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LABEL RELEASE
CHECKLIST BY GABRIEL GALINSKY
AND FERNANDO VIVANCO
 PREPARING THE MUSIC
FIND A BEAT/INSTRUMENTAL OR HIRE A PRODUCER
Beatstars and Premiumbeat offer artists a place to easily shop for beats
and instantly download the WAV files, stems, licensing agreements,
etc.. Purchasing the stems will guarantee you the best mix later on.
Find a producer/ music team such as Forever Current to produce a
custom record for you. You can find producers locally, on Soundcloud,
YouTube, music boards, forums, and social media,

RECORD A DEMO
If you have recording equipment at home, you can save money by
recording quick demos of the song you write. You could even just record
them as voice-notes on your phone. This gives you a chance to hear back
the song, make improvements, and determine if it's worth investing more
money on professionally recording and mixing that particular version. Also,
the more you practice it at home, the less time you'll spend in the studio
(saving you money), and the better your overall performance will be.

PROFESSIONAL RECORDING
Book time at a professional recording studio with good engineers and
equipment. Most studios offer tours of their facilities if you ask. Also be
sure to listen to demos of their work on their website or social media.
If you don't have as much experience in the recording process, then
having a producer (or vocal producer) present can make a huge
difference! Keep in mind that many of the mega superstar artists will
often record with a full team and a vocal producer present.
Record at home - This option is great for artists who have invested in
equipment and have taken the time to learn about recording. Your
song will need a professional mix once the recording is finished, and
the quality of mix will rely heavily on the quality of your recording.
Have an external drive to save your materials after every session. DO
NOT rely on the recording studio to hold your files forever.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

 PREPARING THE MUSIC

PROFESSIONAL MIXING AND MASTERING

Find a great mixing and mastering engineer to add the final polish on your
music and bring it to life. Mixing balances all levels in the recording, from
the music to the vocals, as well as added effects and edits. Mixing can also
involve pitch correction to help artists deliver their best vocal performance
possible.

Note: Not all engineers offer pitch correction. If you want some correction,
be sure to communicate that with the engineer.

Mastering will enhance the mix to be radio-ready and streaming-ready to

match with the same professional quality and levels as your favorite songs
in the market. Don't be cheap when shopping for mixing and mastering
services. You get what you pay for! Once this step is completed you never
have to visit it again... at least not if you hired a professional engineer.

TIP: Find a song that closely resembles the

overall sound you desire for your own vocals
or music. Then tell your engineer to use that
as a reference while mixing your song.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION
REGISTRATIONS

SIGN UP AND REGISTER YOUR MUSIC WITH A DESIGNATED

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION (P.R.O)
www.ascap.com
www.bmi.com
www.sesac.com

Note: Once you successfully create an account at one of these PROs (your
affiliation) you will receive from them a unique IPI #. This will serve as your
personal identification when registering your music and collecting your
publishing royalties. You'll want to have this number handy when working
with publishers and music supervisors, or when collaborating with other
songwriters and producers.

You will also need to prepare and organize the following documents and
information ahead of time:

1. Split Sheets
a. Only if you collaborated with other songwriters or producers on a
particular song.
2. Name of recording artist(s) and song title
3. Release date
4. Track time of song
5. Whether or not the song includes any samples (and if those are cleared)
a. If yes, you should have that documentation readily available
6. Whether or not the song includes any public domain elements

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

GET YOUR LEGAL DOCUMENTS IN ORDER

EXCLUSIVE LICENSE AGREEMENT

Applicable if you did not produce the musical Composition (beat/
instrumental) yourself, because you will need to secure certain exclusive
rights from the producer or their label.

Note: DO NOT make an exclusive beat purchase without first reviewing the
licensing agreement, and if possible, having a music & entertainment
attorney review that as well.

