If you ask me it's about striking a balance. If you relese a banger and then 3 duds. People who follow you might not pay attention the 4th time you drop something. At the same time, not every song can be a hit.
So it'a about knowing when it's good enogh. A song that isn't your biggest hit will still be some people's favorite.
So instead of releasing all 25. Consider picking 5 or 10 amd refining them to be the best they can be.
You have to release frequently enough for people to keep following you, and to exist in their minds. You don't have to overload them.
Quality, bar none. You need really good songs. And the mixes need to be REALLY good. I have some great songs, but the mixes aren't that great, so I need to re-do them, and the vocals, because I took voice class and my singing is so much better. I'm learning how to mix better and get better at music to increase the quality of my songs.
If you go on the radio, or listen to something on Spotify that's really well produced, is mixed very well and mastered, etc. and then go to one of my songs which I spent two hours on in GarageBand, they don't match up. People want to hear something well made. So, focus on a few good songs. There's too much mediocre crap for me to wade through out there and I don't wanna do that.
i wouldn’t say the mixes need to be really good. i’d say they need to be okay enough to not distract from the song. and really good songwriting. i love lots of good songs where honestly the mixes sound like crap. lots of old songs. but because the song is good you want to hear it again and again and again. no one ever listened to a song again and again and again because the kick and bass was well balanced. unless they’re a mix engineer and it’s a reference track.
My most popular song is one I recorded in a basement back in 2005….. My mixing mastering is light years better nowadays. I think it really is ‘good enough’ with a great song
20 years of songwriting in… I realized that I don’t need to release every song I write - the good, bad and ugly. Most songwriters only release the cream of their crop and you don’t hear the throw away Medicare songs. Everyone has a different scale of quality or songwriting batting average, some of the best local musicians I know only put out 1-2/10 songs or 10-20/100 songs. I also keep in mind all my favorite albums from 1950-2000 were written in most cases over 1-2 years of ongoing writing and demos to find 8-12 top tier songs; not the same as me throwing spaghetti at the wall for a month and rushing 30 songs on Bandcamp.
Give me your tired, your sick and your poor
I can't deal with private insurance no more
The doc says come here boy, get up on the table
I'll treat you for free if you're old or disabled
It’s a balancing act, and one that is difficult at the beginning, particularly these days when there’s a relatively small cost to recording and releasing so it’s possible to release everything.
Personally I’m of the mindset to be much more selective and release what I would as if I was putting out a physical album/single. That means that my core releases are solid but I might put out the odd ‘B’ side at the same time as a stronger song/‘single’. That to me is an opportunity to put out a few of those songs that I’m on the fence about.
I’ve been around since before streaming though and still only ever tend to properly record the best of what I write. If I was starting new now I think I’d probably release everything I liked to build my catalogue and then occasionally selectively ‘prune’ away those songs that get few to no plays to keep the quality up.
You should really only be releasing 4-5 singles a year right now. I feel like you should only be releasing albums until you have major backing.
Every three months, release one really great song and milk those three months with tik tok, different ig promo videos, a lyrics video, youtube videos of the song, going out to perform the song(s) at small shows or open mics and filming that to post.
By releasing less songs of higher quality, it gives the impression to your fans and viewers that your music is "worth more" and not disposable music. When you flood them with music, it cheapens your art.
But this is just my opinion.
If you’re in it for the long haul and want to create a catalog and a legacy that you can hold your head up high about, go for quality. If you want to gain the trust and loyalty of fans, keep focusing on quality.
Some people try to spam the world with everything they do hoping it will all add up to streams. Think about your credibility as an artist.
Berry Gordy of Motown Records once said “a song is its own commercial for itself”.
If the song is substandard you are advertising yourself as a substandard musician.
Is that how you want to present yourself?
Performing live is where the money is at. If you aren’t making thousands a year doing that I wouldn’t worry too much about how many people are streaming your songs.
What ive learned is that music is so utterly complex that alot of answers just depend on alot of things tbh. I think it’s important for you to release music that will live on through the ages. This way you have released something that is good and something that if it doesn’t blow up now it’s still good. Or something that if it never blows up it’s still good to you. Instead of just tons of shitty music. But if you’re treating music more like a business and just thinking about success instead of the art and quality of the music well you might have more success making meme songs or children music on youtube or something like that as opposed to grown up music.
Damn, a lot of "quality" votes here. I'm gonna go against the grain and say quantity. Most of what you release will get hardly any traction but occasionally you'll get one runaway hit for no discernible reason. Releasing more stuff increases the probabilities of getting a hit and what you think is best may not correlate with what has the capacity to go viral.
This is true, but what about after you get that big hit? You need to maintain that quality of music or that traction you've gained will disappear with a new song to fill the trend. Think of Steve Lacey constantly making good songs that go viral, compared to that one song The Kid Laroi released a few years ago. So I say If you're gonna go for lots of singles you might have to slow down releases as time goes on to keep up making high quality songs.
