Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Team Billie Eilish to Independent Artists: Start with Singles and a Plan

30/04/2021

Team Billie Eilish to Independent Artists: Start with Singles and a Plan At this years Career Jam, the group that manages and promotes Eilish spoke to students about both the star and the industry at large.

By

Kimberly Ashton

April 29, 2021

Billie Eilish

Image by Lars Crommelinck/Wikimedia Commons

Earlier this week, Billie Eilish made headlines by announcing that her greatly anticipated sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, will be available July 30. She also dispensed a third single from the record, as part of a slow-drip, momentum-building campaign that began July 30 of last year, when the album's first tune, My Future, dropped.

Nothing about this timed-release approach is arbitrary, nor is any other aspect of Eilish's promotion, as was evident when her tightly knit marketing and management team appeared at Berklee's Career Jam earlier this month to talk about how they helped one of musics freshest voices achieve extraordinary success.

During the event, the team-which included Paul Wachter, CEO of Main Street Advisors; Justin Lubliner, CEO of the Darkroom; Chelsea Dodson, manager of creative at Interscope; Eilish's managers, Danny Rukasin and Brandon Goodman, from Best Friends Music; and Hannah Gold, vice president of marketing for Interscope-discussed a host of topics:

The importance of artist authenticity

What makes an artist stand out

How to best use social media

NFTs (non fungible tokens)

How to get the attention of a label

The evolving role of a label

How an artist's team influences their success

Their reaction to the Billie Eilish documentary

Singles or an Album? Toward the end of the panel discussion, which was moderated by Panos A. Panay, Berklee's senior vice president for Global Strategy and Innovation, student Maksym Pisotskyi asked the group about the strategy it appears to have used to promote Eilish's upcoming album: Is it better to release an album or try things out with a single release, for an independent artist? Here's an edited version of what they had to say:

Lubliner: For an independent artist, one thousand million percent single release. Its incredibly hard to get a full project, each individual song, recognized. You might have a shot at one of those songs in the project becoming big and then the other songs getting, you know, 1,000 to 2,000 streams, and then you kind of just threw everything you had at the wall and only one stuck.

I think, to build a fan base, slowly tiering out songs, in an organized fashion, with having as much creative assets as you can-with having a visual narrative, covering all your social media platforms-and giving each song its own priority and attention and a shot, and then [you begin] slowly building into a project-based artist.

Ultimately, to break as an artist, you need to have albums, you need to have a project that people can listen to from start to finish to get to the next level, and we saw that again and again with Billie. But I feel like to give your music your best shot, you have to tier them out slightly, because each song could be that one song that takes it over the edge.

Were in an attention economy, and people dont even have the ability to listen to more than, like, a minute of a song. So, forcing 25 minutes on people early on, its a little bit too aggressive.

-Danny Rukasin

Goodman: And youre creating more moments by doing so that way as well. But it's just better in general: youre louder that way, theres more potential press moments.

Lubliner: But if the song does catch, you want to quickly have music available. The last thing you want is to have one or two songs out and one catch and then you dont have other music for a year. Thats also a huge issue.

Gold: It's important that you have singles, for sure, but then also that you have the year planned out. You know what song is coming next, you have the assets ready to go, and that youre just consistently releasing, driving back to your project.

Lubliner: You have to really take it one at a time as an independent artist. The rules change once you have a huge following. The biggest mistake some people make when they release music one at a time is not having anything prepped. I feel like you should have five to six songs banked before you start releasing music, and then start to just think about how youre doing it. If you just throw songs out without any plan, it can quickly catch up [to] you and you can find yourself in a very dangerous situation, especially if you do start getting recognized by fans and labels and partners, [and] everyone is focused on whats next.

Rukasin: Were in an attention economy, and people dont even have the ability to listen to more than, like, a minute of a song. So, forcing 25 minutes on people early on, its a little bit too aggressive at the beginning.

Gold: Every moment where youre releasing a new song youre driving back to the whole catalogue, so youre giving those other songs another chance to be heard, maybe from a new audience.

Lubliner: But when you start to tour, you need to have a body of work out. So when you start to tier your singles out, if you have shows coming up, thats a perfect time to start having a project on the platforms because thats when youll have new fans wanting to listen to you and go through your body of work. And if you only have two singles out, it makes it a little bit dangerous.

