An EPK (electronic press kit) is a digital collection of your music, artist bio, photos, videos, career highlights, press coverage, and contact information. It gives booking agents, journalists, promoters, labels, playlist curators, and other music industry professionals an easy way to learn about you and your music.

Think of your EPK as your professional music resume.

A good EPK doesn't need to be complicated. It needs to quickly answer a few important questions:

  • Who are you?
  • What does your music sound like?
  • What have you accomplished?
  • What are you currently promoting?
  • Where can someone find your music and content?
  • How can someone contact you?

In this guide, we'll show you how to make an EPK, what to include, what to leave out, and how to tailor your press kit depending on who you're pitching.

EPK Checklist: What Should Be Included?

If you're building an EPK from scratch, start with these essentials:

1) Artist bio: A short introduction to you, your music, and your story

2) Music: 3 - 5 of your strongest or most relevant tracks

3) Videos: Music videos, live performances, or DJ sets

4) Press Photos: Professional, downloadable portrait and landscape images

5) Career Highlights: Notable shows, collaborations, streams, awards, or milestones

6) Press Coverage: Interviews, reviews, features, and notable quotes

7) Current Activity: Upcoming releases, shows, tours or projects

8) Artist Links: Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, and other relevant platforms

9) Contact Information: Booking, press, management, or artist contact details

You don't need an impressive achievement for every category. Especially if you're a newer artist, a concise EPK with great music and accurate information is better than one padded with irrelevant accomplishments.

What Is an EPK and Why Do Musicians Need One?

EPK stands for electronic press kit. It's a digital resource musicians use to provide industry professionals with the information and promotional assets they may need in one convenient place.

EPKs are commonly shared with:

  • Booking agents and venues
  • Music journalists and bloggers
  • Radio stations
  • Promoters and festivals
  • Record labels
  • Managers
  • Playlist curators
  • Other music industry professionals

The purpose of an EPK isn't simply to show off your accomplishments. It's to make the recipient's job easier.

A journalist shouldn't have to dig through Instagram to find a usable press photo. A promoter shouldn't have to search YouTube to figure out what your live show looks like. A booking agent shouldn't have to hunt for an email address. Your EPK should provide those answers quickly.

It also gives you more control over how your artist project is presented. Instead of relying on someone to piece together your identity from Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Google, you can decide which music, visuals, achievements, and stories best represent you.

And you don't need to wait until you're signed or receiving major press coverage to create one. Independent artists can benefit from having an EPK as soon as they begin pitching their music professionally.

What Should You Include in an EPK?

The exact contents of your EPK will depend on where you are in your career and who you're pitching, but most musician EPKs should contain the following sections.

1) A Clear Artist Introduction

Someone opening your EPK should understand who you are almost immediately.

At the top of the page, include your:

  • Artist or band name
  • Genre or musical style
  • Location, if relevant
  • Short artist description

Try to communicate what makes your music distinct, rather than relying entirely on broad genres.

For example: John Doe is an Austin based indie pop artist combining intimate songwriting with atmospheric electronic production and dance influenced rhythms.

That gives the reader more context than simply writing "Indie Pop." Keep this introduction short. Its job is to give someone a quick understanding of your artist identity before they explore the rest of the EPK.

2) Artist Bio

Your artist bio gives you more room to explain your story, sound, and career.

A strong EPK bio might cover:

  • Your musical background
  • Your sound and influences
  • Your story or artistic perspective
  • Important career achievements
  • Notable collaborations
  • Recent releases
  • What you're currently working on

Consider providing a short bio of roughly 75 to 150 words that can be read quickly or used by promoters and media outlets.

More established artists may also want to provide an optional longer bio for journalists, festivals, and other industry professionals who need additional background.

Avoid filling your bio with generic descriptions like "unique," "groundbreaking," or "genre-defying." Specific details about your music and career are usually much more memorable.

