5 Ways To Throw An Epic Album Release Party [Kosha Dillz]
By indie rapper Kosha Dillz (@koshadillz) whose album release party for Awkward In A Good Way takes place tonight in New York at Webster Hall.
It's release party time and it has to be special. You have been posting about your album release on your Facebook for months and things have happened and unfortunate events followed. You ran out of money, you got sick, you didn't get the collaborations you wanted, your design guy wasn't what you hoped for…etc.
But still you persevered and managed to get the album completed and it's in hand! But wait. You need to celebrate and the world needs to make sure you get a proper celebration.
Here are 5 ways I'm gonna throw a banging release party:
1. Make sure you have a special venue.
I thought of iconic venues to do my party at. In 2008 I did the release of "Freestyle vs Written" at Knitting Factory. This time I decided to do it even bigger. Let's hope that Webster Hall has a big enough impact. It excites people to be part of something special. If you don't do it at someplace iconic, do it somewhere that fits your genre. A used bookstore is a dope alternative and a temple/church is also off. Louis Logic did Glasslands Gallery which is a hip place to do it. I am a fan of the venue. All of the local friends can come and that makes life easier for everyone.
2. The passover effect: Why is this night different than all other nights?
On the holiday of Passover, Jews eat matzah to remind them of the 40 years in the desert, running from the Egyptians when they didn't have enough time to make the bread rise. The Release Party night should be a reminder of all things you have done in the past months to get there. It should be a celebration of your Triumph in the album. If the album is called "Water," you should have free water to symbolize. If the album is called "Awkward in a Good Way," you should bill a bunch of slightly "awkward" acts that don't make sense completely but will really rock in a good way. That's why at the end of the "night," we'll be reminded of why we are there. Its a celebration.
3. Make sure everyone gets the album.
SOBS is a classic venue in NYC that works with artists to get their music out in grand fashion. If there are 200 tickets sold at the venue, 200 albums will be sound scanned at the door along with the ticket price to the person. That's a good start to selling your album on the release night. Everything is going well.
4. Get an amazing host x media sponsor.
People like entertainment when there is not actually entertainment. If you have a great dj and some commentary, you can make a party last longer than the time it should. Enlist someone like Peter Rosenberg from Hot 97 and get PBR to give you some free beers at the show. After that bring some homemade PB n Js and you can have a triple P party. Peter, PBR's and PBJ's. Only a cool clever person can think of it. If it's not a beer company, it can be something like Pop Chips or better yet Red Bull or Scion or Manishevitz.
5. The people who are involved need to C.A.R.E.
If this is really a celebration of life and success and accomplishment, you should include people who rock with you. Whether it is your favorite band or visual artist, people who care about your brand and project should be there and pull out all the tricks to make your show a better experience. CALL ALL RAP/ROCK ENJOYERS = People who C.A.R.E.! These friends text every person, pass out fliers for the show, call everyone they know and invite them, change their Facebook pics to your flier/album cover, and get everyone pumped about your show with various reasons. You can substitute C.A.R.E. for anything. Calling all real enjoyers! Calling All Regular enjoyers. Cats and Rapping Emus! Typical people who care are tweeting, taking pics/video and going above and beyond to enjoy themselves because they know how important it is to represent for you that night. You can make the acronym whatever you want.
I think you really have it here. A good host and sponsor at a show where everyone gets the music. You are at an iconic or special venue as your location. Everyone cares and the Passover Effect is evident because the array of people from your childhood friends to Rolling Stone editors are all sharing drinks and laughing over the stupid things you still do in public since you were young. It's a night to remember and set it off right.
So, you coming to my "Awkward In A Good Way" release party tonight at Webster Hall hosted by Peter Rosenberg of Hot 97?
"Awkward In A Good Way" is currently streaming on Billboard and available on iTunes.
Hit me up on Twitter and wish me congrats!
