Why You Need To Stop Releasing Singles

[@WeAreRGM]

Remember when people said albums were dead 😂 ALBUMS NEVER DIED. People just got warped by the streaming model, yet we ALL still listen to albums on the daily!!! Of course we do!!

[@ApolloSuns]

YES! EXACTLY. So tired of people disrespecting the album

[@unspeakableoaf]

I stream albums (and buy a fancy physical copy when I find one) by my fave artists. A lot of them make albums meant to be listened to in order. One of this year's King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard releases didn't even have breaks between songs. Not sure the vocalist(s) ever took a breath either. Definitely not random streaming material, in my opinion.

[@ApolloSuns]

@@unspeakableoaf that's awesome and the way to go about it

[@Dizzy808]

i came here for this comment specifically 😂

[@EricContractor]

I think eventually an album is needed to tell a full story of the artist and who they are

[@t-god2439]

The problem I see right now in music. Is that a lot of the artist live off singles. Meaning they have no story, depth, or story. So they stick to just dropping singles

[@officialWWM]

The mistake you are making is that you think people care!

[@officialWWM]

@@t-god2439the only ones who care about that are the artists. The audience doesn’t care about any of that!

[@EricContractor]

@@officialWWM speak for yourself! Even if this was true of me I’m talking about artists in general….and of course music fans exist

[@t-god2439]

@@officialWWM I care about that it’s the reason why some of my favorite artist are my favorites. It’s so many great albums that just take me back to a certain year or place because I connected with the story and body of work that much. Imo that’s true artistry

[@blondedhead]

Bruno Major was really smart back in 2017. He released a singles album. Every full moon he would release a track, and 12 months later, 12 singles later, he re-released the songs as an album. Worked out perfectly for him

[@imnotdirtydan]

This literally never happened

[@blondedhead]

@@imnotdirtydan kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGXFkIuniJZpd9Esi=bvJLyITHYrGjMxO7

[@unspeakableoaf]

Owl Vision does the same with all his stuff. He's made mad dozenaire money by now.

[@88benz]

@@imnotdirtydanyea it did

[@tommoranofficial]

What ever you are doing, no matter what it is, no matter how you're doing it...is wrong. Welcome to KZbin.

[@zootin6688]

yup lmao, "why drinking 8 cups of water a day is NOT actually good for you" or some shit

[@NEEDSHES]

Albums don't work, singles don't work😂 fuck the industry! make great music be an artist not a looser, you've been chosen by the Universe already) if you really can do it of course, there's a lot of idiots think they can😂

[@BluesLicks101]

truth!

[@Avidasegue444]

Well said brother

[@NEEDSHES]

@@Avidasegue444 🙌🙌🙌

[@HypnoticHollywood]

Your comment makes zero sense.

[@juanmagazapo]

I do that with my EPs I released 3 singles then a 5-6 song EP

[@corporaterobotslave400]

Singles should be the teasers for the upcoming album. It's always been that way. Don't go reinventing the wheel that still rolls.

[@donzabonanza]

Release singles until you get popular... then compile your popular releases (plus some new tracks) into an album. Friend of mine did that and now technically has an album that has a total 850 million streams (yes, million). Don't waste your time trying to write half hour / 45 mins of music because unless you're popular - nobody is going to listen to a full album.

[@loublackvideo]

The waterfall release method can be messy for the artist and listeners, so I recommend is that folks take their albums and release the tracks over time as singles, and then recompile their singles into a digital album. From there promote the album to fans of the album track singles who may have missed the release of the other album track singles (which is pretty easy since approximately 5% of followers ever notice the new releases)

[@glenpeladeau]

Yes and no, release a digital album, squeeze them lemon and slowly upload when album sales start to diminish. Rinse and repeat!

[@loublackvideo]

We live in a world of singles, and not all album tracks are singles, so you release your single album tracks that pop and circle back to promote the album later. I see too many artists releasing albums that flop in terms of streams. Cold audiences don’t have an interest in exploring all the tracks an album, but the tiny group of active fans (those where you are their top artists) will love it. True fans explore the deep cuts across the catalog regardless

[@charnelveil669]

And it's expensive!

[@yvngfelly]

I always stumble upon these kinda of videos in my feed n I watch out of pure curiosity. I always find myself more confident in myself afterwards bc I always hear people giving good advice n I already been doin it 🤣

[@cblanchhiphop]

Always felt this way too - release singles until you have a big following, then focus more on quality and cohesiveness across albums

[@loublackvideo]

Yes, this strategy worked for quite well for Lil Nas X, although with literally BILLIONS of streams for his singles I wondered why it took so long for him to release his first album

[@cblanchhiphop]

​@@loublackvideo I don't know the exact answer but I expect it had to do with the label - Old Town Road was made with a $20 beatstars beat, then he was signed and I expect they wanted a perfect rollout of an album which took a while to perfect and had more "gatekeepers" that needed to give the green light on it's release

[@rayantenna]

I just dropped a 8 song project and now I’m going on hunna g tomorrow in NYC. Dropping a well thought out project is the way to go.

