RorAX 2016:
Live Show + Popup Shop

Info

As RORA Team (formerly Collective) moved in 2016, we discussed the possibility of hosting our own event. Though initially seen as unrealistic due to lack of experience, we realized with proper research, planning, and upfront capital, it could be feasible.The reasoning behind RorAX 2016 was its timing and location. Held near Anime Expo in Los Angeles, it targeted attendees dissatisfied with the convention’s music events. With minimal competition, our event fit perfectly between the Expo's closing time and the bustling downtown scene, especially near Little Tokyo. After 4-6 months of planning, RorAX 2016 came to life.

Tasks & Duties

Planning & Execution

We had a lot to learn and no one to learn from. Most of the team had no experience running an event like this, so RORA cofounder Pixelon broke it down into key components: visuals, streaming, branding & marketing, venue procurement, and ticketing.

Branding & marketing were a non-issue—Pixelon (annexworks) had handled RORA’s design since its inception. The name came naturally, a portmanteau of RORA and AX (Anime Expo), though we clarified there was no official affiliation.

Standard promotional materials (banners, posters, playlists) were expected, but the biggest innovation was an announcement trailer, inspired by events like HARD’s Summer series. It defied expectations that independent shows couldn’t produce high-quality promotions. This mindset set a new DIY music scene standard.

Artists typically book bars or clubs, but both come with trade-offs—bars are smaller and cheaper but limit reach, while clubs are bigger but costlier and often 18+. Venue aesthetics, location, and proximity to the convention center were also factors. Few options fit our needs, but through Peerspace, Pixelon found an open-minded venue owner after weeks of negotiations. The challenge was proving our event wasn’t just a "rave" but something new: a DJ event with a non-merch popup and a full livestream, an experimental concept.

For ticketing, we avoided a simple pay-at-the-door system, which lacked urgency. A traditional ticketing system didn’t feel right either, so we used an RSVP model: attendees registered in advance (with a +1) and paid at the door. This ensured people planned for the event while keeping costs low—just $10 with re-entry. The affordability made it accessible yet exclusive, appealing to those seeking a counter-culture experience.

Risk was mitigated by smart marketing. A month out, we dropped the announcement trailer, followed by consistent Twitter and Instagram promotion. Performers amplified reach by resharing posts. Two weeks before, posts became daily, adapting to social media trends. In the final days, we highlighted the last RSVP slots, culminating in a SOLD OUT post on event day, which exploded engagement.

Demand soared, and while we couldn’t guarantee entry, we encouraged hopeful attendees to check for openings throughout the night. Word spread beyond our target audience, ensuring full attendance.

Streaming was crucial given our online-grown community. To keep them included, we made the entire event free to watch live and afterward. This was unprecedented for a group our size but essential. We spent weeks troubleshooting audio, video, and software. The setup was scrappy—a GoPro duct-taped to a wall, battery swaps, weak WiFi, and a MacBook Air struggling with encoding. Despite technical flaws, viewers were grateful, and the impact on our social media was massive, solidifying our presence for years.

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Duration

Budget

Revenue

Response & Impact

Branding & Marketing

Venue Procurement & Ticketing

Marketing Strategy

Streaming

Visuals

Collaborators

Team Performers

Guest Performers

Artists

Logistics

RORA Netlabel ✕ Smoothie Tunes

Info

After our LA events gained traction in the online DIY music scene, RORA Team headed to NYC for a natural collaboration with Smoothie Tunes, a well-known East Coast organizer.

New to the city and venue booking, we relied on their connections to secure Babycastles as our event space. Timed alongside events like JACK NYC at China Chalet, the venue’s minimal fees made the process seamless—all we had to do was show up.

Tasks & Duties

Planning & Execution

Scouting locations in NYC was a challenge, given that none of our team was familiar with the boroughs or the best strategies for securing event spaces. That’s why we leaned heavily on Smoothie Tunes’ expertise and connections. Gabriela, the driving force behind Smoothie Tunes, was an absolute pleasure to work with—kind, knowledgeable, and deeply experienced in organizing shows within the city’s DIY music scene.

After some back-and-forth in direct messages, we settled on a simple plan: Smoothie Tunes would secure the venue, we’d bring our equipment and performers, and we’d split the profits after their costs were covered. Our only request was that the performers got their fair share—which meant the label didn’t take a cut—and Smoothie Tunes was fully on board with that. They were the experts, after all.

