What To Put In My Band’s EPK?

The document that presents your band to the world and what it should look like

Presenting a professional face of your musical project from the get-go is now more important than it has ever been. Whether it is the press, a promoter or a venue that you’re approaching, a professionally executed electronic press kit (EPK) is the best way to present all the information necessary for people to get to know you and your work.

SkillBox has created an easy-to-use format for artists to use and create a professional face for any band, musician or musical project.

An EPK is easily transmitted, is low on production cost and, if it’s well done, can make the difference between getting the gig, the deal or the press mention you want. First, the must-haves.

• Backgrounder: A well-worded and simple biography and a discography of the band or musical project to is the first insight your chosen reader needs into your work and personalities. Speak about your backgrounds, your musical influences and your style and genre in a way that communicates passion (without going over the top or sounding fake). Keep the tone upbeat and interesting.
• The Music: Your work speaks volumes about you and where you are in your musical journey. Include links to where one can listen to your best tracks and view your best performances. This is where you show the range of diversity in your set list to appeal to venues and promoters with different needs.
• Photos: Don’t make a journalist or a promoter struggle for good photos of the band. Include them in your EPK and also share a Dropbox/GDrive folder link where high-resolution photos of the band are easily downloadable. Include headshots, torso shots, full-body shots, album cover art and band logos in easy-to-use formats such as JPGs and PNGs.
• Tech Rider: For a promoter or a venue, the equipment that you need for your performance is a cost that they must factor in. Be upfront about providing all the essentials. Give alternatives that you’re willing to work with and give a contact of your sound engineer or technically oriented band member who can discuss and rationalize the tech rider. Give different riders for pub gigs and arena-style performances.
• Stage Plot: A stage plot helps venues and festivals with critical information about stage setup, inputs and mics. Especially with multi-act performances, this plan can help you and the sound engineer minimize transition time and hassles that you definitely don’t need before a performance.
• One-Pager: This is the information that you want to be seen in the event description, poster text or in a press mention. A well drafted, easy to understand piece in one page that speaks about the things you want spoken about. Got an EP or album release coming up? Aligned with a cause close to your heart? Keep those on top and conclude with the information you’ve put in your backgrounder.
• Contact Information: You may have different contacts for the media, bookings and your tech rider. Keep these clear and prominent in a sidebar on your EPK.

Now, with everything of the above, presentation (or what some of us like to call ‘production values’) is extremely important in how your band is perceived. Get it right, slick!

Did we miss something? Do you have suggestions to make an EPK even better or another, more innovative ways to reach the people you need to? Please share your creative and constructive feedback in the comments below.