The Importance of Release Dates

Why is the release date important?

The release date of a musician's single and/or music video is crucial in the success of the song's performance in the charts.

The musician and the record label will usually discuss with each other what single is to be released next off of the musician's album. Once the song is selected, they will then discuss when the most appropriate time to release the song. Dependant on the genre of the song, this could be affected by a series of factors. Firstly, it depends on if the song is seasonal all not. Typical Love Songs are more likely to be released around Valentine's Day and Festive Songs, Hymns or Carols will be released within the run-up to Christmas. This is because record labels know there is going to be demand for the song. 

Simon Cowell plugs the prestige of winning the Christmas Number 1 Single off the back of the X Factor because he knows it is more likely to gain the musician success in the future = more money in his back pocket!

There is also the importance of competition to consider when releasing a song or music video. If you take a low-key, starting musician or band and release their song the same week as HUGE artists in the world right now such as One Direction or Lady Gaga, their impact on the chart is going to be minimal because the competition is just too high. 

The year is also split into four financial/sales quarters. The quarter which runs from October - December is the most competitive in the music industry as albums and CDs become popular for Christmas presents. Musicians are also in high-competition with each other to get the prestigious No1 Single over the Christmas Week/Weekend. There is also the race for the final No1 Single of the year and the highest sales for the entire year to consider.

Gotye and Kimbra gained the number 1 single of the year with 'Somebody That I Used To Know'

In comparison, January to March is the least competitive quarter in the year, and is the best time for new and upcoming artists to release their albums or singles. This is when the media are desperate to look for new talents to talk about for the rest of the year. However, with most consumers having a big spend over the Christmas period, the target audience are less likely to want to spend money on music during this period, having a negative impact on chart positions. It is also the time for New-Year Sales in all the shops, so while a new album or single will be sold at a regular, initial price, all of the competition will be priced lower if they have been on the market for a longer period of time, so they are likely to generate more sales. The two quarters between April and September are the 'festival' seasons, which is a popular time for collaborations, summer party songs and live recordings.

It is also vitally important to consider the target market. Pop bands for example will have a target audience of school and college students, therefore it would be unrealistic to release the song or album over the summer when everyone goes on holiday. Shorter holiday periods such as the Spring or October half-terms might work well as this can be a key time to schedule radio and TV appearances or small promo gigs for the target audiences to attend.

The correlation between release date of the single and the music video is quite strong too. The musician is likely to announce the next single first on social networking sites to create hype and excitement. They will then normally give them a release date for the song, to prepare for pre-sales. They will then create a count-down for the music video's upload on to YouTube as this will also get the target audience excited and ensure that the maximum predicted views are achieved on the first day. The music video, obviously including the song, will then get general audiences aware of the song, and by the time the song's release date comes about, more people are likely to buy it. It can often be a good month between the music video's upload and the single's actual release, bur it does prove effective.

Emeli Sande also saw repeat success after her #1 album and singles entered the charts again after her incredible performances at the London Olympics.

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My Coursework:

The problem with release dates in relation to my music video is that it will not be shown on the video itself, as this does not conform to real approaches in music-video release. However, sometimes music channels will release special programmes which feature specific music videos. For example, in December, a lot of music channels will show only Christmas music videos, and therefore they will often also feature the release date of the song at the start of the footage to remind viewers when the song first came out. 

Whilst I won't include a credits in my music video, it will be important for me to consider the release date of the video and the song separately as I may have to include this in my ancillary products, especially on the website, as this is a common feature seen in real examples. The musician or band will often heavily promote the release date of the song or video to their fans to create hype, and ensure that maximum views/downloads are achieved on the first day. 

Justin Timberlake used a countdown on his website to promote the release date of his new album, something which I will use in my coursework.