No matter where you are in your musical journey, acquiring new fans is important to your career. Finding those who love and support your music is a top goal of almost every artist. Maybe you dream of packing stadiums, headlining a festival, or reaching listeners all over the globe. Maybe you have a message that needs to be shared. All of these reasons are relatable. Whatever your ultimate goal, you need to develop a fan base and that comes from releasing music for them to enjoy. The only question that stands in your way is “how often should you release music?”

How Often Artists Should Release Their Music

With the expansion of artists everywhere, you want to stay above the waves of new music popping up. In 2021, Spotify confirmed more than 60,000 tracks are added to its platform daily. With numbers like these, you have to solidify your place with your fans. How do you manage to make a way for yourself in this growing industry you may ask? CONSISTENCY. 

You may have heard of the artist Russ. He released 11 albums before joining SoundCloud and then proceeded to put out a song every single week for two years. Maybe you’re ready to do something similar. You may have a vault full of music waiting to see the day or you enjoy making up songs as you go. It’s definitely one way to gain attention and build a following while sharpening your skills. Or maybe you prefer something a little less frequent. Whether by choice or due to having someone else mixing and mastering your music, you may have a bit more time between releases. Consider a biweekly or monthly release in a special series your fans can look forward to. As long as you remain consistent with your rollout, you’re sure to see growth over time.

Platforms love consistency and reward with their algorithms

Experimenting With Your Sound

Many people question how often they should release music because they're going in a new direction. But then again, some artists think they have hits!!! They don't want to release them because they aren't famous enough yet - It's like a fear of failure - imposter syndrome. If this is something you relate to, take a peek at our article http://indiy.com/overcoming-music-performance-anxiety/. Keep in mind that releasing a new sound gives artists the opportunity to gauge what their fans may be interested in. You're able to look at the analytics of new releases including how many people listened and their demographics. From here you can determine if listeners like your new style and tailor your content from there. Some people may hate the new sound but others may become your biggest promoters.

Creating Your Routine

More frequent releases are especially important for new artists so new listeners can become familiar with your work. The key here is to create a routine for your following; something that will keep them engaged and interested. In addition to this, the algorithms of streaming services like Spotify and SoundCloud favor engagement. The more your content is liked, shared, and saved, the more likely the site boosts and shares your music. Think of “Made For You”, “Discover New Artists”, and “Music You May Like” playlists you’ve come across. The more you show up on these sites’ radars, the better chance you have at finding yourself featured on them and added to recommended playlists for listeners.

Building Your Intellectual Property

Finally, and most importantly in the long run, releasing more music feeds into growing your intellectual property. This is any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by others. In a world gone digital, owning the rights to your music is as important as ever. You want to be rightfully compensated for its use should your work end up in a movie, YouTube video, or a local store. While making music is done from the heart, making a living off it is ideal to any artist. You can create a larger network of property to call your own and use over time as you release more of your work.

Our founder Chris pinned this post on Linkedin about the Kanye West song Homecoming. He said Kanye's reworking of the same song showed how an artist can flip their music in different ways to create more intellectual property.

For me it highlights the need to take action, not to sit on things because the time is not right, you're not ready - Take the journey.

Chris Hocking - CEO Indiy - Independent Music Industry Consultant

How often should you release music? - Wrap Up

In short, releasing music as often as possible has more benefits to it than not. While allowing yourself to grow in your craft and experiment with what you and your fans enjoy, you can really establish a loyal fanbase. These fans in return will help you rise in your music career. You increase your chances of reaching new fans on streaming sites, earning more for your talent, and building an impressive portfolio of intellectual property that you have rights to for years down the line. The key is to always remain consistent with whatever schedule you choose. This will provide you the best chance of being discovered by new listeners and pleasing your now-growing fanbase.