The venue was Babycastles, a collective known for championing diverse voices in video game culture. It was a perfect fit for us, aligning closely with our own mission, and was already well-regarded within our circles. Equipment setup was seamless, as expected. Artists just needed a direct line into the house mixer since everyone brought their own gear. Visuals were also handled in-house, which worked out since we didn’t have a dedicated visual artist on our team at the time.

Promotion was kept fairly minimal—just a poster, an event banner, and a promo playlist. Since this was our first collaborative show, we weren’t sure how much we needed to contribute to promotions or organization. In hindsight, we may have been overly cautious, but that level of consideration was part of our identity, so it all balanced out in the end.

As for the performance itself, we hit just one snag: due to unforeseen circumstances, Strider couldn’t make it on time for their back-to-back set with Space Candy. Fortunately, DJ Clickbait was already at the event, so they stepped in without missing a beat.

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Duration

Budget

Impact & Results

Beyond the label’s goals for this type of event, our biggest priority was connecting with the audience. This show gave us the opportunity to meet fans who never expected us to come together in NYC. By meeting them where they were, we created a space for organic growth—new listeners, new fans, and new friends, all introduced to our work through the community itself.

Collaborators

Performers

_{² Formally known as Sonder
² Substitute for Strider}

Logistics

Takeaways

This wasn’t just our first collaborative event; it was also a test run for the East Coast. With more than half of our team based on the West Coast, we had a lot to figure out—logistics, responsibilities, and how to navigate an unfamiliar scene. Fortunately, the trip was more than worth it. Not only did we walk away with a better understanding of how to run events in a new region, but we also built connections that continued to grow long after the show was over.

RORA Team ✕ Milkshakes

Info

Our individual work, along with collaborations with individuals like Smoothie Tunes, had earned us significant credibility.

This reputation, combined with the efforts of RORA co-founder Brackets and a representative from D.A.D.S. (Digital Arts Demo Space), led to the creation of an ongoing event called Milkshakes, which resulted in the RORA Team ✕ Milkshakes collaboration.

Tasks & Duties

Planning & Execution

Planning

From previous events, we created a basic plan for the equipment and other needs, such as artist riders.

With RORA Team's established visual identity, we were able to provide custom marketing assets for the event, including an announcement video, promotional posters, event banners, and a lineup timeline video and poster.

Execution

The event went off without a hitch, both through the livestream and in person.

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Duration

Budget

Impact & Results

Revenue

RORA co-founder Pixelon left the logistics of artist compensation and event space revenue split to RORA co-founder Brackets, so this information is unknown.

Audience Feedback

After the event, we discussed the feedback and confirmed that the audience was more than satisfied with the show.

Community Response

Since the event was livestreamed, as most RORA Team events were, the community response was huge. Watching a Chicago-based show with a local audience, the community felt a strong sense of unity.

Visuals

Collaborators

Performers

_{¹ Formally known as Sonder}

Visuals

_{² Last minute addition}

Logistics

Takeaways

The biggest takeaway from this was that through thorough planning, events could succeed and run well even without all leadership being present. Not only that but we were able to pick up the pulse of a new audience in a new location.

RORA Team & Friends: Sakuracon

Info

RORA's popularity exploded in 2017, so we aimed to fill more pockets of time with smaller, quick-turnaround events. Confident in our success, taking on these events felt like a no-brainer.

Tasks & Duties

Collaborators

Performers

Logistics

_{¹ Retired
² Formally known as Skybox
³ Last minute addition
⁴ Did not perform}

Takeaways

In the end, there were no issues. Turnout was decent for a first-time event—not huge, but not bad. The audience enjoyed the performances, and we even had unexpected guests (Kero Kero Bonito & Jake Ganz of Studio Yotta). The success of the show gave us confidence to greenlight more events, so we were happy with the outcome.

RorAX 2017:
Live Show + Popup Shop

Info

The overwhelming response to RorAX 2016 from both the audience and the community led us to greenlight RorAX 2017 soon after. While we had announced our intent to return at the end of the previous event, it wasn’t until we received strong encouragement from fans and colleagues that we fully committed to making it happen.

All that said, once we knew we were going to do it, we knew we had to do it bigger and better. We were confident.

