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Pre-release

Building anticipation and setting your new music up for success with a multi-format release plan

700M

times fans discovered a song on Shorts and then consumed it on long-form video within a week.1

2B+

Over two billion logged-in users watch a music video each month on YouTube.

What is a multi-format release strategy?

It's a promotional strategy that uses more than one type of content format to promote the release of a song or project.

ON YOUTUBE, YOU CAN USE:

Shorts icon

SHORTS

Video icon

VIDEO

Live icon

LIVE

Why should I start promoting my music before its release date?

Reminding fans about an upcoming release can build anticipation, familiarity and overall hype on the lead-up to the big day. Get your fans excited for your new music by promoting the release with teasers, previews and more.

Pre-release hacks

1

Plan your creative vision

Cohesive branding can impact how fans connect with your release, so:

  • Build a world around your music for fans to immerse themselves in

  • Make promotion easier to recognise

  • Help fans connect and engage more deeply

2

Engage (or re-engage) fans before your music comes out

Consider the pre-release phase a way to 'warm up' your channel ahead of your release. It can:

  • Boost channel engagement

  • Help the algorithm learn who to recommend your music and content to

Pro tip icon
PRO TIP

If you haven't put out any music in a while, give yourself more time to post teasers and content to re-engage your fans. Remind them of what made them fans of your music, but also get them excited for what's coming next.

Shorts icon Shorts

A preview is a clip of a song that's made available on Shorts before the song is officially out.

Romy made the preview of her song, accompanied by a compilation of performance and behind-the-scenes footage, into a Short.

Learn more here

On previews

When you deliver a preview of your song, fans will see a 'Notify me' button that they can tap to get notifications when your song is officially out.

WHERE DO THEY APPEAR?

1. On your Shorts using the preview sound

2. On the song library page for your track

Build hype for your song and put out Shorts that invite fans to start creating using your upcoming track, or make compelling Shorts that stand out to get fans hooked early.

To tease the beginning of her song, Ciara made a Short featuring her power-walking with dancers from the music video.

YouTube Music is available for pre-saves on Feature.fm and Linkfire.

Set up a pre-save campaign to build momentum ahead of your release, allowing fans to automatically save your new music and increasing streams on the day it drops.

Why icon
WHY?
  • Get a head start on promotion

  • Increase the number of creations and views prior to release

  • Grow your audience and subscribers ahead of the release

  • Build excitement for release day

Video icon Video

Summer Walker image

SUMMER WALKER

Upload a trailer or teaser for your upcoming release about two weeks before it drops.

WHY?

  • Fresh content for new fans coming to your channel
  • Build anticipation for your upcoming release

Live icon Live

Set up a live stream to serve as a pre-show to your music video Premiere.

TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER

Set your stream up as a Live Redirect so that fans are taken to your music video immediately after the live stream.

Premieres

Premieres image

Set up a Premiere for your official music video

Premieres allow you and your fans to watch and experience your music video together with a live chat.

  • Build hype for your Premiere by promoting the link on socials.

  • After the Premiere, the content will remain as a video on your channel.

Why icon
WHY?
  • Fans will get reminders to tune in

  • Engaging with fans in live chat during a Premiere can make them more likely to engage with you and your new music

  • You can promote the Premiere link with fans on your socials.

Channel optimisation

1
Update your channel banner to reflect your latest release.
2
Add your pre-save link or a social media link.
3
Set a trailer or teaser as your featured video.
4
Customise your channel layout.

Place priority shelves and playlists towards the top of your channel to draw attention to content around a specific track, project or theme.

Posts

SB19 image

Think of this space as your social media feed on YouTube.

Post photos, polls, streaming links and more.

You shouldn't use Community posts to share new videos; YouTube does that for you!

POSTS MAY SEE MORE ENGAGEMENT WHEN YOU SHARE:

  • Polls
  • Quizzes
  • Photo carousels

Measure your early success

Keep an eye on the following metrics in YouTube Analytics for Artists to keep your finger on the pulse of what's working and what's not:

Creations icon

Creations

Engagement icon

Engagement

Subscriber growth icon

Subscriber Growth

Pre-release checklist

SHORTS:
  • Post Shorts teasing your upcoming song*

  • Set up a PREVIEW if available

VIDEOS:
  • Upload a trailer or teaser for your upcoming track

  • Set your trailer as the FEATURED VIDEO on your channel

PREMIERE:
  • Set up a PREMIERE for your official video*

  • Post a shareable link on socials and tell fans to set reminders

  • Add a TRAILER to your watch page for a more compelling experience

LIVE:

* If you're not able to do everything on this list, prioritise these actions.

Want more resources for artists?

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