It used to be where releasing an entire album as singles was not cost effective. When tapes, CDs, and the like were the only way to distribute purchasable music, it didn’t make sense to release just one song at a time. Now with digital distribution being the primary method of music distribution that cost barrier is gone. Add to that the falling costs of studio gear and the ability to make high quality recordings at home and you have the recipe for releasing your album however you want. So why would you want to release the album one track at a time?
Spread Your Promotion Out
Instead of the typical “hey we have an album coming out next week” approach, you can say “here comes the next song from the album.” In the first example, you’re done after the release. When you release one song at a time, you can promote each song’s release until you have released all of the songs. You don’t even have to release the whole album as a song-by-song approach. You can just release a few songs up until the full release. Doing that you have created additional products to sell to your fans even though you weren’t actually creating anything extra. Another benefit to releasing the album as singles is that you allow fans to purchase just the songs they like. We all know there are those albums we’ve bought where we only liked one or two songs.
You Can Fund Your Album As You Go
Even with recording equipment costs going way down, some artists just don’t have the time or concern to handle recording their album on their own. In those cases, generating the money necessary to pay for a good studio to record a whole album can be tough. For raising that money, you could turn to a service such as Kickstarter to crowdfund your album, or you could release the album one track at a time to generate money from song sales. You release the first finished song for sale and a month later you have the money to pay for the next three songs.
You Can Involve Your Fans In Your Work
Going back to the “one or two songs on an album that you liked” aspect, by releasing the songs individually as your record you can get feedback from the fans. You can hear what they are liking and disliking about the songs so far. Instead of working on the album in secret with the intent to release at a certain time, you can release an album you know the fans want because they have been giving feedback during the whole creation process.
You’re Not Overloading People With Too Much At Once
We all know what happens when an album is released in full. You have to release singles and music videos later to highlight certain songs. By releasing the album one song at a time, you give each song time to stand on its own and be recognized individually. You can also tailor your promotional efforts to each song individually rather than marketing the album as a bulk.
Who Is Already Doing This?
There is actually a prime example of this happening right now. The band Chicago has taken this approach with their latest album. They are releasing songs as they get finished for digital downloading through the major retailers. Once enough songs have been produced to make a full album, the band will then release the album as a physical disc as well. So if it’s a good enough approach for Chicago then it should be for you!