Ever heard of the 'Waterfall Method' or the 'Waterfall Release Strategy' for releasing music?
Maybe you have, but you're not quite sure what it is or how to implement it, or you've seen it but didn't know it had a name, or maybe, you haven't heard of it at all.
Let's discuss.
The Waterfall Release Strategy:
is a strategy for releasing music where you release tracks for either an EP or an album one at a time, over a series of weeks or months. This creates a 'waterfall' effect where you release new content with each new song you're releasing, and build off the momentum from your previous release. This strategy allows you to continue to build interest and engagement with fans in anticipation of the full release! The first single is released, and every following single is added to the previous release, and are not released as standalone tracks, which is important to note if you're distributing your own music.
TL;DR: It's like releasing a lead single before the album release. But this time, it's just a bunch of singles before the big release, a strategy, built for the streaming age.
Why Use the Waterfall Release Strategy?
Helps create consistent engagement! As always, remember quality in social media content is k e y.
Continuously creates anticipation of another upcoming release!
Optimizes the Spotify algorithm! The algo loves frequent releases and loves pushing those releases on your listeners. The more releases you have, the more you'll appear on your fan's Spotify Release Radar and/or Discover Weekly
Editorial Playlists! Since you can only pitch once with each release on Spotify, releasing more, gives you more opportunities to pitch to those coveted editorial playlists!
$$$! This is a direct effect of all of the above. Since you're ultimately increasing your visibility on the streaming platforms, and adding new music to your previous single/s, with every new song addition, your streams are adding up exponentially. You'll be garnering more streams, making you more dough!
Pairs well with the social media algorithms, when you're consistently engaging and posting!
Maximizes the time you can pitch to music blogs with new releases each week or month and a full album also to promote!
Gets you the biggest bang for your buck in terms of branding and strategy. When you create a bigger brand strategy for the album, you'll be using the same vibe, aesthetic, and color scheme, while you're promoting each part of the release, creating increased brand awareness and recognition
TIP: Better yet, use that brand strategy to create a movement! Think, Brat Girl Summer, Midwest Princess...
Examples?
This method has been utilized by major labels for some time now, with the first allegedly being The Chainsmokers back in 2018. John Mayer also used a similar release strategy for his The Search for Everything album release in 2017, where he released the songs in 'waves' which acted like small EPs exclusively on Spotify, before the full album release. Ed Sheeran has been one of the biggest fans of the Waterfall Method and has milked his '=' album in just about every way possible. His favorite way to waterfall is by adding remixes.
On June 25th, 2021, Ed Sheeran released "Bad Habits" for the first time, shortly followed by the acoustic version on July 9th. He followed that with another two remixes that were released as "singles," building on the original release.
Next, he released another four "Bad Habits" remixes to create a 'Bad Habits (The Remixes)' EP. Then, there was another "Bad Habits" remix. Seems like alot of remixes, but not as many as what was to follow. Ed later released four remixes of the next single, "Shivers," followed by a 14-track "album" of just remixes of "2step."
After the '=' album was officially released on October 25th, 2021, he continued this waterfall of singles, remixes, and EPs, with about 23 new remixes, a tour edition of the album, with other singles and collaborations released in between. All of these singles included new genres, hit on new demographics, and created new listeners and fans with each release, while continuing to push Ed's music consistently to his fans. And again, each new remix that was released was tied to the original single, or the Lil Baby remix, continuing to increase streams for those tracks as well.
Another, simpler example:
Lake Street Dive.
