Welcome to Amplify the Noise’s DIY Guide series.
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An Electronic Press Kit (EPK) is an essential tool for musicians, artists, and bands. Think of it as a digital resume that provides media, promoters, venues, and potential collaborators with all the information they need about you and your music. Here’s our step-by-step guide to help you build an effective EPK.
STEP ONE: Understand the purpose of an EPK
- An EPK is designed to showcase your music, brand, and achievements in a professional format. It should include your biography, music, photos, videos, press coverage, contact information, and any other relevant details that make you stand out.
- It should be relatively easy to read and understand.
- Don’t make the font so small, the zoom function needs to be used.
- Don’t make the design so convoluted that it hides what should be obvious links. (I received a wonderfully designed EPK one sheet from a punk band, but couldn’t find any of the links I needed on the actual design. While the design matched their aesthetics and messaging, it made the EPK impossible to use.)
- Do organise the EPK.
- Do make things obvious. Use bullet points if you have to. Time is precious and if someone has to spend twenty minutes to find what they need, they’re more than likely going to skip looking at the EPK all together.
STEP TWO: Choose a platform
- Decide where you will host your EPK. Options include:
- Website – create a dedicated page on your official website for your EPK. I can’t stress enough the importance of having your own website. Having a website is having a home base not only for your fans to come home to, but others who may be able to help you along the way.
- Cloud Storage – use Google Drive, Dropbox, or other cloud storage solutions to share a downloadable folder with the EPK
- EPK Service – use services like Sonicbids, ReverbNation, or Bandzoogle
STEPH THREE: Gather essential components
- An effective EPK should include the following elements:
- Biography – this should be self explanatory. No one is asking for a Bible on you, but your bio should engaging and informative and cover the following:
- Background – a brief history of the band/artist
- Notable achievements – awards, chart positions, significant performances, etc
- Influences and style – describe your musical style and influences. Remember this is being read by someone who doesn’t know you.
- Current project information – the name, release date, and relevant information on your latest release and future plans if you have forward planned a series of release dates.
- Optional to include your technical rider aka tech rider. If you’re building a one stop shop for all things your music career, you’ll need to include have a tech rider for when you play live. If you’re not doing this at the moment, then you can leave this off and add when needed.
STEP FOUR: Music
- Provide access to your music in an easily accessible format:
- Streaming links – links to Apple Music, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Spotify, etc.
- Downloads – high-quality MP3 or WAV files, but try to be conscious of file sizes
- Discography – a list of all your releases with cover art and release dates
STEP FIVE: Photos
- High-res, professional photos or high-res artwork are essential to your artist portfolio. It’s always good to have the following in your EPK.
- Press photos (aka promo photos)
- Have at least 1 of each of the following orientations – portrait, landscape, and square
- Include credit to the photographer if necessary.
- Artwork
- Unlike press photos, artwork is usually a square. If yours isn’t, like press photos, have at least high-res version of each of the above orientations
- For the love of a higher being, don’t just use Google to find an image you like and assume it’s a Creative Commons licence. You could find yourself in copyright infringement land and making your life and everyone who shared “your artwork” hell.
- This has happened to us more than once and we were very lucky the artist of the actual design was kind enough to ask us to remove the article. They could have slapped a copyright infringement lawsuit against us and closed our doors forever. Don’t let your poor decision to infringe on someone’s artwork ruin your lives and the lives of others.
- Live shots
- These are essential to an EPK, but they’re good to have in your arsenal.
- Press photos (aka promo photos)
STEP SIX: Videos
- While this will not make or break an EPK, it’s good to include links to your best videos. Whether they are on Youtube, Vimeo, or your website, share where these can be viewed.
- If you’re promoting a new music video, it’s essential to have a link to view said video. Most platforms allow you to share unlisted videos so others can see them before you publish it to the masses.
- Note, if your video is marked “unlisted” a lot of publishers may not post the video. We at Amplify the Noise recognise the “unlisted” mark as not available to the general audience and won’t share a video unless authorised. So be conscious of this and don’t fear embargoing a video until it is live to the public.
- Video links you can include aside from videos include live performances, behind the scenes, studio sessions. Interviews, and other engaging content. These are essential so don’t fret if you don’t have these ready yet.
STEP SEVEN: Press coverage
- This is another one that won’t make or break an EPK, but if you’ve received media coverage, I think it’s nice to see what others are saying about you. I often read them after I’ve written my own thoughts to see if I’m aligned with other thoughts or completely on a different planet.
- You don’t have to link to every single article or review about you, but you should highlight positive articles or even notable quotes from sources you respect and trust.
STEP EIGHT: Contact information
- Make it easy for people to reach you. It’s always good to have the Name and Email of following listed:
- Management
- Booking
- Press
- Social media links – direct links to your official profiles. Make sure the links are correct. I can’t tell you how many times links are either broken or don’t link to the profile they should.
STEP NINE: Tour dates
- If applicable, list your upcoming tour dates. You never know who you’re pitching to may want to come see you live after reading your stellar EPK!
- Include the following if possible:
- Accurate dates
- Venues names and locations
- Ticket links – direct links to purchase tickets
STEP TEN: Design your EPK
- Now that you have the essentials ready, the fun part in designing your EPK can be done. Ideally, your EPK should be visually appealing and easy to navigate and include:
- Consistent branding – use your logo, color scheme, and fonts consistently.
- Clean layout – organise information logically with clear headings and sections.
- User friendly navigation – ensure links and buttons are easy to find and use.
STEP ELEVEN: Distribute your EPK
- An EPK is only useful if you actually use it. Don’t be afraid to send it out to:
- Media contacts – provide it to journalists, bloggers, and influencers.
- Promoters and venues – provide it to booking agents and venue managers.
- Industry professionals – provide it to potential collaborators, labels, and managers.
- Read our DIY GUIDE: How to Write a Media Release and DIY GUIDE: How to Pitch to Media
Remember to update your EPK regularly or create one for each project. Add new music, photos, videos, and press coverage as they become available. Check your links and make sure they are working and up-to-date. If you’re touring, update tour dates and ticket links as necessary.
We’ve given a basic EPK outline here. Download it and customise it for yourself. By following these steps and using the outline provided, you should able to create a comprehensive and professional EPK that effectively promotes your music and brand.
