Making a decent EPK

Hi guys,

So I read the article on DJTT about EPKs, and while I already had a portfolio, it made me realise that there is actually a lot of stuff missing from mine and on top of that, it had a hard-to-read design to it which would have freaked anyone out.

I am in the process of creating a new one, but there were a few things I was wondering, for example i've seen a lot of glitzy EPKs made in Flash. I can use Flash and am tempted to throw in some attractive effects, etc - but is this the way forward? I'm aware that lots of bookings companies and ents departments are sat at work computers and probably don't even have Flash installed and need a dreaded admin password to do so, or is this irrelevant nowadays?

What's more important, flashy effects in an EPK or a to-the-point layout which takes minimal time to load but is limited to Photoshop graphics?

It would be great to get some of your opinions, and also if you wanna show off your EPKs then it'd be sweet to see them :o)

Cheers,

Bowers

or make a flash movie and then export it as a video file like an AVI or something, that way you get around any flash player problems. I am currently updating my EPK and am doing something simmilar with some video footage of some gigs and some info in between, using flash. i wouldnt go nuts on the effects, just enough to make it stand out a bit... as long as anyone who sees it can clearly get the information they need from it.

Yeah my thoughts exactly! I was gonna make the entire micro-site in Flash but then I thought compatibility should come first lol

Oh god, I started this yesterday morning as an hour-off thing from revising for my final year uni exams, but i've been playing around since lol my baaaad ;-)

haha... good luck with it all mate...

just a few other tips, well what im planning on doing anyway...

1. instead of giving your stuff to them on a CD, give all the media related stuff to them on a USB stick... who uses CD's these days. Sure, give them a promo CD or 2 with just music on them, but when theyre looking at your EPK, its nice to have an "ALL IN ONE" media package that has everything they need on it, in an easy format. you can find on line stores where you can bulk buy large amounts of USB sticks for under a dollar each.

2.On the USB, also have a few mixes, productions and whatever else you may like to put on there, like past promo flyers, promo pictures and stuff like that...

3. Make an "offline website" that you put on the USB stick, which can be accessed directly from the stick, without needing an internet connection. Use this website as kind of like your resume, with links down the side like say "bio" "past events" "mixes/productions" "media"... this is your actual EPK

4. have the video/s embedded in the self contained "offline" web page in say the "media" section or embed it on the home page, and also make an intro video for your "home page" kind of like, it shows the intro video before they can get into the EPK, that way it gives them a taste of what your about before they even look at the rest of the stuff, and if youve done it well, it can look very professional.

5. If you want to go this far, (I am with mine anyways), have a bunch of lenyards made up for the USB sticks with your DJ name/logo , and contact details. people LOVE shit like that... there like OOH FREE USB STICK WITH A COOL LENYARD!!!

6. there are programs available that lets you "permanantly encrypt" files onto USB sticks. So even if they try to delete your files or format the USB stick, all your stuff will still be on there. the only way you can get them off the stick is by using the program to unencrypt them. chances are, the people you give the sticks to definately wont have the program or know how to do this. They can still use the rest of the space on the USB stick how they wish, but your stuff will allways be there as a constand reminder to them of how awesome you are. (im not too savy on this but my mate who studied IT at uni showed me this and is helping me out with doing this, but im sure if you took the time it wouldnt be too complicated, once its set up, its just click and go) With the program that he showed me, you can do this to heaps of usb sticks in quick succession, you just select the target "drive" or USB slot, plug the stick in, press a button in the program, wait about 2-3 minutes till its done, take the stick out, rince, repeat. the program he uses can even permanantly encrypt the USB stick's Drive name to say your DJ name or something, and even permanantly encrypt the Icon, to say your logo. if this interests you let me know and ill ask my mate what the programs called, and if its free or not...

if your really handy with flash, im pretty sure there is a way to create a flash file with a self contained flash player within it, so they wouldnt even need the latest version of flash to run it.

tagged for later :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Filterkat

They can still use the rest of the space on the USB stick how they wish, but your stuff will allways be there as a constand reminder to them of how awesome you are.

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Nice! :D

hey.

Some side notes. To be completely honest and not to knock down the USB idea, people actually don't like that. I've made epk's for a ton of musicians and what people really like is easy and quick access.

