#34: How to Build a Strategy for Releasing a Single

Watch the full tutorial video on my YouTube channel, click here: https://youtu.be/4yiuKq2h2QM

To listen to the single 'Take Me Back' (feat. INDIGO), click here: https://open.spotify.com/track/25LnvVk8FzddGEuWYmlAod?si=6c585d02b8ae4e96

For the Bob Burg 'The Go Giver' parable, click here: The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea

Want to join a community of artists and music enthusiasts and gain access to exclusive Inside The Mix Podcast content? Join the podcast Facebook community group here: Inside The Mix Podcast Community

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Transcript

Marc Matthews: 0:00

You're listening to the inside the mix podcast with your host, Mark Matthews. Hello and welcome to the inside the mix podcast. I'm Mark Matthews, your host, musician producer, and mix and mastering engineer you've come to the right place. If you want to know more about your favorite symp music, artists, music engineering, and production songwriting, and the music industry. I've been writing, producing, mixing, and mastering music for over 50 years. And I want to share what I've learned with you. Hey, welcome back to another. Inside the next podcast, uh, tutorial video. So in this one, I'm actually going to not go through a music production tutorial, but what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna share the experience that I've had over the last week. So this is recorded on the 2nd of July, 2022. So I released a song called take me back, which features indigo on vocal. So it's like an EDM synth wave type track. And I released it on the 28th of. So in this video, what I'm gonna do is, or rather this podcast, uh, tutorial, what I'm gonna do is share some experience that I've had over the last week with regards to this release and also the run up to the release. And hopefully what you should be able to take away is some tools and techniques that you might be able to use in your releases. Interesting. Why I'd also like to hear is your feedback and response to the things I've come up with. Okay. So the first one, so leading up to this particular song being released, um, it probably took about 18. In total and I revisited it. Um, numerous times I, I put it to bed. I put it to, to one side and then I would come back and, um, go through it again, try mixing, add bits and pieces to it. It started out actually. So take me back, started out as a, uh, an instrumental remix track. Um, and I sent out to a few people to have a listen to, and they fed back to me saying, actually it's an instrumental, but you could also consider a vocal on top of it. So one thing that was key in the build up to this track, which I strongly encourage that you do is to get advice and feedback from other producers and other artists. So actually what I did was I would send the track out and just candid feedback and off the back of that feedback, I would then improve the track, but I wouldn't send every iteration of that track out for. The keeping here is to tech is to get friends or artists that you trust. Don't just send it out to anybody. Okay. Send it out to those artists that you've built a network, a supportive network up with cuz you know, you're gonna get candid and supported feedback. What you don't wanna do is just send blindly, send your track link. To someone. Okay. Check out my track. I'd love your feedback. You need to establish that network and that supportive network first. So having done that, you then get that feedback, but don't send every iteration out, have a milestone first mix, maybe a vocal mix. Send that out, get feedback. Okay. Then build and adapt that particular mix before you send another one. So few things to take away from this process. Okay. The first thing is because it was stretched over such a long period of time. I think there is potential that it could be detrimental to the mix. It took a lot longer than it should have. And the track count is a lot higher okay. Than I would like. And I attribute that down to the fact that I did it over about 18 months. Okay. And that artist might seem different. May, may say differently, but I think because I revisited it in sessions lasting over those 18 months, it meant that I was adding bits and pieces every. and the track count just got higher and higher. And the actual mix of it just got more unmanageable. So I had to take bits out and ultimately, um, I think it could potentially be detrimental to the mix. Now the mix itself is good. I've had some really good feedback. I've also had some really good critique on it as well, which is key. And the key there is, is not to take that personally. And I don't. Um, and it's something I can build on next time. So my learning curve. So the first point I'm trying to get across here is potentially that less is. Think of your track camp. And I think in the podcast itself as well, I often go on or bang on about deadlines. And what I should have done is set myself a deadline and said, right, this is it. Okay. I don't want it to be any longer, maybe three months rather than 18 months. And at that point move on or get it released. And I think because as I say, I did stretch it out over that length of time. The track count is way too. And also I think that it, it has been detrimental to the mix. Cause what I've done is over those 18 months, I've actually progressed as a mix engineer as we