As long as many of us can remember, the summer always seemed to have those very special musical memories. We’re not really sure why that happens but maybe it’s due to the weather, vacations or that for some reason the music was always just a bit better. So many classic hits from “Summer In The City” to Sly Stones brilliant “Hot Fun In The Summertime”, and numerous iconic songs made you feel good to this very day.

Many music acts from Mainstream to Country rely on the summer for their “live” bread and butter shows. From outdoor venues to concerts in the park, most recording artists hit the road and get the chance to play for their fans in large numbers. There again it’s the season when the weather is at its best and many are on vacation from students to the work force in general. The acts play their Summer hits and much more and it becomes a win, win for just about everybody.

The record labels also work in conjunction with the artists to help make it all happen. They look at the timeline and can pretty much plan almost a year in advance as to which tracks from a current album will work best for this time of year. Even many of the smarter independents tend to make the right choices when it comes to a summer release. Pick the right track and it could end up making it happen for all the right reasons. You can just see the charts heat up right before the summer tours are starting to happen. The acts have the busses and planes set and ready to hit the road and finally make some cash.

When we begin to look back at the Summer of 2014, which songs will stand in your mind as the ones that best represented this time in history? For mainstream radio, recording artist Calvin Harris got a jump on the Summer of 2014 with his “Summer” single. In fact just as the season started, that track was already in the Top10. One song that will no doubt make the list came from the new band Magic. They came out of nowhere with a brilliant song in “Rude” that shot to the top of the charts in record time. Over at the Country format Jake Owen jumped right on in with his “Beachin” and then came Country icon Kenny Chesney to grab a little of the end of Summer with his Jack & Dianne version in “American Kids”. I’m sure you have your own list but these are just a few of the major hits that will no doubt make that list of hits from the Summer of 2014.

For artists, bands and labels reading this article, it might be best to start thinking about next Summer. Planning way ahead always makes a huge difference in whether or not the campaign will work. The more preparation the better in trying to win at this kind of large undertaking. Get a bright and solid Summer song recorded in the coming months and then sit on it and be a step ahead of the pack.

Please consider New Music Weekly as your partner when you get ready to launch your next release for Summer or for the up and coming Fall and Winter season. We continue to build our station count by leaps and bounds and with our new digital delivery system for the publication we are now reaching huge numbers all around the world. NMW continues to offer the very best “tools of the trade” from tracking to advertising and charts that combine both the major and the independents. Not too many trades are doing that these days. We continue to march strong with our on-going New Music Revolution. In the meanwhile get that nice cold beer or ice tea out of the refrigerator and crank up some of your all-time favorite Summer songs.