21 Aug Ultimate Guide to Creating a Digital Press Kit for Your Band
As a music band, you’ll have tons of visitors on your website. These people could be fans, bloggers, journalists and other industry folks.
For example, your loyal fans will visit your website to read about your latest gig or to look at your bio. To make it easy for media and industry people to find promo photos, updates about your latest music, etc. create a digital press kit that contains everything a visitor might need.
Here are the key components of a press kit that any musician needs to have available in order to promote themselves.
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Bio
A lot of people are interested in knowing who and what is behind the music. Include a current bio that outlines your inspiration, music style and anything that defines your music. Understand that you will need to have several versions of a bio to suit different audiences: an elevator pitch, a short bio (1 paragraph), a medium bio (a few paragraphs) and a long bio (4+ paragraphs).
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Photos/images
The next element in your media kit will be professionally shot photos that have been optimized for the Web and for print. A couple of different official photos, shot from different angles and in color as well as monochrome are a good addition to your press kit for band. Bloggers and reviewers will thank you for a hi-res shot of your most recent album cover that they can use while writing about you.
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Music
A musician’s digital press kit cannot be complete without your music. Have a few tracks that people can listen to, and have a couple available for free download. If a journalist or music industry influencer wants to get their hands on your complete album or EP to review, add information about the contact person who will help them get a copy.
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Video
An EPK for bands should consist of embeddable videos that can be easily picked up for use by bloggers and media sites to make their write-ups more engaging. Embed a few of your choice videos into your electronic press kit so people can find quality video content that highlights your band’s music.
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Press articles/reviews
A digital press kit would obviously need some press, so include a couple of links to your best reviews, articles and interviews. To get people to understand what each link is about, you could cull the best quote that was the defining moment for each and post it underneath. Adding the logos of the media channel will make this section more interesting to your audience.
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Notable accomplishments
Any wards garnered, nominations for popular choice, charted on TV or radio, performances at prestigious events and festivals go here. Your media kit will have to include this part that got your music great media coverage.
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Contact information
Tough you might already have a ‘Contact’ page on your website, you must also include detailed contact information in your digital press kit to ensure having everything in one place. Understand that media persons and bookers are walking a tight rope when it comes to schedule and will appreciate having a direct contact number or email where they can reach out to you.
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Social media
Your social media presence is equally important in defining the wholesomeness of your press kit. A media person or booker will need quick access to your social links, so list them on one page for easy reference. It is not necessary to list everything, only list the social networks where you are most active.
