As a write this I am litterally working on the promotional campaign for Tokyo Boy which is the latest single from Holice (pronounced HOL-ISS). It’s an electronic pop song and it’s perfect for radio. It follows all the Golden Rules of pop and is fun, bubbly and upbeat. A perfect blue print for what I’m about to write.

If we’re discussing the entire process of releasing your own music, songs and singles we need to look at the bigger picture. There is no point in thinking you can release anything and it will be guaranteed to be accepted by people just by using our guides, because that’s what they are – guides.

Additionally this isn’t me trying to cop out or cover my backside if you find that our guides aren’t working. One of the most important elements to this is your actual music and I do not have any idea what you have in your mind or indeed are planning on releasing. However I’m sure it’s great and I will do my very best to be a friend and walk by your side here.

THE GOLDEN RULES

Let’s look at Tokyo Boy. When myself and Stephen sat down and made a decision about the song we would release as a single we knew that the ultimate aim was to get it played on as many radio stations that would take it. This meant we needed to adhere to certain rules. Sadly these rules are unwritten, but they are basic and some are so obvious it seems like a no brainer – yet it’s amazing how many people choose to ignore or not even think about them.

You must never think of following rules as selling out your artistic integrity. It’s similar if you want to be accepted by your partners parents when you meet them for the first time, you behave in a way that is suitable – so that you slot in. Gradually over time you become more loose and relaxed and eventually sleep with the mother in law.

So your single must be no longer than 3 minutes 30 seconds or there abouts and it must hit straight to the heart of the public. Remember that everyone likes familiarity and if you can get away with using a sample or riff from another hit song either current or past then do so. It does mean you will lose a little of your publishing royalties, but at this moment in time that is the least of the issues that lie ahead.

BRANDING

Bands and musicians hate being pigeonholed but I’m afraid this is one of the best ways that you will convince people to buy into your music. You don’t have to work on this one – people will do it for you generally. We’ve always been compared in our sound to the Pet Shop Boys but for years denied it. Now we’ve decided to embrace it… it’s familiar territory for most and straight away people know what they’re getting.

As the Pet Shop Boys never had a female singer it made sense to pick another band in the same territory with a lass singing. This was La Roux as we had a similar computerised sound to the music and of course La Roux has just arrived on the playing field. So there you have it La Roux meets the Pet Shop Boys. Now when I approach people with Tokyo Boy and they’ve never heard of Holice or their music I simply say “You’ll like it, it’s like La Roux meeting the Pet Shop Boys”.

You’ve summed it up and handed it to them on a plate, they have an idea of what to expect and they haven’t heard a note yet. It doesn’t matter if they like or don’t like either of the comparison artists – we’re not asking them to buy the song, just to consider putting on their playlist for a few weeks where no doubt La Roux and the Pet Shop Boys both have their plays.

I know what you’re probably thinking “this is just marketing”. Yes it is. Plain old simple marketing. What helps though is what you understand about radio and the way it works. It helps you to make choices so let’s see what’s next.

Running your own record label >>>

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