independent music artists on a global scale manage a lot of their careers on their own. From creating the music independently, to marketing their music through various social media/music sites, an independent music artist almost has no time to sleep.
The constant question that indie artists ask within the dynamic music industry surrounds the overall notion of how music artists gain bigger and wider traction, without the interference of mainstream record labels.
In further detail, music artists are seeking specific guidelines and advice on how to sell their music more efficiently. How?
As the indie artist community becomes highly populated and filled with more and more eager music artists, it’s easy to become lost in the sea of melodies and heartfelt lyrics.
Senior Product Manager at AWAL, Mark Newman states “As YouTube and other music streaming sites expands, it’s becoming more imperative that artists pay attention… in terms of expanding and wanting to get your music out to people, YouTube is a massive destination”.
However, music artists are highly aware of this notion through the intense growth of social media, such as the fast popularity of TikTok and Clubhouse. The question remains as to when artists should post content to boost notability.
According to SymphonicDistribution.com, certain months give an artist better chances of getting noticed than others. To make most of a music artist’s new release, here we ask when you should release new music within a year.
January and February
As the craziness of holiday festivities and bringing in the new year calm down, music listeners may be eager to find new music based on their efforts to head back to school or intense weekly work schedules.
Generally, January and February are the best times for music artists to release new music based on the market not being overly saturated with new projects and products.
The aftermath of the holidays allows independent music artists to gain a more intimate connection with music listeners through songs geared toward working out (exercise) and health!
Additionally, upbeat music with a positive nature is crucial for this time of year. As love fills in the air in February, it may be a perfect time to release love or anti-Valentine’s Day songs along with songs surrounding dynamic relationships.
March
To keep it brutally honest, March is a terrible time to release music, especially for unknown music artists.
Why? SXSW, a yearly highly-anticipated music and interactive media festival, happens within this month.
Therefore, coverage and attention to the artist’s new projects may be shadowed by the intense exposure of this monumental music event.
However, it may be important for a new music artist to attend the music festival for proper networking for future exposure.
If an artist decides to release music this month, light and positive message songs paired with happy party tunes seem to do very well during March.
April
As the prior month’s epic music festival simmers down, this may be a great time to release new projects.
Additionally, Record Store Day lives within April. Independent music artists can look into networking with local record stores for promotional opportunities!
In the United States, the dreaded Tax Day falls on April 15th. Therefore, songs about money tend to be a popular theme this month. Hopeful and self-empowering songs also tend to be popular within April.
May
This month is a crucial month for independent music artists to release new music. The month of May comes as the calm before the storm as the summer music festival season begins to take over the international music world.
New music artists must create songs surrounding summer fun, create energetic music, along with celebration music to gain proper traction during this month. Songs to avoid are sad tunes this month.
June and July
With upbeat sounds and beach day anthems, summertime is here! Bring out the summer cocktails paired with the sunny pop tunes because summer is a vital time for music content!
As the university is out and the music festival season is in full swing, traction to independent artist’s music will rise substantially during those two months. An artist can look into networking with music festivals near their location. It can be surprising how willing music festivals are to give new talent major musical opportunities!
August
After the intense months of summer music festivals, summer is not quite over! Many music artists lose a chance of gaining traction within this month, as they believe that the willingness to explore from music listeners, declines within this month. However, this notion is completely false.
Similar to June and July, new music artists should capitalize on the end-nearing summer and engage music audiences with highly positive vibes.
September and October
As the global workflow takes a dramatic shift from summer relaxing times to stressful, highly productive times, new music is almost therapeutic during September and October.
Contrasting from June, July, and August, independent music artists may consider releasing more moody, angsty, or sad music projects.
Other music themes include cosy ambiance music and poetic (lyrical) musical offspring. For Alternative and Folk music artists, these months are your prime for optimal music traction.
November and December
It is that time of year when Santa Claus is coming to town! Around this time of year, music listeners are ready for the festive sounds of Christmas music as the holidays are pushed into high gear during November and December.
If an independent music artist has festive holiday music, then surely this is the most crucial time to release new music.
However, as mentioned during January and February, the holiday months tend to become oversaturated with many projects and products. Therefore, artists must understand a potential delay in music distribution services and overall responses from music listeners. Patience is key.
So, independent music artists must consider these yearly music implications to develop successful project releasing strategies. This notion is key to optimising success for music artist’s past, present and upcoming projects.
Most importantly, music artists should also have a clear idea of how long the mixing and mastering process of their projects will take. This will determine which upcoming month would be best to release the epic tunes.
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