How to Build a Cheap But Effective EPK

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”  – Seneca

In the way of preparing for bigger and better opportunities, one item musicians and bands often side-step is the electronic press kit, otherwise known as the EPK.

Think of your EPK as you or your band’s online portfolio. Its purpose is to provide easy access for press outlets, buyers (venue bookers), and promoters to the information and material they need to do their work efficiently. Time is precious, and the people you (hope to) work with are likely busy enough without needing to dig, ask, or wait for what they need to complete their job. Oftentimes, they’re gracious if they do, but you can’t blame them if they choose to work with someone who is more prepared than you are.

Having a comprehensive, well-organized EPK at the ready communicates your professionalism, respect, and readiness for opportunity.

While the specific needs of each individual team may differ, the typical items that press outlets, buyers, and promoters require are your:

• Music
• Photos
• Story (bio)
• Videos
• Social media pages
• Previous press

Providing them with a single link to an online folder where they can view and download all of this material is the standard for professional acts. The best place to host this collection of information is on your website at <your band name>.com/epk, but a shared folder through platforms such as Dropbox or Google Drive is often fine. Website-building platforms make it possible to create an extension of your domain name that enables you to link folders such as an EPK, which is either password accessible or set to allow anyone with the link to view it. If it isn’t within your reach to have a website of your own at present, you can still prepare your EPK and share it through a file sharing platform like the ones mentioned above.

While generating some of the materials (music, video, photos, logo design, etc.) that go into your EPK costs money, the rest of the items on the list outlined below can be handled for free. I recommend organizing your material into folders and files similar to the ones listed below. The folder’s content can be composed of a number of PDF files with links to outside sites in addition to a handful of JPEGs and MP3s. If you’d like a good look at a live working example, feel free to browse through my band, Featherburn’s, EPK at the following open links:

• Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MefuZwnBvqrvxesZwzZlWu4gqzHNNOvD?usp=sharing
• Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qh2bw6thf248pey/AAAtsltcOlB9Qsn-6MY0xFrKa?dl=0
• Our website (which also offer links to the folders listed above): featherburn.com/epk

Each band or artist’s electronic press kit is unique to them, but below, you can find an explanation of every piece of information that should be used to assemble your EPK. Take note that it isn’t necessary to have your material at Dropbox, Google Drive, and your website, so feel free to use the material mentioned above to decide which mode of sharing best suits your needs.

Music 

You should provide the best audio recordings you currently have of your music in an EPK. It’s also a good idea to include a folder of MP3s as well as a PDF with links to streaming sites hosting your band’s music. There are many hosting platforms to choose from, and you may need to use different ones according to whether the music you’re showcasing has or hasn’t been released through distribution companies.

ReverbNation, Bandcamp, and SoundCloud are good for material that hasn’t been formally released because you can upload tracks to a private playlist or album only visible to those who have the link (basic accounts on those platforms are free). This is handy if you’re pitching your music for inclusion in blogs and periodicals before you release it, as those writers and editors will need to hear it first.  

For material that’s already been released, my band uses Songwhip, with similar sites such as Linktree being potential alternatives. These platforms are used to create a single link that will open a page of consolidated links leading to the various streaming services you set it to show. It’s free to create an account at Songwhip, and this site also comes with some analytics.  

Photos

You should also include high- (600 dpi) and low- (72 dpi) resolution photos of your band in an EPK. It’s good to have band photos done every year or at least for every new album release. If you and/or your team are busy, it’s not a bad idea to schedule your shoot before a gig or at a regular practice time so you don’t need to call everyone in for a separate session. If money is tight, there are almost always semi-professional photographers you can connect with who may either shoot for free (especially if you post their work on social media, tag and thank them, and otherwise help get the word out about them) or for a small stipend.  

Be sure to get all of the rights and permissions in writing to use the photos taken for your own purposes. Some photographers have document templates they use regularly to give artists rights to their work. You can also create one or download a template from a simple Google search. If nothing else, ask for the rights and permissions to use the photos to promote and run your project while also giving the photographer permission to use them in their portfolio. Ask for this in an email, and keep a record of the email.

Bio 

Include a PDF with a one-sentence, one-paragraph, and one-page biography.

