u/Realistic-Art5227

Hey y’all!

I’m hoping to get some advice as a new artist. I’m releasing an EP this year with the goal of releasing it in early August. It is my first ever EP. I have released singles before under a different name, but I’m gonna scrap that alter ego for a fresh focused intentional start.

Some background on me / the project / the situation: it’s a 6 song EP. 5 original songs and one remix of one song. I have produced and written all of the songs by myself. I’m meeting with someone to help me record the songs who will then help me mix and master the songs. She said she was willing to do the whole project for about $100 dollars, which to me seems abysmally low. But we are meeting for the first time soon and I’m gonna confirm with her. But I’m hoping to pay her around $250 max as I already explained to her I’m currently unemployed. But I am willing to pay her / someone else, if we ended up not working well together, more than that. I have a studio that I can use for free and also have a friend who works in the music industry who has her own studio who I can consult and probably use her studio as well. All this to say that the actual creation of the music can be done for very cheap.

For the other elements, in terms of graphic design I have a close friend who is creating a logo for me (he said he would do it for free, but I’m not letting him I told him gonna at least give $25). He could also create the album cover and is willing to, I’m just not sure if his art style is what I want for my project and again he’s willing to do it for free, but I would give him a little something for it just as an appreciation. How much does it usually cost to get someone to make you an album cover?

I have friends who work in film so I was going to ask them for help with filming a music video and possibly some other content for the project. I could probably get them to do it for free, cheap, or in exchange for something (free food, beers, etc.) I believe he has video cameras but if not I have another friend who should be able to borrow a camera from her boyfriend. Worst case scenario the trusty dusty iPhone will be my right hand man.

I have at least one friend I know would be willing to be on camera for music videos / content as well. The only things I can think of that would cost money here is costuming, if I want specific clothes or imagery I would buy myself / or onscreen talent outfits. Or one actress for the music video as my friend could not be the co-star for the song I want to make a video to because she doesn’t fit the demographic (ex. I need an old man and shes a young woman).

My goals for this project: to grow a following and spread awareness to my brand / art. My semi long term goals for this project / in general are to 1. Have a catalogue to show my work so that I can eventually write and produce for other people 2. To have a small body of work that potential fans could go to and hopefully fall in love with my work. Hopefully if someone hears one song and likes it they go to my page and see 6 other songs if they like at least 2-3 they will be come a casual fan, the plan from there is a campaign of singles to build up enough of a catalogue that someone may end up liking 5 songs then eventually 10, which I think will cement them as a true fan.

What else do I need money for and how much would I need? I’m currently unemployed so money is very tight. But I am determined to make this happen. No more excuses. I think realistically I could only put $1k-2k dollars behind this. How could I get it done with this in mind? Can I still put money toward advertising with this budget? And how much realistically could I put to towards advertising that would be worth it / see results.

TLDR; is $1,000 - $2,000 enough to produce and market an EP? What do I need to account for in my budget? How and where can I save money without compromising artistic integrity?

Looking for graphic artist to help design an album cover please would love to see your art :) it’s a sapphic album so id prefer a sapphic artist