Why the songs come out on Fridays

Somebody asked me why every one of my songs comes out on a Friday, as if I'd picked it for luck. It's less romantic than that, and I think it's more interesting.

The whole music world runs on Friday. New releases go out everywhere at once and the new playlists turn over. Every artist in the business, from somebody working out of a spare bedroom to somebody headlining arenas, drops their new thing on the same morning. It's the one day of the week the people who love new music go looking for it.

So you release on Friday because that's when the doors are open. If you release on a Tuesday, you're knocking when nobody's home.

The other half nobody sees is how early the work happens. A song I finish this week won't be out for close to a month. It has to be delivered, checked and sent to the people who build playlists, and they need time to actually listen. By release morning I've usually heard it so many times I've stopped hearing it at all. Then it goes out and strangers hear it fresh, and for a day I get to hear it again through them.

I like that it's a ritual. Friday means something new is out in the world, even if it's small, and even if it's only mine. It gives the week a shape.

So if you see a new song from me, it'll be a Friday. I'll have been nervous about it since Wednesday.