do. We learn and progress as we go along, I've progressed and my style has changed. And in doing so I'm having to then go back and revisit that mix to try and get it, to fit my new style. So it's been a battle. Okay. So yeah, my first key takeaway of feedback is less, is more and stick to a deadline. So my next piece of. Is to network. Okay. And by network, I mean, is. get involved with your online community, if there is a local community. Fantastic, but there's a massive, massive online Sy based community. And it probably goes for any genre, to be honest, the key is, is to get involved in these particular areas, whether it's Instagram threats, um, whether it's a Facebook group, whether it's on Twitter, whether it's Twitch. Okay, you're fine. There are lots out there. And it's the key thing is to get involved and start talking and sharing music. Now, when I say sharing music, what I'm not saying. Just a cold message or DM saying here's my new song. Check it out. Okay. What you should do leading up to a release and afterwards, and just in general. Okay. Is to build a relationship, ask the other person or group about them. Get involved, shown interest. Okay. And naturally the topic of music will come up further down the line and it'll be a natural. Hey, I love your music. Um, I've been chatting to you, checked out your stuff and love it. So my key bit here, okay. Is to just not bombard someone or people with cold DMS. Okay. Or email saying, this is my music, check it out, build a supportive network. And by proxy with that supportive network, you'll find that it will help you in terms of when you do release that. okay. You'll, you'll see your shares grow exponentially, but it's give and take. I think there's a really, really good parable for that. You could check out called the go giver by Bob bur and I'll put a link in the show notes to this, and it talks about how you just give, give, give. Okay. So share content, right? Comments. Okay. Share their profiles of the artists that you like and be supportive. And in turn as time progresses, that will compound and it will come back to you. And you'll find that you'll be part of incredibly supportive network as I'm, I'm blessed to be. Um, I mean, I've met so many great people online through the synth based community, so many supportive and amazing people. And, um, it's fantastic. So the key thing here from this particular. Is to network and talk and show an interest in others. Let's take a quick break from this episode so that I can tell you about a free resource that I made for you. It's a PDF checklist that describes what you need to do to properly prepare a mix for mastering. So you've done the hard work and you love your mix yet. Suitably preparing a mix for mastering is often overlooked by musicians resulting in delayed sessions, excessive, back and forth conversation and frustration on both parts. I want to help fix that. So if you want this re resource, just go. Www dot synth music, mastering.com. As this checklist will help and guide you to make the mastering process as smooth, transparent, and exciting as possible. So again, the URL is www dot synth music, mastering.com for this free preparing a mix for mastering checklist. Let's get back to the episode there's episode, but this next box, just a bit of reflection on my YouTube music video release. interestingly now, I dunno why, but the YouTube algorithm jumped on this particular release and my views shot up now. I don't have a huge YouTube following. Uh it's I think at the point of this, it's about 151 subscribers. Um, but on the day of the music video release, I just saw an exponential share. Okay. And the YouTube algorithm jumped on it and was recommending it. And I, to be honest with you, I don't actually know why. Um, all I can say is. The time of day I released, it was 7:00 PM. The keywords I used in the tags were no different to before the description was like all the other videos I've, um, released the that's, the title that is the actual episode description. Maybe it was shorter than usual. I didn't put lyrics in, but apart from that, I actually, before I didn't actually put a description of the track either. Um, but to be honest, it was the same as any other release. So I'm not entirely sure why, but YouTube did jump on it and I'm not complain. Um, but I thought I would just share with you my YouTube experience in that. Um, I also release YouTube shorts and I find that if I release shorts leading up to a video release like this, it does help. Maybe it's the compound effect in terms of like, I'll get views on those shorts and they'll gradually build and YouTube shakes and interest. And then when I release that full video, it jumps on it and it shares it as a recommendation. So I guess what you could take away from this is if you are using YouTube, which is a tough nut to crack, don't get me. Is to use the shorts elements. So the 15 second shorts and maybe post behind the scenes sort of footage of how you create your track, which I'm gonna go into in a bit in a minute. Um, so yeah, I just thought I'd share a bit on my YouTube experience. I'd be interested to know as an audience, what experience you've had with YouTube or any tips or tricks. So if you do have any. Leave a comment in this video, alternatively, uh, join the Facebook group on Facebook. Obviously it's a Facebook group. Uh, there is a link in the show notes. So this next observation. So