You Need an Electronic Press Kit! Here’s The Why, What and How.
Opportunities are abundant in this world for those musicians willing to look for them, but you should ensure you are giving yourself the best chance of seizing those opportunities. An EPK, or Electronic Press Kit, is essential item number 1 for this purpose. Here is where you can show that you are serious about your music, where you can make the lives of those looking to book, talk to, or promote you much easier, and where you can ensure that your communications with the press, bookers and other third parties are effective and hit the right note!
OK… so if you’re just playing small bars, open mics etc then maybe its not necessary. But if you want and intend to aim higher, and you’re probably here because you do, then read on.
First, the Why? These days, music press, booking agents, producers etc get dozens of requests and e-mails a day from aspiring musicians looking to get exposed. And you are competing against every one of these people for attention! It goes without saying that you need to make sure you stand above the crowd and, very importantly, make it as easy as possible for the recipient to understand who you are and what you do. These people do not want their inbox filled with bulky attachments (assuming they even get through the firewall), they will not go fishing through your website or socials to get the info they need, and they’d prefer not to have lengthy conversations with you for it either. In this busy music world of ours If you’re the one making their life easier then you’re likely to be the one standing above the crowd.
This is why the EPK came about. For such a simple investment you look like the real deal, you look like someone worth taking notice of. But you’ll want to make sure the style, look etc fits in with all of your other socials, your website etc. For that you want to make sure you have a clear branding strategy, a clear visual vibe which represents you and your music well. Be sure to check out our article From Followers to Fans: How To Create Better Connections With Your Followers if you want to build your knowledge there..
Next, the What? An Electronic Press Kit is a one page website which contains all of the relevant information and downloads someone from the media, a festival, venue, promoter etc might need. It’s your own personal “one stop shop” for your music which contains all of the most important information about you as an artist… like what? You’ll need:
a video or two, a quality live video recording is especially great here, a filmclip also is great;
a couple of photos, professional quality only, and try to have a performance shot as well as some promo shots.
the important thing, your music! Have you best track clearly visible with a downloadable link. Include a couple of others and a love pefformance if you can. These people want to see and hear your stage vibe, presence etc.
A long bio. These can be tricky to get right - here’s a nice article by the DIYMusician over at CDBaby on how to smash that bio out the park!
And then you will want to include any tour dates, press coverage you have received, a quote/review or two if possible and of course your contact details, plus whatever other information you consider important to get your message across.
And, talking about the music files and photos these need to be downloadable - members of the press etc will simply pull these from your EPK if necessary. So make sure they are reasdy to go and you have the right pics there!
Finally, the How? There are a host of hosts out there for around a fiver a month where you can build one of these quite simply yourself.. look at bandzoogle here (with some really useful information on how to build it) or think about also hosts like ReverbNation and Sonicbids. So what are you waiting for? It’s so easy to take a step forward in your career by spending a few hours creating your musical home.
Does it all sound like a bit much? If you need a hand we have plenty of experience and expertise to offer, just get in touch with us here and we might be able to help!