Putting together an effective press kit can be paramount when it comes to a bands success. Industry professionals receive hundreds upon hundreds of press kits every week. It is important to make sure your band’s press kit stands out amongst the rest. There are a few simple guidelines that if followed properly will ensure your band’s press kit grabs the attention of record labels, promoters, and club owners you’re trying to impress.
Photography is among one of the most important components involved in constructing an effective press kit. Your image can make or break you in the music business. This is a widely known fact, but for some reason many bands continue to ignore it. Make sure your band photo is the first thing people see when they open your press kit, and make sure it looks GOOD! Your press photo should be a flawless 8×10 shot that looks like it came off the cover of Rolling Stone. Do whatever it takes to get a good photo, even if that means paying big bucks to hire a professional fashion photographer. Trust me, it will be worth it in the end.
Keep your biography simple and professional. The biography section of your press kit should not be an actual “biography.” No body cares about where you grew up, or how old you were when you wrote your first song, or what your favorite color is, or how you came up with your band name. The only information that should be in your bio is the name of your band, who the members are, how long you’ve been together, what you have accomplished to date, and a short description of your music. Your biography should be no more than one or two paragraphs.
Make sure you have a good archive of press and reviews. Keep that simple, as well. Instead of including every article ever written about your band, just find the best quotes from each one. If there is one review that stands out above the rest, include a Xerox copy of the original printing. This will add validity to the review. If you have been fortunate enough to have hundreds of good write-ups on your band, only include the best ones. Remember, the idea is to keep each section less than one page. You can always add a note at the bottom of the page saying, “More press clipping available upon request.”
Make sure your demo is actually a “demo.” what I mean by that, is don’t send out a CD with twelve songs on it. No one is going to listen to it. Only send out your three best songs, period. Sometimes bands like to send out retail ready CD’s because they are proud of the artwork and the packaging looks impressive. That’s fine, but make sure you still include a track sheet that clearly identifies which songs to listen to.
Make sure your press kit is assembled neatly. Don’t just throw everything into an envelope and stick it in the mail. Find a nice folder to put everything in, or come up with a creative way for the recipient to easily browse through the contents. Think of your press kit as a resume or a job application. You wouldn’t hand in a stack of unorganized, handwritten papers as your resume for a job you’re trying to get, would you? Then why would you do that with your press kit? Record labels, booking agencies, and venues are businesses. They’re looking for professional acts that will make them money. If your press kit is sloppy and unprofessional, they’re going to assume your band is sloppy and unprofessional, and move on to the next one.
Last but not least, be as creative as possible. Like I said earlier, your band’s press kit is competing with hundreds, maybe even thousands of others. Try to come up with an idea that will make your’s stand out in the pile of unopened press kits. Come up with a clever or unique way of packaging your press kit, so that it is eye grabbing. Maybe if you’re U2 (not that they need to mail out press kits) you can get away with a plain, brown envelope, because as soon as the recipient sees “U2” on the package, they will know who you are; but you’re not U2. You’re just some unknown band that is trying to make a name for itself. Do whatever it takes to get your band noticed.
