How to Make an Electronic Press Kit
Have you ever tried to submit your band for something and been asked for an EPK? An EPK is an electronic press kit. It contains vital pieces of information about your project.
If you are old like me, you may recall what press kits once were. They were simply copies of the press your band received. They would include copies of articles written about your band in magazines.
Now the term press kit has taken on a new meaning. It offers a comprehensive view of your band. It may include:
- Your artist bio
- Links
- Photos
- Music videos
- Notable moments
- Recent releases
- Contact information
It should show the elements of your website on one web page.
Where Should Your EPK Be Published?
Your EPK can be a free-standing webpage, or it can be included on your website. Platforms like Wix and Squarespace give users the option to include an EPK in their websites. They are ideal for people who do not have significant web design skills. They will walk you through the process.
If you want your EPK to look impressive, and you don’t have web design skills, you may ask a graphic designer to design your EPK along with your website, or as a separate entity.
What Should I Include in My EPK?
Your EPK should provide a snapshot view of your band. Determine the elements that represent your band best. Don’t overdo it.
Let’s go into more detail about what should be included.
- Artist Bio: Your artist bio should be included in everything you send out. It should be clear, concise, and it should account for the highlights of your career. If your bio is very long, consider shortening it for EPK purposes. You can link to the longer bio as well.
- Links to Your Music: Link to music sites like Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. Make sure they have your best and latest tracks up top as those are most likely to get played. They will show that you are a growing band.
- Photos: Choose a few band shots to include. In addition to letting people know what you look like, these photos may also be used by the press and promoters to include in magazines, on fliers, and more. Provide a variety of options including hi-res, low-res, vertical, and horizontal shots. Remember that high-res shots are large files and can slow the downloading process. Consider uploading them to a Dropbox and including a link in your press kit rather than the full image.
- Music Video: Embed a link to your latest music videos. Videos are a great marketing tool because they provide visual and audio elements to tell the whole story. Avoid shoddily done live videos. Choose professional studio videos instead.
- Notable Moments: Notable moments may include quotes from press articles covering your band, impressive radio stations that have played your music, any awards you’ve won as a band, notable clubs you have played, etc. Provide links if possible.
- Tech Rider: if you’re a larger band, you may include a tech rider that tells booking agents and venues how many mics, plugs, and speakers you use, your stage plot, and more. Make it downloadable so they can save it on their devices.
- Logos and Branding Assets: It’s important to place your logo at the top of your EPK, but you can also include downloadable logos that promoters and others can use for fliers, etc.
- Contact Information: Include an email address or the best way to reach you. You can also post links that take people directly to your social media pages so they can contact you.
Your EPK should be updated regularly as should everything your EPK links to.
When Should I Send People an EPK?
An EPK can be used whenever you submit your band for any reason. You can send it to promoters, radio stations, booking agencies, managers, and record labels. You can also include it in festival applications.
If the relationship is casual, a link to your music and social media may suffice. But if you are trying to impress a potential manager, record label, etc., an EPK is recommended.
Your EPK is not only used to promote you. It is also used to share assets like tech info, logos, pictures, and more. They may be included in your EPK as well.
EPK Design Guidelines
Like every piece of media you use to market your band, your EPK must represent you. Here are some elements to consider.
Logo: Your logo should be featured on the top of your EPK and on every piece of marketing you hand out.
Colors: Your band may have colors that you like to use on your marketing materials. Incorporate them into your EPK background with the images and fonts you use.
Fonts: Use fonts that represent your band image. Make sure they are readable.
Make it Scannable: Your EPK should be easy to read. People want to get an idea of what your band is like in a minimal amount of time. If your EPK has blocks of long text, consider shortening it or making it collapsible. You should also surround your images and text blocks with plenty of blank space to avoid a jumbled and confusing aesthetic.
What are the Benefits of an EPK?
It Makes It Easy to Market Yourself: An EPK is an easy way to market yourself. Just send someone a link and they have everything they need to know about your band.
It Makes You Look Professional: An EPK shows that you are taking your band to the next level. It is a professional way to represent yourself.
It Gives You Insight About Your Band: Once you start creating your EPK, you’ll get a better understanding of what your band is about and the best way to represent it. It will help you develop your brand identity and your future marketing materials.
Better Press Opportunities: An EPK makes it easy for the press to write up your band. Without an EPK, they may google your band and find scattered bits of information all over the internet. An EPK will give them everything they need in one place. They will be more likely to write you up and produce a concise and factual article.
Create Various EPKs
EPKs are given to different professionals who require them for various reasons. For example, a potential manager or record label will want general information about your band. A promoter may need your logo and tech requirements. A press member will want photos to use in their pieces.
You will meet their needs by producing different press kits for different professionals. Add tech specs for promoters and venues, pictures for the press, and so on. In doing so, you will give everyone what they need and save them from browsing through content to find things.
How to Share Your EPK
- Your Artist Website: You can create your EPK as a page on your artist's website. Alternatively, you can design a landing page that can stand on its own or take people to your website.
- Cloud Storage and File Sharing Services: Host your EPK on a file-sharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive. They are ideal for uploading, storing, and organizing large files. They make it easy to share direct and downloadable links. They are more mobile-friendly than large zip files.
- Online Music Platforms: Online music platforms like ReverbNation and Sonicbids offer EPK templates, file hosting, data tracking, career management, marketing tools, and more. Sonicbids allows you to consolidate your information. They offer high-quality media, a tour calendar, a vanity URL, and a database of over 20,000 promoters and booking agents.