Note: If the producer cannot provide their own licensing agreement, you
should definitely contact an attorney (ChaseLawyers.com) about drafting
an exclusive license agreement or work-for-hire agreement. Doing it this
way will actually put you in the best position possible since it is now you
and your attorney who would be structuring the deal to your favor.

SPLIT SHEETS
Applicable if there are any additional songwriters or producers who have
contributed to the song (Composition) that you plan to release.

In which case you will need each of their:

1. Full legal names
2. Role (Author vs Composer, or both)
3. Share (percentage they own, which needs to be agreed to on the split
sheets by all parties involved)
4. Their individual PRO affiliations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc.)
5. Their individual publishers if they have representation

Note: You can reach out to our team at [email protected] for a

free download of our industry standard Split Sheet template (PDF)

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

GET YOUR LEGAL DOCUMENTS IN ORDER
SOUND RECORDING AGREEMENTS
Applicable if there are any additional/featured artists on the song (Master
Recording) you plan to release, including for any session musicians that you
may have paid for additional production elements. You can also contact an
attorney about this (ChaseLawyers.com).

Note: Use a cloud based app to keep your documents and audio files neatly
organized in an easy to find manner using folders. Dropbox, Google Drive,
and Microsoft OneDrive offers lots of storage for a low fee. Refer to page 16
for more details on why this is important!

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

 DISTRIBUTION
SET UP DISTRIBUTION
Note: Do this at least 3-6 weeks in advance of your intended release date.
This gives your song the best chance of being reviewed by Spotify's main
editors and curators, who may decide to add your song to any of their
editorial playlists. Their decision is usually based on (1) the professional
quality of your song, (2) if they feel your song will be liked by the listeners
of any specific Spotify editorial playlists, and (3) how many people have
already "pre-saved" your song on Spotify.

Distrokid - Fee - $19.99 to upload unlimited albums and songs for one
year (renewed annually). Artist keeps 100% of earnings paid out
monthly. Offers YouTube monetization.

Tunecore - Fee - $9.99 per year for each single (fees renewed annually),
or $29.99 for one album for the first year ($49.99 per year after the first
year). Artist keeps 100% of earnings. Offers YouTube monetization.

CD Baby - Fee - $29.99 one time fee per single or $69 per album (no
annual renewal fees). Artist keeps 91% of earnings, CD Baby keeps 9%.
Offers YouTube monetization.

Songflowr - Fee - $29 one time fee per single, or $99 one time fee per
album (up to 20 tracks). Artist keeps 100% of earnings (no annual
renewal fees). Does not offer YouTube monetization (as of 2020).

Spinnup - Fee - $9.99 per year for singles (1-2 tracks), or $19.99 per year
for EP (3-6 tracks), or $39.99 per year for album (7-25 tracks). Artist
keeps 100% of earnings (fees renewed annually). Does not offer
YouTube monetization (as of 2020).

Ditto - Fee - $19 per year for unlimited tracks (fees renewed annually).
Artist keeps 100% of earnings. Only offers YouTube monetization to
artists with a channel of 40,000+ subscribers (as of 2020).

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

DEFINE WHO YOUR IDEAL FANS WILL BE
(TARGET AUDIENCE)
SELF DISCOVERY = FAN DISCOVERY
Before you do ANYTHING ELSE, and especially before you start investing
any marketing dollars to push your music, the single most important thing
for you to do is to identify who your ideal fans will be... And that begins
with asking yourself the following questions:

1. What type of fans do you want to attract?

a. More female or male?
b. Range of age?
c. Personality and interests?
d. Fashion sense?
e. Family and societal values?
f. Do they listen to some of the same artists you listen to?
g. What stage in life are they in? and based on that....
h. What are possibly some of their dreams, desires, and goals at this
stage? and...
i. What are possibly some of their challenges and adversities at this
stage?
2. Since fans are looking for an artist who is willing to be authentic and
transparent about who they are, and who shares both their wins and
losses with their fans, which type of people would be the most likely to:
a. Relate to who you are right now?
b. Relate to who you want to become?
3. Where do these fans hang out (online, as well as with friends in public)?
4. Where do they look for new music?
5. Where do they get their information?
6. Where do they shop and what do they spend most of their money on?
7. What is their preferred form of communication?
8. How do they speak and what type of phrases do they use?
9. What makes them happy?