• The single-sentence bio is known as the “elevator pitch.” This is a memorable one-liner that’s meant to gain the attention of an intended audience and convince interested parties to look into your project. 
• The one-paragraph bio likely includes the elevator pitch and elaborates by providing more information indicating genre and perhaps some language expressing what a listener may experience when hearing your music.
• The one-page ( “extended”) bio can include both the single-sentence and the one-paragraph bio but also your “story,” which is a super-important component to include in your bio. This should include background information on the whens and wheres of your band, how and/or why you formed, your message, and the thing(s) that make you unique and compelling.

It’s also a good idea to include bios of individual members at the very bottom of the extended bio. These provide additional information the local press might like to use for the purpose of writing features on individual band members. 

Video

Live Video

For the purpose of sharing live video, Featherburn uses a PDF with a number of YouTube links. Of course, the more professional your videos look, the better. An HD camera run by an individual who knows how to go in for a closeup, how to include an engaged audience in a frame, and how to capture an exciting moment (as well as an intimate one) is a great asset.

Try to take two to four short clips of your best moments and edit them together into a video that’s no more than one minute long. It’s understandable and common to want to include more, but if you must do so, you should create two separate videos: one that’s 60 seconds or less and another that’s longer. You can send the 60-second video to bookers and writers and let them know you’ve got more video available upon request. If you wish to do so, you can also put together several videos that highlight different parts of your show to use for different purposes. But no matter what you do, be sure to head up your EPK video folder with a video of your best 60 seconds.  

If you can’t afford to have a professional video made, you might want to ask a talented friend to shoot your video from a good phone, flipped to horizontal view.  

Music Video

A well-produced music video is another valuable asset to have as it can really reveal the overall vibe of your band and represent your message to those who see it.  It also shows that you’ve invested the time and/or money into production value.

Often, whether you include a music video in your EPK comes down to whether you’re willing and/or able to invest the money required to produce professional video, or if you have a teammate or friend with the equipment and expertise to do so at less cost. The next best thing is to have decent lyric videos, so my band has included links to some of these.

Social Links

Your EPK should include a PDF of links to your social pages. It’s better to include only the platforms you’re active on rather than those on which you don’t post much or have an engaged following. For example, although Featherburn has a Twitter page, I don’t include it in our EPK because it doesn’t represent us well in numbers or engagement. Maybe someday.

Press

A PDF with links to any previous press you think might be worthy for others to see is a valuable thing to include. Featherburn doesn’t have much previous press to speak of, but in effort to create some credibility associated with the project, I’ve included links to press clippings pertaining to my work as an individual performer outside of (and before) the band.

Calendar

Provide a link to a calendar where you keep your show dates. Free sites like ReverbNation, Bandsintown, Bandzoogle, Songkick, and Bandcamp have calendars where you can keep your event dates updated. Each of them has calendar widgets you can add to your website as well.  

Other Materials

Other things you can have ready if you’ve got them:

• Stage Plot & Input List (you can create a clean-looking PDF with your tech details, which is useful for venue managers and front of house, at Boss Tweed Backline)
• Logo and Design Material

If you’ve got this material on hand, it’s good to include it in your EPK so that venue managers, promoters, press and blogs can integrate it into their work.

Things to Keep in Mind

1. An EPK is a living document. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but it grows alongside your project. Get started on it by using what you have to the best of your ability, then update and build on it regularly as your bank of material grows.
2. A given press outlet, buyer, or promoter may not need everything on the list, but chances are that someone will eventually use each item. Have everything ready so that they don’t need to ask for anything.
3. Don’t ever send attachments unless someone asks for them; only send a link to your EPK or a link to a folder or file within it.
4. It’s not just you; this is tedious work.   
5. If there was someone who could assemble, organize, upload, and create this package for you, they would rightfully ask to be paid well to do it. However, no one has access to all of this material but you, so you’d be assembling and organizing it just to send it to them anyway. In other words, you’re probably the best person for the job.  

Lackawanna-born John Milosich is the songwriter and ringleader of the Baltimore MD/Lancaster PA-based accordion-powered romp-rock band Featherburn (featherburn.com/bio). He works as an actor-musician in regional and touring plays and has taught various performance disciplines at Franklin & Marshall College, Millersville University, Montgomery College, and for Sin Argollas Productiones in Lima, Peru.  

Photo Credit: Flickr user Steve Louie (source)