Sep 4, 2021
A good
EPK will make your website inviting to music supervisors, talent
buyers, bloggers and podcasters.
This episode is based on a most informative blog post by our friends at Bandzoogle, the all-in-one platform that makes it easy to build a beautiful website for your music. Here's the blog post.
The 8 things that should be in every band's electronic press kit
We all hope fans will visit our website, sign up for our email list and buy our music. Another important category of prospective site visitors includes music supervisors, talent buyers, podcasters and bloggers. These are your promoters and this is where an EPK (electronic press kit) comes in handy.
An EPK can also by thought of as a promotional package or media kit. It provides a great way to promote yourself to radio, industry pros, and venue bookers by giving them everything they need on one page of your website. As the Bandzoogle blog post points out, you want your EPK to showcase your music career and tell your story. Everything you include on your EPK page should focus on this.
Bio
Your EPK arguably starts with your bio. This is your introduction slash elevator pitch in two or three sentences. But it's more than this. Consider the varying needs of bookers, festivals and PR pros. You want to accommodate each of them by having different versions that vary in word count. To quote Bandzoogle, you want an elevator pitch (1-2 sentences), a short bio (1 paragraph), a medium bio (2+ paragraphs) and a long bio (4+ paragraphs). These versions can be all on-page or downloadable (or both). There are a variety of ways to display content like this. You can be creative, but make it all easily accessible.
Photos
Next, you'll need promotional photos. Display them in a way that makes them easy to download and consider the various sizes needed by different visitor types. Your photos should be usable for both print and online promotional use. Offer a variety of photos. Include band shots along with an action shot or two that conveys your style of music. If you’re promoting a new album to music reviewers, include album artwork and photos that are on brand with your music. Also include vertical and horizontal plus a black and white options. Square images or easily cropped portrait images and landscape (wide) images will also help promoters, venues and bloggers cover all the bases for social posts.
Music
This is the place to showcase your most popular tracks. Include a music player that's playable on-page as well as streaming links. Music supervisors may want a quick listen. Others may want to see how your faring on streaming services. Include written descriptions of your songs and your music style. Reviewers and bloggers may want to write up something about your style and will appreciate any ideas that give them good writing prompts.
Video
Include a few videos on your EPK page. Festival organizers and venues sometimes embed videos to feature artists on their websites. This can serve to help festivals and venues promote upcoming shows. Adding descriptive content about your videos can drive promoters to take a closer listen, so describe the music within your videos.
Press and reviews
You can help media tell your story by sharing your existing media coverage. Reviews that talk up your live shows and music are also useful to media outlets. This could get you more shows and more media coverage. Keep reviews short and to the point, so that your EPK readers can easily and quickly scan the page.
Highlights and achievements
This is the place for awards, radio play, streaming success and
noteworthy tours or festivals you've been part of
As Bandzoogle
says, this is the place to build buzz around you and your
music.
Social media links
Social links should be included on every page of your site, but make them extra easy to find on your EPK, especially the ones on which your active and growing.
Contact information
This is the place for a clean looking contact form and any phone numbers you want to make available. If you have a team, include contact info for each of these folks too.
In summary, think of your EPK as a snapshot of you, your band and your latest music or project summed up on a single page. Building out a band EPK with these elements will help you book more gigs. A solid EPK will also make it easier for media and industry to promote your music. Make sure to update your press kit regularly as your career moves forward.
You can use one of Bandzoogle's awesome EPK templates to make it happen. Go to Bandzoogle.com and use promo code ROBONZO to get 15% off your first year of any plan.
And be sure to check out their blog post.
The 8 things that should be in every band's electronic press kit
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Mentioned in this Episode
Rolling Stones Tribute to Charlie Watts
The 8 things that should be in every band's electronic press kit
Related Episodes
The Many Ways Musicians Are Adapting To Change–Dave Cool (Ep 185)
Options for Musicians Amidst Uncertain Times – Dave Cool (Ep 142)
Resources
The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo
No Booker, No Bouncer, No Bartender: How I Made $25K On A 2-Month House Concert Tour, by Shannon Curtis
Bandzoogle – The all-in-one platform that makes it easy to build a beautiful website for your music
More Resources for musicians
Disclosure
Some of the links
in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small
commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those
links. Thanks for your
support!
This episode is brought to you by Bandzoogle.
From garage bands to Grammy winners, Bandzoogle powers the websites for thousands of musicians around the world.
Plans start at just $8.29/month, which includes hosting and your own free custom domain name. Go to Bandzoogle.com to start your 30 day free trial. Use promo code “robonzo” to get 15% off the first year of any subscription.
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