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

DEFINE WHO YOUR IDEAL FANS WILL BE
(TARGET AUDIENCE)

Getting clear on who your Dream Fans are, and then highly focusing on
them, is what brings clarity to your music and your marketing message.
Marketing strategies and social media algorithms are constantly changing,
but the fundamentals of learning what people want, understanding the
type of music they like to listen to and why (on a deeper level), and
realizing their personal interests, values, and vulnerabilities, is the only way
to truly and intentionally be able to connect with your ideal fans. This is a
timeless strategy that will never be outdated and will allow you to know
how to target the best quality fans at scale, regardless of the platforms
that you market your music on. And once you get this right, then every
marketing dollar you spend will be on quality fans and never wasted.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

DEFINE YOUR MUSIC AND MARKETING
BUDGET
MONTHLY EXPENSES OVERVIEW
The only practical way to do this, is first and foremost, determine how
much money you can afford to invest in your music on a monthly basis.
Start by writing out and adding up all of your personal monthly expenses,
and don't leave anything out (even double check your bank statements).
For example, that may include:

1. Rent and home insurance

2. Car payments, gas and maintenance
3. Health insurance
4. FPL and water bills
5. Cable, internet and phone bills
6. Groceries and home supplies
7. Personal care, hair cuts, etc.
8. Medications and/or daily supplements
9. Coffee and eating out
10. Subscriptions (i.e. Spotify, Netflix, other paid apps, etc.)
11. Gym membership, other memberships, or health care providers (if
any)
12. Shopping, entertainment, date nights, etc.
13. Loan re-payments (if any)
14. Investment accounts (if any)
15. All expenses related to your kid(s) if you're a parent
16. Estimate of what you may have to pay in taxes at the end of the year

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

DEFINE YOUR MUSIC AND MARKETING
BUDGET

MONTHLY EXPENSES OVERVIEW

The next step is to take the monthly total that you arrived at, and deduct
that from your monthly total income... So, what do you have left? Whether
it's big or small, that's what you're working with... And keep in mind that
you may want to save up a portion of that each month, incase of any
unexpected costs, or pushing your song with paid ads, etc...

Taking a closer look at this detailed accounting of your monthly expenses

allows you to...

1. Realize that if you're barely breaking even (meaning that your expenses
are equal to, more than, or just slightly less than your income), then this
is a clear sign that you need to make more money. If you're music isn't
helping pay your bills yet, consider picking up a second job ,or starting a
side hustle or crowdfunding campaign.
2. Identify and eliminate any and all expenses that are not absolutely
necessary, and then define a monthly budget that will allow you to
progress your music career.

Note: Once you've done all of the above, you can check this link out to give
you a better idea of all the production and marketing related costs that you
may need to anticipate - https://bandzoogle.com/blog/how-to-create-a-
music-marketing-budget-in-4-simple-steps

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

DEFINE YOUR GOALS AND MARKETING
STRATEGY
DEFINE YOUR ART GOALS
Set your ART goals (Actionable, Realistic, Time-based). These need to be
realistically attainable goals, now that you're aware of what your budget may
or may not allow for. More importantly, these are goals that you must commit
to and see all the way through...

This doesn't mean that you can't have ambitious goals, but you will need to
be adequately prepared before releasing any song or project, and then you
must remain dedicated, disciplined, and stay the course of your plan,
especially if you're setting high expectations...

The best way to build an effective plan is to first set your goals, and then work
backwards and reverse engineer the entire process. By doing it like this, you
will provide yourself with a step by step blueprint of how to get from point A
to point Z...

