How do I make an impact with a release?

[Hartigan]

I've been making beats for six years, dropped a couple beat tapes, but that's it. Made some minor waves online but I've had too much going on in real life to put much out there. So I've been making music, all the time, but releasing about 1% of it.

Six months ago I started making tracks with this dude, we have about 15 songs total, and a couple of collaborations. I'm excited about this project, I want to put it out there, but I don't want this to just flop. We released two singles, and have an EP ready to release, but the two singles received such little attention that I'm worried if we release the EP now, nobody will hear it. So right now I'm wondering if anyone here has more experience with this, and could offer some advice as to how we should go about releasing this in such a manner that it would create an impact and gain some degree of traction?

I've contacted youtube and soundcloud promoters as well as local radio and blogs, and posted singles around social media and reddit. We've had one our singles posted in a Vermont blog, and shared by a promoter, but 90% of the people I reach out to don't respond.

The two singles have received, in total, between 1,000-1,500 plays across soundcloud, bandcamp and youtube. These numbers are a good start, but I'm aiming higher for the EP release. Should I focus on promoting these two singles, or go straight to releasing the EP?

Link to the music for anyone interested - https://soundcloud.com/kinandquality

[check two]

welcome to the forum

[Rev Jones]

you are not interested in signing with a label?

some of the artists who post on here are on http://darkstarzrecords.com/

if you want to find out more send a PM to Caper (he runs the label) on here (find him via the Community drop down menu at the top of the forum. Click Members. the names are in alphabetical order)

[Hartigan]

welcome to the forum

Lmao thanks... I've been lurking here for too long

[Hartigan]

you are not interested in signing with a label?

some of the artists who post on here are on http://darkstarzrecords.com/

if you want to find out more send a PM to Caper (he runs the label) on here (find him via the Community drop down menu at the top of the forum. Click Members. the names are in alphabetical order)

To be quite honest I hadn't heard of that label, but I'm looking into it now. Thanks for the info. I would definitely be interested in signing with a label, simply because I believe it would allow me to focus 100% on my music, and not have it be 10% music, 20% branding, 20% bullshit social media posts, 50% promotion, you see where I'm coming from?

The featured tracks on the page you linked are dope. The information section speaks a lot of truth. "Mainstream hip hop has become a tool to oppress and distract an entire generation of youth"