Release Day

Maximizing Your Music’s Views and Streams with a Multi-Format Release Plan

700M

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

94%

Out of a random sampling, fans who saw a given music video consumed 94% more of that artist's music in the following month compared to fans who didn't see the music video.

What is a multi-format release strategy?

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

VIDEO

LIVE

Why use a multi-format release strategy?

Audiences may differ across formats, so you can attract a wider audience and cater to  content preferences.
YouTube’s recommendations take into account a viewer’s watch preferences in each format. What your fans watch on Shorts can influence recommended videos.

Release Day Hacks

Keep Creative Consistency

Use similar creative branding and themes across all of your release content - visualizers, lyric videos, channel banner, promotional content, etc. - for cohesion. Fans can more easily recognize content.

Make The Most Noise On Release Day

Release day should host all of your best content to get fans talking about your release. Use all formats on this day to reach fans from all angles.

PRO TIP

It’s okay to post Shorts on the same day as your music video Premiere.
Posting Shorts will not negatively affect YouTube's recommendations of your long form content to users or vice versa.

Shorts

Create a Variety of Shorts to Promote Your Track

Upload consistency is key on Shorts. It’s up to you to find content that works best for you and your fanbase. Aim to create compelling, original content that will attract new fans.

GOOD

IMASE

BETTER

PESO PLUMA

BEST

CONNOR PRICE

WHY?

Let fans know the full song is available
Expand the reach of your song
Entice new and returning fans to listen to the full song or watch the Official Music Video
Inspire fans to create with your track

Video

Your Official Music Video

Serves as your main storytelling visual
Immerses fans and drives deeper relationships
Serves as an opportunity for monetization

When Should I Premiere My Music Video?

Same Day As Song or Album Release (Recommended)
We've seen that Official Music Videos uploaded on same day as the audio release results in higher subscriber growth and higher views in the first two weeks.
Around a Big Marketing Moment
As an alternative, you can also plan to upload your music video if there's another big moment for your release - like a remix or big performance - or if the song starts to gain traction and trend.

Your Release Videos

If you have an Official Music Video, avoid uploading other release videos at the exact same time. If you’re unable to release an Official Music Video on release day, consider these types of videos as alternatives.

Art Tracks: A video that is generated with your audio delivery that includes the sound recording and album or single art. You do not upload this yourself, but make sure your label or distributor delivers your audio release to us.
Alternative Versions: Different versions or renditions of the song, like slowed down, sped up, acoustic, etc.
Lyric Videos: Videos that show the lyrics as the song plays.
Performance Videos: Videos of you performing the song.
Visualizers: An alternative video - usually lower lift and separate from the officital music video to support the song.

LATTO - "BIG ENERGY"

ART TRACKS

ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS

LYRIC VIDEOS

VISUALIZERS

WHY?

More content can reach more people, and fans have more options to watch and listen, the way they prefer.

PREPARING FOR AN EP OR ALBUM RELEASE?

Consider making at least one type of release video available for each track.

Live

REMEMBER: The more you chat and engage with fans during a Premiere, fans can be more likely to engage with you and your new release.

PHOENIX

It’s Almost Time For The Main Event!

In your live stream before your Official Music Video Premiere, remember to:

Enable chat replay
Invite fans to ask questions or answer prompts
Use a moderator to find and reply to comments
Engage with fans by liking, pinning or reply to comments

Thought Starters

Plan for your live stream to last at least 15 minutes
End the live stream and set your Live Redirect at the same time your Premiere is set to begin. You don’t have to leave time in between.

PRO TIP

Hype and promote your live stream beforehand across socials to bring in a crowd.

Live vs. Premiere

What's The Difference?

Live Stream

A video platform that allows artists to broadcast footage live.
Artists can interact and chat with fans in real-time.

Premiere

Creates a watch page for artists to join their fans to watch uploaded content, like a new music video, together in real-time.
Artists can interact and chat with fans in real-time.

YOUR LIVE STREAM

"Hey everyone, stick around for the Official Music Video premiere!"

LIVE REDIRECT

Your live stream will end with a countdown leading to your music video premiere.

YOUR PREMIERE

Automatically takes fans from your live stream to your music video premiere page.

Channel Optimization

Set your official video (or main visual) as the featured video on your channel

Create a featured playlist with all content related to your new release and place towards the top of your channel

Update your channel banner to highlight that your release is out now

Update your store with the latest merch and remove merch from past releases. Learn more here.

Community

Types Of Posts

Photo

Great for informing fans

Polls / Quizzes

Great for getting more engagement from fans

Video Links

Great for featuring fan content

Best Practices

Promote your music, including release streaming links

Curate and share things you love, like fan videos or collaborations

Ask for feedback from fans

Release Day Checklist

SHORTS:

Post Shorts with your song, using the Shorts audio picker.
Inspire and encourage fans to create their own content with your song.

VIDEOS:

Upload your Official Music Video
Consider uploading additional release-related videos (like visualizers, lyric videos, alternative versions [ex. Sped up, slowed down], etc.) if you're unable to release an Official Music Video.

CHANNEL:

Set Official Music Video as your featured video

LIVE:

Set up a live redirect from your live stream to your Official Music Video Premiere
Pre-plan the flow of your live stream (what you’ll do, talk about, Q&A, etc.)