When should a new band start releasing songs?

[Rev2010]

Been a very long time since I started a new project but in the past I would typically upload instrumental versions of my stuff before I had a singer. That would generate some interest and some followers so that when I got a singer we could work on an album then release it to a bit of an audience. I am now starting a new project and will be doing the vocals myself (it's electronic industrial so I'm doing everything myself). The thing I am wondering is when to start releasing completed songs since I won't be releasing any form of instrumental or rough mix versions. Right now I haven't even unhidden the Facebook page and I only have the logo I made on my website for the project. So, this is what I am wondering:

If I release the first track when it's finished then take 6 months to a year to complete the first album isn't that way too soon and won't people be bored of that track and look at is as "old" once the first album drops? If I don't release a track early on then will I be losing out on generating interest or should I figure releasing one track when the album is halfway done and others closer to release should be enough headstart?

So how do you guys do it? Keep in mind, this is a bit different than a metal project where you can just go play some live gigs to generate interest prior to an album/online release. I'm sure I can do a live thing and will but I will need to work out how it will be done and find people to play live with me.

Rev.

 

[TedEH]

I would imagine you'd want to release things in a "teaser"-y kind of way. Maybe instead of releasing a track, do a "the making of" type of video, making sure to carefully select what parts of your music are audible during the video. Sort of like a "hey guys, here's this things I'm working on, watch 30 seconds of me tracking part of it, and you'll hear an idea of what this is going to eventually sound like". I think that all the branding stuff that gets talked about is what's going to matter the most. Good artwork, a steady stream of updates or posts to keep interest going, etc.

I'm in a not-too-un-similar position where I'm doing things entirely myself, facebook page is reserved, project is making progress, but nothing has been published or released yet. So far all I've done is posted a video of drum tracking (I posted it in a couple of threads here too), but I don't think there's much traction to be gained by random youtube videos that aren't tied together with a brand and facebook page and art and all that stuff, so I eventually want to start releasing stuff properly, opening up the facebook page, etc. I'm debating putting out a video that includes a 30-ish-second clip of a rough master as an introduction to the project.

Definitely interested in hearing more discussion about this kind of thing.

 

[Rev2010]

Definitely interested in hearing more discussion about this kind of thing.

Good advice man, thanks! Good to talk to you again as well


Rev.

 

[JohnIce]

I would imagine you'd want to release things in a "teaser"-y kind of way. Maybe instead of releasing a track, do a "the making of" type of video, making sure to carefully select what parts of your music are audible during the video. Sort of like a "hey guys, here's this things I'm working on, watch 30 seconds of me tracking part of it, and you'll hear an idea of what this is going to eventually sound like". I think that all the branding stuff that gets talked about is what's going to matter the most. Good artwork, a steady stream of updates or posts to keep interest going, etc.

I'm in a not-too-un-similar position where I'm doing things entirely myself, facebook page is reserved, project is making progress, but nothing has been published or released yet. So far all I've done is posted a video of drum tracking (I posted it in a couple of threads here too), but I don't think there's much traction to be gained by random youtube videos that aren't tied together with a brand and facebook page and art and all that stuff, so I eventually want to start releasing stuff properly, opening up the facebook page, etc. I'm debating putting out a video that includes a 30-ish-second clip of a rough master as an introduction to the project.

Definitely interested in hearing more discussion about this kind of thing.

I think it's pretty much the opposite, personally I think most people don't have the attention span for teasers anymore, at least not as a way to gain new fans. Maybe it can generate some interest from your facebook friends but that's it, and they'll find out about your music regardless cause they're your friends. I think the only way to get any actual fans is to release a balls-out fantastic song and video that knock people off their seats and make them want to listen 5 times a day, put it in their Spotify playlist and Favorite it on Youtube. Anything else just gets washed away in the social media feed within a few hours, no one cares. Which I think is a great thing! I think now more than ever people don't want to be sold a bunch of DIY hype and vapor marketing, they want straight to the point fantastic new music NOW and nothing else.

 

[bhakan]

If you're not playing live I wouldn't worry about releasing anything until much closer to the album release. Random teasers and stuff only work if you're already well known and people are already watching your music. I'd say wait to do anything until closer to the album and come out of the gates with a great single, video, etc. to really grab people and then release the album shortly after.

 

[Rizzo]

I personally think teasers can be really functional, but not for emerging artists. No one really cares in waiting for hearing something they might not care about. Just release the thing when you're ready. I'd do teasers once I have a solid fanbase and imagery (maybe a year ahead?).

From a purely "marketing" standpoint, I think teasers are good as an excuse to post more content (ex. on socials) so to anticipate for the actual thing, but my predominant view would be the above.

Second, one really has to do hard work on storytelling. I've seen dozens of teasers which don't tease a damn thing.

Quite as above for making-of videos. Making-ofs are cool when they can add value and actually show what's behind the scenes (from a musical standpoint, ex. see how the band came up with ideas, or from a gear-nerd standpoint, so showing lots of gear-related stuff and talking about the recording\mixing process, or if you have a massive talent in your band show the tracking of his parts above the rest... or whatever else just use your imagination).
No one cares for a video showing a *wow we as a band are so juvenile and cocky and funny and we live like brothers* thing (very typical content of first making-of shoots, even for now pro-grade bands).
And again, I'd wait for making-ofs when my project is "something". Nobody wants to see what the average Joe did in the studio, and nobody goes on the net googling for a nobody.

 

[inaudio]

Interesting timing for this topic as I'm about to release something for the first time. I think that I agree with John that it boils down to requiring a killer song and video. I think that teasers/documentaries/whatnots are supplementary content, in that they're not standalone pieces of art. The song and the music video are both standalone pieces of art and that's why I'd consider them to be primary content.