Fortunately for you (if you are reading this), the Label Release Checklist will
already serve as your pre-release blueprint, so that you can focus more on
getting your music heard and growing your fanbase...

See on the following page an example of how you can break down your ART
goals to a point where they suddenly feel attainable and not so far fetched...

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

DEFINE YOUR GOALS AND MARKETING
STRATEGY
DEFINE YOUR ART GOALS
So if your goal was to grow your followers by 1000 real fans over the
next 4 months... Then begin by setting “actionable goals” that will help you to
'realistically" get there within your desired 'time frame'. For example...

To achieve my goal I will need to gain minimum 250 real fans per month
If my music is truly catchy and high quality, I can optimistically assume
that 1 out of every 6 people who I reach out to will enjoy my music
That means to potentially gain 250 real fans I will need to reach out to
1500 people per month (250 x 6), which means I will need to reach
out to at least 50 new people per day (1500 / 30 days per month).
It may take me 5 minutes for every new profile I quickly check so
that I can insert a personalized comment into each DM I send out
(using my pre-drafted DM script). So, this process may take me up to
250 minutes. That's 4 hours per day (250 / 60 minutes per hour) to
realistically achieve my goal of gaining 1000 new fans over 4 months.

To make sure these are 'real fans' I will need to:

Target an audience who is most likely to enjoy/relate to my music
To start with, I can think of (or look up) 2-3 emerging artists with
20k - 100k streams on each of their songs. And whose music,
vibe, and lyrics are most similar to mine...
I increase my chances by targeting the followers of these similar
artists who are most likely to appreciate my unique sound.
Send a personalized message that first complements them (or could
offer them value in some way first), and then kindly ask them for
feedback on my music. If they appreciate my approach and end up
liking my music, then they are more likely to start/ keep following me.
I can achieve my goals by sending out 50 new DMs per day, or by
investing $10/ day into paid ads (targeting my ideal audience).

Post quality content to showcase my talent on social media at least

once a day + engage and show love to my fans as often as possible.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

DEFINE YOUR GOALS AND MARKETING
STRATEGY
DEFINE YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY AND COMMIT TO THE PLAN
The questions you need to ask yourself when creating your master
marketing plan:
1. Now that you've established who your dream fans are, how will you reach
them? (i.e. paid ads, influencer marketing, guerilla marketing, DM on
social media, etc.)
2. Aside from your music, what other high value and relatable content will
you create to help attract your dream fans? Why should they want to
follow you?
3. Based on the total streams you want to hit by the 6-month mark, how
many streams will you need to reach on a monthly and weekly basis to
get there? (make sure that you set a definite time frame for achieving
your goals)
4. How will you spend your time each day to make enough progress on a
daily basis that would result with you achieving your goals within the
timeframe you set for yourself?
5. Who will you need to work with or recruit for your team to help you
achieve your goals? (some of which you may need to account for within
your budget)
6. What resources and tools will you need to acquire to achieve your goals?
7. Write down and read your goals out loud twice daily, once just before
going to bed, and once when you wake up. As you read, visualize, feel,
and believe without a doubt that you have already achieved these goals
and that you WILL emerge victorious...

Answer these questions thoughtfully, then follow these instructions without

ever losing sight of the light at the end of the tunnel, and you will be
capable of manifesting anything you put your mind to.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

PREPARE YOUR MARKETING ASSETS

ALBUM COVER ART

Canva.com - user friendly platform with all the tools you need to design
your own artworks
Fiverr.com - work with unique and affordable designers all over the world

SOCIAL MEDIA COVER BANNER

Recommend either of the same options above.

Note: Include somewhere in the banner the album cover artwork, and
under or next to that “available on” (then insert logos of the top platforms
you released your song on)

ORGANIZE AND UTILIZE LYRICS

To be submitted to your distributor and third party lyric websites
To create lyric videos for YouTube
To create sharable social media content (lyric quotes, lyric memes, etc.)