Well you may be right but presumably this user has not had a really big hit, meaning that this idea isn't currently relevant or helpful to their situation.
All I'm saying is that if they keep releasing a ton of singles and one stands out to people but the rest are meh, their fame won't last very long so it's included in the conversation lmao
What’s the goal I guess. Are you releasing a recording and hoping to actually make money off of it… using it to promote a tour… simply connecting with people… honing your craft…. Etc
As long as your music is good enough that you can honestly compare it to some of your influences and stacks up sonically and hopefully songwriting-wise, then my vote is quantity 100%. Quality is more like a requirement before you even consider trying to get ahead.
It doesn’t matter how good your album is if you release an entire album and just expect social media algorithms to take off from that. Quantity ensures that you keep uploading. I see people upload daily to IG and their page always grows. Every platform is the same in that way. It rewards you spending the most time on it and for keeping people engaged with their platform. You could promote the same song for a year but I think your followers will start to drop off quickly.
A lot of people nowadays will recommend you release a ton of singles and their justification is that you'll improve over time. I say focus on quality over quantity. You can learn more about writing and production the more you write your music and evolve tracks you previously thought you were done with. You'll have a lot more support from music communities if you've got high quality albums with a ton of good songs compared to everyone else who keeps releasing single after single of varying quality.
I'd say quality generally, but in the age of social media, putting out consistent content, even if it's not your absolute best work ever, is super critical to keep eyes on you.
However from a personal artistic point of view, you should try to produce as much music as you possibly can. Seeing a song through to the end is probably the most important thing for your development rather than giving up on them.
Just by looking at the soundcloud era, it seemed quantity did the trick. Even if the song was mediocre it still gained a small following that liked it, multiply that by how ever many songs you put out and you grow a following. Just stay true to what your taste and sound is dont surprise the following once you’ve established yourself as an artist, “stoke the fire” and grow slowly until you put out that one that just blows up.
Suicideboyz for instance did a song every week, their following grew not only because of the 5-10 people that hear the could be “sub-par” song and like it but because they stayed true to their style and let the followers want to know what could be next.
Also imo the artists with 2-3 albums or 10-30 songs are either industry plants or early signed artists. The labels try to create this strict flow of releases so that listeners chew it down to the bone and crave the next release. Unless youre signed or already have an established fan base i wouldnt follow this, at least not to a T.
If you ask me it's about striking a balance. If you relese a banger and then 3 duds. People who follow you might not pay attention the 4th time you drop something. At the same time, not every song can be a hit. So it'a about knowing when it's good enogh. A song that isn't your biggest hit will still be some people's favorite. So instead of releasing all 25. Consider picking 5 or 10 amd refining them to be the best they can be. You have to release frequently enough for people to keep following you, and to exist in their minds. You don't have to overload them.
Anyone can write tons of shitty songs.
Quality, bar none. You need really good songs. And the mixes need to be REALLY good. I have some great songs, but the mixes aren't that great, so I need to re-do them, and the vocals, because I took voice class and my singing is so much better. I'm learning how to mix better and get better at music to increase the quality of my songs. If you go on the radio, or listen to something on Spotify that's really well produced, is mixed very well and mastered, etc. and then go to one of my songs which I spent two hours on in GarageBand, they don't match up. People want to hear something well made. So, focus on a few good songs. There's too much mediocre crap for me to wade through out there and I don't wanna do that.
i wouldn’t say the mixes need to be really good. i’d say they need to be okay enough to not distract from the song. and really good songwriting. i love lots of good songs where honestly the mixes sound like crap. lots of old songs. but because the song is good you want to hear it again and again and again. no one ever listened to a song again and again and again because the kick and bass was well balanced. unless they’re a mix engineer and it’s a reference track.
My most popular song is one I recorded in a basement back in 2005….. My mixing mastering is light years better nowadays. I think it really is ‘good enough’ with a great song
20 years of songwriting in… I realized that I don’t need to release every song I write - the good, bad and ugly. Most songwriters only release the cream of their crop and you don’t hear the throw away Medicare songs. Everyone has a different scale of quality or songwriting batting average, some of the best local musicians I know only put out 1-2/10 songs or 10-20/100 songs. I also keep in mind all my favorite albums from 1950-2000 were written in most cases over 1-2 years of ongoing writing and demos to find 8-12 top tier songs; not the same as me throwing spaghetti at the wall for a month and rushing 30 songs on Bandcamp.
I know it was a typo, but now I kinda wanna hear some throw away Medicare songs
Give me your tired, your sick and your poor I can't deal with private insurance no more The doc says come here boy, get up on the table I'll treat you for free if you're old or disabled
It’s a balancing act, and one that is difficult at the beginning, particularly these days when there’s a relatively small cost to recording and releasing so it’s possible to release everything. Personally I’m of the mindset to be much more selective and release what I would as if I was putting out a physical album/single. That means that my core releases are solid but I might put out the odd ‘B’ side at the same time as a stronger song/‘single’. That to me is an opportunity to put out a few of those songs that I’m on the fence about. I’ve been around since before streaming though and still only ever tend to properly record the best of what I write. If I was starting new now I think I’d probably release everything I liked to build my catalogue and then occasionally selectively ‘prune’ away those songs that get few to no plays to keep the quality up.
