Making your own music is a labor of love. You can put your heart and soul into crafting the melodies and finding the right words. Seeing your songs come to life is an unforgettable experience.
You may create music for the love of it, but most artists also want fans to hear their music. Whether you're taking on the role of publicist and promoter for your new album, or looking to book a tour for your band, an electronic press kit (EPK) is essential for any musician and especially an independent musician trying to grow their career.
What is an EPK for Musicians?
An electronic “press kit” is an essential tool for musicians. EPKs communicate all the important information that festivals, social media channels, and blogs need to cover your music release. Typically contains media features that summarize your career to date. This includes a full biography, high definition promotional photos, music, video, press quotes and more.
Why Does a Musician Need an EPK?
Great music will set you apart from the crowd. But your EPK will help you take this music to the world in an organized and professional way.
If you're planning to promote a new album or single, you need to have an updated EPK on hand. When you or someone on your team sends a pitch email to a media outlet, everything needed to promote your music will be contained there.
An EPK is also useful when you contact venues, booking agents, or talent scouts. It's a quick and concise introduction to your music and will show that you're not only well prepared, but that your hire could be a good match for a given proposition.
How to Make an Epk for Your Song
The best thing to do is to create a music website and host your EPK there. This means you'll have a simple URL to share if someone asks for your bio, wants to share a video, or needs to hear your latest release. You can also use these assets to create a downloadable folder on a service like Dropbox or Google Drive, and share that URL.
Now that you know why you need an EPK, what should you include in your band's digital press kit?
What do I need for my EPK?
1. Your artist bio
Your band bio is the perfect way to make a great first impression on your EPK. Include both a long and short bio, as different media outlets and promoters may have different needs and word counts.
To help you create this bio, imagine it being used to introduce you out loud in a showcase or on a podcast.
Start your musician bio with a recent press quote, mention your music, then add a recent notable gig or career highlight to round it out. Make sure you write it the way you want it to be received; This is your commitment to creating a compelling narrative that illustrates who you are as a musician.
2. Photos for promotion
Add some high-resolution images to your press kit. These artist photos should be adapted for whatever your purpose. If you're trying to book shows, use good quality live photos. If you're promoting upcoming music, include some posed promotional photos, as well as your album cover or single artwork.
Be sure to include a variety of sizes that will work for any occasion. You will need images that are horizontal, vertical and easily cut into squares.
3. Music
Whether you're building an online career resume or actively promoting an upcoming release, carefully consider the music you add to your EPK.
Add your new single or songs from your recent album if your goal is to attract press for this release. If you're creating a press kit to book shows, choose a mix of your best-known and well-received songs and make it easy to stream in a music player right on your page.
The key to adding music to your EPK is that the titles are clear and the songs are easy to listen to. Don't add too many tracks; make sure you select your song choices in your EPK carefully, without inundating your target audience with too much music at once.
TIP: If you don't want to risk having a free copy of your latest single floating around, this is one case where password protecting your EPK can come in handy. Otherwise, creating an EPK as a public page is a good way to ensure that any promoter or talent buyer can access it quickly and without difficulty.
4. Album information
If you're promoting an upcoming album or newer release, make it easy for a manager, blogger, or radio station to get details (in text) of your EPK.
Add information about your music that's easy to copy and paste. You can include album credits or liner notes mentioning the songwriters and production team, and put the lyrics in your music player for easy access.
Update this information as your promotion evolves as well. If your song was listed on a playlist and was successful on streaming platforms, for example, add that information to help with future promotion.
5. Video
It's common for a festival or venue to share a recent video after booking a band to help with ticket sales. By adding a video to your press kit, you are enhancing your brand by suggesting a video that best represents you and your music.
Choose a video that reflects your current goal for your EPK. A live video is perfect if you are booking shows or presenting your performances to date. If you have a video accompanying your new single, put it on your EPK to help promote the album.
6. Press
There's no better way to add authenticity to your music than press quotes or music reviews. Update them as your career progresses to ensure that anyone who accesses your EPK sees recent reviews that talk about the music you're making now. These reviews will help make your music feel like it's trending, especially if you're promoting a new release.
Add quotes from venue owners, music reviews and more. To ensure your EPK is concise and remains easy to verify. Use one sentence and then link to a full review. As you get a new press release, swap out the most relevant quotes.
7. Social and Streaming Links
Your social and streaming links will paint a fuller picture of your artist brand and your music.
If a media outlet is developing a story about your new album, a view of your online presence across all channels will help them understand you better. A venue or booking agent, for example, might be interested to see if you promote shows regularly and get good engagement.
Add the links only to the platforms you are active on and show that you have built your social media presence professionally.
8. Downloadable files for more information
To make sure your EPK is concise and easy to verify, consider adding additional downloadable files. This could include versions of your bio in PDF format, tracks in MP3 or WAV format , and links to download extra promotional images.
You can also create a downloadable version of your press kit and add it as a file in your EPK for additional reference.
9. Contact Information
Finally, to make sure you are easily accessible for further questions or follow-up details, add contact information to your EPK. It could just be your email address, or that of your publicist or anyone else working with you.
A digital press kit should contain everything about you on one page and be easy to scan. If someone is interested in your music, they won't want to search through all of your social media channels to find what they need.
Make the process easier by putting all your media resources in one place. Update your EPK regularly, using it as a valuable tool in marketing your music.
These are tips on how to assemble your Press Kit that we have put together here. There are several ways to organize this, put together a presentation with everything in Power Point, or in Word, the important thing is to have what you do, who you are and what you can offer well organized.
Always remember to leave your most recent contacts as highlighted above! We will leave a link to Wacke with semi-ready Press Kits that you can use and edit, just click here!