An Electronic Press Kit (EPK) is a essential tool to help a band or artist look more professional, and makes it more likely for them to get booked for shows. Having a couple of lines from a Facebook bio or a pictures taken on an iPhone won’t cut it, as having all the information up to date and in one place is crucial to making it in this industry.
We have had bands and artists tell us how promoters have used the wrong photo for them when promoting, or had errors in a description. Venues don’t have time to chase down information for an artist, this should be done by the artist or a representative of the artist.
Listed below are what bookers and promoters look for in a EPK, with each section explaining why they should be included.
- Biography
- Photos
- Music
- Videos
- Notable Achievements
- Reviews
- Contact Info
- Social Media
Biography
1. Biography
An up to date biography is a useful tool to let promoters and new fans know how long the artist has been pursuing a career in music. Whether from the ashes of a previous project or a new collaboration, having a biography establishes a personal connection with the audience.
Having multiple versions of varying length is useful as bookers and festivals often have different word limits. Biography's should be concise and convey as much as possible about the artist as possible and should include:
An elevator pitch style summary.
"Steve is a folk/pop singer songwriter who lives in Southampton."
A short paragraph with their most recent release:
"Steve is a folk/pop singer songwriter who lives in Southampton.
Steve released his new album Chapters on the 5th November 2017. The album was released in the form of a beautifully designed photo and lyric book and has the CD album and download code included. It is available to purchase from www.stevelowis.bandcamp.com"
An extensive history of 3 or 4 paragraphs.
"Steve is a folk/pop singer songwriter who lives in Southampton.
Steve released his new album Chapters on the 5th November 2017. The album was released in the form of a beautifully designed photo and lyric book and has the CD album and download code included. It is available to purchase from www.stevelowis.bandcamp.com"
He has been a major contributor to the local music scene both playing live and organising band and acoustic events in the city. Steve is currently running Three Monkeys Acoustic Showcase at the Art House, now in its 8th year. He is also the Sofar Southampton leader, a role which he took on in April 2017."
It is also useful to include two key influences, as name checking these bands will pique people’s interest and sway people on the fence about checking the artist out. Picking the two bands furthest away from each other are usually the best choices, as this gets the biggest range of potential fans. For example:
"For fans of Whiskeytown, Paul Simon and Iron & Wine”
Photos
2. Photos
Before a promoter even looks at an artist’s bio or music, they will look at their photos to see if they look the part for what they are putting on. If they find some low resolution, blurry images they are probably going to move on.
Venues and Promoters will use these in their promotional material, so you want them to use your most recent pictures.
Having a number of different options available will cover all bases depending on where the picture is going to be placed.
Types to consider include:
- Portrait and Landscape options
- Colour and Black and White.
- Individual band members.
Having a logo solidifies the artists image with the font, colours, and elements give new fans a hint of what type of music the band play. Like photos, your logo is going to be used on all their promotional material so you want to make sure there is no confusion with whats being used.
It can be used as a profile picture, for merch and shirts, for stickers, for a website, and other materials for marketing the band’s music.
Having a logo gives people the impression that the band is in it for the long haul and not just like the million other newcomers who will soon become ‘new-goers’. It shows that the band is taking itself more seriously.
Click here for more info on what makes a good logo.
Music
3. Music
Probably the most important part of the EPK, having some examples of the artist’s music linked is the only way new potential fans and promoters are going to know what they sound like.
Preferably having a studio quality mix with an accompanying music video is going to give everyone the best impression, but if not, having video of the artist playing live with decent audio can be a good substitute until they can afford professional recordings. However some venues like live recordings as it gives them an idea of how tight the band is as a live act unedited. This can be especially true for function bands.
All of the artist’s music should be linked to either where it can be purchased or streamed, as no venue is going to download songs as they will just clutter up space.
Videos
4. Videos
Video 1: IAMDAVID - Everything | Video 2: Beth Keeping - Strangers in the Same City
Videos are eye-catching, and if posted on social media are much more likely to get clicked on than a link to just music alone. If its a performance style video it lets promoters know how the artist presents themselves, while a story based video will show how their music can tell a compelling narrative.
Either embed videos in the EPK or link to sites which they can be viewed on.
Below are some of our friends we recommend for music videos.
Dave Snocken: (Future Epic Productions:)
Glen Jevon Photography & Video:
Rowan Johnson: (Southpoint Films:)
Achievements
5. Notable Achievements
Any big milestones the band has achieved should be documented,
Including but not limited to:
- Supporting a bigger touring band.
- Playing a music festival.
- Reaching a large number of views or plays on one of their current songs.
- Having their music nominated or winning an award.
- Having their music played on local or national radio.
Press
6. Press
Any good press is a good way to help casual listeners become fans of you as an artist. By having reputable sources praising either your shows or your music, it will encourage people to go out their way to check you out.
Good press includes Interviews and Gig Reviews.
Music Reviews, Features, Exclusive Performances, Magazine covers. etc.
Contact
7. Contact Info
Being able to get in contact with an artist is crucial to getting shows and press.
It goes without saying but it should include:
Phone: One member of the band members phone number should be included. If the artist has a manager or booking agent, this information should be used instead.
Email: Have a professional looking email name, if not setting up a new email address that everyone has access to is also useful.
Social
8. Social Media
The rise of social media has very much impacted the relationship between artists and fans, bringing them closer. It’s better to have fewer accounts on different platforms that post regularly than a number of accounts that sit dormant.
Examples include:
- Youtube