{"id":5238,"date":"2022-11-02T12:27:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T12:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/byta.com\/howwelisten\/?post_type=in-conversation&p=5238"},"modified":"2023-01-05T00:14:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T00:14:47","slug":"kevin-breuner-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"in-conversation","link":"https:\/\/byta.com\/howwelisten\/in-conversation\/kevin-breuner-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Live in Conversation: Kevin Breuner Part II of II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Part II of II<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miss Part I? Click here<\/a> to go back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc challenges Kevin to come up with the top three biggest mistakes people make over and over again when planning a release. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin also fields a number of questions from attendees: release planning, press release strategies and how to make your money more effective when dealing with social medial ads.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc Brown:<\/strong> So since you have a lot of experience in the industry, rather than the top things you should do, can you give us the top three things people shouldn\u2019t do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin Breuner:<\/strong> The number one thing to never, ever do, would be to set a release date before your music is done.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: Well, that sounds so obvious, but I assume that it\u2019s a problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin: <\/strong>I\u2019m as guilty of it as anybody! I\u2019ve heard a lot of people say \u201cwe\u2019ve got this really awesome show booked in a few months, and that would be a great time for our album release show\u201d. But then the music isn\u2019t done, and it takes longer than you think. You end up scrambling to get it done so you can\u2019t and don\u2019t take advantage of all of the opportunities you could have with the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number two mistake that kind of goes hand in hand with this is wanting to get your music out as soon as possible. We get calls from artists sometimes who are so excited and saying they want their music out that week. And even though we could do that for them, they are losing out on all these opportunities to promote it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another big mistake artists make is looking at the release date as their finish line. The reality is it\u2019s the starting point. Nowadays, the opportunities that you have to promote music before it\u2019s released are minimal. It\u2019s still worth trying to get press and coverage, but after it\u2019s out is when your fans can actually do something with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last mistake that artists make is only focusing on their most recent music, instead of building a catalogue. The artists that I\u2019ve seen make the most money on CD Baby have created a big catalogue. Every time you release a new song, fans are engaging with your music again. So if you have a catalogue, people will continue by listening to your old stuff and your revenue will increase exponentially. Basically, the more music you have, the more music fans can listen to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc:<\/strong> That insight is excellent. I never really thought about how a catalogue could be the secret to success with streaming, but I keep hearing more and more about how older songs are being uncovered and rediscovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> Yeah. Especially with the younger generation, what we think of as classic music is actually new to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: <\/strong>I didn\u2019t even think about that – the idea that all music is new if it\u2019s new to you. Ok so, there are some questions. Here is one about press releases. How early should you send it and how long in advance? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> This is a great opportunity to point out that we have a free tool for this, even if you don\u2019t use CD Baby! Our release plan generator<\/a>. It helps you understand timelines because the answer can change depending on the type of press you are looking for. Generally, you\u2019ll want to start the process at least 2 months in advance. So that means you have to get it written and if you\u2019re working with a PR rep they\u2019ll need time for pre-pitching which is when they\u2019ll send it out to agencies and try to get them to look at the press release. That takes a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oftentimes as artists we forget that. It takes a while to actually get attention, and then when you do, the press outlets have their own editorial calendars to think about. There are other things at play, and even if the person likes what you\u2019re doing there are some limitations. The bigger you are, the longer lead time you\u2019ll need to give the press outlets. Most artists don\u2019t realize that it\u2019s not just the day you send the email, but the day that you get them to read the email that matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kevin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marc:<\/strong> Getting them to read it at all is an accomplishment! Giving people time to read the email you write is oftentimes the best thing you can do. So back to the release planning, how about some more broad strokes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> You need to start by knowing what your goals are for the release. I encourage people to think about it as a \u201cseason of release\u201d<\/a>, rather than one day. A certain time period where you\u2019ll have quite a few things dropping. Streaming has provided a new opportunity, where releases don\u2019t have to be so precious – you can do remixes, live recordings etc, all giving people more reasons to keep coming back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You want to have at least 2 weeks between when you upload your music and when you release it so that you can take advantage of the pitching tools that are now available through streaming platforms. Even if you don\u2019t get on the curated playlists, it will still push that release to all of your fans on Discover Weekly<\/a> and New Music Radar. If you\u2019re trying to release something in less than a week’s time, you\u2019re missing out on those tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc:<\/strong> One thing I really like about that season of releases analogy is that you can learn as you go by doing a series of different releases over time. A lot of artists feel the pressure to be perfect, but it allows for a second chance so you can learn and improve each time. It\u2019s a building process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> Yeah, absolutely. That\u2019s how I look at it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, what about goals you should set when releasing music? Well, the goals I set for myself are a certain amount of streams by the end of the first week. Then you need to work backwards to figure out how you\u2019re going to get there. Setting that goal and defining what it is can be helpful. I often see people just shooting in the dark, so when something works or doesn\u2019t work you don\u2019t really know what it was that led to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc:<\/strong> You could even make up some random number that you think is realistic, and whether you hit it or not you then have a better idea of what ballpark you\u2019re in. People don\u2019t realize just how much experimentation has to go on to get where you want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> Yeah, it\u2019s really easy to kick yourself as an artist when you don\u2019t hit a goal, but the goal is really just there to help you focus on what you want to measure. Don\u2019t get too focused on the numbers. Goals also help you prioritize because you only have so much time and effort that you can give. I know artists don\u2019t think about data much, but there are so many stories that are told in data when you\u2019re doing marketing campaigns. That\u2019s one of the things I always have to remind myself to do after I release new