Why Artists Should Cater to the Cadence: How to Get Your Music Heard

POV is a recurring first-person column wherein Complex employees have the opportunity to express their unique perspectives on an array of topics. In this column, Alec Friedman (associate director, business development) discusses the process of breaking new artists in a crowded, shifting record industry.

It’s 2021, and any artists hoping to get their music to the masses should be considering and catering to today’s climate and landscape. As the founder of Redfoot Projects, a company that develops music-focused brands, I think about this all the time. For some, the goal of a release is a moment for freedom of expression. But if your aim is to develop a listener base, you’ll want to pay attention to the cadence with which your music rolls out. And here, we’ll look at three approaches: the singles route, the album route, and the hybrid, which sits between the two.