Having a great Electronic Press Kit, hereafter called EPK, is essential for industry to meet you, understand what you do, and place you where they seem best suited. I will go into detail about what an EPK is shortly, but for now, it is critical to understand what is meant by industry.
Industry refers to any party that could potentially pay for your product. Whether by booking live gigs, having your song played on the radio, licensing your song to film or video games, or even securing a record/ publishing/ management contract, and EPK is a detailed portrait of who you are and what you offer. It is critical that all players have a clear picture of the act they are pursuing because it would be a shame if a polka band was booked to play an EDM festival, or a metal band signed to an Urban music label that may not have the tools needed to advance the careers of metal players.
So what is an EPK, and how do we make one?
An EPK contains 7 basic elements that although equally important, not focusing on the right elements would be the difference of a good EPK and a great EPK. The seven elements I like to follow are:
– Photos of the artist(s)
– Music (or Product you are selling)
– One Sheet, (a summary of all elements within the EPK to be quickly referred to). This will also list all relevant accomplishments for the artist to boost interest
– Press. This includes any third party reviews, any news articles, and media mentions
– MP3’s. A complete discography is not necessary, but a full picture here would be needed if the interested industry wants to dig deeper into the artist’s catalog
– Song List, having more than one song is important to show the artist has more to offer than one single
– Bio, the story behind the artist. It is critical that this be interesting.
Having all elements prepared in a pdf file with attached zip files will make sending and receiving of the EPK seamless. EPK’s are commonly delivered now on a USB drive or email.
Industry receives countless numbers of EPK’s in a given day. Making your EPK stand out above the crowd is the only way to get noticed. You get one chance to have your product reviewed, and that chance may be as little as thirty seconds. Having a third-party review of your EPK not only highly recommended, it is essential to know that you are submitting the best and you are capturing your thirty seconds.
Evolution Music Press 