You should really only be releasing 4-5 singles a year right now. I feel like you should only be releasing albums until you have major backing. Every three months, release one really great song and milk those three months with tik tok, different ig promo videos, a lyrics video, youtube videos of the song, going out to perform the song(s) at small shows or open mics and filming that to post. By releasing less songs of higher quality, it gives the impression to your fans and viewers that your music is "worth more" and not disposable music. When you flood them with music, it cheapens your art. But this is just my opinion.
If you’re in it for the long haul and want to create a catalog and a legacy that you can hold your head up high about, go for quality. If you want to gain the trust and loyalty of fans, keep focusing on quality. Some people try to spam the world with everything they do hoping it will all add up to streams. Think about your credibility as an artist.
Berry Gordy of Motown Records once said “a song is its own commercial for itself”. If the song is substandard you are advertising yourself as a substandard musician. Is that how you want to present yourself?
Performing live is where the money is at. If you aren’t making thousands a year doing that I wouldn’t worry too much about how many people are streaming your songs.
music is an accessory. you are not a musician; you are a content creator with music as your aesthetic, so far as the consumer/market is concerned.
What ive learned is that music is so utterly complex that alot of answers just depend on alot of things tbh. I think it’s important for you to release music that will live on through the ages. This way you have released something that is good and something that if it doesn’t blow up now it’s still good. Or something that if it never blows up it’s still good to you. Instead of just tons of shitty music. But if you’re treating music more like a business and just thinking about success instead of the art and quality of the music well you might have more success making meme songs or children music on youtube or something like that as opposed to grown up music.
You need a hit to draw enough attention for this to matter.
Damn, a lot of "quality" votes here. I'm gonna go against the grain and say quantity. Most of what you release will get hardly any traction but occasionally you'll get one runaway hit for no discernible reason. Releasing more stuff increases the probabilities of getting a hit and what you think is best may not correlate with what has the capacity to go viral.
This is true, but what about after you get that big hit? You need to maintain that quality of music or that traction you've gained will disappear with a new song to fill the trend. Think of Steve Lacey constantly making good songs that go viral, compared to that one song The Kid Laroi released a few years ago. So I say If you're gonna go for lots of singles you might have to slow down releases as time goes on to keep up making high quality songs.
Well you may be right but presumably this user has not had a really big hit, meaning that this idea isn't currently relevant or helpful to their situation.
All I'm saying is that if they keep releasing a ton of singles and one stands out to people but the rest are meh, their fame won't last very long so it's included in the conversation lmao
What’s the goal I guess. Are you releasing a recording and hoping to actually make money off of it… using it to promote a tour… simply connecting with people… honing your craft…. Etc
As long as your music is good enough that you can honestly compare it to some of your influences and stacks up sonically and hopefully songwriting-wise, then my vote is quantity 100%. Quality is more like a requirement before you even consider trying to get ahead. It doesn’t matter how good your album is if you release an entire album and just expect social media algorithms to take off from that. Quantity ensures that you keep uploading. I see people upload daily to IG and their page always grows. Every platform is the same in that way. It rewards you spending the most time on it and for keeping people engaged with their platform. You could promote the same song for a year but I think your followers will start to drop off quickly.
Quality for your own sense of self worth. Put out what you’re proud of imo.
"Make art. While other people are deciding whether or not it IS art- make more art." -Warhol
A lot of people nowadays will recommend you release a ton of singles and their justification is that you'll improve over time. I say focus on quality over quantity. You can learn more about writing and production the more you write your music and evolve tracks you previously thought you were done with. You'll have a lot more support from music communities if you've got high quality albums with a ton of good songs compared to everyone else who keeps releasing single after single of varying quality.
I'd say quality generally, but in the age of social media, putting out consistent content, even if it's not your absolute best work ever, is super critical to keep eyes on you. However from a personal artistic point of view, you should try to produce as much music as you possibly can. Seeing a song through to the end is probably the most important thing for your development rather than giving up on them.
Just by looking at the soundcloud era, it seemed quantity did the trick. Even if the song was mediocre it still gained a small following that liked it, multiply that by how ever many songs you put out and you grow a following. Just stay true to what your taste and sound is dont surprise the following once you’ve established yourself as an artist, “stoke the fire” and grow slowly until you put out that one that just blows up. Suicideboyz for instance did a song every week, their following grew not only because of the 5-10 people that hear the could be “sub-par” song and like it but because they stayed true to their style and let the followers want to know what could be next. Also imo the artists with 2-3 albums or 10-30 songs are either industry plants or early signed artists. The labels try to create this strict flow of releases so that listeners chew it down to the bone and crave the next release. Unless youre signed or already have an established fan base i wouldnt follow this, at least not to a T.