How To Survive the Winter Slowdown of the Music Industry

Every year from about mid-December onward, the music industry becomes a ghost town. People start going on vacation and taking time off, major label artist releases slow down big time, and for indie artists, it’s no man’s land. And while that coupled with the frigid temperatures might be enough to have you hunkering down and never leaving the safety of your home for the next few months, this time of year is actually incredibly powerful for setting yourself up for success. Here’s everything you need to know…

How To Survive the Winter Slowdown of the Music Industry

Take Time to Breathe

Sounds simple, right? But there’s something to be said for an elongated period off where you have absolutely nothing to think about, nothing pressing to take care of, and time to truly relax. Have you ever noticed your best ideas come when you’re in the shower, falling asleep, or doing something 100% not related to your career? That’s because when your brain finally has a chance to relax, thoughts flow more freely, unleashing creativity blocked by daily stressors.

Keep in mind that it’s still important to keep up with social media and nourish your relationships during this time. The winter slowdown is a great time to take a breather, but it doesn’t mean fully abandoning responsibilities!

Find a healthy balance, and stick to it.

Plan Ahead

With the lack of expectations, plans, and general overwhelm, you now have time to sit down and map out a plan for the next 6-12 months. Don’t overwhelm yourself here. Just pick 1-2 major themes for the year and then incorporate them into your monthly goals.

For instance, let’s say you want 2025 to be the year you focus heavily on expanding your network. That can be your overarching theme for the year, but you should also have individual goals throughout the year, like releasing an album, dropping new merch, or going on tour. Take the time to map out what needs to happen each month to get you closer to achieving those goals. Then, go back and sprinkle in some things that can help you get closer to your overarching theme.

For example, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you could go heavy on commenting in Facebook groups to build your network.
Alternatively, you could look up all the events happening in your town for the first half of the year and put those on your calendar for the year.

Planning is crucial for success. You have to know where you’re going in order to plan how to get there. Being able to get your goals out of your head and onto paper during this yearly downtime is the perfect way to make your life easier when the ball starts rolling again.

Capitalize on Holiday Merch Promo

This holiday season offers a prime opportunity to boost revenue through exclusive promotions on your merchandise. Consider offering limited-time deals, like “winter bundles” that include signed CDs, cozy hoodies, or digital exclusives like unreleased tracks or holiday covers. If you utilize email marketing, try to use holiday-themed visuals in your promo to alert your fan base of these new offers.

These efforts not only generate some more income you can use in the new year but also keep your audience engaged during this downtime.

Up Your Networking Game

If you live in a super cold area especially, the reality is most people aren’t going outside unless absolutely necessary. This means fewer networking events, less face time with fans, and even fewer opportunities to get in front of fellow industry folk (in person, anyway). That said, this doesn’t mean you’re completely off the hook for networking! It simply means you get to do more of it from the comfort of your couch.

For example, get active in 2-3 of your favorite Facebook groups, reach out to people you feel a genuine connection with or interest in, host Zoom calls, do live streams, or if the weather is good and they’re local, invite them out on a coffee “date”! There’s no reason why you and your favorite local photographer can’t be besties outside of the internet realm.

Social media is for more than just watching the likes roll in. It’s meant for connection, sharing, interacting, and growing your network with people who want to do the same with you. It’s up to you to make it happen.

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📚 Check these out…

How To Prepare For The Holiday Season as a Musician

Holiday Marketing Tips for Musicians on Instagram

Eco-Friendly Merch Ideas For The Holidays

How To Create a Social Media Content Calendar for Musicians

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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:

Sharpen Your Skills

No matter how far along you are in your career, there’s always more to learn. All the most successful musicians admit they’re constantly learning new skills, whether that be new genres, new instruments, or even new marketing tactics. Aside from all the great information you can access for free here on the Symphonic Blog, there’s even more educational content over on our YouTube channel.

On it, we also post all our Live Q&As where we chat with some of the industry’s best and brightest… Check those out right here.

Claim and Update Your Artist Profiles

Clear visuals and updated artist profiles are crucial in creating and maintaining your image as an artist. In this digital age, branding is everything, so it’s important to keep all of your platforms up-to-date. Every year, we grow, learn, evolve, and sometimes completely reinvent ourselves creatively. With this downtime coming up, it’s the perfect time to update your profiles for the new year with snazzy new pics that truly represent you as an artist.

Once you have the perfect pics, updating each profile has a slightly different process. To help you out, we wrote a whole guide on how to do this on all the major platforms right here.

🚨 Be Aware of Holiday Deadlines 🚨

The music industry is filled with people just like you who like to spend time with their families, sit back, and drink hot chocolate by the fire. 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.

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 Thanksgiving, our offices are also closed for a Holiday Break from December 23rd through January 1st.

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. Please check out, 2024 Holiday Hours and Content Cut-Off Reminders to ensure you don’t miss a beat.

Last, but not least, always 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.

To wrap things up…

The end of the year can be tough. If you struggle with seasonal depression… even tougher. Taking care of your mental health should be #1 on your list of priorities, no matter the time of year. If you know you need a mental health break, don’t push yourself just because other people may be. Your journey is unique to YOU. Listen to your mind, and go at whatever pace works for YOU.

If you need support, we’re here to give it. Check out some of our mental health resources below…

Good luck & Happy Holidays!

❤️‍🩹

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How To Survive the Winter Slowdown of the Music Industry