Obviously it depends on how long their chart run is but how long do you think artists ought to wait from the 'impact date' or time when there single peaks before moving onto the next one.

 

Might be easier to think of it as people have such different chart-runs what is the ideal length of time for the old single to leave the top 40 before the next single is released.

 

Just quite interested to hear what everyone thinks...

Personally, I think ideally an artist should have the next single entering the top 40 BEFORE the previous one has left the top 40. So I think ideally there would be no gaps. But, especially with UK artists, most of them don't seem to get chart runs that are that long, but I think it's very possible with the US stars like Katy Perry, Flo Rida and Rihanna.

 

It's difficult to time it correctly though, and it depends on how big the previous hit was. Using Scream & Shout as an example, I think will.i.am has released his follow-up to the song at a good time, whilst Britney has waited too long, and I think will miss out on some of the potential momentum the song could've given her.

I agree with that Eric! It's a shame that Britney hasn't announced plans for a new single yet, I would've thought her management would've learnt from Christina Aguilera following up Moves Like Jagger a year later and flopping massively. You can tell Britney's next single will be a #12 SMASH.

I think the current gap seems to be (and correct me if I'm wrong) or around 15 weeks. Obviously, it depends with release dates being pushed forward and backwards, but about 15 weeks seems to be the norm between release dates/ impact peak dates. Of singles from the same album, I believe this is adequate for many artists, but perhaps those who have hype but very short (3 or 4 week chart runs) inside the top 40, then it could be moved to about 10 weeks to keep up the momentum. I rarely think waiting too long is a good idea as tracks or artists that had a lot of hype may start to lose it.

 

Between albums, I think it largely depends on the artist, as long as they are keeping their name out there in the months/year(s) they aren't releasing material, should do features or just anything that will keep them in the public eye. It largely depends on the individual/group though.

I'd use this as a template:

 

Early May - send 1st single to radio

 

*wait three to four weeks*

 

Late May/Early June - release 1st single

 

Late July - send 2nd single to radio

 

Early September - release 2nd single

 

So i'd say a three-and-a-half-month gap.

I'd say around 3 months, especially for artists that already have the album recorded, ready and eventually released. I think JLS are a shining example of best to release singles. First release around June/July, let it chart for a while, send second single to radio a month or so later. Second single released around October/November. Third single promoted around the end of December, with the third single released in February/March. Success of course, would give them the artist a chance at releasing a fourth single around May/June.

 

Calvin Harris - '18 Months' had:

2011 (June) - "Bounce"

2011 (August) - "Feel So Close"

2011 (October) - "We Found Love" (not necessarily included in the released schedule)

2012 (March) - "Let's Go"

2012 (July) - "We'll Be Coming Back"

2012 (October) - "Sweet Nothing"

2013 (January) - "Drinking From the Bottle"

2013 (April) - "I Need Your Love"

 

Bar the short gap b/ween "Bounce" and "Feel So Close" and the delay of "Let's Go" to give "We Found Love" some time to keep selling, Harris worked by a 3/4 month time scale, which seemed to work bloody well for him (2 #1s, 4 #2s, a #5 and a #22, thus far).

I think Katy Perry had the best release strategy:

 

June 2010 - California Gurls

August 2010 - Teenage Dream

November 2010 - Firework

March 2011 - E.T.

June 2011 - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

Oct 2011 - The One That Got Away

Feb 2012 - Part Of Me

May 2012 - Wide Awake

 

Even the two month gap between CG and TD worked really well since CG didn't out-stay its welcome in the charts.

I've always thought 3-4 months was an appropriate gap between singles, although cherry-picking now makes post-album release dates meaningless, of course.