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

 ADDITIONAL PROMO CONTENT

Budget friendly videos and content - You don't need a high budget to
deliver an effective video to your audience. If you rap, you can show off your
freestyle skills. If you sing, then show off your vocal skills by singing some
catchy and recognizable cover songs to start gaining attention and
feedback.
Think intentionally and multi-purposefully with your content. For example
(on the same topic), you could upload a full version of your cover song video
to Youtube and Facebook... but then you should also upload your catchiest
and most impressive 8-10 seconds of that performance to post on
Instagram. And then you could also post that snippet on TikTok, but take it a
step further and add some cool elements.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

 KEEP YOUR CATALOG ORGANIZED

USE A CLOUD BASED STORAGE SERVICE TO KEEP CATALOG AND

DOCUMENTS IN ORDER
Music Supervisors for movies/tv shows/ commercials require extensive
metadata at a moments notice. Once they hear a song or instrumental
they like, they will reach out to you or your management for the proper
metadata, audio files, and legal documents. Be sure to have this all ready
for when the time comes.
Saves you time in the long run. Eventually you will come to the point
where you will need to organize all your content including split sheets,
audio master files, and other documents. It's better to develop the habit
or organizing it all early rather than spending hours later down the road.

ADDITIONAL TIPS
Prioritize your tasks and time - Time management will be your best skill
that brings the most results if you can really lock it down. There are
many checklist or to-do type applications available to keep you on track
and disciplined to accomplish your goals. Here are a few favorites:
Todoist
Trello
Any.do
Use these cloud based apps to keep your documents neatly organized in
an easy to find manner.
Dropbox
Evernote

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

 OPTIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
CHANNELS (AHEAD OF TIME)

SECURE THE SAME @ NAME ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS

Do your research when coming up with your @ name to use. It will
make a world of diffrerence for fans to easily find you if you can secure
and use the same @ name across all platforms (tiktok, instagram,
twitter, etc)

CREATE/ OPTIMIZE FACEBOOK MUSICIAN PAGE

Include as much information as possible. This makes your page more
discoverable.
Upload an attention grabbing profile photo, a professional cover
banner, and upload some of your best content (whichever Instagram
posts received the most engagement)
Include your own booking email address so that people will take you
more seriously and will know where to contact you, regardless if you're
just starting out.
Create and setup your Facebook Business Ad account - Watch the
video below for a tutorial on setting up your Facebook Business
Account

CREATE/ OPTIMIZE SOUNDCLOUD AND YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Same as the first few steps above for optimizing your Facebook Page.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

 OPTIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
CHANNELS (CONTINUED)
OPTIMIZE YOUR INSTAGRAM PROFILE
Convert your account to a Business Account (this will give you access
to analytics)
Use your Linktree link in your Bio (this will allow you to direct fans to
one link that will highlight all of your links in one place)
Use Instagram live feature to engage with your fans directly
Use Instagram stories to ask questions and host polls to drive
engagement
Study and use hashtags (check to see what other artists similar to you
are using for hastags and what.drives the most engagement)
Engage will people using hashtags. Answer all comments of DM's sent
to you. This doesn't mean to always sell yourself. Simply engaging in
conversations shows people that you are a real person and not just a
bot.
Follow music marketing accounts. The marketing business changes
weekly and it's important to stay up to date with the latest trends.
Always learning and being a student of the game will reap tremendous
benefits. Be sure to follow at least 3-5 music marketing accounts to
stay in the know.
Stay consistent! You should spend at least one hour a day to post and
engage in social media content.

