The world of streaming and the new habits of streaming listening to music, came with some changes that we must be aware of so as not to fail in our attempt. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a strategy on how to release music and what is the best format to reach our audience. Having a good established strategy, we will be able establish marketing, launch and promotion parameters. Knowing how to differentiate single, EP or album and which is the best option for you or your band is a key factor. In this guide, I am going to explain what each of them is, their characteristics and which one is better depending on the situation you find yourself in.
Single, EP or Album: Definitions
What is a Single?
A single contains 1 to 3 songs, with a total duration of less than 30 minutes. The most classic way to release a single is only one song, and sometimes they are accompanied by two songs related to the first. Sometimes the Two other songs can be remixes, live versions or variants of the first. But the idea of the single is to concentrate all the production efforts in something short.
What is an EP?
To be considered an EP, one of the following two conditions must be met:
- 4 to 6 songs with a total duration of less than 30 minutes.
- 1 to 3 songs, one of them being 10 minutes long, and the total duration being less than 30 minutes (this definition is only for Apple Music) .
The most common is the first, since most streaming platforms consider an EP to be between 4 and 6 songs. It is an intermediate between a single and an album.
What is an Album?
To be considered an album, you need 6 or more songs. Some distributors also require that its duration be greater than 30 minutes. It is the longest format to release music and requires a lot of production effort.
Launch strategies
Finding a good release strategy is key to being able to correctly communicate our music to the public. Depending on your audience, one type of release will be better for you than another. If you are reading this article, then you will want to upload your music to all the streaming platforms through a digital distributor. Therefore, it is necessary to understand what is (and how) what is consumed on the largest streaming platforms.
Read: Best 10 digital music distributors
Streaming platforms and their trends
Streaming platforms have gained a lot of ground in recent years.
Who doesn’t have Spotify nowadays?
According to a statistic, people spend 18 hours listening to music per week and 89% of them do so through some type of streaming. So, if you are wanting to release your music to streaming platforms, you are on the way correct.
But the question is, how do people listen to music on streaming platforms?
Particularly on the Spotify giant, up to approximately two-thirds of listening time on Spotify belongs to playlists. (Ref) That is, most of Spotify is consumed through playlists. So logic tells us that it is a factor to take into account if we want to increase our reproductions.
Best launch types
When we talk about the best type of launch, it is not that there is one better than another. They are simply different ways to make your music known. However, there is a “but” if your objective is to improve interaction with your audience or potential audience. In recent times the way of listening to music has changed… playlists have taken control and entering them can mean the difference between success and failure. In another article I talked in detail about how to enter Spotfiy playlists; but one of the main ideas is to stay active by uploading music and connected with your fans. Taking into account that making an album takes a lot of time and effort, and that the times of listening to entire albums on CDs are in the past, it no longer seems like a viable option. The best way to stay active on streaming platforms is through singles and EPs. Because they are shorter, they allow you to upload music regularly, improve interaction and the possibilities of entering playlists. Be careful, I’m not saying that playlists are the only point is to be in your mind, but it is a great factor to take into account.
Strategy to release your music
If you have not yet released any songs on streaming platforms, there are several reasons why I can recommend that you start with a single. Firstly, the single is much easier to produce and concentrate all efforts on releasing a good good song. It will be like the first step to begin to appear and gain a presence in the field. But also, the single will allow you to access all the customization features of the platforms. Before making a release, you do not have any profile, biography, customization or account verification on streaming platforms.If you release a single, you can easily access all this, make all the necessary modifications and then release something more elaborate.After the single, releasing an EP is a good idea if You want to give your audience more songs to listen to at once. The EP will show who you are or what your band is like in a more defined way. The set of four songs gives a clearer idea of what the type of music is about.
Albums: Completely ruled out?
But then, are albums completely out of the question? Well.. in the modern era it no longer seems like a viable option to put in so much production effort so that no one hears it. But this is all in terms of marketing and promotion. If your dream was always to release an album, you don’t have to rule it out, it’s totally fine. It is legitimate and many bands still choose it for different reasons. Also on the positive side, albums generate a profile with a better base than the rest of the release types.
Conclusions: Single, EP or Album
Deciding whether to release a Single, EP or Album is an important decision to set the course of your musical career. In terms of promotion, singles and EPs are the best way to stay active, grow and stay in touch with your audience .So, start designing your strategy and releasing your music!
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