Releasing holiday music or Christmas songs can be a great way to:
- Delight existing fans
- Build new listener connections
- Boost Q4 streaming numbers every year
- And just have fun creating music with lower reputational stakes
Lemme acknowledge though, cover songs aren’t for every artist. And holiday music may seem like an even rarer fit. But if you’re reading this article I presume you’re already considering a holiday or Christmas music release. So let me be the first to encourage you!
An independent musician’s guide to releasing holiday music
Throughout this article you’ll learn about the many benefits of adding holiday tracks to your official discography, plus how to prepare for a successful seasonal music launch.
ReverbNation’s own Kevin Breuner — whose Grammy-nominated band has released a number of Christmas albums throughout the years —provides his advice along the way too.
And he starts with the question:
Who is your holiday music for?
Breuner says:
“Holiday tracks are a great way to engage with the audience you already have. It’s a time of year when it’s fun to drop a special track that’s only for your diehard fans.”
So it’s worth answering this question upfront. Who — and what — is your holiday music for? You don’t need to officially release the music.
Instead you could use the track(s) as an incentive for social engagement, lead-capture, or audience nurturing.
Using holiday music to grow your list
Want to build your email list?
Put a message on your website’s homepage: “Access our Secret Santa tracks; just tell us where to send them!”
You can also use chat-marketing tools to gather emails and drive up social interactions:
“Type HOLIDAY in the comments to hear my new Christmas song.”
Your track can live as an unlisted YouTube video, Soundcloud link, or special page on your website.
Use holiday music to show appreciation for your audience
Want a fun way to say thanks to your fans towards the end of every year? Give them early or exclusive access to your latest special holiday song or video.
And speaking of videos, sometimes you don’t even need to record a whole holiday track. It’s fun to just make video greeting cards and email them to fans. For instance, back in 2020 I made this silly video about Krampus and sent it to my list.
If you are going to record a holiday track, as a bonus, you could even get your fans in early on the process and have them make requests, do a poll, and follow along as you produce and mix the song.
Holiday music to capture passive listening
All the examples so far have been about “sharing” your holiday music in a limited way (via email or social), rather than “releasing” holiday music more broadly. But let’s not undersell the value of proper distribution for holiday music.
There is a ton of passive listening in the last 4-6 weeks of the year. And by passive listening I mean… playlists! Holiday party playlists. Secular Christmas playlists. Funny holiday tunes. Religious playlists. Original Christmas songs. Favorite hymns. And on and on.
You can create your own holiday-themed playlists, or do some research and pitch your tracks to appropriate holiday playlists for some perennial attention.
The seasonal listening boost is… seasonal
It’s good to have proper expectations. You can drive a significant volume of end-of-year streaming activity. But there’s a caveat.
As Kevin explains:
“My band Smalltown Poets has several Christmas albums and multiple Christmas singles. We’re not a Christmas band, but people loved those records so much and we see them build momentum again every year. Every Christmas, our streaming numbers go through the roof.”
But by Christmas day, that activity dries up.
Holiday listening habits at-a-glance
“The holiday-music listening season can be very short. It goes by quick,” says Breuner. “It begins mid-November. Then you’ll see things accelerate by Thanksgiving, especially in the USA. After having Christmas music out there for many years, I see everything peaks on Christmas Eve and — believe it or not — on Christmas Day, it drops considerably. By New Year’s, it’s non-existent.”
The lesson here is: Be prepared to take advantage of the whole season. Dropping a Christmas track on Christmas Eve is not going to cut it.
How much advanced planning goes into a holiday music release?
Holiday music launch timelines
How you decide to release your holiday music will impact the time you need to properly prepare.
If you’re going to “share” the music in November or December as an incentive for fan engagement or email capture, or as a fun thank-you gift for fans, you could finish the track the night before.
BUT… if you want to release the music on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, that takes proper distribution.
Distribute holiday music “early”
A lot of artists don’t even think to record holiday tracks until the season approaches. Again, that’s okay if your goal is to “share” the music.
