Release time (of the year)

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

A topic in the alternative forum got me wondering about when songs get released during the year.

What are some major factors that artists/labels take into account when releasing songs?

For example, a lot of albums come out in September-November to take advantage of the holiday season, is there anything else?
There's also meeting the deadline of the Grammys that is sometimes taken into account.
It was mentioned in that topic that songs get released near the end of a year/beginning of a year to maximize yearend chart status.
And it was also mentioned that a song/album getting released during the summer also helps because there isn't a lot of competition sales/hype-wise.

What else?

[Pulse]

A lot of albums get released in the spring, when they want the album to go to #1 and stand out there not really face stiff competetion.

[Pink Champagne Ricochet]

exactly. and even in the winter too. in January it barely takes 100K to get to #1, so a new artist can get that spot to build hype.

i'm not sure if the holiday season/fall works for everyone. when there are SO MANY big new releases, some no doubt fall through the cracks when they could have done better with less competition for dollars.

[banet2001]

splitchick59 said:

exactly. and even in the winter too. in January it barely takes 100K to get to #1, so a new artist can get that spot to build hype.

Lesser name artists who are not expected to sell many albums will typically get a January release (after the big Christmas season). Getting a January release is usually not considered a good thing for an artist, at least for an artist who is attempting to sell a lot of albums.

[Deleted]

banet2001 said:

splitchick59 said:

exactly. and even in the winter too. in January it barely takes 100K to get to #1, so a new artist can get that spot to build hype.

Lesser name artists who are not expected to sell many albums will typically get a January release (after the big Christmas season). Getting a January release is usually not considered a good thing for an artist, at least for an artist who is attempting to sell a lot of albums.

If an unknown artist gets released in January and takes off, it could be one of the biggest sellers of the year. Example: High School Musical featuring an unknown cast, got a January release.

[ryarboro]

2m said:

banet2001 said:

Lesser name artists who are not expected to sell many albums will typically get a January release (after the big Christmas season). Getting a January release is usually not considered a good thing for an artist, at least for an artist who is attempting to sell a lot of albums.

If an unknown artist gets released in January and takes off, it could be one of the biggest sellers of the year.  Example:  High School Musical featuring an unknown cast, got a January release.

as did John Legend I believe with his first release...

[Diablo Cody™]

2m said:

banet2001 said:

Lesser name artists who are not expected to sell many albums will typically get a January release (after the big Christmas season). Getting a January release is usually not considered a good thing for an artist, at least for an artist who is attempting to sell a lot of albums.

If an unknown artist gets released in January and takes off, it could be one of the biggest sellers of the year.  Example:  High School Musical featuring an unknown cast, got a January release.

That's because the movie got a January release.

[Deleted]

Sure, point being, all of the cast were unknown at the time. Now they are the biggest things on Disney and have the #1 album of the year.