Promoters, A&R, and Marketing agents, don't want knick knacks. They want to see the info quickly because they are busy.

The fact of the mater is that those USB sticks will wind up in a desk or trash.

Put a lot of time into creating a website. That's really what an EPK is. On the website you can put your images and videos, and while people can't view this offline, it's still the best way. You don't need to worry about offline anymore, the truth of the matter is, if you are giving them a USB stick or any other media they still need a computer to view it, and chances are if they are viewing this on a computer there will be internet access.

Use the money you would use for the USB sticks to hire a coder. Or even look into word press.

If you want to invest in a giveaway. Invest in a t-shirt. It's the one thing people still go ape shit over. Not necessarily for the promoters but for your fans at the club. If the promoter see's that people are rocking your shirts they will know that people like you and that you have a fanbase.

No disrespect to the other post and feel free to follow that advice as it is not necessarily bad advice. I'm just speaking from personal experience with design, promo, and A&R.

Good luck with your EPK. Let us know how it goes.

i totally agree with this, its important to have your own website, and for that to be your EPK, I dont have to pay for a coder because i can do web design myself, so im saving a lot of cash there... but on the other hand, giving them a USB with ALL of your media on it is a great way to give them everything youve done, in one neat tiny package. And if you can put your website on the USB stick as well and make it available offline, i dont see why it wouldnt be a good idea.

T-shirts, been there done that, but like you said, the only people that care about it are the clubbers, not the owners/managers or promoters... My plan is to have a website, Buisness Card, a paperback hard-copy version of my EPK, 2-3 demo CD's, USB stick... all in a little pack that i can easily give to contacts/managers/club owners of potential venues.

money isnt really an issue for me, so i thought id try this USB thing out, and for the few times i have trialed it already, the USB seemed to have worked really well... recently... 3 of 5 of the venues that contacted me, the guy said "hey man, i liked the thing you did with the USB stick" one even asked where i had gotten it done.

so while i agree its really important to have a proper website, which im currently working on at the moment, Its also important to have different ways of promoting.

Ive been doing my own club nights for about 4 years now, promoting them myself, sometimes with the help of other DJ's taking part... and ive never had anyone comment on anything ive done yet promotion wise (accept for 1 or 2 minor acceptions, but i wont go into that now) until the USB sticks. Flyers/shirts/websites/blogs/promo CD's... everyones done all that. People like new stuff... if you can find different, interesting ways of promoting... thats whats going to get you noticed.


i once did a gig where i booked a huge lazer tag venue as the spot for the venue. i bought a bunch of cheap lazer pointers from the markets for 99c each, and attatched all the info about the night onto the keyring attatched to the back... sure enough... the place was packed... and there were lazer pointers shooting lazers around everywhere on the night... it probably helped the fact that i had "show your lazer pointer and this card to receive a free drink at the bar" written on the card attatched.

I agree with you, its important to have traditional and more professional methods of promotion, but sometimes its the cheap, quirky, gimmicky stuff, that attracts people and gets you noticed...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Filterkat

i totally agree with this, its important to have your own website, and for that to be your EPK, I dont have to pay for a coder because i can do web design myself, so im saving a lot of cash there... but on the other hand, giving them a USB with ALL of your media on it is a great way to give them everything youve done, in one neat tiny package. And if you can put your website on the USB stick as well and make it available offline, i dont see why it wouldnt be a good idea.

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It's totally a good idea. But a PDF would do the same thing. Viewable offline. You can add click commands if you want to add audio, video or anything else. And people can view a pdf on literally any platform. Even smartphones. which is rapidly becoming the main platform, especially people in the music business. you can't plug in a usb drive into a smartphone, nor would anyone want to go through that trouble. But you can view a site (mobile site would be a good thing to add to the list) on a phone and also download your offline pdf epk.

I'm not sure if the original poster is a web coder like yourself to his story may be different.

I think the only thing that should be printed is a business card. Take it from a "print designer." People don't care about printed matter anymore.

I've been in this game for 10 years. Trust me. I've done work for Madonna, Murs, Dubspot, and DJTT. I'm just trying to save the original poster of this thread time and money. But def do what works for you. Kudos to Filterkat for making the usb thing work for him.

Again Good luck with your promotion ventures. Find the right media for you.

Wow thanks guys, a lot of great comments here :)