Tasks & Duties

Planning & Execution

Planning

Planning this time was a dedicated six-month process. Building on lessons from the previous event, we expanded our ideas and execution. Key upgrades included a nine-performer lineup (featuring a French artist’s U.S. debut), nine visual artists, and a free-roaming livestream camera.

We also streamlined logistics with artist, guest, and staff badges and implemented a ticketing and check-in system via Eventbrite to match our growing ambitions.

Execution

Some of our main challenges were equipment-related, particularly securing an appropriate sound system and additional tables. Renting was too costly, and purchasing wasn’t practical without a physical storage space. Fortunately, team member Gupi provided most of the necessary sound equipment, and for tables and chairs, we bought them from a retailer, carefully repacked them, and returned them the next day—an efficient, if not entirely honest, solution.

To help attendees organically market the event—and by extension, RORA Team—we introduced Snapchat filters geo-fenced around both the convention center and event space. This allowed people within the designated area to find and use event-themed filters in their Snapchat app for free. The implementation was simple and cost-effective, totaling around $20 for the entire day.

For broader marketing, we allocated part of our budget to Instagram and Facebook ads, learning how to target demographics, locations, and interests. Since running ads for a full month was too costly, we focused our budget on the final two weeks leading up to the event. While engagement was low, it did generate some ticket sales and provided valuable insight for future campaigns.

For video capture, wireless video transmission systems existed but were too expensive and had reliability issues. Instead, we spent two weeks in R&D, exploring open-source methods to transmit video from a GoPro using its built-in protocols.

Through GitHub, we found software that enabled a stable 720p stream (1080p was less reliable) as long as we had direct WiFi access. The dual-camera setup allowed seamless battery swaps on the GoPro by temporarily switching to the stationary camera, ensuring uninterrupted coverage. While the GoPro lacked audio, this wasn’t a major issue.

Heat had been a recurring issue in previous years, given the event took place during the California summer in a gallery space not designed for live music. This time, we mitigated it with a larger space, fans, and open windows to improve airflow. While air conditioning was an option, the venue owner refused to cooperate, limiting our ability to fully address the problem. Though conditions improved, the issue persisted.

Unexpectedly, the venue owner also became a challenge. Despite already securing the space, they insisted on being present during the event, only to spend most of the time complaining about the sound volume—an unavoidable aspect of a live music event. With no real solution, we resorted to constant apologies and superficial attempts to appease them. Fortunately, near the event’s end, the owner left briefly and returned only to lock up. Seeing how respectful and appreciative the remaining guests were seemed to leave a positive impression. Since no complaints followed, we assumed the issue resolved itself.

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Duration

Budget

Revenue

Response & Impact

Growth & Professionalism

Accessibility & Community Engagement

Resourcefulness & DIY Spirit

Environmental & Logistical Challenges

Collaborators

Team Performers

Guest Performers

Returning Artists

New Artists

RORA Team & Friends: PAX West

Info

1

Tasks & Duties

Planning & Execution

Planning

From previous events, we created a basic plan for the equipment and other needs, such as artist riders.

With RORA Team's established visual identity, we were able to provide custom marketing assets for the event, including an announcement video, promotional posters, event banners, and a lineup timeline video and poster.

Execution

The event went off without a hitch, both through the livestream and in person.

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Duration

Budget

Impact & Results

Revenue

Revenue wasn’t a priority for this event, so while there was some, it was minimal. Our main goal was to build connections for future opportunities.

Audience Feedback

After the event, we discussed the feedback and confirmed that the audience was more than satisfied with the show.

Visuals

Include photos, videos, or design assets you created, like flyers, stage setups, or social media promotions.

Collaborators

Performers

_{¹ Retired
² Formally known as Skybox
³ Did not perform}

Logistics

Takeaways

Share what you learned or key skills you demonstrated (e.g., multitasking, stakeholder communication).

RX18

Info

After the success of RorAX in 2016 and 2017, it was expected that we would return to Los Angeles in 2018. That expectation wasn’t unfounded—we had already confirmed to our audience and friends that RorAX would be back.

However, by the time we began organizing the event, a lot had changed within the team, and those changes inevitably shaped both the planning process and the final outcome.

Tasks & Duties

Planning & Execution

Venue Challenges & Event Logistics

Securing a venue proved more difficult than in previous years. Many property owners on Peerspace—our go-to platform for venue procurement—had grown frustrated with renters who mistreated their spaces and disregarded city ordinances. No matter how much we reassured them, most were unwilling to take the risk. While we did eventually find a venue that met our needs, it wasn’t our first choice.

