An electronic press kit (EPK) is an important asset for any band or artist approaching venues to book a show. A good EPK shows a venue or booker exactly what they can expect from a live performance, both visually and sonically. Importantly, your EPK needs to be concise and accessible.
Here are the essentials:
Links to music
This can be on Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Mixcloud, Apple Music, or any other platform that allows anyone access to listen to music. Keep in mind that some of these platforms may not allow someone to listen to a track if they are not signed up to their service. So it’s a good idea to include a number of links to multiple platforms. This allows venue operators to access your songs on a platform that they’re comfortable with.
Is there a music platform that is used most by you to connect with your fans? If so (and you are sharing older tracks) send on the link to it. That way, a venue booker will also see all of the interactions you have had about your tracks (e.g. your Soundcloud account might have heaps of followers but you are new to Spotify and most of your fans don't use it or have found you on Soundcloud already).
Hi-res photos
Digital music distributor Ditto Music recommends engaging with a professional photographer to try and create unique photos that will help artists stand out. Your photographs should be varied and high resolution so that they can be used and adapted for posters, social media, websites and more. Music Industry Inside Out provides some more comprehensive details on what to ask a photographer for, including metadata specifications, sizing, having both horizontal and portrait options and more here.
Not sure where to start? Ask your photographer mates or quizz other bands on who they have used for their press shots.
Footage of live performance
Many venues have told us they like to gain an insight into what they can expect from an artist/band before booking them. The live video doesn’t have to be high quality footage. It’s about capturing the vibe of your show. Use a smartphone or camera, edit the beginning to where it starts with a good part of a song and/or audience reaction, and upload to YouTube or Vimeo so it can be easily viewed. Never attach a video file to a booking request email.
Tip: Try YouTube’s free video editor: Upload your footage then cut and splice into a highlights reel so that your video covers a range of songs/styles/vibes in less than a minute! You can access a tutorial on how to edit on YouTube's Creator Academy.
Find out more about pitching to venue for a gig in this Toolkit guide.
Artist Tagline
A short description of the Artist (maximum 100 characters). Often includes the genre, where the Artist is from, and 'a hook' and doesn't sound too overblown. Your tagline is your way to succinctly get someone to understand what the artist is why they should see or listen to the artist. Examples:
Artist Bio
This should include concise and relevant information pertaining to the artist and also the release/tour that they want to promote. Music Industry Inside Out recommends having multiple bio’s available at a variety of lengths, including 30, 100, 350 and 500 words. Start by writing your longest one (500 words) and then cut down into the smaller versions. It’s a good way to tighten up your writing and improve the quality of your bio.
An artist bio should cover factual information, including genre(s), artist/band member names, location and brief history that highlights pivotal milestones (e.g. awards or support slots of known artists) as a bare minimum. Check out these articles by Disc Makers, Public Display PR and Balance Careers, who go into more detail about how to approach writing a bio.
Links to website/social media
Ditto Music outlines “while having a lot of Facebook likes or Twitter followers may look impressive, the most important thing to have on social media is an audience that engages with what you post and is likely to turn up to your shows.” They encourage avoiding “fake” likes and follows, and suggest trying to cultivate an organic following of people who will attend shows and support an artist/band. You can try to do this through a combination of regular targeted posts, considering sponsored posts (if you can afford to spend some money) and by joining relevant groups/communities on your chosen social media platform to promote your music.
Testimonials/Quotes
Including recent press, testimonials and quotes is one of the few ways to show that other people have vouched for a particular artist or band according to Public Display PR. It’s also a great marketing tool for a venue or promoter, particular if the quote or testimonial comes from a highly-regarded/well-known source. These quotes can be used on posters, flyers, social media posts and other promotional material! If you find that you haven’t got any quotes to use yet, try reaching out to media outlets. From bigger outlets like The Music, Music Feeds, The Brag, Happy Mag, FBi Radio, Pilerats, Triple J Unearthed to smaller blogs like Backyard Opera, Life Without Andy, Baked Goods, Best Before, - all of these outlets and more could potentially give you some great re-usable quotes.
Tip: if you get a good quote, incorporate it into your Artist Tagline eg:
"Sydney hard rockers described by Tone Deaf as 'a tight, raucous good time'."
Contact information:
Super crucial! How can a venue book an artist if they don’t know how to contact them? Best contact number and email address of at least one person should be provided as a minimum. Music Industry Inside Out recommends providing “relevant names and roles, emails, phone numbers, addresses (if applicable), and website address across all media releases and any professional listing” They also suggest laying out this information as follows:
yourbandsmanager@yourband.com – Savvy Sally, Band Manager,
yourbandsbookingagent@yourband.com – Jill Superstar, Booking Agent”
Other information to consider:
Public Display PR suggests including a ‘Sounds Like’ section which provides one to three acts that are akin to the sound of the artist. If the EPK is focused around a release, they also suggest including the name of the label it is released on. This could potentially boost credibility and recognition. Finally, previous tour dates or venues that the artist has played in could be good to showcase the capability to pull in a crowd according to Music Think Tank.
There are a few options to choose from, including but not limited to:
On your own website if you have the capacity to do so. Music Industry Inside Out has a bit more information about this.
Now that you know all of the basic elements of an EPK it’s time to make sure that yours stands out from the pack with these five tips:
1. Make it credible
Make your EPK more credible by listing well-respected events you have played at or stages you have shared with higher profile acts in your community. They don’t have to be well known artists necessarily, perhaps they are acts who are highly regarded in a certain genre or deeply respected by audiences in Sydney.
2. Use credits
Likewise if you have other credits which align your band with quality, use those. It might be that you took part in a workshop run by an ARIA awarded musician, got your first single mixed by a high profile sound engineer or have played across multiple Sydney venues in your short time gigging.
3. Be selective with quotes
As mentioned above, you can also make your EPK more credible by sourcing quotes and reviews from media outlets. Pick those quotes to reflect the quality of your band and a mix of media outlets. Also, a word of advice - if you’ve got a heap of quotes, don’t include all of them. Just the most relevant to your EPK at the time (others might be handy in media releases and unique artist bios).
4. Make it look great
Even if all of your EPK’s assets are quality, the way that you piece them together plays a huge part in the appeal of your EPK. Avoid illegible fonts, typos and poorly cropped or placed images. Instead, think about the EPK in its entirety. Within it, you’re telling (and selling) the story of your band in the most exciting and compelling way possible, so where things sit on the page can be the difference between bookers reading on or closing out of your EPK.
5. Start simple & keep it classy
If you’re really unsure about where to begin, start with a third party EPK builder like the ones we’ve listed above. Also, look to other band’s EPK’s for inspiration - what makes them great?
Lastly, a word of warning - even if you have access to multiple fonts, colours and options for making your EPK your own, sometimes simplicity and symmetry works best for tired venue booker eyes!