Photograph by Rhianonne Stone (@rhianonnestone)
Planning Forward for Success
In 2023, I launched my debut album, “Romance” — a cinematic neo-soul file with themes of romantic love, internal therapeutic, and treating ladies with kindness and respect. For my marketing campaign, I launched 4 singles (one each eight weeks) via CD Child main as much as the album launch in September.
There have been highs and lows, however crucially, I felt a big construct in my viewers’s pleasure over time attributable to my meticulous content material creation planning. I ensured that my social media content material clearly introduced my inventive story, together with thought-provoking musings and poems within the captions.
The Worth of Music Visuals
“Romance” was an interdisciplinary undertaking, so visuals have been key to my marketing campaign. I organized various photograph and video shoots with skilled photographers all through 2021, 2022, and 2023 to create high-quality content material. I had over 300 pictures saved, which allowed me to plan forward of schedule, lowering my stress ranges all through the marketing campaign.
Since I desire an old-school aesthetic, I solely wanted primary software program to seize the specified lo-fi really feel. I used the free model of Canva to edit pictures, and iMovie on my previous MacBook to edit any video footage. For future releases, I’d additionally think about using instruments like CDB Video Creator to create Spotify Canvas movies.
Constructing Music Group and Supporters
One of many greatest studying curves from the marketing campaign was understanding the place my artwork matches inside the music business.
I don’t write typical “radio” songs, however my initiatives have sturdy cultural and artistic narratives, which work properly when in search of out collaborators and music press.
I’ve been within the business for over 10 years now, and inside that point, I’ve made many natural press contacts and befriended various native artists. The vast majority of my collaborators for “Romance” have been members of Popgirlz Scotland, a feminist help group I based, and different feminine contacts I had made at business occasions.
Photograph by Rhianonne Stone (@rhianonnestone)
The Energy of Press
In flip, my strongest press items for the marketing campaign have been achieved via my longterm supporters, together with The Skinny, Vast Days Scotland, The Herald, The Listing, and Snack Journal.
I additionally acquired a big quantity of UK-based BBC Radio help (Tom Robinson at BBC 6 Music; Vic Galloway, Janice Forsyth, and Roddy Hart on Radio Scotland; and Shakk, Emily Pilbeam, and Nick Roberts on BBC Introducing).
In the hunt for some worldwide traction, I utilised playlist submission websites the place I used to be in a position to filter blogs that matched my style. I wrote clear press statements for every music, which led to extraordinarily profitable outcomes. My music carried out greatest outdoors of my dwelling nation of Scotland — notably in North America, the place I achieved common help from the likes of EARMILK.
Playlisting Classes
Regardless of these successes, I did be taught a couple of classes about find out how to go about pitching for playlists. At instances, I did really feel disheartened attributable to an absence of success with Spotify or DSP playlisting out of the 5 singles I pitched. After performing some analysis, although, I realized that 70-88% of first celebration Spotify playlisting is given to main label artists and on common, it takes 7-8 songs earlier than you hear a lady on an algorithmic playlist.
If I had recognized these statistics prior, I’d have prolonged my marketing campaign to 12 weeks per single to prioritise my psychological well being.
I discovered these statistics extraordinarily sobering — however on the identical time, they helped me really feel extra assured within the high quality of my work. Now I do know that some objectives are solely out of attain attributable to misogyny and main label offers inside the business. It’s essential that these statistics are recognised so we will implement new methods to help ladies and unbiased artists.
In Conclusion
My debut album launch as an unbiased musician has been one of many proudest inventive moments of my life.
I’ve realised everybody’s path in music is extremely distinctive, and I’ve learnt a beneficial lesson in regards to the significance of authenticity and persistence. I’m at the moment within the studio creating my second album, and searching ahead to bringing my new insights into my subsequent marketing campaign.