But don’t get caught off guard if you want to properly release the tunes. Much of the music industry — including major streaming platforms — goes on vacation or slows significantly during the last month of the year, so if you want your music available in time for the seasonal lift in holiday music listening, you should have it delivered to digital music platforms at least by mid-November.
That means you should be signing it up for distribution at least by early-November. To reverse engineer things a bit, that also means your music should probably be mixed and mastered by late-October.
Manufacturing CDs or pressing vinyl? I would extend your timeline by 3-8 months. So if you’re just now catching the holiday spirit and pressing record on your DAW, you might want to consider a 2025 launch for any physical music formats.
Holiday music can build traction slowly
As Breuner explains:
“I think with Christmas music, there is a long-term strategy. Much longer than with a standard original release. Every year, you know people are gonna come back to this music. On a short time-horizon, the boost is temporary. But zoom out, and the music is more timeless.”
So if you’ve created a holiday playlist that gets engagement, or if you’ve gotten holiday tracks placed on just a few more playlists each year, you’re going to see a natural bump for your streams. Because most 3rd-party playlisters who’ve built sizable listenership over the years don’t swap out the tracklist each year. In fact, check some of Spotify’s most popular official holiday playlists and you’ll notice they hardly change from year to year.
That means if you make it onto some lists, there’s a decent chance you’ll stay on those lists. With long-term, repeated, seasonal listening, the reach of your music builds over time.
Adjust your expectations for fan-building
As discussed above, your holiday music is an easy-fit for existing fan engagement, and for reaching new listeners via holiday-themed playlists.
But in that second case, let’s acknowledge: This is mostly PASSIVE listening. You’re not as likely to make true fans through holiday releases. Unless the tracks are so unique and stellar that someone is motivated to stop their Christmas listening, check out your profile, and take a chance on one of your top-streamed original songs.
That CAN happen, of course. So it’s worth auditing all your streaming, social, and web profiles during the holidays to make sure that you’re featuring your best music at the top. If your holiday tunes attract a lot of new listeners, you may be able to convert a percentage of them each year into true fans.
Utilize DSP dashboards for maximum holiday music impact
Speaking of auditing your online profiles, be sure to make the most of the tools provided by Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, and more.
Be sure to pitch your holiday music releases for editorial consideration and algorithmic playlist placements, well in advance of the holiday season.
In fact, any time a platform allows you the chance to provide additional info about your tracks (genre, instrumentation, lyrics, theme, etc.) — do it!
If you can assist them in properly categorizing your tracks as holiday music, you’re increasing your chances of getting on the right playlists, stations, and more.
Build a holiday album one song at a time?
One interesting thing about releasing a holiday song or two each year is that, after a few years, you might suddenly realize you’re sitting on an album that’s already done.
Add a track to your holiday catalog every year, and you may eventually have an entire album to repackage and release as a collection (maybe even pressing vinyl records!)
The perfect way to take creative risks
Your fans have expectations when it comes to your regular original releases. But they probably have zero expectations for holiday releases.
This is great news for you: Because your creative reputation isn’t on the line with holiday songs. It’s an opportunity to have fun, take chances with new collaborators, genres, sounds, instruments, or even vibe.
As Kevin recommends, “Try something different — a sound or a style that you wouldn’t normally do.”
If you normally make brooding music, your holiday track can be funny. Or conversely, if you normally make lighthearted dance music, you could get slow and somber with an old Christmas hymn.
Decide on holiday originals versus “covers”
There are benefits to both approaches. On the one hand, the holiday season is so nostalgic in part because we return to the same repertoire of songs each year. We love hearing old favorites, and classic songs done in new ways. There’s built-in interest (and searchability) with “covers.”
Then again, plenty of people grow tired of the same old songs, and are hungry for new holiday originals. You’ll find tons of related playlists on your favorite streaming platform. And your next original could be a perfect fit!
There’s no correct answer here. If original songwriting ideas come to you, follow the inspiration. Otherwise, if you’re going to record an existing tune, just be sure you know whether it’s truly a “cover song” or not.
