How to create a band or solo artist Media Kit?

4 min readAug 3, 2019

Are you a band or solo artist looking to get more exposure with a band spanking new Media Kit?

A Media Kit, EPK (Electronic Press Kit) or one-sheet in PDF format is a digital pamphlet containing essential information about your band. The aim of your Media Kit is to attract interest from prospective managers, agencies, record labels and maybe even gather interest from venues or festivals (Glastonbury knock knock) that are looking to book a band like yours.

A Media Kit is different to your website or facebook page. Your website can be as ‘out there’ as you like, whereas a Media Kit should be more logical in terms of the actual content. Although you can tailor your style to capture your readers’ attention, the design will preferably match your website’s branding by using similar colours and fonts.

Your Media Kit is like one big elevator pitch so it’s normal to focus on your band’s strengths. But don’t overdo it with any fake news that can easily be cross-checked.

Before you create your Media Kit

It’s worth considering your Media Kit’s main objective before you spend time building one. Ask yourself these questions before you start:

Are you trying to promote a new release?
Are you trying to get new gigs?
Are you trying to play clubs?
Are you trying to get new gigs at festivals?
Do you want to play at weddings and other events?
Do you want to play at corporate events?

Once you have answered these questions you can figure out who you are actually pitching to, and then steer the content towards your target audience.

What to include?

Bio

A summary of you and your music. It should be concise and easy-to-read. Include information such as your band name, where you’re from and any significant achievements you had to date. For example:

Iona is singer-songwriter based in Lisbon. Her songwriting and production skills have led to her first self-written production release, kicking off with the first single “Trying to Kill Me” (out on June 31st) from the debut album “At War With Myself” (to be released later this year).

Your bio could be the deciding factor as to whether or not people continue reading more about your band. So don’t be afraid to sell yourself.

As you can see, Iona’s bio is written in the third person and this seems to be the standard.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a lot to say: everyone can appreciate new bands might not have a big story so it’s fine to keep it short and sweet to begin with.

Photo

You should include a high-resolution photo of your band that represents your band’s image. Ideally taken by a professional music photographer from a recent gig.

If you don’t have any decent photos to hand, don’t be afraid to scour your fans’ pages or ask your friends. With today’s advanced mobile cameras you might be surprised with the image quality you find.

News/Gigs

All the major gigs you’ve played in the previous twelve months.

If you’ve got a tour date planned talk about it in this section. If you’re a new artist without any relevant gigs, just include upcoming gigs. Alternatively you could write about your first release or what you’re band are currently up to.

Social Media

Add your social media accounts along with the number of followers you have. This gives people reading your Media Kit an accurate representation of how popular your band is.

Link to websites such as SoundCloud that can stream your music for your readers to have a listen.

Contact Details

If you have a label manager or booking agent, put their details in your contact section.

Place your website and email address in clear visible places on your Media Kit. Treat any individual reading your Media Kit as lazy. Managers review hundreds of Media Kits a week, therefore it’s important people can find your contact details easily.

If you include a contact link to your website, make sure any contact forms are working and that at least one member of your band is checking the inbox regularly.