"Good Together" their first single, released February 29, 2024
"Better Not Tell You" + "Good Together," released April 19th, 2024
"Twenty-Five" + "Better Not Tell You" + "Good Together," released May 17th, 2024
"Dance With a Stranger" + "Twenty-Five" + "Better Not Tell You" + "Good Together," released June 17th, 2024
ALBUM:  Good Together, released on June 21st. Each of these releases was strategic. The first lead single, "Good Together" is also the title track, a song that is traditionally released as the lead single of any album release strategy. But they continued with each water droplet adding a song that is a little different from the previous in terms of style and vibe, catering to the diverse tastes of their fans. In addition to their streaming release strategy, the band paired this with an exceptional social media release strategy including behind-the-scenes clips, band member takeovers on IG, music video releases, live performances, a tour, and a ticket giveaway scavenger hunt! On top of all of that, they also showed the behind-the-scenes songwriting process of how they wrote three of their Good Together songs by using a 20-sided die to determine song qualities like chords, tempo, and time signature. Next, they shared the rules as an LSD game that fans and musicians can play along with! Â
Let's Make it a Deluxe:
We love a good cheeseburger deluxe, so why not make your album a deluxe? While Noah Kahan is primarily known for his Stick Season album, some are surprised to hear he's actually been releasing music since 2017. But it all changed in 2022 when he began his "Stick Season" waterfall. Kahan released the "Stick Season" single, then added "Northern Attitude" shortly after, and officially released the record on October 14, 2022.
Following the album's success Noah Kahan began touring and collaborating with heavy hit makers and many of his biggest influences. In June, he released a deluxe version of the album, Stick Season (We'll All Be Here Forever), adding another seven new tracks! Being a folk/alt-country/indie crossover artist, Noah tapped into those fanbases, now rereleasing singles with new features from Hozier to Lizzy McAlpine, Post Malone, and Kacey Musgraves.
And after those eight new singles with featured artists, another album, Forever was released, with a total of 30 tracks, essentially creating the ultimate Stick Season playlist, all building off of the first record. It's now 2024, and he's still touring and playing shows off of the music from the first 2022 release.
For the Indie Artist, here's our Step-by-Step Guide:
Step 1: Plan it! When you're releasing music, it's always great to work backward. Think first about your album, what that will look like, and it's release date. Next, think about which of your singles are the strongest. How will you realease them? Will you create an EP with the singles, before the album? What are their release dates?
PRO TIP: Release the single you think has the most potential, first. Because you're building everything off of the first release, this track will get the most streams, so make it a good one with the potential!
Step 2: Now that you have your release dates, and have picked your standout tracks, think about what will be accompanying these releases. What is your branding, brand strategy, social media plan, press ideas, ads, Spotify Canvases, playlisting, etc...
Step 3: Release your singles! Remember to space them out, and add the new single, to the previous release/s. Max, 4 songs can still appear as a single on Spotify! Remember that in order to build on the previous release, you cannot release each song as individual singles. Make sure to use the same file, same ISRC code, title, and contributors to get the same streams. Use different UPC codes to differentiate between releases, but the same ISRC codes to identify the songs.
PRO TIP: And if you have a variety of sounds on your album, take a page out of Lake Street Dive's book. Release a few tracks like a sampling cheese board, one a little subtle, one a little funkier, and one bold and in your face with flavor!
Step 4: Make those singles into an EP!
PRO TIP: If you're utilizing this step, only release three previous singles and use the fourth as the additional song, making a four-track EP!
Step 5: Album Time! Building off the energy, momentum, and anticipation of your other releases, add those tracks to your new a l b u m!
Step 6: Push it some more? Now as an independent artist, you might not have the same type of dedicated, and intense fan base as Ed Sheeran, or Beyoncé, but you can still use their methods, just translate them to your style and fanbase. Ed Sheeran's 23+ remixes for one song might be too much, but try some remixes to keep that interest! Try DJ remixes, an acoustic version, an even fuller-band remix, a new verse from another artist, live recordings... the mixes are endless, just ask Ed!
Long Story Short: Having a strong strategy is the key to releasing a song, EP, or album. But, building off of one into another and another, is even stronger! If you're an indie artist, consider a waterfall approach for the biggest bang for your release buck.
Need help with release strategy?
We can help. Email stef@themicmg.com.
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