3) Your Best Music

Make listening to your music effortless. Feature around 3 to 5 of your strongest or most relevant tracks rather than linking to your entire discography.

The music you prioritize should depend on what you're pitching. If you're promoting a new single, put that song first. If you're approaching a label or manager, feature the tracks that best represent your current direction.

You can link to platforms such as:

  • Spotify
  • Apple Music
  • SoundCloud
  • YouTube
  • Bandcamp

If you're building a web-based EPK, consider embedding a music player so someone can listen without leaving the page. You can also add 1-2 sentences explaining the story, sound, or context behind an important release when that information adds value.

4) Music Videos and Live Performances

Video can demonstrate aspects of your artist project that a recording can't.

Depending on your goals, you might include:

  • Official music videos
  • Live performances
  • Festival footage
  • Acoustic performances
  • DJ sets
  • Other high-quality performance content

If you're pitching venues, festivals, or booking agents, prioritize footage that shows what someone can expect from your live performance. Quality matters more than quantity. One great live video is more useful than five mediocre ones.

5) Professional Press Photos

Include high-quality promotional images that journalists, promoters, festivals, venues, and other industry professionals can actually use.

At minimum, it's helpful to provide:

  • Portrait orientation
  • Landscape orientation
  • High-resolution downloads

You can include studio portraits, live performance photos, and other promotional images as long as they consistently represent your artist brand. Clearly label downloadable files so people don't have to guess which version to use.

6) Career Highlights

Your EPK should give the reader evidence of the momentum you've built.

Depending on your career, highlights might include:

  • Major performances or festivals
  • Supporting established artists
  • Meaningful streaming milestones
  • Notable playlist placements
  • Radio support
  • Awards or nominations
  • Collaborations
  • Sold-out shows
  • Sync placements
  • Significant audience growth

Three impressive and relevant accomplishments are usually more effective than fifteen minor ones. Most importantly, don't inflate your achievements. Fewer legitimate accomplishments build more credibility than a long list of vanity metrics.

7) Press and Media Coverage

If your music has been covered by publications, blogs, radio stations, podcasts, or other reputable media, showcase some of your strongest coverage.

For each feature, you can include:

  • Publication name
  • Short quote
  • Article or interview title
  • Link to the original coverage

Don't copy an entire review into your EPK. Pull out the most useful line and give the reader the option to view the full piece. If you haven't received press coverage yet, that's completely fine. You can simply leave this section out until you have something meaningful to include.

8) Upcoming Shows and Releases

Your EPK should communicate what you're doing now, not only what you've accomplished in the past.

If you're actively performing, list your relevant upcoming shows. If you're promoting a new release, you can include:

  • Song, EP, or album title
  • Release date
  • Cover artwork
  • Relevant credits
  • Short description
  • Streaming or private listening link

Keep this section current and remove dates or campaigns once they're no longer relevant.

Make it easy for someone to explore your presence online.

Depending on where you're active, link to platforms such as:

  • Spotify
  • Apple Music
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • SoundCloud
  • Bandcamp
  • Your official website

You don't need to include every account you've ever created. Prioritize the platforms where you're active and where your audience actually engages with you.

10) Contact Information

If someone likes what they see, the next step should be obvious.

Include the appropriate contact information for:

  • General inquiries
  • Booking
  • Press
  • Management

If you don't have a manager, booking agent, or publicist, using an artist or band email address is perfectly fine.

Tailor Your EPK to Your Goal

Not everyone opening your EPK is looking for the same thing. A venue evaluating you for a show has different priorities than a journalist considering covering your new single. While you don't necessarily need to build an entirely different EPK for every pitch, you should make the most relevant information easy to find.

