Music Marketing Tip: Assembling Your Press Kit
Last week we talked about some ways to promote your band to the online audience and members of the media, definitely important parts of the music marketing process. But you still need to get your music out there, and a great way to do this is with a solid press kit you can send out to radio stations, venues, record executives, and others in the music industry. Your press kit should include your bio, photos, a demo, and anything else you want the world to know about your band. If you can't afford to send out a demo to all of your contacts, prioritize your list and send only your bio, photos, and other information to the lower priority list, leaving the demos to be sent to the more important contacts. You can include a cover letter with the lower priority recipients telling them to contact you if they're interested in receiving a free demo of your music. This way, you'll only give out your demos to those that are really interested in them. Here are my top 2 tips for assembling your press kit, things you may overlook but should prove helpful:
Remove the shrink wrap from your demo. This may seem petty and unimportant, but when was the last time you had a stack of unopened CDs piled up on your desk, waiting for you to crack into them so you could start listening? It's probably not happened to you, but for music professionals it's a pretty common occurrence, a necessary irritation before they can even start listening to demos. So remove the shrink wrap from your demo before you send it and you'll save the recipient the hassle of wrestling with that impenetrable packaging before they can get to the good stuff. It is, after all, about making it as easy as possible for the new audience to hear your music!
Include your contact information everywhere. Whether your music marketing goals are to get more radio play, a record deal, book more venues, or just recruit more fans, you don't want those interested to have to fish through your media kit for your contact information. Instead, treat all the individual parts of your press kit like they're completely independent of each other. This way if your cover letter and photos get mixed up with someone else's demo and bio, there won't be any confusion.
When you're assembling your promo kit it's all about making it as easy as possible for your audience to hear your music and contact you. Have fun assembling it, and don't be afraid to let your unique personality as a band show through your press materials. In fact, the more ways you can stand out from the other bands, the better.