The New New Release Party Concept: Cause Collaboration
Plus: Meetup is rescheduled for August 5th
Inside This Issue
Update for GAGA Journaling Meetup
Cause Collaboration: The New Release Party Concept
ICYMIQ
We continue to grow and support more women in music than ever! Thanks to you, we are oh-so-close to our 1,000 subscriber goal. Not a subscriber? Please consider joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!
Thea Wood Productions, LLC is an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Update: GAGA Journaling Meetup
The GAGA Journaling meetup is rescheduled from June 25th to August 5, 2024 at 1pm ET. A new invite will be sent out next week. If you already signed up, your money will be refunded by Monday, June 24th.
Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you. Please save August 5th and stay tuned for more details.
Cause Collaboration: The New Release Party Concept
Collaboration beats competition.
That’s a core value of Herizon Music and one that our friends at the nonprofit Texchromosome.org embrace. Founder and award-winning DJ/producer/promoter Penny Jo Pullus hosts the Texchromosome radio show, featuring music and live interviews from women in music with a lean toward Americana, Country, World, and Blues genres.
Pullus also promotes live music events featuring women in music (as well as 50/50 male and female headlining fests) in Austin, Texas— the Live Music Capital of The World. Her hard work and successes were recognized this year by the Woman’s Way Awards, which honors Texas entrepreneurs for their community impact and achievements.
Penny Jo has a knack for bringing creatives together for mission-driven projects. Her latest project took almost two years to come to fruition. It’s a translucent, double vinyl album compilation titled “Women On A Mission Vol 1: Project Freedom” that features 25 songs from indie female musicians on a translucent double-vinyl set with cover art by Karen Dittman.
Penny Jo is a singer songwriter and also a visual artist. So her approach to celebrating the album’s release makes perfect sense: host a listening gala at an art gallery with Dittman’s feminist art on display. After discovering Dittman’s pen and ink drawings in a junk pile in 1999, it took 20 years for Pullus to find the artist. They’ve formed a professional and personal bond ever since with Dittman designing the Texchromosome logo. The exhibit’s collection titled “Don’t Fear Freedom” chronicles the “Free Amina” protests that rocked Europe.
“Hearing the voices and music of Texchromosome women songwriters while viewing Karen’s pieces is a powerful and moving experience. Our goal is to inspire others to peacefully stand up for women’s rights and other causes dear to their hearts,” says Penny Jo.
On opening day (Saturday, June 22, 2024), artists featured on the album will perform at the museum, including Herizon Music’s 2023 Tate-Makeba Rising Star Award winner Amethyst Jonquille.
By combining visual art with recorded and live music in a gallery setting, Penny Jo has created a social listening experience that amplifies the album’s message and brings people together for a common cause.
Buy the album and get free admission.
The show runs June 22 to July 4, 2024 at TEX POPATX Museum at 1516 S. Lamar.
Always intrigued by the learning moment, there are a number of benefits to Penny Jo’s approach to her album concept and release strategy. I’m calling it the “cause collaboration” approach to new releases.
Musical collaborations reach wider audiences as each artist cross promotes the album to their fans. Labels and artists have embraced multi-genre collaborations for the same reason they love music festivals: economies of scale.
Vinyl sales continue to rise, surpassing CD’s in 2023 for the first time since 1987, according to Rolling Stone. They give the music visual personality through the cover art as well as the vinyl itself, which can be customized in colors and patterns unique to your album. You can hold it, take it home, play it repeatedly, get song lyrics, and learn more about the artist. There comes a sense of ownership and personal connection that streaming just doesn’t provide.
Rather than have a one-and-done new release party, a musical art exhibit attracts visitors for weeks, boosting record, art, and merch sales. It also attracts music lovers who may not otherwise visit small or new galleries. Conversely, hosting an art exhibit and record release party at a music venue can attract a new art-loving crowd!
Studies show that 63% of people buy or advocate for brands based on beliefs and values, according to engageforgood.com. “Cause marketing” is a collaboration between for profit and nonprofit entities for a common cause - women’s rights, in this case. An album produced by a nonprofit that features indie artists and promotes visual artists/galleries is a trifecta model of cause marketing.
Last but not least, there’s power in bringing people together in a multi-sensory experience. And it doesn’t have to be high tech like The Sphere in Las Vegas. Hearing the songs, seeing the artwork, hugging and shaking hands with artists and fans, smelling and tasting wine and hors d’oeuvres… This all leaves a positive impression and memory that will bring people back for more. That experience is priceless.
The show runs June 22 to July 4, 2024 at TEX POPATX Museum at 1516 S. Lamar.
Musicians appearing on the compilation include: Liah Alonso, Akina Adderley, Amanda Pruitt Amelia White, Amethyst Jonquille, Deann Rene, Heartless Bastards, Jean Caffeine, Jess Klein, Karyn Oliver, Kris Schultz, Lurleen Ladd, Natalie Price (Ft. Jaimee Harris), Pi Jacobs, Wendy Colonna, Sarah Burton, Greezy Wheels, Vanessa Lively, Guila Millanta, Penny Jo Pullus, Amilia K Spicer, & Miracle Cure – (Ft. Rosie Flores).
You made it to the end! What’s next? Subscribe and share with like-minded music fans ❤️🧡💛🩷
Thea Wood 🎶