[@jacksp8de]

Nic D seems to have the best method. He has a million streams a day. Releasing singles very frequently and creating content around each release consistently. If you want to be independent and don't care about being famous or signing with a major, (I don't) this seems to work the best based on observation. I'm gearing up to do this all next year weekly to bi weekly singles and entertaining content. Let's see what happens.

[@nimbustk]

hows it going

[@winslowdonovanmusic]

great vid i love the cake analogy lmao. i jus dropped my 26th project last friday, full album but we still dropping singles too. both are fun! get active!

[@jcup1998]

Really helped me ! Thanks !

[@laikhel1388]

thank u guys, i've seen more than a couple vids from your chanel lately and the content is pretty lovely and clever.

[@Chronade]

Fans have been asking me about an album. I've got one more single to hit the DSPs, then the album will be released, it's all ready for recording anyway. Thank you for always being here for us 💛

[@midable-mc2cz]

what music do you make?

[@Chronade]

@@midable-mc2cz Pop, R&B, Gospel, Electro, Soul

[@aye5kay]

If they are really fans then you should be able to create a physical product worth way more value than putting an album up for streaming that those fans with support. If the people asking, never purchased anything, then those are probably just listeners.

[@Chronade]

@@aye5kay Thank you for the reality check 🧡

[@aye5kay]

@@Chronade let's get it, homie!

[@jairrobalino]

I honestly hate the waterfall strategy as a listener, when an artist I love is dropping loads of singles, that’s great. But when that album drops and its all the same songs it defeats the whole anticipation. Why would I listen to an album if I’ve already heard more than half of the songs?? At this point it’s just a collection of the singles and I’ll just skip to the 2 songs I haven’t heard. The reason I wait for an album is to hear new songs I haven’t heard. Again I think singles are great, but it can ruin the albums experience imo.

[@dreadmc]

My album I did was half released songs and the other half brand new songs and the album had a concept all tied into it. I hope people listened as a whole and didn’t skip but i thought it was good to have a balance.

[@jensenraylight8011]

Song A, Song A with extended cut, Song A without Censorship, Song A remixed, Song A Instagram Cut, Song A Tv size, Song A ft Sailor Twift, Song A Live version, Song A with Lyric Now you have yourself a solid Album Release

[@AncientlightInsights]

I keep hearing people advising on releasing singles only and I always thought there is an expansive result about releasing an Album. Thank you for the Insight. Very helpful.

[@RRADOMAL]

This is exactly what I’m about to do! I’m not even releasing anything until my album is ready!

[@dreadmc]

I spent 18MONTHS on singles then dropped the album worked out well for me as an independent artist. Currently front cover of a Spotify playlist album been out a year and still promoting it regularly.

[@cyriltouboul9981]

funny thing is I am an old fart and this young genius makes perfect sense. a single is just a tool . it's a way to say hey look at me. but when they're looking if you don't have the body of work to give them what your single promised you lose a bit of the trust and you hurt your brand. plus I always preferred the deep cuts I'm one of those.

[@evoj.]

Great info, reminders etc. TY🙏🏻💥😎

[@andrewboland1062]

Planning to release like 4 singles before I drop my album, still trying to figure if the strategy is worth it. Changed my name, changed my sound and came back a bit more authentic

[@PEERSEEMANN]

Yep, I just released an album and it gives you lots of promo material (I filmed all the studio sessions) and it keeps listeners directed via link / add within your album, so stream/listener is much higher. Also is much more fun bc you can write a lot and experiment.

[@SannyVeloo]

Who knows? Everyone is tell you to do something different, some say singles, some say albums, some say work on your socials, nobody actually says play as many shows as you can everywhere in front of actual real people to grow actual fanbase of real people!

[@FasolProd]

Very interesting, i have taken notes !

[@juanoneal1629]

I love your neo soul instrumentals, I listen to them all the time! So cool! 😎

[@t-god2439]

The problem I see right now in music. Is that a lot of the artist live off singles. Meaning they have no story, depth, or story. So they stick to just dropping singles

[@Shanecollins666]

I only release albums most times but, sometimes ep's or single albums as in 2 or 3 tracks under 30 minutes

[@redundantwisteria4745]

What number should be a good number to wait for to release an album? Should the be monthly listeners or followers ?

