What is an EPK and why every musician needs one

An electronic press kit is an essential part of being a professional musician. Here are all the nitty gritty details to get you started…

by Melanie Kealey from Bandzoogle

As a musician, you need tools for promotion. An EPK is your online resume and musical business card, making it easy for industry professionals to discover who you are.

Included in an EPK are assets to help industry easily understand and promote a band’s music. You’ve likely heard that every artist should have an EPK – let’s look at the reasons you might need one.

What is an EPK?

EPK stands for electronic press kit. An EPK is made up of a band’s bio, music and videos, hi-res photos, album art, social media, and streaming links. It can include other assets as well, such as a list of achievements and awards, or a stage plot.

Is an EPK a website? Some artists opt to build an online EPK for their music, and use that digital page as their online presence. An online EPK is flexible – as your career expands, you will likely want to expand your online homebase and develop a dedicated music website, with specific pages to sell merchandise, offer album pre-orders, post videos, and grow your marketing efforts.

Why do you need an EPK? 

If you’ve got your latest single up on Spotify and a reliable Facebook fan page, you may be wondering why you need an EPK in today’s music industry. Here’s the reason: attention is more fleeting than ever, and you don’t want to make industry professionals dig online to find out about you.

Enter the EPK: as a one-stop package that’s a concise yet comprehensive snapshot of your music career to date.

You can also create an EPK with a specific goal in mind, and use it to further that goal. So for example, if you’re trying to get radio play for an upcoming single, sending details about the song with a preview and a short bio will help a station manager understand your angle. It’ll go further than a simple song link.

7 ways to use an EPK

The beauty of building an EPK on your website is that you can draw from different elements to make a press kit that works for what you’re trying to achieve. You might need each of these use cases for an EPK at different stages in your musical career.

So how can you best use an EPK for your music?

1. To showcase your career

The most common reason to create an EPK is to serve as a professional online resume. It’s like a CV for artists. You want to detail everything about your career to date, and update it as your music evolves.

Your EPK can live on your own artist website. That way you can draw from the content you already have in place online. Plus, then it’s easily accessible to anyone who wants to learn more about you. To see what to include in a general press kit that shows off your career, check out The 8 things that should be in every band’s digital press kit.

2. To book shows

Live music is back, and remains one of the top ways for musicians to make some moneywhile promoting their releases.  Still, booking shows is not always easy–and an EPK will help you stand out from the competition. 

It’ll display your professionalism, and also ensure that a venue owner doesn’t have to dig through a newsfeed to figure out what your live show is like. Make sure to include live video on your EPK, as well as some detail about past shows (if you’ve been tracking numbers of attendees that’s great information to include in your EPK).

3. To advance shows

At some point, shows are booked and the schedule’s set. But if you’ve been performing for a while, you know the work doesn’t end there. To make each show its best, you’ll want to assist the venue in promoting your show and making the event itself as seamless as possible. 

To help with this, use an EPK to advance shows. Be sure to include details that a promoter or venue will need. This includes a concise bio, video, hi-res photos, a stage plot, and a list of the inputs you’ll need.

Make your music stand out with a professional EPK designed for bands. Build an EPK with Bandzoogle today.

4. To offer promotional material for media

There are plenty of opportunities for musicians to get coverage by music bloggers, online reviewers, podcasts, and more. If you are looking to secure press, create an EPK with content specifically for media. This typically includes press-ready images, your full album (plus artwork), and a pitch describing your latest project.

A tip for this type of EPK: a new album or release is the perfect opportunity to re-brand across all of your channels, so make sure your images and tone are consistent everywhere.

5. To get airplay

Many musicians are still looking to connect with fans via airplay on commercial, college, and public radio. You can prepare an EPK that focuses on your new song and then use that EPK link to submit the track for airplay.

With this type of EPK you may want to have full tracks readily available for download. A ‘File List’ feature that includes downloadable links will accomplish this. And you can always password-protect your press kit, especially if you’re promoting your music to radio in advance of the release date.

6. To secure representation

This version of an EPK is similar to a general EPK because it focuses on showing your career in its best light. If you’re looking to get a manager, a booking agent, or catch the attention of a label, use those same assets but tailor your EPK details to stats about followers, online streams, sold out shows, and other numbers. Make sure you tailor the branding and details to the professional you’re contacting.

7. To engage your fans

Engaging fans is the strategy of social media, and hopefully you’ve discovered the platform of your choice to interact with your biggest supporters. But you can also create an EPK as a place for fans to gather. You could add content you wouldn’t post on socials, like candid photos, show posters, and popular tracks for fans to hear.

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Our top three tips to making an effective EPK are: gather only high-quality content, create your press kit with a purpose (or audience) in mind, and update your press kit often. Your musician EPK is like a portfolio: it should show your best work.

Any of these press kits styles can also be made into a downloadable EPK, which might serve you well at a conference, or to send out to bookers.

Now that you know what an EPK is and how helpful it can be, it’s time to add one for your music! It’s a useful tool for any artist or musician.