Are You Releasing an Album, Single or EP?

The distinction among songs, albums, and EPs is a fascinating subject.
There are a lot of different perspectives on what it all entails. It’s easy to become perplexed.

Knowing what you’re going to release ahead of time is crucial for music marketing as well as lead-up time. It can be confusing for your fans if you have to hype up your new album and then release your song as an EP in e-commerce stores. So, make your decision early and promote yourself accordingly! 

Before you release your project, double-check that the sound is consistent throughout. When mixing a song, there are certain steps that must be followed in order to keep the album consistent. Our REWIND team offers mixing and mastering services, so if you are in need, please contact us at yourfriends@colorinsound.com.

Releases are classified differently by each digital store you distribute your song. Before promoting your publication, ensure you know how it will look. Here’s how it’s done at two of the largest digital music stores: 

Spotify Is a Music Streaming Service: 

• Spotify shows singles and albums as singles and albums, respectively. Spotify does not have an EP group. 
• If your project has 6 tracks or fewer, or it just has about 30 minutes of music on it, your release will be classified as a single. 
• All other releases will be organized into albums. 

Apple Music and iTunes: 

With Apple Music and iTunes, you can categorize your release as an album, Single, or EP based on the following factors:

• If you’ve got a handful of music that clocks in at 10 minutes or less, your release is said to be the single.
  
• If you’ve got a set of songs that totals up to half an hour or less, your music can be released as an EP. Depending on the number of songs, each one must have no more than 30 minutes’ worth of running time – but if there are just three tracks and one is at least 10min long it still counts!
• All of these releases then can be organized into albums. Once these parameters are followed, your release is going to appear in stores in an automated way.
• You have to make sure that whatever you are releasing must be known to you before it is actually released. Advertising your album is another important aspect when you are releasing an album. Make sure you are promoting an EP when releasing it.

Booking Gigs : (Separate Article/Email)

• Music booking is a great opportunity to increase your revenue generation, gain visibility and strengthen your network.
• You want to be sure you’re ready to do so.
• If you’re ready to be booked, be sure to join our GIG ALERTS! Program to receive opportunities.

Otherwise, you can be wasting time, money, and resources when trying to book your shows.

Many musicians hold themselves back from greater career advancement by causing disruptions to their current shows.

This may mean writing the wrong date or setting a time that is far enough away from their preferred location to take care of the driving or covering the ground, having to be booked into a venue they are unsuited to, or giving false ideas about what they’re capable of doing.

Only by keeping all appointments in a single calendar, maintaining one person in constant contact with venues, and also making sure everything is documented in writing two weeks prior to the show, can this problem be solved.

Remember that managers make errors, too, but if you are an excellent keeper of schedule, you can look at these problems and take care of them.

Social Media is your Record Label

Many artists have a misconception that record labels are the only way to experience any kind of success in the music industry.

However, that was only true in the pre-social media era, where it was impossible to get your music into the hands of regular music lovers without a label backing you.

These days, you can pitch college radio shows or blogs to promote your music or even directly connect with your fans via the Internet, giving artists an unprecedented number of ways to promote themselves.

Back then, only labels could mobilize the resources needed to get a song heard everywhere.

However, the Internet is allowing countless artists to connect with people all over the world directly without any third-party interference. You can create your own graphics, mix your music, create your website, and connect with fans directly without your moves being dictated by a record label.

• Do you have a social media strategy?
• If so- how has it been working for you?
• If not, have you thought about implementing one?

Do You Need a manager?

• Before we begin, remember- having a manager (or a record deal) is not a measurement of success.  
• Some very successful (some famous and some not) artists have never had a manager or a record deal, and some have.
• That being said- if you are not registered with the proper Performance Rights Organizations, and/or if you are searching for a manager because you don’t know where to begin, you don’t want to do the work, or you want to appear professional- you should probably re-evaluate your quest.
• Sure, managers can get you connected, organize your business, expedite the process and make arrangements needed to ensure you get to focus more on creating your music.

However, typically a Professional Manager Will Find You.

• Why? Because they see your potential.
• However, to see potential, potential needs to exist.
• For the potential to exist, the basic checkmarks need to be there.
• Such as; the ability to create a decent amount of quality music, the ability to be a professional, the ability to be a team player, and the ability to prove ownership of your music.
• Other checkmarks are the proper PRO registration (each platform has its benefits and artists have different needs, so it’s good to do your research.

If you simply do not want to wear the other hats and conduct your legwork- you should look to find interns/friends/family that would be willing to take on the manager role just to get you started. No shame in that game!

