The Essentials of Press Kits for Bands and Musicians
You’ve worked hard to get your album perfect and you’re ready to start booking shows! What an exciting time, but where do you start? Music marketing and promotion are the next steps. You need a press kit so you can professionally introduce yourself to potential venues. A press kit is a way for you to sell your music by providing information and samples in a succinct packet. If you’re wondering exactly what you should you put in it, here are a few items that are very beneficial to any press kit for bands and musicians.
High Resolution Photo
Putting a face with a name will make you more memorable. Include a picture of your band and be sure the photo is big enough that your customers can clearly see it. Consider having your band’s logo placed on the photo to add authenticity. Some bands will even include a few professionally printed posters so the venue can hang them up when they’ve booked a show. These prove you are serious about promoting your music. Also, providing posters and photos that you’ve created is safer than leaving it up to the venue, since the venue might print lower quality posters.
Artist Biography
One essential of music marketing is to tell your story. Create an artist biography that tells a compelling one. It should be a quick summary of your career. This is where you get to brag about your band and all your big moments. Paint a picture of how you got to where you are now and what your dreams are for the future. Write about the history of your music and band members so that the venue owner will have a better idea of who you are and what your mission is. If you’ve had articles written about you or your band before, you may want to include them here as well.
Product Sample
Include a CD with your songs. When it comes to music promotion, nothing sells your talent more than the music itself. Make sure you are sending out a high quality recording. Pick your best pieces. You don’t want to give them all of your work; you want to leave them wanting more! Pick no more than 3 songs to show what you can do and don’t forget to include your lyrics. Be sure to create a label for the top of the CD. When it’s tossed in with others, you’ll want yours to stand out amongst the crowd.
Business Card
Contact information is by far the most important, so including a business card in your band press kit is a must. Your logo, band name, website, phone number and email are must-haves. You should also add your social media sites to the back of your business cards so contacts can easily follow you.
Be sure you include your band’s name, logo, and email address on everything else in your press kit as well though. The people who look at these press kits are usually in a hurry and have quite a few to look through. CDs get taken out of folders. Photos get misplaced around the office. Things can easily get mixed up, but if you have your logo and band name on everything, you have a better chance of an organized kit that people can keep together.
Folder
You’ll need something to keep all of the contents of your press kit together and organized. When making a first impression, remember that professionalism goes a long way. For maximum impact, create custom pocket folders to keep your stuff together with some fun graphics or even a band photo on the front. Be sure that all your contents fit neatly inside. You don’t want to risk something falling out and getting lost. To keep everything in your pocket folder in its place and highlight the important pieces, consider adding a business card slot to one pocket and cd slot to the other.
Once you decide all the elements you need, and you’ve designed your art work, have your favorite online printing company print the items for you so you have a professionally finished piece. When it comes to making press kits for bands, keeping it professional really does matter. You never get a second chance at a first impression.
Once you’ve sent out a few of your newly designed press kits, be sure to follow up. Nothing says you’re serious about getting the job like a good old-fashioned phone call.
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