[@cekirdekci32]

finally someone makes sense. look at everyone else. how everyone is like oh no just release singles. its never my style. give them the full picture full style if you got a full story. single hype I hate it. and you spend all that marketing on one single. why not do it for full album to get people in to the full story?

[@taeskii_official]

I did this exactly

[@r2aul]

I have one shelf in my cupboard where I put all my canned goods. According to the new music industry model I just 'released' my first lentil soup when I came home from the market. (fingers crossed)

[@allenhayesmusic]

Country music in the US right now is a singles market as many major label albums are flopping

[@SmilusMusic]

Why are we still listening to Spotify exactly?!?

[@koalemos1679]

Electronic music is so bad about this. I'm old and I remember when you would buy a physical item and listen to it front to back. Nothing worse than finding a cool producer with like 5 barely related songs.

[@BoldTakes]

Albums are indeed a serious flex because it’s essentially like the artist is saying: okay fans, you’ve heard my 4 singles..now i’m going to double or maybe even triple that, and release like 8 new singles all at once. Full hour-long albums are quite impressive as they add supreme value when it comes to lifetime discoverability as well because now all the songs are in one distinct location online, for a value price, and the catchy album title helps fans recall more songs at once

[@AnjaKotar]

amazing insight🙏🏻

[@martinlieshow]

The title is pure clickbait and straight out lying

[@jazsun700]

Times are changing, albums remain, but in a very small percentage of the overall market. And no one will change that.

[@royzderich]

I think the concept of an album is somewhat outdated, is not for everyone, todays distribution model allows you to release singles, eps or albums if you want, but a single today means a lot of content, videos, reels, extended versions, tons of social media posts, remixes, a successful single today pack a lot of content and work, similar to the old school album. In terms of listener reach a single today can bring more than several albums in the 80's and 90's, i have examples of emerging artists in South America reaching a couple of billion people with one song combining channels. the Scale had changed from the CD era. In the urban music in South America we work for a single as much as it was for an LP in the past, a single is a lot of work and develop after launch if successful. It's a different world, and digital platforms allows you to develop a long lasting narrative along one great song in may representations. I love albums, but this have a very different meaning today.

[@kiahrogers]

This is my thoughts exactly. Releasing only singles allows me to take my time to write a great song.

[@royzderich]

@@kiahrogers That's great, i see all this as advantages, you can do anything you what and at your own pace, be creative and reach a lot of people, we have all the tools, but patience is key! i wish you all the best!

[@MarcPapers]

You were just telling everyone about a singles strategy. Lmfao this is why I never listen to any one’s opinion but my own.

[@bign_music]

Agreed that releasing the full album after 7-8 tracks from it as singles is good. BUT not to attract labels. It's fairly well accepted now that you're better off without a label. Anything they spend to promote you, you pay back plus interest, you're tied, controlled and a large % of what you earn goes to them forever. If/when my stuff gets somewhere I personally know the president of EMI, could call her up anytime but I would not bother (apart from maybe to show off for fun). 😎

[@101DaExclusive]

Ty

[@Hamletshandle]

Release a bunch of singles towards an EP. Press, radio and DSPs have more to chew on if they know your singles are apart of an over arching story. 2 birds 1 stone.

[@r2aul]

So...let me get this straight: you upload to a server of infinite space with no promotion, no advertising and call it 'releasing' a single. And the company running the server never really pays you accordingly but gets involved enough to encourage you to upload ALL of your material ( with no promotion or advertisement except on their own whims) and you still get paid nothing.... This makes perfect business sense.... for the server.

[@xydanmusic]

Releasing an album mostly works for an already established artist or with some bit of buzz. She said it herself at the beginning of this video.

[@Evacer]

People just want to take shortcuts, and help sustain themselves. People are wired for the short-term reward even if they can withhold the song and use it in a long-term album project, and possibly bring in more streams for that single song, because it's accompanied by more songs.

[@akalui007]

why is signing to a label still heralded as an artists big moment?

[@Mississippi_Martian]

Some don't need it. (Tom McDonald) However, some such as me, can't seem to gain any kind of traction when it comes to promotions. It probably doesn't help that I'm a broke, struggling artist to begin with who's spending his last dollars often times just to get a few ad plays on Spotify, etc. A label won't have that issue. They have resources and reach that at this point in time, I simply have no hope of attaining.