For equipment, we streamlined our setup to include CDJs and a mixer, reflecting a shift in standards within our music community. This made switching between sets smoother and more efficient, though some artists still opted to plug directly into the mixer. The livestream remained a core feature of the event, carrying over unchanged. However, due to time constraints and a lack of staff, we had to drop the pop-up shop aspect—a decision we weren’t happy about, but one we had no choice but to make, as it required dedicated oversight.

Expanding the Lineup

In place of the pop-up shop, we expanded the lineup, bringing in seven performers across a wide spectrum of music. While RORA artists had always been eclectic, our guest performers pushed that even further, incorporating various subcultures within the broader scene.

Strider leaned into techno, while Cosmicosmo represented future bass. Graz brought a mix of chiptune and rave, and キラキラ defied categorization, blending multiple influences into their set. NΣΣT infused the night with Jersey club, and James Landino embodied game music culture.

umru was perhaps the most intriguing addition—heralding a new sound that was not only emerging in the DIY community but in the larger music landscape as well. Looking back, a lineup like this would be nearly impossible to assemble today, for reasons beyond the scope of this breakdown.

The Evolution from RorAX to RX

This event also marked a rebrand—from RorAX to RX. The original name, a portmanteau referencing Anime Expo, had the potential to cause legal issues. But beyond that, our team was naturally moving away from anime-inspired aesthetics, opting for a branding style more in line with industry trends at the time. The shift felt inevitable.

As the sole designer for RORA Team, annexworks was pleased with the new direction but felt the branding hadn’t fully solidified. Had the RX series continued (e.g., RX19), the identity might have developed further. Ultimately, this would be the last major RORA Team event—a decision we’ll explore later.

Promotion & Engagement

Promotional materials followed the usual formula: an announcement video, posters, banners, and a playlist. This time, however, we printed posters instead of keeping them online. We spent a day in DTLA putting them up, with a twist—five had golden RORA Team signatures, granting free entry to whoever found them. In the end, they were either claimed by attendees who were already going or lost to the city.

Our social media efforts were already honed to a science, so we stuck to our established strategies, making small adjustments where needed. Visuals for the event were handled by our in-house artists, datacats and yungslav. For ticketing, we continued using Eventbrite, which had only improved since the previous year.

Response & Impact

Financially, the event was a success. We covered costs, ensured fair payment for everyone involved, and split the remaining funds among RORA Team members for travel and operational expenses.

Audience satisfaction was at an all-time high. However, from an organizational standpoint, we were left feeling uneasy.

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Budget & Revenue

Collaborators

Team Performers

_{¹ Formally known as Sonder
² Now known as 99 Cent Dreams
³ Alias for osc444}

Guest Performers

Takeaways

By 2018, RX was no longer the only option in town. The scene had become saturated with independent shows, mid-size events, and large-scale productions affiliated with Anime Expo. This created intense competition, with new events filling the space between underground DIY shows and major festivals. The effects were immediate—while we did eventually sell out, ticket sales were significantly slower than in previous years, causing stress on the administrative side. Audience engagement had also waned, as people faced an overwhelming number of options.

Moving forward, we had two choices: scale up or hold our ground. Scaling up would require more capital, a longer planning period, and a justifiable increase in costs—something not all team members were comfortable with. Staying at our current level meant risking audience attrition to bigger, more enticing events, potentially leading to financial losses.

In the end, no official decision was made, but there was an unspoken understanding: RX had run its course.

Lamblight

Info

An small-scale show in collaboration with 笹塚 ZOOKID.

The event was the Tokyo debut for Red Spear, a side-project for cosmicosmo. We kept the aesthetics of the event in line with the branding and mysterious feeling of Red Spear with heavy inspiration from online Japanese "copypasta" & lost media.

Tasks & Duties

Planning & Execution

Planning

Given our existing relationship with 笹塚 ZOOKID, communication was seamless. The bar didn’t charge an upfront fee for use or equipment; we simply split ticket and bar sales. The only challenge was adjusting to the older DJ equipment available.