Why do I mean?
The difference between Christmas “covers” and Public Domain compositions
If you’re planning to release a holiday or Christmas song that was written by another composer, you should definitely understand a few important things about music copyright, music publishing, and cover-song licensing.
First, as soon as a song is created — or fixed in a permanent medium (recording, notation, lyrics on a barroom napkin) — the copyright is controlled by the composer(s).
If a song is still protected by copyright, you cannot release your version of that tune unless you’re paying what is called a mechanical royalty to the publisher (the entity who owns the composition rights).
Thankfully, in the digital music era, many of these royalties are automatically being tracked, paid, and distributed by the streaming platforms themselves on your behalf.
However, if you’re selling downloads (particularly in the USA) or physical formats like CD and vinyl, you will need to clear the cover song by obtaining a license (and paying the proper royalties yourself).
What is Public Domain?
That being said, not every existing composition is still protected by copyright. Once a song reaches a certain age — for instance, many songs composed before 1926 — it enters what is called the “Public Domain.” They are not owned, or rather, they are now owned by everybody.
You can record, perform, distribute, and even alter these compositions freely without needing to pay royalties or obtain a license.
Because holiday songs feel so nostalgic, we can sometimes falsely assume they’ve just always existed. But given that so many Christmas classics were composed after the 1920s, it’s important to know the difference between tunes protected by copyright and those truly in the Public Domain.
To help you out, here are two lists:
Popular holiday songs in the Public Domain
You can legally record and release your own version of these compositions without needing to get a license or pay royalties:
- “Angels We Have Heard on High” (Traditional, French origin)
- “Auld Lang Syne” (1788)
- “Away in a Manger” (1885)
- “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella” (Traditional, 17th century)
- “Coventry Carol” (Traditional, 16th century)
- “Deck the Halls” (16th century)
- “Ding Dong Merrily on High” (Traditional, 16th century)
- “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” (18th century)
- “Good King Wenceslas” (1853)
- “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (1739)
- “Here We Come A-Wassailing” (Traditional, 19th century)
- “I Saw Three Ships” (Traditional, 17th century)
- “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” (1849)
- “Jingle Bells” (1857)
- “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” (Traditional, 16th century)
- “O Come, All Ye Faithful” (18th century)
- “O Holy Night” (1847)
- “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (1868)
- “Silent Night” (1818)
- “The First Noel” (19th century)
- “The Holly and the Ivy” (Traditional, 17th century)
- “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (Traditional, 18th century)
- “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” (16th century)
- “What Child Is This?” (Traditional, 16th century)
- “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” (17th century)
Popular holiday songs NOT in the Public Domain
These songs are still under copyright protection, so you’ll need a mechanical license to release your own version:
- “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (1994)
- “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (1944)
- “Blue Christmas” (1948)
- “Carol of the Bells” (1936)
- “Do You Hear What I Hear?” (1962)
- “Frosty the Snowman” (1950)
- “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (1971)
- “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (1944)
- “Home for the Holidays” (1954)
- “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (1963)
- “Jingle Bell Rock” (1957)
- “Last Christmas” (Wham!, 1984)
- “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (1945)
- “Little Drummer Boy” (1941)
- “Mary, Did You Know?” (1991)
- “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (1958)
- “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949)
- “Run Rudolph Run” (1958)
- “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (1934)
- “Silver Bells” (1950)
- “Sleigh Ride” (1948)
- “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” (1945)
- “White Christmas” (1942)
- “Winter Wonderland” (1934)
- “Wonderful Christmastime” (1979)
Summary
You now have a basic framework to consider your next holiday music release!
And hopefully you’ve answered the questions:
- Who is it for?
- What’s your goal?
- How early do you need to get started?
- And what song to even record?
It can be a lot to think about if you want to optimize the release. But at the same time, don’t let that get in the way of you having fun with your holiday music.
The point is to connect and create a great song that has lasting (though seasonal) appeal!
If you want to distribute your holiday music to all the most important digital music platforms, ReverbNation would love to help.
