26 Things You Should Do Before You Release A Song!

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If you are planning on releasing any new music then you should definitely read this blog post for valuable information about the things you should do before you release a song!

It’s 2018, and I don’t know about you, but my mood all 2018 is “It’s my year!” 💪🏽 Some of you may have made a New Year Resolution to take your music more serious this year and start treating your music like the “business” that it truly is! What many artists, especially those just starting out, don’t realize is that as soon as you create, publish, and distribute a song you become an “entrepeneur!” 🤑

That’s right, you now have a product (Your song) that you are selling, and a brand (Your Artist Name or Group Name) to represent and build awareness of!

Before you get off to the races with releasing that new song you just created at the studio, there are some baby steps that you should take first to make sure you are setting yourself (Your Business) up to maximize the songs reach and potential. Taking these steps will increase the number of listeners that hear your music, increase the number of income streams your song generates, and ultimately, increase the amount of money that ends up in your pocket! 💸

I came across an article that I thought would help tighten up any loose laces you might have so that you don’t trip and fall when trying to navigate this music business! You don’t have to do all of the things on the list, but most of them will be very beneficial to you, and some of them are absolute must do’s if you want to make money off of your music! There are even some things on the list that I was unaware of and will be doing this year myself!

The article was written by Ari Herstand over at www.musicconnection.com and it touches on the following 26 things to do before you release your song or album:

26 Things You Should Do Before You Release A Song!

1. Market Research: There are sites out there that you can submit your song(s) to and receive feedback from “industry experts”. Use the feedback received to tweak your songs before releasing, or identify which song out of the bunch to release as your 1st single! The article goes into detail on these sites. I will leave a link at the bottom of this post for you to check out!
2. Register your Publishing: Registering your publishing will allow you to receive royalties ($$$) that you may be missing out on, even if you are signed up with a performing rights organization (PRO) like ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. In order to collect these publishing royalties you will need to either sign up for a publishing deal with a Publishing company (or create your own), or  sign up with a publishing administrator like SongTrust, TuneCore Publishing, Audiam or CD Baby Pro. You should do some research on which is the best option for you!
3. Register every song with a PRO: You will first need to sign up for a PRO (ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC) if you haven’t done so already! Once you have signed up, you will need to register the song and songwriting & publishing ownership that you have in the song. This way the PRO can collect the royalty money your song generates when it is played, streamed, downloaded, etc.. and distribute your share correctly to your account! Without this step, you will not be able to collect money that is due to you! If you haven’t done this yet, go do it NOW!
4. Register with SoundExchange: If you want to collect your royalties from digital streams on Pandora, Sirius XM, etc., then you will need to sign up for an account on SoundExchange and register your songs. Your PRO does not collect these royalties for you!
5. Get on AllMusic.com & Discogs: By signing up on these sites and registering your songs, people will be able to see your credits for all the songs you have contributed work too (songwriting, producing, etc.) It is a good way to gain exposure and create an electronic paper trail of all the work you have done.
6. Register the Copyrights: In order to give yourself maximum protection over the ownership of song, it’s smart to copyright your song before releasing it to the public. You can do this electronically at copyright.gov
7. Register for YouTube and SoundCloud Revenue: If you are going to be putting your music up on YouTube or SoundCloud, then you should sign up for collections company (Audium, Adrev, etc.) so that you can collect the revenue generated from streaming royalties. If you are signed up with TuneCore|Distrokid|CDBaby, they have options to add this collection to your account instead of using a separate collections company.
8. Pick Your Distribution Company: Companies like CD Baby, TuneCore, DistroKid will publish and distribute your song(s) to storesplatforms like “Itunes, Google Play, etc.” so that you can start selling your songs to the public. Do some research on the different distribution companies and decide which one is the best fit for you.
9. Get a Licensing Company: If you want to get your music in TV shows, commercials, movies, video games etc., you’ll want to get a licensing company.
10. Create the Folder of Assets: The article lists a bunch of frequently used files that you should organize into one folder for easy access. (songs, bio, music videos, text/lyrics, etc.)
11. Get New Pictures: Have some new photos taken and use your best ones to help promote the new song you are going to release!
12. Write a New Bio: Other than your music, your bio is the most important asset. It tells your story! What’s yours? If done right, it will make people want to find out more about you, listen to, and possibly buy your music! Pretty important, right?
13. Write a New Press Release: This is a write up that you will send to media outlets to use for promotional use
14. Make a List of Blogs to Contact: Make a list of blogs that you will want to contact to submit your song too and promote it once it is released.
15. Create the Videos: Every song you release should have some type of video to go with it (doesn’t have to be a full blown music video), post it to youtube, vimeo, etc. and collect royalties off of the views!
16. Create a Bandcamp Page: Bandcamp is a popular independent music store which is another opportunity for you to gain exposure, and music sales.
17. Create (or Rebrand) Your Website: Separate yourself from the pack and create a professional business image by creating or recreating your own personal website. It’s just a good look!
18. Create (or Rebrand) Your Social Sites: Do you have a facebook page (business page, not personal), instagram, twitter,  YouTube channel, etc? Social media is a great tool for marketing your brand. If you already have them setup, then update them and give them a new fresh look!
19. Get a Mailing List: This is one of the most important tools you will have to engage with your fans and use for marketing your music! Check out mailchimp, constant contact, and more!
20. Submit to Pandora: It’s the most popular internet radio station!
21. Create New Merchandise: Create new merchandise to sell alongside your music. Give fans something else to buy other than just your music! Use your merchandise to help strengthen your brand and increase your brand awareness!
22. Box.com/Dropbox.com: A much easier way to share large files over the internet.
23. Create a Soundcloud Profile: Its a popular platform for sharing music and creating playlists that can be streamed and embedded into other websites.
24. SmartURL.it Links: Use it to track who clicks on your links, and make sure they are sent to the right destinations based on the mobile devices and operating systems they are using.
25. Register Your Trademark: Register your artist name and logo so that nobody else can take it
26. Form a Corporate Entity (like an LLC): Starting a business will give you some legal protection, allow you to open a bank account, get loans, and hopefully, force you to have more of a “business” mindset when looking at your music career.

Yes, I know, its a long to-do list and it can even seem overwhelming at first glance. But, start at the top, prioritize what is most important to you, and pick away at the checklist in between doing what you like to do most; creating music! If you need beats for your next project, check out my beat catalog here! Hopefully you found some value in this post!

If you would like to read the full original article, you can do so here!

Feel free to leave any questions you might have in the comments section. I’ll do my best to answer them. Also, if you are interested in any other topics for me to blog about next, drop a comment and I might speak on that subject in a future post!

💯 Fly Guy J