How to Make an EPK (Electronic Press Kit)

If you’re a budding band or artist, and you haven’t put together an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) yet, you need to move it straight to the top of your to-do list now. It’s unlikely you will gain worldwide - or even nationwide - exposure overnight, so it’s important to generate interest in your work as a musician, by publishing all related content to it. Your EPK should market your sellable qualities in an effective, digital package. This article will look at the top 9 things you might be wondering or need to think about when creating your EPK.

What is an EPK (Electronic Press Kit)?

An EPK is essentially your music CV/resume, so you must keep it as up to date as possible. It should be a digital document allowing professionals within the music industry to read through, to get an idea of who you are, what you have to offer, and why they should be paying you attention. For example, if you’re looking for artist management representation, the artist manager will expect you to provide an EPK.

Your EPK should be in an easily accessible format for anyone to view, so it’s important to think about how you might present it. A specific press link on your website is best, however, if you don’t have a website, there’s plenty of other options for you. For example, a PDF document or a Slides presentation is unlikely to contain formatting and layout errors, no matter which type of device it is viewed on. A Word document, on the other hand, could bring issues with the presentation, depending on the version (if any) the reader is using.

You should also think about the size of your EPK. If you have high-resolution images or music files that aren’t easily viewable or accessible, consider setting up a Dropbox for larger files.

Can I Make Do Without an EPK?

This is subjective, and it’s up to you how much time you are willing to put in to gain exposure. If you’re looking to present yourself to respected music industry professionals, or have an upcoming tour or new release on the horizon, having an effective - and current - EPK is arguably one of the best ways of showcasing yourself to new audiences within the music industry; essentially, it will raise your profile and demonstrate your professionalism.

Many professionals within the music industry, such as record labels, booking agents, managers, and promoters will find it handy to view your EPK, as it’s convenient for them to take a quick and necessary glance at what you have to offer. Perhaps the most important audience for your EPK is press and media outlets. If they were to report about you, your EPK should tell them all they need to know, especially if they haven’t ever heard of you. 

How Do I Write My Bio?

All EPKs need a biography section. This is perhaps the most vital part of your EPK and essentially your elevator pitch. When writing it, you should have the thought of “why should professionals in the music industry keep reading and pay attention to me?” at the forefront of your mind. If a magazine or music blog is going to write a feature about you, what are the most important details that need reporting? What do you want your potential new fans to know? Is there something that makes you unique and special within the music industry?

We strongly suggest writing about the following topics, although of course, it all stems down to what you deem the most important. We recommend boasting about: your musical awards and achievements, your stage presence, current plans, your background, what you stand for, your message, where you hail from, your super talented band members - and most importantly, why the person reading should care about you. Don’t forget to mention other fine details such as your genre and style, as well as the experience you bring to live shows and the music world.

Your bio should be informative, yet persuasive and entertaining. Think about your word count - is the part about downing a yard of ale during your first show really required and relevant? Probably not. 

How Do I Write About My Music?

The music part should be current and kept up to date at all times, just like the rest of your EPK. There is no point shouting about your last EP if you have a newly released album to be telling the reader about. What flair does your current release bring to your genre, and what makes it stand out from the rest of the crowd? You could include trivia about certain songs - e.g. why did you write it or what gave you the idea for it? Does your music reflect certain movements or political agendas? Think about the type of emotions you want your music to evoke in your listeners, and how you can portray this effectively in your EPK.

Consider including impressive quotes from press or music industry professionals, along with contact information for your representation (such as band management, booking agents, or PR), if you have any. 

What Will Make My EPK Stand Out?

The most important thing you can do for your EPK is to perfect the aesthetics. Do not use poor-quality phone pictures or a poorly recorded link to a snippet of a live show. Ensure you use high-quality resolution images from professional photoshoots and photographers, for other music industry professionals to take you seriously. The images should be laid out in your EPK in a visually pleasing way, and not just scattered across it in random order.

You could offer links to professional-looking music videos or segments of clips from your live shows (as long as they are of high quality and look good). Consider including links, images, and song or album artwork from your most successful music releases. It is best to be selective about these choices by reviewing your most viewed videos across Youtube and other social channels, your highest streamed songs on Spotify, or perhaps by asking your fans for their opinions and requesting they take part in a poll. 

Take the aesthetics one step further, by thinking about the design and your color scheme - does it reflect your music or a release? Use a font that is similar to your band or artist logo, or again, matches the artwork of your current releases.

If you’re looking to give your EPK a thorough edge, you could consider mentioning upcoming tour dates. You may also want to add further sections, such as adding links to your social channels, website, merch stores, and links to download your music. 

Are There Any Tools or Templates I Can Use to Help Write My EPK?

This article is quite comprehensive in discussing what you should include in your EPK, however, if you’re looking to save some time and opt for a tool that can do it all for you, there are several choices available for you to consider.

A quick online search will give you a variety of free and paid-for options to build your EPK, but if you’re looking to avoid the rigmarole of research and save yourself from pouring over links on Google, here’s a few tools we think are worth mentioning: EPKBuilder, ReverbNation, SonicBids, Bandzoogle, Adobe Spark and Drooble. You could also create an EPK on Wix or WordPress to set it up exactly how you want - this is also particularly good for being found through search engines.

Where Should I Display My EPK?

It’s a good idea to have your EPK accessible through a single link. You can display this link on your website (e.g. under ‘press’) or through your social media channels, such as your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter pages. Having your EPK as a link is particularly useful as it can be shared quickly and efficiently, not just by you, but by other music industry professionals who may wish to garner interest on your behalf.  If you’ve opted to have your EPK as a PDF document, save yourself the hassle and ensure it’s of a suitable size to share by email and easily downloadable, or you could face issues further down the line.

What Should I Do With My EPK?

Other than promoting it through your visible channels and ensuring it is fully accessible, send it across to anyone whose attention you want! You could also send it to music industry professionals and media outlets that you feel may specifically help to promote your music and care about it. For example, if you’re in a rock band, send it to influencers, magazines, or websites about rock music and/or other relevant press.

What Does An EPK Look Like?

Not all EPKs will look the same. They differ depending on your level of experience, your size, and how professional you can make an EPK appear. The cost can also be a factor if you choose to go down the paid-for route. although this doesn’t necessarily mean it will look better. Mostly, however, all EPKs will follow a certain structure, and as long as you include the core topics, then you’ll have built an effective one. Remember, your EPK is a digital document that will be used as an informative press tool. 

Summary

Hopefully, by now, you will have gained a good idea of how to create an EPK and the opportunities it could provide you with. If you’re still unsure about whether you need one, there is no harm in making one and having it ready, should you ever require it. Take the time to research further, and have a look at some EPKs that are available to view on the internet. Which ones particularly stand out to you? Ask yourself: why do they stand out? 

If you’re looking to make an EPK yourself, ensure you mention the basic requirements: a bio, high-quality images, links to your work, and of course, information about your music. If you’ve decided to go down the route of using a template, think carefully about what you put in each section, and the effectiveness of it. Put yourself in the shoes of the record label employee, artist manager, or promoter, and imagine you are reading your EPK for the first time.

A top tip is to avoid overloading your EPK with too much information or too many images. This can distract from the value you have and cause unnecessary distractions. A music industry professional should be able to quickly scan through your EPK, access your content, and immediately know all about you.

Your EPK is also the perfect opportunity to boast about your achievements and what you have done so far to make yourself known in the music industry. Ultimately, you will need an EPK to get you noticed by promoting your value and brand as a musical artist. So, you should probably get started and make one, eh?