new-album

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Creates a new album with the correct directory structure and templates. Use IMMEDIATELY when the user says 'make a new album' or similar, before any discussion.

2installs

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add bitwize-music-studio/claude-ai-music-skills new-album

Your Task

Input: $ARGUMENTS
Create a new album directory structure with all required files and templates.

New Album Skill

You create the complete album directory structure based on config.

Step 1: Parse Arguments

Expected formats:
  • <album-name> <genre>
    — standard album
  • <album-name> documentary <genre>
    — true-story/documentary album (creates RESEARCH.md + SOURCES.md)
Examples:
  • sample-album electronic
  • my-new-album hip-hop
  • protest-songs folk
  • the-heist documentary hip-hop
Valid genres (primary categories):
  • hip-hop
  • electronic
  • rock
  • folk
  • country
  • pop
  • metal
  • jazz
  • rnb
  • classical
  • reggae
  • punk
  • indie-folk
  • blues
  • gospel
  • latin
  • k-pop
Parsing logic:
  1. If 3 arguments and second is
    documentary
    : album = arg1, genre = arg3, documentary = true
  2. If 2 arguments: album = arg1, genre = arg2, documentary = false
  3. If 2 arguments and neither matches a valid genre: ask for clarification
  4. If only 1 argument or none: ask the user
After parsing, if documentary flag was not set, ask: "Is this a documentary/true-story album? (This adds research and sources templates.)"
If arguments are missing, ask:
Usage: /new-album <album-name> <genre>
       /new-album <album-name> documentary <genre>

Example: /new-album sample-album electronic
         /new-album the-heist documentary hip-hop

Valid genres: hip-hop, electronic, rock, folk, country, pop, metal, jazz, rnb, classical, reggae, punk, indie-folk, blues, gospel, latin, k-pop

Step 2: Create Album via MCP

Call
create_album_structure(album_slug, genre, documentary)
— creates the complete directory structure with templates in one call.
  • Creates content directory at
    {content_root}/artists/{artist}/albums/{genre}/{album-name}/
  • Copies album template as README.md
  • Creates
    tracks/
    and
    promo/
    directories with templates
  • For documentary albums (
    documentary: true
    ): also creates RESEARCH.md and SOURCES.md
  • Returns
    {created: bool, path: str, files: [...]}
  • If album already exists, returns an error
Note: Audio and documents directories are NOT created (those are created when needed by import-audio/import-art).

Step 3: Confirm

Report:
Created album: {album-name}
Location: {album_path}

Files created:
- README.md (album template)
- tracks/ (empty, ready for track files)
- promo/ (social media copy templates)

Next steps:
  Option 1 - Interactive (Recommended):
    Run /bitwize-music:album-conceptualizer to design your album concept
    through the 7 Planning Phases.

  Option 2 - Manual:
    1. Edit README.md with your album concept
    2. Create tracks with /import-track or manually in tracks/

Error Handling

Config file missing:
Error: Config not found at ~/.bitwize-music/config.yaml
Run /configure to set up.
Invalid genre:
Error: Invalid genre "{genre}"

Valid genres: hip-hop, electronic, rock, folk, country, pop, metal, jazz, rnb, classical, reggae, punk, indie-folk, blues, gospel, latin, k-pop
Album already exists:
Error: Album already exists at {album_path}
Templates not found:
Error: Templates not found. Is the plugin installed correctly?
Expected at: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates/

Examples

/new-album sample-album electronic
Config has:
yaml
paths:
  content_root: ~/bitwize-music
artist:
  name: bitwize
Result:
Created album: sample-album
Location: ~/bitwize-music/artists/bitwize/albums/electronic/sample-album/

Files created:
- README.md (album template)
- tracks/ (empty, ready for track files)

Next steps:
  Option 1 - Interactive (Recommended):
    Run /bitwize-music:album-conceptualizer to design your album concept
    through the 7 Planning Phases.

  Option 2 - Manual:
    1. Edit README.md with your album concept
    2. Create tracks with /import-track or manually in tracks/

True Story Albums

If user mentions this is a documentary or true-story album:
/new-album the-heist documentary hip-hop
The
create_album_structure(album_slug, genre, documentary=true)
call automatically creates RESEARCH.md and SOURCES.md from templates.
Report:
Created album: the-heist (documentary)
Location: ~/bitwize-music/artists/bitwize/albums/hip-hop/the-heist/

Files created:
- README.md (album template)
- RESEARCH.md (research template)
- SOURCES.md (sources template)
- tracks/ (empty, ready for track files)

Common Mistakes

❌ Don't: Create directories manually

Wrong:
bash
# Manual mkdir, config reading, template copying
cat ~/.bitwize-music/config.yaml
mkdir -p ~/music-projects/artists/bitwize/albums/...
cp templates/album.md ...
Right:
# Single MCP call handles everything
create_album_structure(album_slug, genre, documentary)
The MCP tool reads config, resolves paths, creates directories, and copies templates automatically.

❌ Don't: Use wrong genre category

Wrong:
bash
# Using subgenre instead of primary category
/new-album my-album boom-bap        # boom-bap is a subgenre
/new-album my-album trap            # trap is a subgenre
Right:
bash
# Use primary genre category
/new-album my-album hip-hop         # boom-bap and trap go in hip-hop
/new-album my-album electronic      # house, techno go in electronic
Valid primary genres:
hip-hop
,
electronic
,
rock
,
folk
,
country
,
pop
,
metal
,
jazz
,
rnb
,
classical
,
reggae
,
punk
,
indie-folk
,
blues
,
gospel
,
latin
,
k-pop