When applying to play at a concert venue, club or festival, it's standard practice to send a press kit to that venue's booking director. While EPKs (electronic press kits) are becoming more and more popular, many venues still prefer to see an old-fashioned printed press kit.
First impressions are vital for any business interaction, and the press kit serves ar your first impression. Therefore, it must be as close to flawless as it can be. The essential components to a well-made music press kit are:
- Band Biography
- Press Clippings
- Photograph
- Recorded Music
How to write a great band biography
A band or musician biography should be as simple as possible. It should be a personable introduction to the artists, but more importantly, to your style. A good band bio should be written with the band's audience in mind. A punk band, playing at punk clubs and punk festivals, might choose to write an edgy (yet still appropriate) bio. A world music group will want to write a bio that is chock-full of information about the ethnic genres that they play. A classical ensemble will need a very sophisticated biography. Write to your audience, provide salient but brief information about your music, and keep it as short as possible.
How to assemble press clippings
Many bands make the mistake of assembling giant folders with photocopies of every newspaper article that they've ever been mentioned in. This is unnecessary, and can actually do you more harm than good. A better plan is to grab good quotes from a variety of your press mentions and type them onto one page. Remember to follow them up with the author's name, the publication name and the date of publication. Keep in mind that reviews are better than previews. A great review of your show in a local college newspaper or e-zine can be more effective than a one-line announcement of your show in a major market newspaper. List as many reviews as you can, followed by the previews.
Photograph
Have a photograph professionally or semi-professionally done (a photography major at your local college is a good choice, who will probably work cheaply). Don't use snapshots of your band onstage unless they're very professional looking. A well-done photograph is a great investment, so have one done and get some copies made. 5x7 is fine, 8 1/2x11 is better. Do what you can afford.
Recorded Music
If the paper part of your press kit is good-looking enough, your CD will be listened to. Therefore, don't send junk. It's better to send a three-song demo where every song is well-recorded and well-mixed than to send a full-length album that you recorded on a handheld tape recorder. Also, despite what you may think, it's highly unlikely that a burned, unmastered recording of your live show sounds good. They usually don't, and they're really not very impressive. If it's all you have, go ahead and send it, but avoid it if at all possible.
To assemble these elements, make sure that you've got contact information on each separate piece: the bio page, the press clippings page, the photograph (in the margin or on the back) and on the CD. If any part gets separated from the others, the information will be there to connect them together. You can either present all of these elements in a pocket folder, as many bands do, and it does help to keep things together, but if you're really working on a budget, you can just put everything together with a paper clip and slip it all into a large envelope.
Now that you've got these things assembled, proofread! Do it yourself. Let your Mom look it over. Have your roommate take a peek. If you know any writers (or English majors), ask them to have a go. Sloppiness is inexcusable. Remember, the press kit is akin to an in-person first meeting... typos all over the place are akin to mustard on your tie and a giant piece of spinach stuck in your teeth.
Megan Romer - Megan Romer is a music business professional and freelance writer. She is currently the marketing director for the Finger Lakes GrassRoots ...
