The Artist Rise #039
Welcome to your weekly resource for all things branding, release strategy, and overall artist development.
Every week I'll help you strengthen your artistry through sustainable strategies that will help you build your career rather than force you into burnout.
Let's get into it.
It's overwhelming to be an independent artist.
You're forced to be in a constant motion, whether it's creating, recording, producing, promoting, pitching, performing, or any other role you're forced to take on. The cycle is constant and requires a quicker pace than most of us can handle.
And while releasing music is what it's ultimately about and what really is the best part of being an artist, there are always expectations around the results and return of any release.
Gaining new fans, racking up streams, putting on shows, you name it. Because the art is held to the highest values, the expectations often match that.
And in order to get those results, effort has to be put forth in areas that aren't always the most desirable.
Things like creating content, pitching to media outlets, playlisting, running ads. Necessary evils that are built in to any successful release.
It's an extremely overwhelming feeling heading into a release knowing all that it encompasses to get the results you desire.
And while that can be paralyzing, there are ways to make what feels out of control feel like it's all within reach.
Here's how.
The Plan
This is a key reason why artists need to treat their artistry as a business. No business heads into any new project without a plan in place that encompasses every step of the process.
What's getting done, when it's getting done, who's doing it, and why. It's important to identify every piece of the greater picture so you know what all you're looking at before walking into it.
Step 1: Identify all areas of the release. Production, release/distribution, pitching/promotion, social media & content.
When you know ahead of time what all you want to do, you can get a clearer picture of what's coming.
I am a huge advocate for not spreading yourself too thin, so if right off the bat you feel like everything you've listed isn't all going to be able get accomplished, cut something lower on the totem pole. For brand development purposes, I think social/content and production are top priorities (of course), so if you have to cut back, skip pitching.
Step 2: Create step-by-step plans for each of the larger pillars/areas of the release.
Do some research, figure out what all you need to do for each area. For example, within content, you can break that down into outlining your social media plan, creating a content collection list of what all you need to create and gather, film/create the actual content, edit, and schedule/post the content.
This might feel a little like stating the obvious, but when you actually identify what goes into accomplishing a specific aspect of a release, you can accurately assess what all you have to do to get the job done.
Plus, speaking as an artist myself, I often underestimate the time that anything takes when it comes to promotion. So looking at the steps that go into even just that portion of the release gives me a more accurate gauge on what all I need to do.
If you break it down into every step, it gets a lot easier for your brain to tackle it.
And for an added bonus, looking at a small task is easier than walking into a whole mini-project within the release and feeling that overwhelm.
Step 3: Create a timeline based on industry standards (and your own bandwidth)
There are some rules of thumb out there and best practices when it comes to a release.
The obvious one being submitting your release 4-5 weeks in advance of the release date. That way you can pitch to Spotify for Artists and ensure that your release makes it on DSPs in time.
Then there are others that are just more "best practices" to give you better chances of success. For example, pitching to media outlets should be done a few weeks in advance so you can secure the coverage.
In terms of content, your timeline can vary based on what your focus is for the campaign. I advocate for a more post-release-focused approach, but others would say the opposite.
And then of course you have to factor in your own bandwidth. Knowing yourself in terms of how much time you have on the average day, if you have any busy periods on the horizons, those kinds of things help to know when making a plan.
If you're going to fall off the face of the earth with a vacation next week, front load your efforts. If you're in a chill season of life, pace it out more.
Bottom line is to make sure what needs to get done gets done by its deadline.
All in all
At the end of the day, what goes into a successful release doesn't change. You have to cover all these bases to give yourself the best chance at what you consider a "release well done".
And while that can feel like the workload of many falling solely on your shoulders, a plan can help alleviate that feeling considerably.
Even though as artists we wish we could ride through releases like we follow our creative instincts in the writing process, there's something to be said for getting organized and tackling a release head-on and with a plan.
Follow your creative instincts when it counts, but get organized so the end result of those instincts makes the mark that you dreamt it would.
It's the only way to make the backend process feel less like a burden and more like a pathway to growth and impact.
Want to go further?
If you want more guidance in developing strategies and workflows that work for you, book a free intro session and see what a game-changing strategy can look like for you and your artistry.
Until next time,
-Ava
That's it for this week! Hopefully this helped you take the next step in developing yourself as an artist and a brand. Stay tuned for more next week.
If you have any topics you want to see more of or any questions you'd love for me to answer, simply reply to this email.
Keep learning and growing,
Ava Rose Lynch
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