music – to go back and really analyze the data so that I can better inform the next release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: <\/strong>You\u2019re right. It\u2019s just asking a lot of questions and being very curious about what you know, don\u2019t know and what you can learn. I think people get stuck on the idea that there\u2019s one elusive answer, but instead, it\u2019s important to just try to get close to answering one question and gaining insights from that. Would you say that\u2019s right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin: <\/strong>Yeah I would say so. What works today won\u2019t necessarily work 5 years from now, and what works for another artist might not work for you. There is a certain mystery around music and art and how people perceive it. As musicians we\u2019re not making commodities that just sit on a shelf – music connects to people\u2019s souls in various ways and does things beyond what we can measure. For me, it\u2019s just about being curious and creating a process that helps you feel like you\u2019re moving in the right direction. What might work for this release won\u2019t work 2 releases down the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: <\/strong>You\u2019re right – it really is a process. So, here\u2019s another question for you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the perspective of an artist with little budget, what are other ways to increase monthly listeners and streams that aren\u2019t playlisting?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> Little budget could impact this first part of the answer, but releasing more music always helps. The act of releasing music is a promotional act now because it gets pushed to your fans by the music streaming platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than that, the biggest bang for your buck is Facebook ads. That also includes Instagram, and they just enabled the Instagram reel boost feature. Facebook ads are typically affordable for beginner advertisers, especially \u201cboosting\u201d. It\u2019s really cheap to create a nice promotional content piece, pressing boost and getting it out to your fans. Promotional videos are also a great thing to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc:<\/strong> Like YouTube videos or videos on social media?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> On social media! All those platforms favour video more than anything. If you\u2019re able to do a quick snippet about your new music, those perform much better in the feed and as ads. People like seeing videos <\/a>more than looking at a static image. Social media platforms are constantly evolving, like Instagram for example. They are really pushing reels nowadays so you\u2019ll see way better performance if you focus on reels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So going back to the question, you can reach many people for as little as $20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: <\/strong>That makes a lot of sense. Don\u2019t overcomplicate it even with ads, keep it simple. There\u2019s a lot of insight there! OK, now along the same lines is this question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat does social media marketing mean to you and what are the best industry practices?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin: <\/strong>Using social media is great, and one thing that\u2019s important is to look at it as storytelling. It\u2019s a pretty broad question because different platforms reward different kinds of content so understanding that is really important. The one word of caution I have for artists is if you feel like you\u2019re on a social media platform just to be on it, and you\u2019re not really understanding why you\u2019re on it or how it\u2019s benefiting your music – it might not be the right place for you. When you build an audience on social media, you should be trying to get them off of social media. You want to try to get an email address or something like that so that you own the relationship<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: <\/strong>Makes sense. Here is another question- super detailed and international:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf my goal is to perform and have a fanbase buy merch in a few countries in Europe, should I be running my ads to multiple countries with just one ad? Or would it be best to separate the ads per country, and if so, should I focus on one country at a time before moving on to the next one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a really interesting one because it\u2019s talking about where to put your focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> I may come up short here because my answer is\u2026 that it depends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: <\/strong>Ahhh no\u2026not it depends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin: <\/strong>I haven’t seen the ad, but if those countries speak different languages, I\u2019d have versions of those in their first language because it\u2019ll feel more local to them. Also, if there are any hooks that are specific to a country\u2019s culture, you should also just run the ad in that country. You also need to understand which kind of person likes your music, and if there\u2019s a connection in those countries then you could combine it and run the ad in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think you necessarily have to run separate ads, but that\u2019s where you should turn to the data and see what works and what doesn\u2019t work. If you\u2019re looking at the data and you see that your merch is selling, but your ads aren\u2019t performing well then you need to tailor your ad to that specific region since there might be some sort of disconnect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: I<\/strong> think what\u2019s really important is don\u2019t overcomplicate it. Start one way, see how it goes and then adjust. You\u2019ll find the answer based on the steps you take and the questions you ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> Exactly. Start simple and learn as you go. See if the simple ad connected with the audience, and if didn\u2019t then change one variable and go from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: <\/strong>That\u2019s a great place to end – SS. Start Simple!<\/strong> It\u2019s so easy to go off in all kinds of directions, but what you want to do is take simple steps and build from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> I completely agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc: <\/strong>Thanks so much Kevin, it was great to chat with you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin:<\/strong> Thank you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"template":"","format":"standard","tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKevin Breuner: In Conversation Part II - #HowWeListen from Byta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marc challenges Kevin Breuner (CD Baby) to come up with the 3 biggest mistakes people make over and over again when planning a music release.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/byta.com\/howwelisten\/in-conversation\/kevin-breuner-part-ii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kevin Breuner: In Conversation Part II - #HowWeListen from Byta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Marc challenges Kevin Breuner (CD Baby) to come up with the 3 biggest mistakes people make over and over again when planning a music release.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/byta.com\/howwelisten\/in-conversation\/kevin-breuner-part-ii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"#HowWeListen from Byta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/BytaLtd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-05T00:14:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/byta.com\/howwelisten\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/kevin_mb_WHL_2.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BytaLtd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/byta.com\/howwelisten\/in-conversation\/kevin-breuner-part-ii\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/byta.com\/howwelisten\/in-conversation\/kevin-breuner-part-ii\/\",\"name\":\"Kevin Breuner: In Conversation Part II - 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