The Release Survival Guide

It's that time again - another blog and podcast are up and this time round we've branched out into a YouTube channel! I would never have had the time for this even two weeks ago but AI tools have improved my efficiency so much that I now manage to get all of this done in less than half a day.

Before I introduce the podcast, I just want to do a quick plug: I'm back in the UK at the beginning of October and as well as a shoot and a studio day (yes, watch this space!) we are playing two gigs up North. We're very excited about them and would love to see you there:

11th October: Bridstock (Bridlington)

12th October: The Nag's Head (Macclesfield)

So, in other news, and to the point of this week's theme: Mishkin and I just released our second single "Welcome to the Bitchhouse" from our upcoming album (finally revealing the album title: Bitchhouse, which you can pre-order here), and even though it's a kind of risqué video, I'm not really that anxious about it.

That's huge progress. Because release days used to absolutely depress me. I've had some brutal ones over the years - the kind where you spend the entire day refreshing social media like a maniac, watching the numbers barely tick up, and feeling like you've just thrown months of work into a digital void.

After years of gradually less and less terrible release days, Mishkin and I decided it was time to share our tips on how to actually survive them. We're veterans at this now, and we've both had enough savage experiences to know what works and what absolutely doesn't.

Here's what we've learned about surviving release days without completely losing your mind.

The Reality Check

Release days feel shit because we're half ego and half crippling self-doubt. The ego bit writes the songs and gets the artwork sorted, but once all that creative work is done, the doubt creeps in. You've spent months building up to this moment, probably spent more money than you should have, and then the release just goes... bloop. A tiny water droplet in a massive sea of algorithms and streaming platforms.

By release day, you're totally drained from the social media slog, all your doubts have crept back in, and you're about as far from that creative high as you can get. It's peak time for feeling absolutely terrible about something you should be celebrating.

Seven Practical Steps (That Actually Work)

1. Manage Your Social Media Mindfully

Social media is what makes you feel shit or not on release day. It's your mirror to the world for this release. We're lucky to have Simon who creates these insane promo schedules for us, but if you don't have a Simon, think about this:

Create specific times to post. Treat it like a job - log in, do your post, check comments, respond, then log out. Don't just post and disappear forever (which I may or may not do sometimes), but also don't doom-scroll for hours.

Have some ready responses for comments. Let AI help you craft some nice replies if you're not great with words. And know when to step away - when you start feeling jittery and anxious, that's your cue to close the laptop.

2. Set Realistic Expectations

Most releases don't explode overnight. Sometimes they take months or even years to build. Some tracks sit dormant for ages, then suddenly get picked up by something. You just don't know what's going to happen.

See this release as another rung on the ladder, not the be-all and end-all. Write down realistic targets - how many streams you'd actually like, what would make you happy. Then when you hit those targets, you can actually celebrate instead of feeling empty because you didn't become instantly famous.

Prepare for the emotional comedown. It's completely normal to feel depressed after putting out an album. Don't freak out if you're thinking "I should be over the moon right now, but I feel terrible." That's just part of the process.

3. Plan Your Day Structure

Don't let release day become this all-consuming vortex where you abandon every normal routine. Keep practising, keep your daily mental health habits, keep your life on track.

Have a proper schedule. Don't fill the entire week with social media posting - spread it out. Maybe YouTube premiere on Friday, Spotify link on Saturday, email mailout on Sunday. Not everything has to happen at once.

And seriously, use ChatGPT for the boring stuff. I did a transcript of our podcast last week and had it write me a blog in about ten seconds. Use AI for captions, hashtags, all that administrative nonsense that drains your creative energy.

4. Prepare Your Support Network

Text your friends beforehand. Tell them what's happening and ask them to share it. More importantly, ask them to write comments and show support. Having that group chat where people can celebrate with you makes all the difference.

Identify the people who might be too much for you right now. That friend who "tells it like it is" might need to be saved for day seven, when you're less vulnerable.

Tag everyone who's been involved - the producer, the person who mastered it, your bandmates, the location. Remember that this isn't just your creation, and seeing all those tags reminds you how many people believed in this enough to make it happen.

5. Create Healthy Distractions

Make it a "higher self" day. Do all the things your best version would do - wear the clothes they'd wear, eat the food they'd eat, take that afternoon off to watch something you've been putting off.

Mish suggests a "treasure hunt day" - just going out and seeing what beautiful things you can find. Window shopping, noticing graffiti, hearing a great song. Feeding the artist side of yourself that's probably pretty burned out by this point.

Do an hour of breathwork. There's this guy on YouTube called Sandy (Breathe with Sandy) who's brilliant at grounding you and bringing you back to the present moment.

6. Document the Journey

Take screenshots of nice comments. Journal how you're feeling - the good bits and the bad bits. Create a release day time capsule with photos, the physical copy if you have one, any press you get.

This ties into what Mish calls your "portfolio of proof." You're going to have ups and downs throughout your career, and when you're down, it's impossible to remember any of the ups. Having that documented evidence that people have said lovely things about your work becomes crucial for surviving the industry long-term.

7. Plan Your Post-Release Ritual

Don't try to cram all of this into one day. Think of your release as happening over a week or two weeks, not just on Friday. The waves can hit you emotionally for much longer than just the release day itself.

At the end of that period, do something ritualistic. Light a fire and burn stuff you're letting go of. Mark the end of that chapter so you can properly move on to whatever's next.

The Bottom Line

If you've just put out an album or you're about to, well done. It's one of the hardest things to do - be a musician and release music off your own back. It's an insane job that's really about ten people's jobs rolled into one, with no money.

Remember that most people consuming your music on streaming platforms will never comment, never share, never let you know they were listening. Social media buzz isn't the real measure of whether your music is connecting with people.

And if something goes wrong - if you upload the wrong master, if there's a typo in your artwork, if your gig gets hijacked by energy vampires - that's just part of it. Everyone makes mistakes in their jobs. The difference is, you're doing a job you were never supposed to have to do. You're supposed to be writing the music, not running the entire business.

Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself like a good boss would treat an employee who's doing their best with limited resources. Because that's exactly what you are.

Our album Bitchhouse is out in about three weeks. If you want five minutes of witchy greatness and absolute filth, go check out our new single "Welcome to The Bitchhouse."