this is an idea that I took from a short video. I saw on TikTok where it said to create 15 bits that behind the scenes content. And admittedly, I have repurposed this and I've shouted out and TikTok as well. So what I did was I created, uh, behind the scenes videos of various bits and pieces of, uh, the track taking me back before I released. And then on the release day, what I did was I had a behind the scenes in the evening, and I think I had the music video snippet or something in the morning. And I staggered that over the next four or five days. So a bit of reflection on this, the positives that came out of this approach are that I had more people engag engage in conversations specifically on TikTok asking. Various bits and pieces, for example, um, what claps did you use here is this mixed et cetera. And what I did find, interestingly, with that feedback, particularly on the behind the scenes was there was a lot more critique on the music, which is a good thing. Because what I find is when there's critique on your music, um, on these platforms on social media, that starts discussion and via discussion and shares, you'll see the algorithm jump on it in theory. Now I'm not an expert, but that's what I'm led to believe. So that's a plus when it comes to the behind, behind the scenes network, you can start those conversations and you can start having conversations about how you put it together and answering questions and getting that honest critic. I think the negative side of this approach apart from being quite time consuming to put together, um, is that when I look at my feed visually from a visual perspective, it looks very, very similar. Each post looks similar. So on reflection, probably what I need to do is to make sure that each post is slightly different in some way may that whether I have a different cover image or something along those lines, otherwise for someone visiting my profile, it just looks like the same video repurposed over and over again. and that's my phone going off. Cause I didn't put it on silent, but it's a, I think it's a great thing to do is to get your audience involved in how you created the track rather than just the video, which is amazing. Okay. I see some amazing videos and I see some amazing artwork, but if you could get people actually discussing the track itself and behind the scenes, I think you've got more room there for engagement. Um, so I'll be interested to see if anyone does take that approach. And if you do tag me in it on Instagram or whatever network, it. And, um, I'll check it out and, uh, and see what you do this last bit of experience I'm gonna share with you is about reflection. So as creatives, I think it's important that we reflect. And when we create, we release something, reflecting back on the process of what we've done is key to progression. And I do it constantly with my music. I'm always listening to my music, listen, looking at mixes, looking at masters thinking, actually, what can I do differently there and reflecting and taking that experience and moving on and using it in my next release. And the approach I'm now gonna take is very similar to what I'm doing here. So I'm gonna record myself talking about it. Now this is a having a podcast and having this video tutorial, it's a fantastic way for me to get my ideas down and actually share them as well. I'm not saying I'm the expert or the Oracle on any of this. This is just my experience. And I'm hoping that it's gonna be a view to some. Of the audience of you listening and that you may have shared this experience and you might be able to comment and feedback or give me pointers, even in terms of actually mark, have you tried this? Maybe this will work for you next time, because we're always learning and evolving and I think that's key. And so what I'm trying to say to you here is at the end of your next release, try this, actually just talking to your phone and talk about the release. What went well, what didn't go well and then save it and then listen to it before you do your next release and. Act upon it and then reflect again and go through that iterative process of reflection. And it'd be great at that maybe at the end of a month, a month, a year, 18 months to listen to it as a whole and see how far you have progressed, cuz yet you got your music and you can hear progression in your music and your songwriting, but actually listening to yourself, talk and the confidence in terms of your progression and that the examples and experiences you've had over that time. I think will be amazing. Anyway, it's just an idea. Um, and it's something that I'm gonna do, and I'll be intrigued to know if you do something similar and as always share it with me. Instagram DM, or you could put it in the comments on this YouTube video, or you could head over to the Facebook community group link in the description. If you enjoy these podcast episodes, the inside the mix podcast. What I want you to do is hit subscribe, whether that's YouTube or your podcast platform of choice and leave a review or comment. Now I've been talking a lot about the single take me back. So what then is in the show notes for this episode? You'll find a link to the. Take me back, both the YouTube and the Spotify link. Give it a listen and let me know your thoughts. Thank you for listening to our show. If you like what you're hearing, make sure to rate our show on apple podcasts.