What is better? Do I release an album or a single?
It’s a very common question among the independent artists I work with. And is that the way of consuming music, like everything, has changed.
I’d say it depends. On what? On what you are willing to invest in money and work, your repertoire, the fans you have, if you perform live or not,…
In this post, I leave you some pros and cons of the two options.
PROS OF RELEASING AN ALBUM
- The individual price of each song is usually less on an album
- By releasing more songs at once, your repertoire grows fast
- You can experiment more with your style
- You can use one theme/guide for the whole album
- You can create more expectation by doing various collaborations
- You have more songs that your fans know and can sing along to when you perform live
- You can go on a tour to present your album
- You can get a “Deluxe” version
CONS OF RELEASING AN ALBUM
- Making an album has a higher cost
- An album is riskier, especially if you are an emerging and independent artist.
- Recording an album requires a lot of time and work
- There will be songs from your album that will go more unnoticed
- If your fanbase is not very big it is difficult for many people to listen to it completely
PROS OF RELEASING A SINGLE
- A single is easier to promote
- Recording a single requires less work and time
- Releasing a single is cheaper
- You concentrate all your energy and creativity in a single song
- You can easily follow some trend
CONS OF RELEASING A SINGLE
- A bad release can slow down your growth
- You need to release a lot of singles to get recognition
- You need more releases to perform live
- You need a lot of singles to build a strong community/fanbase
- It is very difficult to release a “Deluxe” version
What do you prefer (as an artist or listener)? album or singles? Leave a comment
