How To Prepare For The Holiday Season as a Musician

The holidays are coming up fast, and musicians big and small are planning their holiday strategies accordingly. Want to make the most out of this holiday season? We’ve got you covered! Here are some of our favorite tips to help you prep for the holidays…

How To Prepare For The Holiday Season as a Musician

Promote Like Crazy

The holiday season is one of the biggest times for buying music. From CDs and vinyl to posters and merch, consumers all over the world are looking for the perfect gifts for their music-loving friends and family. During this time, you should promote whatever you have out as much as possible. Now, that doesn’t mean blasting the same copy/pasted post on every platform… There are tons of creative ways to promote during the holidays. For example, you could try things like:

Remind your fans of how your latest album on vinyl would make a perfect stocking stuffer.
Post pictures of you wearing your coziest merch by the fire with a link to your merch store.
Give a gift of your own by offering sale prices on your merch for a limited time.
Bundle your music with exclusive holiday-only items, like handwritten lyrics or limited-edition prints.
Create holiday-themed content like a playlist of your favorite festive tracks or an acoustic performance of a classic holiday song.
Share a heartfelt holiday message with your fans, thanking them for their support throughout the year.
Encourage fans to share photos of them enjoying your music or merch during the holidays and repost their stories.

These are just a couple ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Think about what you’d like to see from your favorite artist, and make it your own.

Brainstorm Holiday-Themed Content

The holiday season is the perfect time to get creative and give your fans something special. Whether you’re planning to release an entire holiday album, one badass single, or just want to embrace the festive spirit, creating holiday-themed content can make a huge impact. Think about offering something exclusive to capture your fans’ attention and make them feel part of the celebration. For example, consider things like:

Livestream a different holiday cover every week leading up to the holiday of your choosing.
Create exclusive holiday merch.
Try a themed contest on socials where the winners get exclusive access to your upcoming holiday single before anyone else.
Do a merch giveaway.
Do holiday-themed collabs with other artists.

Need some ideas for more exclusive content? This post offers 6 ideas for exclusive content that any artist can try right now.

Release A Holiday Cover Song

With all the holiday music out in the world, it may seem almost impossible to create an original hit that will blow the socks off the masses. Luckily for you, there are tons of songs in the public domain that you can cover for free without fear of musical prosecution. Not to mention, the holidays are all about blasting your holiday guilty pleasures when it comes to music. Releasing holiday songs of your own is a great way to get in on the action at this time of year.

Music that is in the public domain isn’t restricted by copyright and doesn’t require licenses and fees to use. This gives you unlimited creativity to mash whatever you want into your new holiday masterpiece. (We actually did a post that covers 30+ songs in the public domain you can cover for free right now. — Check that out right here.)

Alternatively, through our partnership with Easy Song Licensing, Symphonic clients can easily obtain the mechanical licenses required to legally sell and distribute cover songs in any format (download, CD, vinyl, etc.), right through our Client Offerings page in SymphonicMS, for $16.99 (+ royalties).

Let’s say you’ve gone into the studio and produced an amazing version of a song by an artist such as Beyonce, or Guns N Roses, or even U2. With Easy Song Licensing, you can obtain a License and legal permission to be able to release that song through Symphonic. No lawyers, no major expenses, you simply pay the Easy Song Licensing fee + the number of units you intend to sell, and then you are all set.

Think About Sync

There aren’t many things more satisfying than hearing your song on the radio or on TV. As fulfilling as it is to see your hard work pay off, the royalties you’re racking up every time it plays aren’t bad either… That money can go towards new gear, new merch, new anything you may need in the new year to make it as fruitful as possible. If you haven’t considered applying for sync licensing through Symphonic’s in-house sync licensing division, Bodega Sync, now is a good time to get up to speed while you’ve got some time off…

To help you out, check these out:

Create a Holiday Playlist

Consider amping up the holiday spirit by creating and sharing your own holiday playlist! I am the (possibly self-appointed) designated playlist curator for my friends and family. No matter the occasion, they know I’ve got something cooking… Your fans are the same. Getting a personally curated playlist from you is a great way to show you’re thinking of them and give back something creatively meaningful.

Keep in mind, dinner party ambiance, cooking music, mellow holiday vibes, and festive holiday jams tend to perform the best during the holiday season. Once you’ve created the perfect playlist, share the link on Instagram Stories, X, Facebook groups, or really anywhere and everywhere you connect most with your audience.

To step it up a notch, you could even work on a collaborative playlist with another artist and release that to expand your reach even further. Never made a collaborative playlist before? Check out, “How To Make Collaborative Playlists On Spotify” to get started.

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🎸 Sharpen your skills…

How To Create a Social Media Content Calendar for Musicians

The Best and Worst Months to Release Music

Holiday Marketing Tips for Musicians on Instagram

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Go Local

The holiday season is the best time to get involved with your community. Spirits are high, and ticket sales are even higher. Whether a venue is in need of a live performance or just a great holiday playlist, there are many ways you can participate in local activities. The best way to find out what’s needed is to reach out to local bars/venues and hit up your city’s Facebook groups, Instagram pages, etc. to see what’s going on and how you can get involved.

🚨 Be Aware of Holiday Deadlines 🚨

The music industry is filled with people just like you who like to spend time with their families and finally get a second to sit back and relax. Not only that, major streaming platforms take holiday breaks, too. Towards the end of the year, everything starts to slow down. Regardless of whether you work with an independent distributor or not, never wait until the very last minute to try and release that holiday single… It never goes smoothly, and you’re just asking for added stress.

When it comes to Symphonic, our team approves releases on a daily basis, Monday through Friday. Each release is carefully reviewed, inspected, and screened to ensure that it meets guidelines for distribution to the partners that we deliver to.

We generally approve all releases within 2-3 business days, but that doesn’t include holidays or weekends.
Not only are we closed for November 28th and 29th for Thanksgiving, our offices are also closed for a Holiday Break from December 23rd, through January 1st 2025.

And those aren’t the only days we’re out of office… To make sure you aren’t blindsided at the end of the year, we have a post with all the deadlines to keep in mind. Be sure to check that out here: 2024 Holiday Hours and Content Cut-Off Reminders

Be vocal with your team about what you’re planning to release and when you want it done. Just because you decide to do things last minute doesn’t mean your peers will be willing to.

Get Ahead!

With the new year right around the corner, it’s time to start planning ahead. The end of the year is a good time to assess the past year and analyze what has worked and what hasn’t, then use this information to adapt moving forward.

Look into which platforms have garnered the most engagement, what types of posts did the best, where your audience has expanded because of these efforts, and more from tools like Google Analytics, Instagram Stories Analytics, etc. If you’re a Symphonic client, you have access to tons of great analytics for TikTok, YouTube, and more. Take advantage of them!

Knowing where you stand and where you have room to grow is the key to excelling in this industry. To help you truly understand your stats and streamline your efforts, check these out:

In Conclusion…

From November to December, industry folks tend to travel and be out of the office more frequently, the major labels’ biggest artists tend to release in the 4th quarter to take advantage of the holiday retail spike and artists of all genres are releasing holiday music and content. Of course, if you have a New Year/Christmas/Holiday song, now is a great time to release it. Although the market is heavily saturated with music at this time, there are many other things you can do to keep your momentum going strong throughout this season. With these tips and tricks, you’re on the right track.

Good luck!

🎁

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holidays promotion

How To Prepare For The Holiday Season as a Musician