Make sure they are professional, courteous, hard-working, and trustworthy because they will be representing you and your brand. 

There have been stories of fame and success where an aspiring artist’s friend/mom/dad/family member started out representing them and is still representing them.

Name Your Project

• You don’t have to listen to me tell you that the title of your single or EP, or album is very important.
• If there is trouble in deciding, try to look for a creative title like that of your music. 
• Music is a form of communication. It is going to be beneficial if you translate and modify it into the words and expressions for which you want to use the title for your album. And this is how you must continue. 
• Do you have any lyrics? It gets even better. Look for the gold and use that to create the best imaginative and creative title for your album. If still there are some points that you don’t understand, Dadaist poetry is still a good option, right ??
  
  

Formatting the title: 

• After you’ve decided on a title, you’ll need to think about formatting. Depending on the type of release, the formatting of your title can vary. 
• Again, Online stores come with their unique styles of titles. To format your existing titles, the Music Style Guide of the iTunes store is a great resource. 
• The title of every album represents the same color and font style, depending upon whatever music store they are releasing their title and music too, the selected words on online music stores are always very relevant 

For example, Titles of albums on Spotify are displayed in the Spotify Circular of fonts, while your track title on Google Play is displayed in the Roboto font, and so on. 

It may or may not have an impact on the title you pick. Just remember that your album title is your chance to maintain control of what it means, even if you can’t choose the font, it appears in.

Do You Have a Plan?

• Most music artists have failed because they didn’t pay attention to their career planning.
• This is a major artistic blunder many artists are susceptible to, and usually, assign responsibility to others for.
• Planning on your future goals as well as possible and knowing what is required to achieve them will enable you to maintain motivation in your job.
• You need to create three-month, six-long, one-year, three-year to twelve-month, and one-to-year-long strategies, and ensure that they are all followed with precision.
• When you have no defined career strategy, you’re just tossing your career into the wind and hoping to rise to the surface.

We’ve created an Indie  Artist Action Plan

1(20%) for $99 ($299 with a strategy session) will expedite this process, and get you on track with developing your career goals. 

Typically, we have charged artists $1500 for these services in the past, but we accomplished our mission in providing these services for a tiny fraction of the cost to enable our artists to spend their money on artist development services needed to advance their action plan forward.

Do You Want to Be Sued? Samples & Legalities

• 
  When planning to release music that includes a demo, the first rule to remember is: It is illegal to use a preview of anyone else’s music without their permission. 
• Of course, certain royalty-free sample packs do not require clearance of all samples.  Don’t take a chance. Clear it if you are using someone else’s music  
• Using someone else’s audio is also not allowed in your music video and this is to stop being burned later.  It’s common to hear that using samples is acceptable and no one who cares will hear it.
• However, if your song becomes famous (which is exactly what you want, right?), the copyright claims for your music will begin. And this is one of the hardest times to get something taken away. 

Don’t take a chance:

• Clear it if there is someone else’s music. Try to contact the music artist and put effort to make your tracks legitimate. 
• Many distributors will notify you if your song contains objectionable samples, and your track will be removed regardless.
• So, save yourself the trouble and get the proper clearance.

Track Titles

• The titles of your tracks are essential indicators of your sound.
• They’re a part of the influence you have over your music in online music stores. 
• However, that is just half of the story.
• The title of your tracks is a vital element of your song’s metadata.
• It seems like a detailed term, but metadata is important to make your music searchable on the internet, specifically in online music stores. 
• When inserting track titles into the release generator, there are a few items to avoid.
• Entering just the track title and nothing else is one way to avoid having the titles of your track rejected. 
• You’ll hit some roadblocks if you add more relevant details with your name.

Here are some dos and don’ts to prevent this headache of re-future rejection on the future track title:

i- The release date should not be included.

ii- In your track title, leave out the format of releasing. (Single or EP).

iii- Don’t use search words like “pop-punk” or “lo-fi house” in your track names. 

iv- Make sure you spell it correctly and use a spellchecker! 

v- Be sure to use the SEO keywords for the track of your title. 

vi- Often use the same formatting in a publication. 

vii- Avoid using phrases like track 1 or track 2.” when naming the songs. The same can be said for referring to anything as “untitled.” On the bigger streaming network and platforms, where there are thousands of tracks in the online store with unique names and titles, your tracks can get lost in the mix. 

Before you release, Title tracks must be formatted: 

If your titles contain mistakes, it can take longer for your release to appear in online music stores and changing titles after you’ve released can be a hectic job, so double-check before you release one! 

You’ll prevent uncertainty and annoyance later if you are serious about your title and metadata.