What is an EPK?
EPK is an acronym for “electronic press kit”. It is effectively a CV/resume for you as an artist. It’s a resource that contains all the information needed to fully understand what you represent. Presented in one convenient place and in a logical, eye catching manner. Below, we have continued our detailed description of what we believe a perfect EPK should look like and feature.
Music
Feature an embedded music player in your EPK to make it easy for readers to hear your music without being redirected. Remember to only include your best tracks, 3-5 tracks is a good number. Less is more here, prioritise quality and put your best track first, as this is your one chance to get the listener hooked.
If you’re unsure which tracks to feature, look at previous feedback, streaming history, production quality and the song that you feel encopasses your sound in the best light. Feel free to ask for feedback from friends or other musicians that you know. Try to ask someone who is likely to be neutral and brutally honest, not your family. Also, consider changing the song order based on who you are sending it to. For example, if you’re contacting booking agents, consider putting the best live tracks first.
Photos/Visuals
Make sure that all of your visuals are consistent. Take the time to create some moodboards and consider the backdrop of your images, what you’re wearing, your poses etc. First impression is everything. You want your overall image to be in conjunction with the sound and attitude of your music. Include both full body shots and headshots. Feel free to include some images of a live performance, if you feel that the images capture your live performances well. If not, then it is not a must have.
Include both high res (300 dpi) and lo-res (72 dpi) versions, 600 pixels wide as a minimum. Also, it is a good idea to provide both horizontal and vertical versions of your images as different promoters will use different layouts. Save your higher quality images in a dropbox or box file so you can quickly share a link when asked for the images. Here are some useful places to find a photographer to take your shots: “Photographer Central” and “PhotoSesh”.
Furthermore, a high quality music video is a visual representation of how seriously you take yourself. It’s worth spending some money and time to put together a professional music video to show that you mean business. It’s a good idea to start networking with local photographers, videographers and graphic designers early in your career, so you have people to help you out with a video when the time comes.
Previous press and testimonials
Include any positive press that you have received in the past. Remember to keep it updated and shout about all of your positive coverage. Plus, mention any relatively high profile artists that you have supported, successful ticket sales and previous gig history at prestigious venues.
Discography
It’s a good idea to include a list of your past singles, albums and projects to show where you are at in your career.
Links
Be sure to add all of your social media links, as well as links to merchandise and any platforms that your music is available on.
Contact Details
Finally, after all of your hard work, it would be a great shame if the reader had no means of getting in touch, so be sure to add your contact details (phone number and email address) in a clearly visible space. Hyperlink the email address so it’s easy for the reader to just click and tell you how much they love your music!