- Social Media Platforms: You can share your EPK link on your social media platforms to make it accessible to your followers.
- Print Copies to Share at Public Events: You can print copies of your EPK and take them with you to your shows and networking events. Hand it to industry professionals so they know how to contact you.
- Have a printable or scannable barcode of your EPK that you can share at events.
What are the Best EPK Creating Platforms?
Bandzoogle is an ideal platform for building EPKs. It provides a visual design editor that allows you to add and rearrange text and media to create a stylish press kit. It comes with a music player, image gallery, contact form, text bio, press quotes, embedded video, gig calendar, social media links, and file download links. It offers a 30-day free trial.
Haulix doesn’t provide EPK services. Rather it creates a web page with song tracks, photos, videos, and PDF attachments. You can import your contacts and send them invitations so they can view your page and be alerted of updates. You can also track your engagement to determine what’s working and what isn’t. So, it’s a glamorized EPK with hosting.
Sonicbids provides tools that you can use to connect your social media profiles, create a calendar, and add press mentions, and music. It offers free and paid services.
ReverbNation is a music-sharing platform that has added EPK-building features. It allows you to create a page that includes high-quality photos, unlimited songs, stats of your fan demographics, embedded video links, song play and download options, private songs that are not publicly released, press quotes, and a list of upcoming and past events.
Wix:
Wix is a popular website-building platform with both free and paid options. When you create your website, it will take you through the options of pages to include. One of those will be your EPK. You can customize it to your taste and add things like a bio, contact info, photos, music, videos, press, social media, tour dates, and your tech rider.
Fiverr does not provide tools for you to make your own EPK. But you can browse for freelancers that will make you an inexpensive one.
Adobe provides several editable press kit templates as well as blank template options. It also includes stock photos you can use in your EPK.
Mill Media provides design tools and hosting for your EPK website. It will allow you to embed videos, display testimonials, add links to your music, attract inbound, social media traffic, include photo galleries, build a contact list, advertise concerts, and include ticket-buying links.
EPK Builder: EPK Builder offers both free and paid packages. Their free package includes hosting, MP3s, a hero image, mobile integration, social media integration and stats, an advanced image editor, and a contact form. The Pro package offers all the basic features as well as a YouTube or Vimeo video, five additional fonts, and the ability to change fonts and colors.
EPK Styles to Consider
You can take your EPK in any direction design-wise. And once you add elements like pictures and logos, it will shape up to show a good representation of your brand. But here are some suggestions that will get you headed in the right direction and ensure your kit represents your genre.
Electropop: As a sultry genre, electropop artists may choose soothing colors for their EPK, like soft purples and greens. Electropop tends to focus on the pop artist, so add pictures with each element, as well as a gallery. Use soft, flowing fonts to complete the look.
Indie Folk: Indie folk artists should incorporate natural elements into their EPKs to represent the earthy feel of their music. They may use a background such as a sunset or a river. The elements should stand out with an equally soft aesthetic.
Garage Rock: Garage bands should home in on the retro vibe. They may tone things down with sultry, fuzzy pictures and elements. Or they may incorporate bright psychedelics into their EPK. It depends on the band’s style and tone.
Metal: Metal bands often add evil, dark images to their marketing materials. A black background is a good start. A live photo will also make a terrific background.
Rap: Rap stars tend to be high-energy and show off a lot of bling. Bring that into your press kit with a great live shot. Add elements that make it pop.
Classical/Professional Musician: If you are representing yourself as a classical or professional musician, keep your press kit looking clean and upscale. Add a few choice pictures. You may not have original music to showcase, but you can include tracks you have played on and videos of shows you have performed at.
Blues: Blues bands have a mellow vibe. A blues EPK will have a soothing background, ideally blue, and a picture of the band playing live. Tracks and videos should be added as well.
EPK Don’ts
- Don’t attach zip files and other compressed files to your email. Likely, they will never be opened.
- Consider file size when sending email attachments. Large digital files may get flagged by the recipient’s email provider, so they bounce back or end up in the spam folder. It’s better to link your content online.
- Don’t be dishonest about your EPK.
- Avoid including irrelevant information.
EPK FAQs
How Much Does It Cost to Make an EPK?
Many EPK services are free. However, if you want to get yours done professionally, you will generally spend between $195 and $795.
Should an EPK Be in the First or Third Person?
To maintain the utmost professionality, your press kit should be written in the 3rd person, i.e., it should say he/she/they rather than I or we.
Do I Need an EPK?
If your band is just starting, you won’t get asked for an EPK often. In many cases, you can get away with social media pages, music links, and/or a website. However, you will find the occasional submission form that asks for an EPK, and it’s always good to be prepared.
Once you grow your following, you will be asked for an EPK more often. Press, venues, and promoters will want them so they can access your tech specs, media, and more.
But no matter what level your band is at, it’s always advisable to have an EPK. It will make you look more professional. And you will be prepared when you hit the next level of stardom.
What is the Difference Between an EPK and a Press Kit?
EPKs are available in digital format whereas press kits are not. Back in the day, the term ‘press kit’ was used to refer to pieces of media only. Now it includes a bio, links, and the other elements previously mentioned.
Can an EPK Replace a Website?
Yes, an EPK can replace a website. Some artists prefer it. It’s less expensive to create and it provides people with an overall view of the band in one convenient place.
An EPK is an excellent representation of your band. The guidelines in this article provide you with all you need to get started. Good luck creating marketing material that makes your band stand out from the rest.
