An album is a significant milestone in your journey as a musician. It’s a chance to share a full creative assertion along with your followers and showcase your vary.
Sometimes, you’ll discover albums carry out greatest on the heels of a number of singles. That is very true for rising artists — make your debut with a number of singles to supply new followers accessible, bite-sized items of your music. When you haven’t launched singles but, try our information to releasing singles in 2026. Collectively, these singles will generate the momentum vital for a profitable album launch — and educate you a factor or two about learn how to market your music!
On this information, we’ll present you learn how to launch an album in 2026, overlaying all of the necessities you’ll want prepped to succeed.
Submit your music and select a launch date
First, end your album solely and submit it for distribution with finalized metadata and canopy artwork. Although it’s not required by CD Child, we extremely advocate mastering your tracks.
Assuming you’ve already launched a number of singles, set the album launch date at the very least 6 weeks sooner or later. That may permit adequate time for promotion.
When you haven’t launched any singles but, your viewers may not be prepared for a full album; you may not even have an viewers but! Select three tracks out of your album to launch forward of time as singles and be taught learn how to waterfall your launch — a significant label technique that lets you launch singles in a compounding approach. Schedule the singles and the album at 4 to 6 week increments.
Create a press launch and replace your digital press package
Forward of your album launch, doc your story, visuals, and profession milestones in a press launch and digital press package (EPK). That may function a basis for selling, discussing, and sharing your album with business professionals.
Your press launch ought to embody important data resembling:
- Launch data: Date of launch, title of launch, credit, and album description with quotes
- Biographical data: Who you’re and background data on the album
- Inventive: Album artwork work, press images, and any model tips
- Contact data: Find out how to greatest attain you
- Hyperlinks: Non-public streaming, social media, web site, and press package
- Name to motion: What you need the reader to do
Guide a tour round your album
Among the finest methods to advertise your upcoming launch is by taking part in dwell! And also you don’t need to give up your day job to do it! Plan something from a 3-show run on a weekend to a full week journey. Determine a number of cities close by and begin networking with native musicians to ebook reveals. Study learn how to ebook reveals like a professional.
As soon as reveals are booked, coordinate a advertising and marketing plan to drive ticket gross sales:
- Coordinate a avenue group: get native followers to assist flyer across the venue space
- Run focused advertisements: put a small amount of cash behind focused short-form movies promoting your present
- Attain out to native press, radio, and occasion calendars: ship present particulars to native media for protection
- Collaborate on natural content material: Collaborate on posts with different musicians to succeed in throughout fanbases and amplify your attain
Plan a advertising and marketing marketing campaign
Create a calendar for the way you’ll promote your album throughout channels. Assess whether or not you might want to create any channels forward of your launch, resembling an electronic mail listing or a web site.
Social media: You must intention for 3 to 5 posts on social media per week that intention to draw new listeners and at the very least one publish per week to maintain present followers engaged. Learn to plan a marketing campaign.
Electronic mail: Ship at the very least three emails to your listing forward of your launch. One to share the discharge date, a second to construct anticipation and share any milestones, and a 3rd on launch day letting followers know your album is out. Learn to get began with electronic mail advertising and marketing.
Press: Finalize your press launch, create a non-public streaming hyperlink, then ship it out to journalists and faculty radio stations to lock in protection and airplay on launch day. Learn to create a press launch.
Web site: Replace your web site along with your upcoming launch particulars and canopy artwork. Think about including a countdown clock to launch day. Make certain your web site contains hyperlinks to your socials and an electronic mail signup type.
Create and order merch
Give your followers a method to help your music! Design and order merchandise you could promote at reveals and on-line. Traditional choices embody t-shirts, hats, hoodies, and bodily launch codecs resembling tapes, CDs, and vinyl.
Plan your launch day
Launch days could look totally different relying on the artist. You may be on tour, or internet hosting a listening celebration with shut associates, or dwell streaming for viewers at residence — perhaps all three! Your objective ought to be to have fun.
Forward of launch day, guarantee you might have advertising and marketing property and messaging prepared throughout channels. Absolutely draft and put together:
- A social publish announcement with images and related account tags
- An electronic mail announcement with hyperlinks to stream your album
- Up to date webpage with hyperlinks to stream your album
On launch day, maintain a watch out for press protection to reshare and interact personally with followers who go away feedback or share your launch.
Conclusion
Able to launch your subsequent album with CD Child?
Trusted since 1998 by a rising neighborhood of two million impartial artists, CD Child provides distribution to over 150 platforms worldwide. Get your album out for a one-time payment and begin incomes income out of your music.
