An Electronic Press Kit (EPK) is an artist’s resume in digital form. It is a short video usually ranging anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes that introduces you, your background and who you are as an artist.
An EPK is a bio on you or your band that features some of your songs either playing in the background or clips of performances. A key component of an EPK is the interview segments that should detail who you are, what your goals are and your style of music. Once produced it is something you can post on a video sharing site like YouTube or Vimeo, display on your personal website or host in a Dropbox location so you can easily share the link with industry professionals, record labels or journalists. It is a single piece of work that encompasses everything people need to know about you in a nutshell.
An Electronic Press Kit (EPK) is a visual resume for an artist. A text resume won’t necessarily work for a musician since it is hard to convey your style of music, your personality and how you connect with an audience on paper. You can probably list your skills as a performer but ultimately it is how you present yourself and perform that will sell an audience or an industry professional on your talent.
The ultimate goal of an EPK is to build a personality, intrigue, and a backstory so people will begin to pay attention and follow your career. Showcasing yourself as a talented singer and/or songwriter with experience in your genre will give you some credibility and show people what you can do. An EPK allows you to develop these aspects, emphasize your talent and introduce you to an audience. The interview mixed with performance style can be key to shaping your career and the story you want to sell.
When you start promoting yourself or people start hearing your name, you want them to search for you and what do you want them to find? Discovering an EPK is key to showcasing you as a talented artist. It is a quick, easy and to the point medium for people to watch and understand who you are. Giving people something that doesn’t require a huge time investment but still gets your story across is important.
Some components you should consider including in an EPK:
- Interview segments
- Songs – either playing in the background or clips of live performances
- Behind the scenes footage
- Personal story
It doesn’t need to focus too much on your music as you can still direct people to your YouTube channel to listen to full videos of you performing. You can shape an EPK to contain segments personal to you so it reflects your style. Ultimately, you want it to present you in the best way possible and serve as an effective promotional tool.