In an age where social media rules and our attention spans are shorter than ever, single releases are a brilliant way to reach new fans and build momentum in your music career.

But what’s the best strategy for releasing singles to get the most engagement, new fans and faithful followers?

Welcome… The Waterfall strategy

The waterfall strategy is where you consistently release singles over a series of months, one after another.

These can be songs from an EP or an album; the culmination of the single release period is the EP/album itself. 

Traditionally, an album would be released with all the songs simultaneously hitting audiences. 

Fans would need to invest in a 40-60 minute album and devour it all at once. 

But there lies the problem…

Audiences listen to music differently than they did 20 years ago. 

With the birth of Spotify (for good or bad), music is a commodity that can be devoured quickly.

To navigate this, the waterfall strategy keeps your music relevant and fresh in listeners’ ears. 

Spotify designed the waterfall strategy to help artists build momentum for their album release and engage with fans over a more extended period, rather than one big band of an album.

Spotify has some excellent features to support your new music releases, too. They allow you to create a unique Canvas for each Spotify song and a Clip based on your new track, boosting engagement and attracting new listeners.

How often should you release a single with the Waterfall Strategy?

A single should be released between every 4-8 weeks with the strategy. 

This should include a promotion period before the release, during the days it’s made available and for a few weeks after the release date.

Then, the whole process starts again with the second single.

And then the third single… You get the idea. 

Finally, the EP or album drops (more about that later).

What are the benefits of the Waterfall Release Strategy?

The Waterfall strategy benefits from allowing you to create momentum before a full EP or album drops at the end of the single release period.

Full albums have drawbacks as they can’t be submitted to Spotify’s editorial team for playlisting or on Release radar. 

By releasing singles from the full release, each single has the potential to be playlisted, reaching a new section of previously untapped fans.

So, if you just release an album on its own, you have one shot at it being heard. 

Miss the target, and the game is over. 

However, by releasing multiple singles and then the album, you have 4x the potential reach. 

You are constantly staying fresh in fans’ minds with new material, which keeps the ball rolling at gathering speed, which is exactly what we want!

#1 Album Release Strategy

The album release strategy is designed to make you money.

It carries on from the Waterfall strategy but with a final significant difference.

You release 3+ singles, precisely the same as above, on Spotify.

BUT!

When the album drops, you ONLY make it available on Bandcamp. 

You see…

Spotify pays a poor $0.004 per stream. 

A pitiful sum that isn’t going to get you to quit your day job anytime soon. 

(Don’t get me wrong, Spotify has many excellent features for artists, but monetisation is tough on the platform.)

However, Bandcamp is different. 

Bandcamp allows you to keep at least 82% of your revenue, AND on Bandcamp Fridays, the platform waives their fees so you can take home 93% of your sales.

And if we break that down further…

For example, If you release a 10-track album (and a fan listens to at least 30 seconds of each track once on Spotify), you’ll receive a not-so-impressive $0.04.

But if you charge $10 to buy the same album on Bandcamp, you’ll take home at least $8.20. 

Would you rather get $0.04 or $8.20 for the same amount of work on your behalf?

So if your music is ONLY available on Bandcamp, fans have no choice but to purchase it from there.

Leaving more cash in your pocket.

Win. Win.

There is one more piece of the puzzle…

The piece of the puzzle that ties these two strategies together lies in your mailing list.

So, you MUST have a landing page designed to capture new fan’s email addresses.

If you need help setting up your mailing list, read my blog here, it will talk you through step-by-step with everything you need… for free.

Your mailing list is the most integral part of these strategies because it gives you direct access to people through their email.

And this is way more personal than social media could ever be. 

(Note: If you spend all your time recruiting new fans solely on Social Media, what happens if your account on that platform gets closed overnight? All of those followers are gone in a nanosecond. However, if you spend time working on your mailing list, you have an asset that can not be taken away.)

The Overall Structure

So the idea is…

Step One: Fans find you on Spotify through your multiple releases, additions to playlists and recommendations. 

From there, they love what they hear and want to know more…

Step Two: These new potential fans google you; their first find is your website.

Once on your website, step three kicks in.

Step Three: New potential fans are greeted by a signup form where they enter their email address and, in return, receive an exclusive gift from you (an unreleased song, a remix, a lyric sheet, a live recording… the options are endless).

Then, once you have a list of fans’ email addresses from the Spotify single releases, you are ready to drop your album. 

Step Four: Upload the album exclusively on Bandcamp and email your mailing list with the link to the only available place to get it, and at least 82% of your sales go directly into your pocket. 

Magical. 

Wrap up

Whichever way you look at it, you need to strategise to get there if you want more fans, streams and revenue. 

The combination of the two strategies above works together to gain you new fans and help you to create a sustainable living from your music. 

It allows you to make more music and scratch that creative itch. 

If you have any questions, please shoot them over to kris@fvmusicblog.com, and I’ll personally get back to you ASAP!

FVMusicBlog March 2024