Maximizing Your CD Release

by Chris Florio

What constitutes a successful CD release party depends on a number of thingsincluding what the goals of the band are and where you are in your career. There are, however, a number of things to keep in mind to make any CD launch more successful and help you to achieve your goals.

The most important and most obvious is to make sure that you have an actual CD manufactured by the date of the party. This may sound simple, but countless launch parties have been a washout or a source of embarrassment due to premature scheduling. The last thing you want is to spend the days before your launch worrying about whether the discs will arrive or racing around trying print one-offs for the party. If you are going to try to schedule your launch before receiving finished discs, be extremely conservative with your timeline.

Ken Cmar, owner of Wonderdrug Records, has helped countless artists get their CDs for scheduled launch dates. “The temptation is to book the show first and worry later,” says Cmar, “but that almost always gets bands in trouble.”

”Keeping in mind that most rock clubs book two to three months in advance, a reasonable time to book a launch is when your CD is in the mastering stage and the artwork is nearly finished.” Cmar points out that most bands are pretty good about completing the audio tasks for their disc, but often grossly underestimate the time to prepare the CD artwork and design. Cmar suggests planning the artistic concept as early as possible. Consider using a professional designer or taking advantage of the design services offered by most CD duplicators. If you are doing the graphics yourself, or with the help of a nonprofessional, do your homework on the procedures for preparing artwork for the manufacturer you are using. Also, leave as much time as possible for troubleshooting the graphics.

A safer and possibly smarter option is to schedule the launch party after the discs have arrived. There is significant benefit to having a few weeks with discs in hand before your official launch. Special “Pre-release” copies can be sent to print media, radio, booking agents, and your most loyal fans to start a buzz going. Getting review copies into the hands of publications and radio stations and getting some favorable reviews and airplay will certainly help your CD launch. There is also time to have promotional items like T-shirts and bumper stickers made with graphics from the CD.

Another benefit of having space before the launch party is rehearsal time. In the process of recording, mixing, mastering, and getting a disc out, bands often gig and rehearse less frequently. You want to perform at your best for your launch and having a few weeks to get back into a rehearsal schedule can make all of the difference.

When you do schedule your launch, choose the venue with care. A large high-profile club might lend prestige to your launch, but unless you’re already packing these places regularly, it may make more sense to play a smaller club, ideally one you have played successfully and often. There are two benefits to this: first, it is obviously better to pack a small place at your launch than to half-fill a larger one, and secondly, a club that you are comfortable in will make it easier to create the kind of vibe that you want.

When preparing to promote your launch party, go through all of your materials including your press kit and website and make sure that everything is updated to include the information on your new CD. Then go to town using all of your creativity and the marketing tips you have gotten from this magazine and other music resources to get the word out to your friends, fans, the media and everyone on your mailing list or in your database.

When it comes to the actual Event, be creative about ways to make the it special. What you do depends on your personality and musical style but make the evening as fun and as memorable as you can. If you have control over the entire evening (which is preferable) try to book bands whose music helps create the atmosphere that you want. While they are playing, you will be able to mingle with your guests and network.

Remember that the two major goals of the Event are to celebrate the accomplishment of finishing the CD and to make a splash with a great show that helps get the word out on you and your disc. Be sure to balance your time at the launch between both goals. Some artists need to reminded to stop partying with their bandmates and friends long enough to have a chat with the music writer who came from the local paper, while others need to stop working the crowd and hustling their CD long enough to enjoy the evening and celebrate their accomplishment.

With intelligent preparation your launch party can be both a major boost for you and your new CD as well as one hell of a good party.