Killer Press kits: the 29 key elements in creating sizzling music publicity materials (II)

Continuing from last week’s article

News Release

A news release is a that spells out the nitty-gritty on a specific event or newsworthy topic. Typical subject include a new CD release, a special upcoming show, or a personal appearance at a record store. News releases can also alert the media about upcoming TV show appearances, when a band reaches a noteworthy radio or sales chart status, info on a departing or new band member, etc.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing a news release:

8) Make it longer than one page

Again, brevity is king. Lay out the important facts swiftly and simply. Don’t make your readers wade through paragraph after paragraph of useless verbiage.

9) Limit the scope to one angle

A news release shouldn’t tell your life story. It should cover only one sliver of your activities. Don’t write a release about your new CD and the band’s new singer and the charity show next month. Craft a separate news release for each topic.

10) Put the meaty details up front

The traditional advice on news releases says to include the who, what, where, when and why in the first paragraph. If you can do that in an interesting way, go for it. I’m not such a stickler for that wisdom, but do get to the point early and make sure all basic questions about your topic are answered somewhere in the news release

Artist Bio

As you should know, “bio” is short for “biography.” An effective artist bio gives more detailed background information on the act and spells out the current state of things with your music.

11) A bio should be no longer than two pages

While an artist bio can take up more room to tell your story, don’t think of it as an encyclopedia. I’ve seen many bios that run a few pages, but these usually contain more facts than a media person needs to know. One or two pages at the most is plenty of space to share your musical life. Here are the five elements of a good artist bio:

12) The best band bios read like magazine articles

Like many of the editors you’ll be contacting, I enjoy reading bios that have the feel of a feature story in a newspaper or magazine. I don’t want a list of facts and accomplishments. But I do like to discover those things as I read an interesting tale about your music.

13) Use quotes from key people

A good feature story-type of bio will intersperse exposition with quotes from the main player (or players) in your act. If there is another party involved in your story (such as a nightclub, charity or record store), get quoted from a person at that establishment too. Weaving in positive quotes from published reviews is also acceptable within a bio.

14) Be positive, but don’t over-hype

Your bio should definitely put a positive spin on your musical activities. However, crossing the line and being too boastful can work against you. Writing that your band “has been causing a stir in Chicago with energetic live shows” is cool. Saying you’re “the hottest thing since the Beatles and Elvis” is downright silly.

15) Write your bio as if a publication might run the entire thing

There’s another reason to go easy on the hype. Many small publication may run some or all of your bio as an articles. Most people who run music publications, e-zines and blogs are overworked and underpaid. And there is always a shortage of well-written material to run. Give them something that’s cleanly worded and interesting, and they just might run it as is.

Recorded Music

Your goal with media people is similar to your goal with fans. You want to motivate them to take the time to listen to your music. Listening to – and then enjoying – your songs is what turns casual listeners into diehard fans and indifferent editors into media cheerleaders for your music. Follow the suggestions in this section to improve your chances of getting your music heard by the media.

16) CDs vs. cassettes vs. DVDs

This is another one of those things that should go without saying, but just in case you’re still living in the Dark Ages… After having received many thousands of packages over the years (one music commentator laments), I can tell you that CDs are clearly the format of choice. And for all the obvious reasons: sound quality, convenience, and the ease of cueing up individual tracks.

Some time, just for fun, pop in a cassette you’re not familiar with and try finding the beginning of the second song… then the third song. It’s frustrating and time consuming. So you can imagine how thrilled overworked media people are when they have to awkwardly skip through a tape to get a feel for a new release.

Note: If you think everyone receiving your press kit is going to play your recording all the way through, guess again. Most of them will breeze through it to determine if your album is worth a more in-depth listening. CDs make this process infinitely easier. And that’s your job – to make it as easy as possible for people to give you press, radio airplay, paid gigs, and more.

If you have a music DVD of your act available, I offer you the same warning I used to give regarding VHS videos. It’s hard enough to get media people to spend a couple of minutes listening to your audio-only CD. Expecting they’ll drop everything to turn on a TV or watch your DVD on a computer is risky. So proceed with caution.

If you want to reach a lot of media sources and simply can’t afford to send everyone a CD, do this: Send CDs to your high-priority contacts and places most likely to respond. Send your low-priority contacts a news release, bio and photo. In a cover letter that goes with them, ask the recipient to contact you if they want a free review copy. That way, you send CDs only to the people who really want them.

17) Take off (or at least slice open) the shrink-wrap

It may seem like a minor thing, but it does take some effort to pry off that impenetrable plastic that surrounds new CDs, cassettes and DVDs. Imagine being pressed for time and having to wrestle with a dozen (or more) of these babies at one sitting. Again, make it easy for people to enjoy your music and you will be rewarded!

18) Make sure contact info is on the CD itself and the case it came in

I’ll admit it; I’m a contact information freak. If you’re going to be a lean, mean, self-promotion machine, you must do everything you can to get people (both industry folks and fans) to connect with you. Sending out your press kit and then expecting people to jump through hoops to figure out how to get in touch with you is pure madness.

Reality: Cover letters get separated from bios. Photos get removed from related news releases. CD sleeves drift away from the discs they identify. Put your contact info on everything! Think of your music marketing tools as frisky puppies that love to break from the leash and run away. They need identification tags so the people who find them know who they belong to.