Watch the whole discussion here:

Related Categories

News
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/team-billie-eilish-to-indepen...
See more stories from berklee

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

09/04/2026

Yospace surpasses 10 billion ads stitched in a single month, as ad-supported streaming surges

Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 09, April, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dynam...

09/04/2026

just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026 Sneak Preview News for NAB 2026

just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026 Sneak Preview News for NAB 2026 More Details:At NAB 2026, ToolsOnAir will showcase just:play pro 2026 and just:live p...

09/04/2026

just:in mac pro 2026 - The Next Level of Professional Recording on macOS at NAB 2026

just:in mac pro 2026 - The Next Level of Professional Recording on macOS at NAB ...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: Zixi to Demonstrate Live Video Workflows and Satellite Replacement

Zixi will demonstrate IP-based live video workflow solutions at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2057). The industry is moving quickly toward IP-based distribution as br...

09/04/2026

Deloitte Research: Women's Elite Sports Revenues Expected to Reach at Least $3 Billion in 2026

Global women's elite sports revenues are expected to reach at least $3 billi...

09/04/2026

Monitor Engineer Gavin Tempany Mixes Kylie Minogue's Tension Tour on Solid State Logic L550 Plus

Monitor engineer Gavin Tempany mixed Kylie Minogue s Tension Tour on a Solid Sta...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America to Debut New 4K Camera and Remote Control Panel

KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5507), debu...

09/04/2026

NBC Sports Reviews Innovations and Milestones from Its 2025-26 NBA Regular Season

With the 2025-26 NBA regular season concluded and the playoffs beginning next we...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream and Mimir Announce Integration for Ingest-to-Editorial Workflows

Telestream and Mimir have announced an integration connecting Telestream's V...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: Bitmovin Expands Live Encoding and Observability Solutions for End-to-End Live Streaming Monitoring

Bitmovin has expanded its Live Encoding and Observability solutions to provide r...

09/04/2026

Nashville Predators and Scripps Sports Announce Multi-Year Broadcast Agreement

The Nashville Predators and Scripps Sports have announced a multi-year media rights agreement covering local preseason, regular season, and first-round playoff ...

09/04/2026

ASG Partners with Beam Dynamics for Asset Intelligence Platform

Advanced Systems Group, LLC has announced a partnership with Beam Dynamics to offer the Beam Asset and License Intelligence Platform to its clients. The platfor...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: Lawo Introduces Edge One Converged Video and Audio Stagebox

Lawo has unveiled Edge One, a combined video and audio stagebox for broadcast and Pro AV workflows. The device will be on display at NAB Show (Booth C2108, Apri...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: SMPTE to Host ST 2110 IP Media Roadshow

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) will host the SMPTE ST 2110 IP Media Roadshow on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at the Las Vegas Conven...

09/04/2026

Atlanta Braves Upgrade Video Displays at Truist Park

The Atlanta Braves have completed upgrades to video displays in and around Truist Park ahead of the 2026 MLB season. The upgrades include the Delta Out-of-Town ...

09/04/2026

USC Installs Daktronics LED Displays Across Four Athletics Venues

The University of Southern California has contracted Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT) of Brookings, South Dakota, to manufacture and install 22 LED displays across fou...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026: Backlight to Showcase Iconik and Wildmoka Integration

Backlight, the media technology company behind Iconik and Wildmoka, will showcase its Creative Operations Platform at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2829, April 19-22). ...

09/04/2026

MotoAmerica Superbike to Air on VICE TV for 2026 Season

MotoAmerica and V10 Entertainment have announced a partnership to broadcast MotoAmerica Superbike racing on VICE TV for the 2026 season. Coverage begins live on...

09/04/2026

Proton Camera Innovations Appoints Tod Musgrave as US Sales and Marketing Director

Proton Camera Innovations has announced the appointment of Tod Musgrave as US Sa...

09/04/2026

Former UEFA, Orange Executive Nicolas Dal Launches OVERCAST Private-Cloud Production Service

Designed specifically for live sports broadcasting, new platform features IP-nat...

09/04/2026

NEWstalgia: How the Return of the NBA on NBC Was Driven by a Bold and Ownable' Graphics Package

Blending 1990s DNA, modern motion theory, and a distinctly colorful brand identi...