Examples:

1) Venues, Festivals, and Booking Agents - Prioritize your live performances, music, preious shows, audience proof, booking contact

2) Press and Music Blogs - Prioritize your story, current release(s), press photos, bio, and notable achievements

3) Labels and Managers - Priortize your best music, artis positioning, audience growth, and career momentum

The principle is simple: build your EPK around the decision you want the recipient to make. If you're trying to get booked, prove that you're worth seeing live. If you're pitching a journalist, give them a compelling story and the assets needed to cover it.

How to Make an EPK Step by Step

Now that you know what belongs in an EPK, it's time to turn those assets into something professional, easy to navigate, and easy to share.

Step 1: Decide Who You're Pitching

Start with your goal. Are you trying to book shows, get press coverage, promote a new release, or connect with labels and managers?

Your audience should influence which parts of your EPK receive the most attention. You don't necessarily need a completely different EPK for every person you contact, but the information most relevant to your goal should be easy to find.

Step 2: Choose Your EPK Format

Decide where your EPK will live. For most artists, a dedicated page on your website is a strong option because it's easy to share, update, and access from different devices.

You can also use an EPK builder or create a PDF as a secondary downloadable version. The best format is the one that makes your EPK easy for someone else to access.

Step 3: Organize Your EPK

Put the information someone is most likely to care about near the top. A simple structure could look like:

1) Artist name and introduction
2) Latest or strongest music
3) Career highlights
4) Video
5) Artist bio
6) Press and promotional assets
7) Contact information

There's no single required order. If you're pitching for live shows, for example, you may want to move your performance video higher on the page. The goal is to make your strongest and most relevant material easy to find.

Step 4: Make It Easy to Scan

Industry professionals may not read every word of your EPK.

Be sure to use:

  • Clear headings
  • Short paragraphs
  • Simple navigation
  • Obvious buttons and links
  • Enough spacing between sections

Avoid turning your EPK into a wall of text. Someone should be able to scan the page quickly and understand the essentials of your artist project.

Step 5: Make Your Assets Easy to Access

Don't just display your promotional materials. Make them easy for someone to actually use.

If you include press photos, provide downloadable high-resolution versions. If you link to your music, send people directly to the relevant song, release, or artist profile. If you provide artwork or other media assets, clearly label the files. Every unnecessary click creates friction.

Step 6: Test It on Desktop and Mobile

Before sending your EPK, open it on multiple devices.

Check that:

  • Music plays correctly
  • Videos load
  • Images download
  • Links work
  • Text is readable
  • The page loads properly
  • Contact information is accurate

It's also worth sending the EPK link to yourself and opening it from an email or message. This lets you experience it the same way a booking agent, journalist, promoter, or other recipient might.

Step 7: Keep Your EPK Updated

Your EPK isn't something you build once and forget about.

Update it when you:

  • Release new music
  • Announce important shows or tours
  • Receive notable press coverage
  • Reach a meaningful career milestone
  • Add new promotional photos
  • Change your artist branding
  • Change management or booking contacts

Even when nothing major has changed, review your EPK every few months for broken links, old dates, outdated statistics, and information that no longer represents your artist project.

FAQs

What does EPK mean?

EPK stands for Electronic Press Kit, a digital portfolio that showcases an artist’s music, bio, press coverage, and promotional materials for industry professionals.

How do I make my own EPK?

You can create an EPK using a dedicated page on your website, a PDF, or platforms like Sonicbids and ReverbNation. Include essential elements like your bio, music samples, press photos, and contact info.

What should an EPK look like?

An EPK should be clean, professional, and easy to navigate. Your EPK should have clear sections for your music, bio, press features, and visuals. Keep it visually appealing and mobile-friendly.

What is a good substitute for an EPK?

If you don’t have a formal EPK, you can use a well-organized Linktree, a Google Drive folder with key assets, or a detailed social media bio with essential links.

Final Thoughts

Your EPK is your digital business card in the music industry. Crafting a professional, easy-to-access press kit will make it easier for industry professionals to discover, book, and promote you. Take the time to build a strong EPK, and you’ll be one step closer to growing your music career.

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