Making
a band promo kit: Without
an effective, attractive, and concise press kit, you're music
has a much better chance of being heard by the trash man
than the producer. This band press
kit sample is
the first, and often last impression a club owner, radio
program director or CD reviewer gets of you or your band. The
saying is old but never more accurate, you never get a second
chance to make a first impression.
You'll
be hard pressed to find a press kit as nicely designed and
assembled as ours, we haven't. Especially in short
run production, Velo-bound, and this inexpensive! No loose
pieces to fall out and get thrown out. We will set you up
with a quality, full color layout that carries a central
theme, has a custom printed color front and back protected
by clear plastic covers, and all interior sheets are printed
in full color. This kit is attractive, informative,
and clean. It will cost you less than color photo copies
at a major copy center and look so much better.
We
will review and polish your bio or write one for you from
scratch if you need. If you don't have any press articles
written about you, don't sweat it. We can help you
there too. We have a staff of experienced writers who
have written hundreds of press releases for regional and
even international publications (click
here for sample). We
can easily pad your press kit and aid you in how to distribute
your press releases and get them printed in your area.
Random Band Press Kit
Tips from industry experts:
If you're doing press on your own
band, the big mistake I've seen is putting too much
stuff in the presskit. Don't include the calendar
listing from the Village Voice the one time you played
CBGB's. Every band has played CBGB's. It's not a
big deal.
If you do have a bunch of good reviews,
excerpt the best lines so you can fit five reviews
onto one page. Unless it's a rave review in a substantial
magazine, just do a quote sheet for the bulk of them.
Also, you should assume that all music
writers and industry people are irritable, overworked,
stuck up, lazy, and uninterested in doing the work
it takes to discover good new music. Make it easy
for them. Don't give them too much information.
Perhaps the key component in establishing
a professional image is what materials are used in
the packaging. Be realistic about what you can afford
but remember that in the music industry the first
impression can mean life or death.
Likewise a good publicity photo will
get a lot of mileage. And similar to the logo it
pays to research publicity photographs of other musicians
It's important to portray your selves
as a professional artist, moving
up, making strides, and developing your fan base. Industry types that
receive press kits on a regular basis are looking for substantial,
legitimate press and promotional materials,. Materials that reflect
your
band's progress. NOT FLUFF! Fluff only serves to show that you don't
have genuine credentials. THIS DOES NOT WORK! Industry people know
in an instant what credible press is and can spot fluff a mile away.
Quote sheets can be a useful addition
to a demo/promo/press kit. It is simply a document
that lists positive comments about you or your music,
made by various professionals.
The goal of the press kit is twofold:
The factual information within is sufficient for
journalists to base an article or review upon, while
the editorial content of the artist's biography leaves
enough room for a certain element of hype--above
all else, the end result of the press kit is to generate
interest for the artist. The press kit serves as
the "mouthpiece," the salesman pitching
the performer du jour