I wanted to have more content than just the song, so I contacted an artist to make an animated music video for the track. It's probably overkill but I absolutely loved the process of discussing concepts with the artist I commissioned. As far as I can tell, collaborating with artists also provides the benefit of accessing their network. I've noticed that it's quite typical for most commissioned people to share links to projects they've done work for upon release.

If you're interested in finding artists to create stuff surrounding your project, I'd highly recommend a site called Behance. It's an online portfolio for freelance creatives of all types; that's where I found the artist for the video as well as another artist who made all my artwork.

 

[Rev2010]

If you're interested in finding artists to create stuff surrounding your project, I'd highly recommend a site called Behance. It's an online portfolio for freelance creatives of all types; that's where I found the artist for the video as well as another artist who made all my artwork.

Thanks for that! And I do agree about getting extra exposure via the other artist's network since he/she will be sharing their latest work with their network of friends and peers.

Thanks Rizzo, JohnIce, and Bhakan as well - all great advice. You all make a great point about releasing something more substantial. I too agree teasers can be quite effective but really only with an already established artist. For example, I watched one of Gojira's teasers several times as I loved the audio clip in it. But yeah, for a new project it would likely get mostly ignored. Thanks again all.


Rev.

 

[TedEH]

I loved the audio clip in it.

I think this is the part I was going for with the teaser-
I was thinking about doing a teaser video a while ago, and still considering it, because I know that I have a small amount of reach right now through the bands I'm already in. My thought was that I want to pick out a well produced, catchy hook bit, and put that out there through my existing network of people I know from playing with other bands- just enough to get them to look my way for a moment, maybe get them to like a facebook page or something- so that when I do drop the final release, or a music video or something, it'll be going out to people who are prepared to receive it, as opposed to just dropping the release and hoping for the best. It has to be a good part though. It's got to be a hook, it's got to sound good. It needs to have a very well produced visual and branding. Whatever introductory thing you put out there needs to leave the best possible first impression.

For example, I went out to L&M this weekend and ran into someone I used to jam with, who didn't know I was working on an album. He told me to let him know when it's done cause he wants to hear it. It occurred to me that nobody knows I'm working on this at all. I've got maybe 2k connections I can broadcast to between my two bands, and none of them know this material is coming. The teaser, to me, is the equivalent of the "hey, did you know I'm working on an album?", then their subscription to the facebook page is their "cool, let me know when it's out".

 

[bostjan]

So, I know this band. If they have a presence here, they might call me out on this, but I'm not naming names.

Anyway, these guys recorded a demo pretty much right when they first got together. The demo generated some interest around town, and the band played some random gigs here and there, so this band went into the studio to record an album.

Several months into it, my band used the same studio to record our album. My band never got the tracks, any complete mixes, or anything usable from the studio, so I said f* it and recorded the album all by myself. The studio later gave me complete mixes on two of the six songs we recorded there, and claimed to have lost the other four. The same thing happened to the other band.

So this other band went back into the same studio to redo everything. Some months later, during mixing, these guys noticed some nasty out of phase mic's and some of the drum mics were not turned on during recording (how did it take months of mixing to find that out?!)

So the band went off to do it again, what, two, maybe three years hence. Last I heard from them, there was some other issue with something-or-other, and now they are at the point where the band is about to split up and their first album was never finished.

And, this entire time, they had been releasing all sorts of teasers and promo material on social media.

So, the moral of the story that I'm trying to get at, is maybe record a demo and release the demo, once the demo sounds good enough to proudly present to people, but don't get too carried away trying to record a studio-quality full length album and miss other opportunities. Teasers and whatnot are fine, I think, in most cases, but they do carry a certain amount of risk, since people will lose interest if oversaturated or if the thing being teased never quite works out. I think vague, short teasers are more useful anyway.

Then again, don't take any advice from me. I don't have any idea what I'm doing with my own career. The album I mentioned above sold something like twelve copies. I spent well over a thousand dollars to make and promote it, and all it got me was single that, for some reason, took off in Russia, which made me enough royalties to buy two cups of coffee. My solo album cost me about $250 to make, and I've sold 6-7x as many physical copies and 3x as many downloads and streams (domestically), without any paid promotion. Go figure.

 

[inaudio]

...so that when I do drop the final release, or a music video or something, it'll be going out to people who are prepared to receive it, as opposed to just dropping the release and hoping for the best.

This point by TedEH touches on something that I've been thinking about recently. If you look at the history of Periphery, Bulb had lots of demo material on SoundClick that was posted on forums way before Periphery was even a band. By the time Periphery released their first album they had been on tours and developed a following. I feel like making a release without an established following is a slightly stillborn idea.

It might work if you have commissioned work from people who already have a following. In that case you might get some exposure through their networks and play-through videos, etc. The problem there is that there's no way of knowing if those people will like your work because they're not your fans. In my case the situation is even more pathological, because I have no idea if my work is any good to begin with.

Based on this, it might be better to start off by posting one-off demos and videos to gather a following before you release an album. Kind of like how an aspiring writer would start a blog to improve their craft and gather a following before they write their first book. Heck, even Lana Del Rey's career was born out of a self made music video going viral. That's pretty much the gist of what I've been thinking about; it'd be interesting to hear what you guys think!

 

[nickintonate]

I would agree to release first a teaser then when the album comes close to release date, release the tracks. Unfortunately, many people suffer from short term attention spans , so I find it useful to post months in advance. Now the ideal would be to film nice HD in-the-studio type of sessions to really tease the people hehe