[@akalui007]

@@Mississippi_Martian if their resources and reach worked every time then every artist they signed would break, I think the success rate is roughly 10%, I have many friends on majors, not all who have seen upward trajectories after signing big deals

[@Movieman1965]

@@akalui007 I see what you are saying but big deals can at least give the artists some financial support to focus on the music and not needing a regular job to afford rent and expenses. I understand your comment on the success rate though. Not everyone becomes a huge star.

[@TBiz81]

you're 100% right but just one question: why has Calvin Harris (Sony) not released a tradional album since 2014? The internal Sony balance sheet of 2018 lists his contribution as "album equivilent." 59m monthlies & being the #26 artist in the world isnt bad.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

What percentage of an artist music should be exclusives on KZbin or Spotify IE only on one? Does an artist only put music content KZbin that's related to there spotify songs?

[@kierangrossman1814]

I'm late to this, but I would put everything you release on all platforms. I can't think of any artists, independent or otherwise, that does KZbin or Spotify exclusives of their original music. Covers are a different story. The issue with doing music exclusive to a specific service is you will get people asking "why can't I find it on [x streaming platform]?" EDIT: I've seen some artists put songs on TikTok first as like a "testing ground" to see if people like them before they put money into getting them professionally mixed. I would say this is an okay strategy, but the pitfall that I see a lot of artists fall into is they don't finish the full song before they make the initial post, which means if it blows up they have to rush to finish the song as fast as possible before people lose interest. Personally, I would just put out the songs you want to put out on all platforms first and then promote them prior to and after release date.

[@datemonthyear]

sound advice , as always.

[@aagora]

What are the main elements of a "FULL PROJECT"?

[@yungheartbreakofficial]

Im right here why they not looking. I got like 6 projects 😭😭

[@NazzytheMic]

5 Albums, 4 Eps, 17 singles released. 2 Albums and 10 singles ready to release... been at this since I was 16, and I just turned 19 😭

[@Earthstarsky]

Maybe another 100 albums and you might make $300 lol

[@StrangerswithMemories_]

me not dropping any singles and dropping a 22 song album out of the blue 😮‍💨

[@vipin7600]

What’s the threshold (ig followers? Fans?) for releasing an album, how do you know when you are ready for an album?

[@EarthyHumanMusic]

I don't think you should look at your IG following and your existing momentum. If you are finding that you're performing and your singles arent enough to fill up a set then looking at an album maybe a good option especially if you're filling up venues. This would give maximum impact when you drop your album.

[@winslowdonovanmusic]

have fun with it who cares! drop what u want when u want! the beauty of being indie

[@Earthstarsky]

@@EarthyHumanMusichow much money have you made from your music? Lmao

[@groophz]

Wait for the fans to ask for one. Or offer one and look at their reactions.

[@Earthstarsky]

@@winslowdonovanmusic depends your goals. If people are attempting to make music in order to make money- then they probably care alot. But if it’s just for fun, what’s the point of releasing anything publicly?

[@realsciencerhythm]

Numbers do not lie - releasing a long play record, an album if you like, makes really only sense nowadays from the creators perspective if it's a physical medium release - because digital platforms, weather it's streaming or downloading, give the listeners a choice to basically cherry-pick their favorite songs regardless of if it's a single, extended or long play release. Now I fully understand what you're saying but in the end , again - numbers... And since the structure of this particular industry is very much an ocean of possibilities these days despite the strong relation between demand and supply basically shaping the direction the whole industry is going - it's almost a creators responsibility to NOT to give up to these relations as it will undeniably have an influence on the art being created. And if the creator is not creating from within but "because that's the demand" - it's where the difference between "meaningful art" and "likeable approachable quitch" starts....

[@alizeswigger]

I agree with this.

[@anthonydiaz8701]

I think we should have balance when it comes to single releases. Too much is not helpful, it okay to release a single or 2 off from an EP & Album that you are going to release. Full project but you're giving a sample off that full project. If a fan digs single 1 or single 2, that can be a sign they want the rest of the album so you give em that.

[@stevenswisher4339]

My buddy is Releasing 104 singles in 2024. Shout out Wesley Saylor out of lexington kentucky🎉

[@aye5kay]

Right. So those fans that need this near free if not completely free to stream album are going to stream it enough to hit that Spotify threshold. Guaranteed. 😂 The real fans should be supporting in other ways than crying online for more free stuff.

[@CRASS2047]

I miss the day when entire songs were a thing. Now, using the TikTok model, people release an 8 bar loop, then only the ones that do well are turned into whole songs. On a side note…..I have a problem finishing songs, but have thousands of 16 bar loops. Maybe I should give in and sign up to TikTok.