SETUP AND OPTIMIZE LINKTREE PAGE

Create your account for FREE, which can basically serve as your official
website.
Optimize your LinkTree page with a profile pic and links to your social
media pages, streaming platforms, merch shop, booking email, etc. Then
use this link in your profile.
For only $6/month you can upgrade to a pro account that has tons of
additional features, including integrations for building your email list,
collecting data for your Facebook Ads (pixels), and design customization.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

OPTIMIZE YOUR MUSIC STREAMING
PLATFORMS & DISCOVERABILITY
VERIFY/OPTIMIZE SPOTIFY ARTIST PROFILE
Create Spotify for Artists account
Verify account for 'blue check'
Upload profile pic, artist bio, and professional banner
Use the "Artist's Pick" feature to pin an album, song, or playlist to the
top of your profile, which also allows you to share tour dates and
custom photos.
Tell your fans, friends and family to follow your Spotify Artist page (so
your new releases will be automatically added to their "Discover
Weekly" and "Release Radar" playlists).
Submit your song 3-4 weeks in advance to give curators enough time to
listen and possibly add your song to popular playlists.
Promote your Spotify "Pre-save" link (which you will receive from your
distributor) and encourage fans to save your song before its release.
This shows curators that your song is in demand and will increase your
chances for potential placements on Spotify's editorial playlists.

VERIFY APPLE MUSIC FOR ARTISTS PAGE

Visit artists.apple.com
Click 'Sign Up' and sign in with your apple ID
Click Request Artist Access and search for your artist page. You can also
copy and paste your iTunes Store artist page link to search.
Verify that you are claiming the correct page
Choose your Role.
Fill out the requested application fields. The more information you are
able to provide, the easier it will be to verify your relationship to the
artist you are claiming.

Note: Amazon music is a growing platform that allows for features such as
analytics and Alexa enabled search of your music. Create an account and
get verified there as well.

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT NEVER ENDS

SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Too many Artists are aiming for quantity over quality, with most of their
time and budget spent on recording and releasing tons of new music.
Instead, focus on improving your craft, and putting out quality songs that
sound better and better with each release.

First and foremost, learn how to sing in key. Regardless if you're a rapper,
learn how to carry a note without being super pitchy, even if you still crank
up the autotune. And similarly, it could also benefit a singer if they learned
how to freestyle flow and spit some bars out of no where. Learning basic
music theory and learning to play an instrumental are other essential skills
to add to your aresenal.

Learn how to write quality songs. No matter how good you think you may
be, we can all always get better. Practice every day if possible, and if not
then at least 2-3 times a week for at least an hour or two, set aside some
alone time for songwriting. The best ways to expand your writing skills is to
collaborate, sign up for virtual songwriting workshops or courses, or to
work with and be personally trained by a professional songwriter/producer.

Either way, we no longer live in a world where just one skill is enough.
Think about it as if the Artists were the characters in a video game, and the
managers/record labels were the players... Wouldn't they choose the
character with the highest rating? Or at least someone with a variety of
skills who is overall more reliable and dynamic?... They will only bet on you
if you can put them in the best position to win, and if you can perform live
at a high level.

There are many more areas where you can add to your skill set (i.e. on
camera experience, or learning how to engineer or produce your own
music), but at the very least start here...

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT NEVER ENDS

SELF-LEARNING
It's absolutely critical that you keep learning and growing. Otherwise, you
are digressing. After all, if you stay complacent and stop growing, then
while your fellow Artists continue to advance themselves, the market
becomes more saturated and harder to compete in, and your chances of
success will have decreased substantially.

Whether you attend workshops or music panel events, or hire an agency

or consultants, or study your favorite artist's backstory to analyze what
they ultimately did to make it, or take it upon yourself to read online/order
any books related to the music industry, invest in your education! There's
also limitless free information and advice available on social media and
YouTube to teach you about the music business and how to market
yourself...NO Excuses!

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST

HOW IS YOUR CHECKLIST LOOKING FOR
YOUR NEXT RELEASE?

Prep The Music

REgister to a P.R.O
Get Legal Documents in Order
setup distribution and plan release
Define your target Audience
Define Music and Marketing BUdget
Define Marketing Strategy
Prep marketing Assets
optimize social media and streming platform profile
artist development action points

LABEL RELEASE CHECKLIST