Execution

Overall, operations went smoothly. The only hiccup came with the CDJs, which had trouble reading USB drives above a certain capacity, regardless of formatting. To work around this, we borrowed other performers' libraries when possible, turning it into a massive back-to-back performance.

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Duration

Budget

Impact & Results

Revenue

Revenue wasn’t a priority for this event, so while there was some, it was minimal. Our main goal was to build connections for future opportunities.

Results

The event was successful in achieving its goals, serving as a great opportunity to network with Tokyo-based acts and facilitators.

Collaborators

Performers

_{¹ Formally known as Pixelon}

Logistics

Takeaways

No big takeaways, this was an attempt for running solo events in Tokyo, testing the waters.

Big Bumpo

Info

A live-streamed event with no real objective or theme other than making sure to maximize as much fun as possible.

The event was done in collaboration with datafruits.fm, a cooperatively owned free-form net radio station, created by and for fans of internet radio and netlabels.

Tasks & Duties

Live Visuals Specialist

Livestream Specialist

Planning & Execution

Planning

Most of the planning necessary for Big Bumpo was solely gathering graphic assets from all the performing artists (e.g. logos, promo art, etc.) to use for live visuals.

In conjunction with live visuals tasks, I was in charge of running the livestream solo and making sure ingest of visuals from a Mac worked flawlessly.

Execution

Most of the livestream worked flawlessly with the exception of a small hangup at the end where the stream computer froze and we couldn't stop the stream.

Funny enough, the solution was just to hard power off the stream computer. There were no issues stream-side and the computer was fine after, there was no data loss since nothing was being recorded.

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Duration

Impact & Results

Audience Feedback

The response through the live chat and on social media was fairly conservative, but satisfactory reception. The viewers were pretty happy with the range of sets and the visuals as well!

Visuals

Include photos, videos, or design assets you created, like flyers, stage setups, or social media promotions.

Collaborators

Performers

_{¹ Formally known as Strider
² Retired}

Logistics

Takeaways

Share what you learned or key skills you demonstrated (e.g., multitasking, stakeholder communication).

Senpai Squad: Paradise 2024 (L.A.)

Bio

Paradise 2024, hosted by Senpai Squad at The Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, was an anime-themed rave featuring DJs like cosmicosmo, Blood Code, and Melissa Brooks.

Designed for anime and music fans alike, Paradise 2024 offered a unique nightlife experience celebrating anime culture and electronic music.

Tasks & Duties

Collaborators

Performers

_{¹ Unable to attend}

Logistics

Scale & Reach

Attendees

Duration

_{² Unable to accurately determine}

Planning & Execution

Planning

Planning for live visual production is a straightforward process that involves retrieving and managing assets, ensuring their quality and optimization, and recreating or creating new assets as needed.

While retrieval is straightforward, quality and optimization require attention to detail. This includes ensuring resolution is high enough, compression is minimal, and file sizes are manageable.

Sometimes, assets need to be recreated—especially if they can't be upscaled due to low base quality. In some cases, creating assets from scratch is necessary if none are available, either because they weren't delivered on time or don't exist at all.

Once assets are sorted, the next step is organizing the software chain. While some software can handle all needs of live performance, it is often too expensive for smaller performers. Thankfully, there are workarounds, such as using open-source software for beat detection and MIDI clock conversion.

Setup

The PC takes in live audio, which is processed through Beat Detection software to generate a MIDI Clock. This MIDI Clock feeds into Resolume Arena. The audio input is also used within Arena for volume detection and within the Visualizer software to control shader parameters through audio frequencies. The Visualizer software outputs via Spout to Arena. This creates dynamic, responsive visuals, which are further enhanced by the deck setup within Arena.

While Arena can run autonomously, the addition of MIDI controllers and creative MIDI mapping makes it ideal for live performance, offering an organic, exciting experience.

Execution

Once everything is set up, execution is straightforward. All aspects of the performance are controlled through the MIDI controllers, eliminating the need for mouse and keyboard input. The only thing to manage is ensuring the video passes smoothly through HDMI to the in-house ingest, projector, or whatever the setup requires for the event.

Results

The event was wildly successful, Senpai Squad and all the performers organized and put on an event that was unforgettable for all the attendees. Our own small part of the production helped them achieve their goals and we left the event extremely satisfied with the end result.

Takeaways

Biggest takeaway for this event is that with adequate preparation, tight operations of live visuals can be as dynamic and engaging as a DJ performance.