[@Mississippi_Martian]

I'm not disagreeing. I would much prefer to do this and will. It's just frustrating to be an artist right now... algorithms... yuck. Most advice says singles every 4 weeks. Then I've also seen where labels supposedly lose interest in artists who release albums as they won't have anything to sell since it's already been released.... but the advice in this video makes the most sense to me. Spiritbox, for example, had released their first albums' songs already yet they were signed, that music was taken down, and then released again as their first label album So, I'm sticking with that model I suppose. Thanks!

[@djboriginal]

At $0.003 per stream, who cares what Spotify wants...🤷‍♂

[@CsRLG]

Standard I'm assuming?

[@CsRLG]

😂😂😂

[@TheExidion]

As someone who has played the game it is just exhausting, I wasted so much money on things that didn’t come to fruition and am I better off for it? No those click views, magazine placements and stream numbers ain’t paying the bills, and while some in denial will say that’s cause your music was shit mate, nah it’s cause everyone else and their uncle is doing the same thing you are…screw Spotify, screw labels, just pick up your instrument or what ever and just get out there and play every show you can and have fun doing it cause otherwise what is the point of doing it in the first place. The industry should be in trouble and worried because they haven’t invested in the newer generations of artists for years.

[@michellegalasmusicofficial]

Do you mean we must have an album ready but still release singles by single

[@glenpeladeau]

I think that giving Spotify our full library is a terrible idea. I'll give them a throw away song from an album. Perhaps a 2nd to what the hit may be. If I am going to invest in an album I am not going to readily give it up for .0005 cents per stream, per song after 1k hits. I am going to squeeze them lemon as far as I can before uploading. It doesn't make good business sense.

[@nunoandradebluesdrive]

great...but an album is still expensive to do and there's no way to have the faintest clue you're recovering that money just for break even. So things are easy to speak but the real life is different.

[@carlos-pratspratsonthebeat1145]

Spotify is Like No Comment....

[@ZUPPOFLYINGSNAKE_]

7 singles out of 10 ? my word

[@LegPuppy]

well there you go, that's the problem, they want to find the next Ed Sheeran and the next Taylor Swift. Summed up in one sentence

[@HypnoticHollywood]

No artists release singles without the intent of dropping a full album. So I don't get the point of this video.

[@straightfar]

Albums is not for starters 😊

[@alexdaddario2732]

So whats the end game? Talking the talk right. Labels dont care about talent, the mainstream music business is like a consolation prize for the child abuse victim's these execs tend to exploit early. Make music if you ste gifted and leave it that way. These folks just talk anything to sound like they know what they are talking about. We have had the same players in the industry for YEARS, in a world of billions of creatives. Its a mess, just enjoy your craft and trust God to provide for your needs. N.B: how many artists are really earning a living from music? Mind you, there is 2 months mark before you get cash for streams you get today. So youll tell your hungry belly and thirsty throat to wait 2 months before refill right?

[@sleepingstate1978]

This is great advice in the service of signing artists to labels. There are now emerging paths that serve the artist much better, financially and contractually than signing with labels. I wonder if you ignore those because your career is dependent on the status quo? Or perhaps you are just not yet convinced about advising artists to monetise directly, cutting the labels out? I think you could have a role in either direction, but one is more duplicitous than the other.

[@TonyContiniProductions]

Triples is best.

[@satyakisengupta1381]

❤👌

[@MrRyanmac247]

30 singles is 3 albums

[@jazsebastian]

Yeahiknow

[@aikighost]

Cake Nazi: "No cake for you" 🤣

[@johndoe_1984]

I think we should stop calling them fans

[@Thejammindodgersfan]

Not great advice for DJ/producers where releasing on a lot of different labels is the norm, the rights are everywhere, and albums are just not the norm within the genre

[@baddworld]

Let’s just never release anything

[@eafloe]

In other words, get back to why you became an artist in the first place 😬. But even still, artists have to think differently as far as where you route your fans. The "feed Spotify" strategy will become a thing of the past one day

[@Tulio-v1v]

who cares, people don't listen to music but celebrities

[@MistyMusicStudio]

Good thing none of us will ever have to worry about getting to a point in our careers where it matters what format we release in 😂 Also f**k spotify amirite

[@officialWWM]

So release singles and not an album…but also, don’t release singles, release an album… Ok, got it. Also, why the hell would anyone want to sign with a label is 2024? That’s so 1983!

[@AnnereKinna]

No content here. To much Clickbait. Bye Bye

[@AaronSof]

You should also stop releasing albums.

[@MetalMakeover]

You need to be like Motley Crue and Nirvana, make albums with like 3 good songs and the rest all filler, it worked for them didn't it?

[@arnolenke]

No Pop crap advice