Case Study: Releasing “Roses” by Widowspeak
Today marks the release day of the Widowspeak album Roses. Let’s examine the promotional cycle leading up to this release in more detail.
If you’re catching Widowspeak on their tour supporting this album, be sure to check out one of their dates with Neu Blume opening.
Pre-release promotional phases
As we’ve seen in past case studies, typical “midsize indie” label record promotion often follows a cycle similar to the following:
Phase 1 promotion starts about three months out from release
Phase 2 promotion starts about two months out from release
Phase 3 promotion starts about one month out from release
Phase 4 promotion takes place on/around release day
In between these major promotional phases, supplementary promotion can optionally take place: interviews, lyric videos, social media posts, etc.
For this particular release, these supplemental promotional elements included:
simple lyric videos using fixed artwork and the album audio, posted to the bands YouTube channel.
a social media Q&A on the label Instagram channel
posts on the bands Instagram and personal channels (especially during the week of release)
Post-release tour
After the album release, Widowspeak begins a US/Canada tour running from June 16-August 16.
Total time elapsed between the beginning of pre-release promotion on March 17 through the end of the concert tour on August 16? 5 months.
The label for this release was Captured Tracks.
Phase 1 promotion: March 17
Featured on Captured Tracks website above the fold, announcing lead single, tour, and preorders.
Lead single “If You Change” drops on streaming
“If You Change” music video drops on artists YouTube channel
The lead single releases on artists Bandcamp page
Vinyl preorders start
Phase 2 promotion: April 14
Second single “No Driver” releases on streaming
Second single releases on artists Bandcamp page
“No Driver” music video drops on artists YouTube channel
Feature on Captured Tracks website continues, below the fold
Phase 3 promotion: May 12
Third single "Soft Cover" releases on streaming
Third single releases on artists Bandcamp page
"Soft Cover" music video drops on artists YouTube channel and Bandcamp page
Feature on Captured Tracks website continues, below the fold
Phase 4 promotion: June 5 (release day)
A Bandcamp listening party just before release day
All past digital releases from the band reduced in cost to "name your price", exclusively on Bandcamp, just before release day
Wide streaming release of the full album on mainstream platforms on release day
Full album drops on artists Bandcamp page on release day
Vinyl preorders ship
An in-person record store signing and live performance at Rough Trade Below in NYC, just after release day
Promotional elements
This release featured the following major promotional elements that anchored the major promotional phases:
3 different singles off the album (Phases 1, 2, and 3)
2 different music videos (Phases 2 and 3)
1 vinyl preorder (Phase 1 and 4)
1 Bandcamp exclusive listening party (Phase 4)
1 in-person record store appearance for a signing and live performance (Phase 4)
Coordination is key
Each of the promotional phases for this release were planned well in advance, and any smaller off-the-cuff pieces of promotion were dropped in and around them.
Those random-feeling pieces on social media? They didn’t drop randomly at all: they weren’t as off-the-cuff as it might have seemed to the casual observer.
The live concert tour supporting this album was scheduled to start just 10 days after the album release date, and preparation/booking for a tour of this size typically begins at least a year in advance of the first day of tour.
The moral of the story? Giving yourself a year to plan a tour and promote your full-length album properly is table stakes, at least when it comes to releasing records at the midsize independent label level.
Conclusions
As we've seen in past case studies, random promotion leads to random results. That randomness is compounded when promotional efforts take place exclusively on algorithmically driven social media feeds that impact visibility randomly, with no use of direct channels to your fans at all.
This release was not that: it was a coordinated marketing push made across multiple promotional channels, with exclusive treats for superfans given out on promotional channels that the band owns. Promotional platforms that offered favorable terms (like Bandcamp) were given exclusives and extra attention from the band in return.
As a DIYer nowadays, you don't need a marketing agency to do all this for you, but if marketing at this level isn't your thing you can certainly hire this out.
Solutions
The solution for social media burnout? Promote across multiple channels in a coordinated fashion, and make sure that you own your direct customer list and are using it. Have at least one way for fans to sign up with you directly, in the form of an email address and/or phone number.
The most savvy artists and managers always place a direct signup to an owned channel front and center, for example Noga Erez (970k monthly listeners at time of writing).
Notice their email signup as the very first option below the fold.
That email signup was placed above the fold, when she was on tour earlier this year.
Check out all of my creative case studies for more ideas on the promotion and release of your musical work.
