You want your music in the stores before the holiday season begins: way before. I can’t overemphasize how important this is. Retail sales in the Western world are driven by the gift-giving engine that is Q4 (the “fourth quarter” of the year, comprising October, November and December sales). This is the time when hype is whipped up, bonuses are handed out, and families and friends buy things around deep sales and discounts. As one example, almost 50% of all music bought in the U.S. falls in the 90 days between October and December, and that includes YOUR music.
There are a thousand statistics to show it (including sales data at the RIAA website), but I want to highlight just one:
These are iPod sales, and the enormous spikes you see at every Q1 (that’s when Q4 sales get reported) shows just how powerfully the patterns repeat, especially for personal and entertainment electronics. For musicians, this chart is even more important, because of this single fact:
Every one of these iPods needs to be filled with music.
It’s not just iPods, but iPhones (the new ones have 8 gigs of storage or even 16), iPod sub-models like the Nano and the new Touch, all follow this sales curve. The empty drives of these portable devices are like a land-grab, vast open territory for you to stake out with your singles, albums, music videos and data. It brings up another vital point:
Everyone knows it.
More music is released into the markets this time of year than any other: if its not on the “shelf” it can not be bought.
GET YOUR MUSIC IN NOW.
The time window to get you music live by the beginning of the buying season is narrow and shrinking fast. At the moment, although TuneCore gets your music to iTunes (or the other digital stores you selected) within 6 hours, iTUnes can take takes 4 to 6 weeks for your music to go live after it has been delivered. We want to make sure we have your music distributed where you want it to go in time for the holidays.
We also want you to sell the most music, so here’s a tip:
SELL COVERS of HOLIDAY MUSIC
Every year we see seasonal music rake in a fortune. Halloween, Hannukah, Christmas, and all the words associated with them, bubble to the top of search requests. If your music is holiday-themed, if it’s a cover of a known holiday song or an old favorite, you could make a lot of sales.
It’s not too late to lay down some singles (they’re only $9.99, flat, per year through TuneCore), so put yourself into the stores. Happy holidays!
–Peter
