The obvious first step in any release and marketing plan is to create the music! Once you have your recordings finished and ready to go, then it will be time to implement your strategy.
After creating your music, you will need to identify your target market. Identifying the demographics and psychographics of your potential fan base will help you know where to market, what merchandise to sell, and how to promote your brand. Looking at the fans of other artists similar to you is a great place to start finding information on future fans. What age is the fan group? Where does their income come from? What are their habits and hobbies? Their values? All of these facts can help pinpoint the people who could become your biggest supporters.
Next is distribution. At least 3 months before you want to release music, you will have to sign up for a PRO such as ASCAP or BMI. These companies will allow you to collect performance royalties. We also suggest registering with SoundExchange in order to receive digital royalties. After deciding on a PRO, you will have to find the perfect distributor. The Orchard and Ditto Plus are both great options; however, both require an application. CDBaby and DistroKid are both available to everyone without any appeals. There are many other distributors, so it is important to research and find the one with the best payment and distribution plan for you.
The last necessary step before release is taking care of the legal aspects. Make sure to register your compositions and sound recordings with the US Copyright Office. Finally, create a trademark for the artist name and list goods and services (including merchandising) with the USPTO.
We hope this helps you take the initiative to release your music, and we hope to hear your music one day! Let us know in the comments if you have any questions.