09/04/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Christy Media's Amy Vacher on What It Takes To Find the Best Person for the Job

Technical capability is essential, but long-term success often depends on how we...

09/04/2026

Sundance Film Festival: CDMX 2026 by Cinpolis Unveils Official Program for Its Third Edition

15 feature films, including fiction and documentaries, along with six short film...

09/04/2026

Spotify Introduces New Video Controls for Listeners

Spotify has always been about putting listeners in the driver's seat. Today, people don't just want more ways to spend their time; they want that time t...

09/04/2026

New Spotify Video Controls Put Families and Parents in Charge

Our Chief Public Affairs Officer Dustee Jenkins shares how we're building a more positive experience for families on Spotify. As Spotify's Chief Public...

09/04/2026

Get Festival-Ready With These 4 Spotify Features

Festival season is upon us. From sun-soaked weekends out west to iconic stages in Chicago and New York, fans are getting ready to see their favorite artists liv...

09/04/2026

Spotify Introduz Novos Controles de Vdeo para Ouvintes

O Spotify sempre teve como foco colocar os ouvintes no controle. Hoje, as pessoas n o querem apenas mais formas de passar o tempo - elas querem que esse tempo s...

09/04/2026

Novos controles de vdeo do Spotify colocam pais e famlias no comando

Read the original note in English here. Nossa Chief Public Affairs Officer, Dustee Jenkins, compartilha como estamos construindo uma experi ncia mais positiva ...

09/04/2026

Spaces from Smokestack Sounds

New synth focuses on sci-fi scoring Following their formation and debut releases in December 2025, Smokestack Sounds - the brainchild of composer and produc...

09/04/2026

Reason Studios preview Reason 14

Latest version set for May 2026 launch Reason Studios have revealed that the latest version of their DAW software will be launching in May 2026. Currently a...

09/04/2026

Shy Audio introduce EQT-1M

New EQ aimed at mix-bus & mastering duties Shy Audio's first two releases focused on the past, delivering recreations of the budget mixers that were com...

09/04/2026

PBS' The Forsytes' Puts a Glamorous New Spin on the Beloved Family Drama as the series premieres in the US.

Based on John Galsworthy's novels known collectively as The Forsyte Saga a...

09/04/2026

The Forsytes' Renewed For Season 3 At PBS Masterpiece

The Forsytes has been renewed for a third season before the period drama has even premiered on PBS Masterpiece. The adaptation of John Galsworthy's novel, ...

09/04/2026

BBC brings Danny Robins The Witch Farm to the screen Inspired by the hit podcast of the same name, filming begins soon

IThe BBC has commissioned new drama The Witch Farm, starring Gabrielle Creevy (T...

09/04/2026

NAB 2026 Major Announcement

The next big thing To help broadcasters fully embrace dynamic hybrid workflows, Calrec will make a major announcement that unlocks even more freedom for broadca...

09/04/2026

ENCO to Showcase New aiTrack Capabilities at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

LTN Unveils Network Enhancements in Advance of C-Band Changes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

FOR-A Buys Tamura Corp. Information Equipment Business

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

Imagine Showcases Expanded Multiviewer Portfolio at 2026...

Purpose Built Monitoring From Live Production to Master Control to OTT, Across On Prem and Cloud Environments At the 2026 NAB Show (April 19-22, Las Vegas Con...

09/04/2026

Harmonic Extends Hybrid Streaming Leadership with AI and...

Purpose Built Monitoring From Live Production to Master Control to OTT, Across On Prem and Cloud Environments At the 2026 NAB Show (April 19-22, Las Vegas Con...

09/04/2026

LTN unveils network enhancements as broadcaster satellite...

New advances meet surge in demand for broadcast-grade IP migration as C-band spectrum auctions approach LTN announces major enhancements to its purpose-built g...

09/04/2026

Hitomi Broadcast Expands Sales Team with Nicola Milburn

Hitomi Broadcast has expanded its sales team with the addition of Nicola Milburn as Technical Sales Manager. In this role, Nicola will work with customers and p...

09/04/2026

Layercake and Ceeblue Announce Strategic Integration to D...

Revolutionary combined solution brings sub-second latency, resilient delivery, and workflow orchestration to global broadcasters and digital platforms Layercak...

09/04/2026

BIA Increases 2026 Local Ad Forecast to $184.5 Billion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...