The EP Blueprint: Step 1 Handbook

Enter Graham:

Before you start making music for your EP, its important to have a plan set in place. As creatives,
we want to dive into the music creation process, but to stay accountable, and make sure that you
do release something - you need to have some kind of structure and plan to make your EP
happen.



This is where the magic “D” word comes in: Deadlines!

If you have the desire to release an EP as an artist, it’s important to set a clear deadline for when
the music will be published out to the world.

First, choose your release day - I personally like going with 90 days, as it’s more than enough
time to make a few songs and release them, while having some friendly pressure to get things
going.

So grab a calendar, look at the future, and decide when you’re going to release your EP.

From there, start going backwards.

Think about it: If you’re going to release something in 90 days, by when do you need to get the
album artwork done? When should the tracks be ready? When should the tracks be mastered?

Also, be realistic on how much time you have to work on music while balancing your work/
life balance.

If you’ve only got an hour every other night to work on music, that’s fine. Plenty of my
students don’t have music as their full-time job, and it’s a side passion for them.

But figure out how many hours a week you can work on music, and start mapping out deadlines
for certain milestones to releasing your EP.

I personally use Google calendar whenever I start planning out a new musical project.
Remember: How many songs you release will impact how much time the EP will take. If
you’re producing 6 songs instead of 3, that’s twice the amount of work!

Once you’ve mapped out the general release schedule for your EP, don’t be discouraged by how
much time and effort it honestly takes. You’re taking steps to releasing a real music project, and
they need.

Enter ill Factor:

The great benefit of having a structure when creating music, is that they force you to take action!

Deadlines can suck in the beginning, but they’re vital and give you more benefits than you realize.

When you’ve got a deadline on your new music, and you’re letting your fans see the behind the
scenes of your music creation? You’ll be able to connect deeper with your fanbase.

It can be something as simple as having a camera running while you’re in a studio session, and
releasing a teaser clip where you’ve discovered a great hook.

Even pictures of handwritten lyrics can be a great insight to your creative process.

And by sharing the behind the scenes with your fans, they’ll feel like they’re going on a journey
with you. And when you release your new music, they’re already invested to listen to it because
they’ve seen you go from start to finish with it!

Here are some practical things to capture when you’re making your EP:

• Have some form of social media platform to connect with people

• Go live on social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), and show and capture the “why”
behind your music

• Capture and reward fan reactions to your sneak peeks - screenshot and remember people
who show interest in your music, and give them a shout out when you release your music

But what do you do if you have no fans?

This is how you then start to embark on your musical journey. By starting to release bits of your
music, you’ll begin to gather interest to your EP release.