How To Create An EPK That Gets You Opportunities
Reading time: 4-5 minutes
Hey team! Today we're going to talk about what an EPK is, why you need it, and the steps you should take to create one for your music.
Here we go!
What is an EPK?
An EPK (electronic press kit), is a digital version of a press kit that is typically used to promote a musician or band to media, promoters, and funding organizations for grants. An EPK typically includes the same types of materials as a traditional press kit, such as a bio, press release, and high-quality photos, but it is presented in a digital format, usually as a PDF document or a web page.
One of the main benefits of an EPK is that it is easy to distribute and access. Whereas a physical press kit must be mailed or hand-delivered to media outlets, an EPK can be sent via email or made available for download on the artist's website. This makes it easier for the media to access the information they need and for the artist to reach a much wider audience.
Creating an EPK really is an essential step in the growth of your career as a musician/artist/band. If you create a professional looking EPK, you'll improve your chances of getting funded for grants, landing bigger gigs (especially summer festivals), and gainging traction with media outlets such as blogs, podcasts, or social influencers.
What Do You Put In An EPK?
Music
Pretty straight forward, whoever is viewing your EPK needs to get to your music first. Now keep in mind, they're only going to listen to a few songs, and more likely only the first 10 - 30 seconds of each song.
So pick your best three songs which all start off in a way that pulls the listener in right away.
Bio
Your bio should be a brief summary of your career and accomplishments as a musician. Keep it concise and focus on the highlights. Be sure to include any relevant details, such as your influences, the style of music you play, and any notable moments in your career. Don't overdo it!
Check out our recent post called 7 Tips For Writing Your Musician Bio which goes a little deeper into this topic.
Press Release
A press release is a short statement that announces something newsworthy about your band or music. It should include the date, location, and any other relevant details. For example, if you are releasing a new album, your press release might include the album title, release date, and a brief description of the album.
Photos and Album Art
Your EPK should include several high-resolution photos that show your band or solo act in action. These can be used by the media to accompany articles or reviews.
Quick tips, make sure you choose photos that are well-lit and in focus, hi-resolution, and show you in the best light possible. We suggest photos with a resoluton of 300 dpi.
Social media
You'll want to include links and some basic stats for all your social media accounts. This will give the viewer an easy way to get to know you on a deeper level, as well as to understand what kind of audience your bring to the table.
Foe example, if a venue promoter sees that you have a large following on TikTok, they may be more inclined to book you as you have the organic marketing channels to bring the crowd.
Contact Info
This one is pretty straight forward, but extremely important so we'll metion it here.
Make sure the receiver of your EPK has quick access to your email, your website, your socials (as mentioned above), and if you're comfortable, your phone number.
You want to make sure that in the event someone wants to work with you, they can get a hold of you easiliy. If they can't, they will quickly move on to the next, and the opportunity is wasted
How Do I Make An EPK?
This will probably be a topic that do a separate post on, but generallly speaking, you need to put all the above materials together in a PDF or webpage format. We prefer a web format for several reasons:
You can add interactive elements that you can't add to a PDF, such as a video player, song player, or a photo carousel.
You can update it dynamically, meaning you can update the information without changing the underlying link. This is very helpful as no matter when some views the EPK, you can guarantee that they will see the latest version. This allows for easy updates as you go.
We hope that these tips give you a starting point for making an awesome EPK and generating a ton of opportunities for yourself as a musician. Let us know if you have any other tips or tricks!
- Bradley
Wanna reach more listeners?
Velveteen offers full service release campaigns for most types of artists. We help build a release strategy based on your goals as an artist and help you execute them in the most effective manner possible.
We aim to help artists build a long term fanbase, increase their streams and visibility, and set an upward career trajectory towards sustainability.
