Putting out very unique music means making very unique choices

It's Friday! Which means, if you're anything like me, your inbox is probably full of notifications about new music from all the artists you're following on Bandcamp, or other music platforms. BUT, if you're a Sanzuwu fan, you might have actually gotten one of those notifications earlier this week, when our compilation Volume 1: Sanzuwu arrived on all platforms! So why step outside convention? Well, only you can decide for yourself how true you believe this to be, but we happen to think two things:

1. The music release landscape is too crowded to go along with the status quo
2. Friday is just a bad day to ask people to dive into new music.

As a new label, run by some folks who are old enough to remember when the cultural landscape of recorded music wasn't simply a firehose of digital files clamouring for the attention of masses huddled around subscription services, we have an uphill battle ahead of us. Even as an independent artist, I found myself interrogating the value of these "best practices" everyone keeps regurgitating from a Spotify FAQs section in their ~ exclusive courses ~ on music marketing. If we're all trying to stand out... why would we then just repeat someone else's playbook?

This discussion of "standing out" as a philosophy runs much deeper than just picking a date on the calendar to have your music made public, but as a small team with limited resources, easy-to-enact moves like getting out of the New Music Friday fray can be effective, low-lift strategies in our playbook. After all, when I was posting links and promo on Tuesday, I didn't once have to worry about any of the A-listers who dropped today dominating the discourse.

The second point, on its own, would also be a valid reason to release music on Tuesdays. Friday is simply just a bad day to release new music, especially if you make anything to be enjoyed in a nightlife setting. If I'm planning on going out on Friday night, I've been thinking about it all week, and getting myself psyched leading up to the day. If any artist drops something that morning, unless I abandon every other new release I want to check out that day, there's no way I'll have had enough time with the song to determine if I'm really ready to hear it and sing along at the function that night.

It's also just inconsiderate to DJs, frankly, who need to spend time with our music in order to best know how to place a track in a set. New Music Friday, coupled with major label artists pushing to be completely dominant over the discourse has led to a generation of young DJs who are never allowed the space to develop their set-building or selection acumen, because the pressure to "play that new Drake" or whatever, is simply too overwhelming, even when it's only been out for 20 hours.

I personally like Tuesdays or Wednesdays for releases, because after the weekend is over, and people have had time to enjoy their own lives (plus Monday to catch up on outstanding music and emails), you've got a nice window to meet them with some new tunes for the week of working and commuting. Plus, so long as Fridays continue to be the designated firehose day, you're well out of the blast radius.

Anyway, Volume 1: Sanzuwu is out now, and already getting some love! Shout out to our number 1, Go Yama, getting placed on Apple Music's New in Alternative!

Working new music is tough, but it's always worthwhile to see our community rally behind the amazing, thoughtful artists we want to work with and highlight. So please continue to tell your friends about the music! Word of mouth is the single most effective way to support us, and help us grow!