Of listening parties, tours and launches

African sensation Ayra Starr has released her album The Year I Turned 21 and Nairobi has always been on her plans when it came to aggrandising the album.

Apart from headlining the Shoke Shoke Festival at KICC, the Fashion Killer hitmaker was the fourth most streamed artiste while her song Rush was the most streamed track in the country in Wrapped 2023, an annual review of how people listened to artistes, albums, tracks, playlists and even podcasts.

With this in mind, it was only imperative that when the album came out, Nairobi was one of the few chosen places to have an exclusive, invite-only online listening party held at the Trace Eastern Africa offices.

This first-of-its-kind event in Kenya drew music enthusiasts, industry insiders, and special guests, all eager to experience Arya’s latest musical masterpiece. It features 14 tracks and will include guest appearances from artistes such as Asake, Anitta, Coco Jones, Giveon, Seyi Vibez, and Milar.

A highlight of the evening was a live Zoom Q&A session with Arya Starr, and the interactive segment provided a rare opportunity for guests to mingle with the artiste, ask questions, and gain deeper insights into the creative process and themes of the album.

“I want to work with Nikita Kering’ as I get excited about her work every time I listen to her. She has an amazing voice. This album represents an African star and my journey and when it came out I asked my management to have a listening in Kenya. I am glad it has happened,” she says.

“Now more than ever, African artistes and their fans must connect to market their music effectively. Technology bridges this gap, allowing them to engage without physical interaction. The Ayra Starr Virtual Listening Party exemplified this, highlighting her rising influence in the music industry. I’m sure all attendees are now eagerly awaiting the official release of her new album,” DJ Mr. Fabz, the Programmes Controller at Trace FM Kenya told Pulse during the event.

Close to a decade ago, media personality Willy M Tuva ushered in a new era where musical acts would launch their latest releases during the famous Wakilisha Night, which later grew to Wakilisha East Africa Night, hosted at the now defunct Club Tribeca.

The Tuesday nights would see legions of artistes troop to the CBD-based club and showcase not only their new songs but talents also.

“When we started Wakilisha, my main aim was to give these acts a platform to showcase their talents as they were not getting the right attention. The event would bring together stakeholders in the music industry - from showbiz journalists, music promoters and producers to music enthusiasts who would get that exclusive performance and chance to listen to new music from their favourite acts,” he says.

Willy says the interactive nature of the event helped new acts network with their established colleagues and this would often lead to them getting a collabo or even getting to share the stage with them.

“We had the likes of Jose Chameleone, Otile Brown, Sauti Sol, A.Y and even Idriss Sultan when he won the Big Brother Africa come to the launches. I know several artistes who got spotted during the events and they landed recording deals and some even got sponsors for their videos,” he adds.

Mzazi as his moniker goes advises event organisers doing music launches to give a platform to new acts to help build future stars and ensure the conveyor belt keeps on churning quality music makers.

In gospel music circles, the launching of songs in clubs is frowned upon and as the celestial adage goes, light and darkness do not coalesce. The gospel minstrels tend to have listening parties at their studios with a few selected guests who give their two cents on the album or song they intend to release. For the rest, it is more of a concert. Nairobi Cinema has been playing host to several gospel singers who have found refuge in the CBD building, where people of all cadres can attend.

“At Safri Records, we hold listening parties to create a fun and engaging atmosphere for friends to come together and enjoy music. It’s a great way to share and discover new music, discuss favourite songs, and just have a good time. It’s a fantastic opportunity to bond over music and give the honest feel of content before release,” says Ephantus Safari, label manager at Safri Records.

Ephantus says the Gospel music launches in the country are vibrant and exciting events where new gospel music albums or songs are introduced to the public.

“These launches often feature live performances by the artistes, guest appearances, and an enthusiastic audience ready to celebrate and support the music. It is a great way for gospel artistes to showcase their talent and connect with their fans in a meaningful way. I only have an issue with some organisers where they charge high entrance fees and instead of getting the opportunity to listen to music they change the whole event into a fundraiser,” he says.

Having everything ready before the music launch means getting the final audio and video, artwork done all in advance. These preparations must be done by a team and this is where the artiste and relations manager comes in, who brings on board a publicist.

 Agnes Nonsizi, who runs Terazone New Media, a marketing and creative agency opines that artistes need to set aside a budget for public relations and marketing.

“There is no point spending a fortune to make great music, but you want to leave the PR and marketing bit. Gone are the days of saying the song ‘will go on its own’. If it does, which some do well and good but don’t leave it to chance. It is important to reach out to your publicist in good time. Planning in PR is everything and the publicists need ample time to make the calls and secure the media interview,” she says.

Nonsizi says that it is good for the artiste to also know and understand what they want to achieve with the media tour, or at least have an idea of some of the shows that they feel will have an impact on their music growth and the brand at large. This helps the publicist to understand the artiste more and tailor make a good media tour for the artiste. “It is important to ensure that activities are happening all around; as the media tour is going on, professional photos are being taken, and the social media sites are being updated regularly and on time. All these come in handy and aid in the pushing of the music/project at hand,” she says.

Europe-based hip hop head Jay Mau Mau has been part of hip hop exchange programmes in East Africa conducting workshops and concerts. He says that most of his clientele look to achieve different objectives and as the organiser, one must make sure that they are met.

“Some may come as scholars researching African sounds while others want to reconnect with the motherland. During black history month, we tend to get acts from the US who come on tourist visas and come to learn on African history and also interact with local artistes and often end up doing collabos,” he says.

He is planning for a summer tour which will see him bring a number of artistes from Europe including Akua Nuru through his Africa Is Now organisation.

“As an organisation, we are not just into music but also doing community work. We have done some medical camps with these artistes. At the same time, we use the opportunity to market our country as a top tourist destination,” he says.

The disruptive digital space has also influenced how social media platforms would charter a different course, especially with Gen Z coming to age. By utilising platforms like Twitter, individuals can establish dedicated hashtags and threads to exchange their thoughts, responses, and favourite song lyrics while collectively listening to an album.

Instagram Live and TikTok Live have emerged as widely used channels for musicians to interact directly with their supporters throughout listening events, thereby deepening the feeling of closeness and personal engagement.

“For Gen Z it is a new culture which forms a sense of belonging and cultural experience. For the first time in the history of listening parties, we have burgeoning digital and techno spheres, especially with virtual settings allowing one to take part in unifying events attended globally. This is through fan clubs on avenues like Spotify,” says music enthusiast Ivy Sharine.