Releasing Music 101

GUESS WHAT. My debut single is coming out THIS FRIDAY (May 6th at 7:00pm). I love it and am so excited to share this original song with you (fingers crossed you like it too). It is called “catalyst”.  You can presave the song by clicking here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/hazelpaul/catalyst It will be released on Spotify first, but after a few days it will be on all streaming platforms. So even all of you Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Pandora girlies can listen to it. 

I have always been curious about the process of recording, producing, and releasing music, but until I started the process myself I didn’t know much about how it all works. I thought I’d share my experience releasing music with you. This might be helpful if you are interested in releasing your own music or if you just want a little insight into all the work musicians put in. 

I first met my producer at an open mic night at The Basement. I dragged my friends along and played three of my original songs. After I got offstage, some guy stopped me to ask if I had released music. Turns out this guy was a music producer and wanted to record with me (I felt like I was in a 2000s Olsen twins movie). I gave this guy my contact info and two weeks later he reached out to me asking if I would be interested in recording a single. I totally freaked out!

I had a gig coming up and wanted to have the single out before the show. That gave us only one month to pull it off: record all the instruments and do vocals, mix, and master the song. We were working on an extreme time crunch, but miraculously, we’ve managed to get the single done. 

Anyway, this is how my producer and I did it. We first recorded what my producer called a “scratch track”. Basically, it’s a throwaway demo for my drummer to practice to. The scratch track had guitar, bass, and vocals that we recorded in about two hours. My drummer– shout out to Tyler Rigby– then took the demo and came up with a drum line that’s really sick. When we had the drums recorded, we deleted the scratch track and recorded the guitar and bass to the drums (remember we record all the parts separately). Bridget Ross played the bass for me on the song and did a great job. Lastly, we recorded my vocals. I think in total I spent about 8 hours in the studio. Crazy, and a little stressful at times, but it was worth it. 

Not only do you have to think about the music, but there are also a couple logistical and aesthetic things you need to work out. The cover art, your band/artist name, distributors, copyrights, promoting the music, etc. I had my friend’s dad edit my cover art for me, which happened to be a random picture from my camera roll. My friends can also attest to my freaking out over what my artist name should be: Hazel Paul, Hazel, HAZEL, hazel paul, a random stage name?? ALSO you have to upload your music through something called a distributor. It can be a huge pain, but that’s just what you have to do. I used a distributor called “Distrokid” that is really good because it puts your music on every streaming platform. All of these can be stressful to figure out, but also it makes it more fun!

If you want to release music, you don’t have to wait for someone to come to you. Reach out to local producers or even teach yourself to record. Download Garageband and mess around. Releasing music can be an intimidating idea for someone who is new to music or for someone that isn’t connected in the music industry, but don’t let that stop you from trying. Recording my original song has been such a cool experience thanks to the supportive people in my life. My family and friends have helped me with promoting the single, designing cover art and stickers, and giving me much needed advice. If you decide to release music, make sure you have a support system because there might be times that you question your sanity for doing it!

Edit: The song is out! Here’s the Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/album/1YSdnYIBHfvXVI6BkqTfUB?si=s_nnBIxsQnqcw5RUi5cSJw&utm_source=copy-link

Stay tuned,

Hazel Paul