The end-of-year holidays are rapidly approaching, and December is one of the peak sales periods in any industry. So how can the holidays help boost your music distribution?

Look past just having a New Year’s Eve party. This is a great chance to build your fan base and help sell more tracks in the year ahead.

Build Better Music Distribution During The Holidays

1 – Record Holiday Songs

Sometimes the low-hanging fruit is the ripest. There are few artists who haven’t recorded Christmas or other holiday-themed songs, and every year usually has a decent selection of covers and new pieces that make the rounds.

Also, consider making a video “greeting card” and encourage people to share it with their friends! In fact, that’s how Matt Stone and Trey Parker got started.

2 – Get Physical

Even in the digital age, I don’t think anyone really enjoys getting a gift card or a download code in their stocking. It’s a lot more fun tearing the wrapping off an actual physical gift.

The holidays are arguably the best time to introduce a “Deluxe” album+goodies package for your latest release. People are in a mood to spend more for things than they might not otherwise, if they’d make good gifts.

3 – “Boxing Day” Sales

Regardless of preference, people are still going to receive plenty of gift cards over the holidays, and they’ll be looking to spend them quickly. If you’re in the major online music stores, run a sale the week before New Year’s and try to reel in some of that gift card cash. People will never be so willing to “gamble” on a band they don’t know as when they’re spending someone else’s money.

Try to promote it ahead of time, too, so fans know to wait for the sale. And don’t skimp–big discounts could pay off in the long run if you gain listeners this way. However you do it, the holidays are a great opportunity to boost your music distribution!

So, what are your favorite holiday songs? Are there any you might cover?