The time is 3:14 am, you just finished the song you’ve been working on for months, and you are resisting everything in you, not to just put it on Soundcloud right here and now. Pause. There is a method to the madness, and unless you are Drake, proper roll-outs are essential to the longevity and success of record. So once the song has been created, what are the first steps an artist needs to take to showcase it to the world?
All artists want to make art. Most artists have no vested interested in SELLING or MARKETING their art, but they should. As much as the music should, and ideally does speak for itself - it's important to have great digital assets that support an already great record.
The first thing you are going to need is COVER ART. Your cover art needs to be 1400 x 1400 pixels, and speak to the theme or message of the song. Or doesn’t. I hear irony is in these days.
The second piece, if not the most important, is of course the AUDIO FILE. But all audio files are not created equal. You will need a high-res wav file, 16bit, or 44.1 kHz. If you are getting your record mixed and mastered, a trained engineer can ensure you have the right file size and type.
The third and final piece that you are most certainly going to need is METADATA. This includes all the information about your song down to title, genre, artists name, songwriters on the track, and publishing information. Nobody outside of who was in the studio with you when the song was made will know this information like you do. As an artist, as well, it is your responsibility to make sure the people who you collaborated with on this project, are getting their piece of the pie, which is why it’s so important the METADATA is as accurate as possible.
Making music is a collaborative process, and everyone’s role is of equal importance. Once the record is out, then the art will speak for itself with proper marketing and self-promotion. But as an artist, these are the three fundamental steps to live by for every record you want to release to the masses. Once you get this process down, you won’t forget it.
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