What should I
include
in an EPK?
Your EPK is your first impression. Make it count with the right elements, nothing more, nothing less.
An EPK (Electronic Press Kit) is the document, or more accurately, the page, that tells a promoter everything they need to know about you in under a minute. Get it right and it does the selling for you. Get it wrong and it becomes the reason you don't hear back.
What promoters need to see in under 60 seconds
The first thing a promoter needs is immediate genre clarity. They should be able to tell within five seconds what kind of music you play and whether you're even in the right ballpark for their event. Your bio, your photos, and any track listing should all communicate the same thing. If a promoter has to guess your genre, you've lost them.
The second thing is a quick sense of your professionalism. Not whether you're famous, whether you take your craft seriously. Clean photos, clear writing, and a well-organised page all signal this before a single note is heard. A low-effort EPK suggests a low-effort performer.
Third: they need to hear a sample without clicking away. Embedded audio that plays directly on the page, not a redirect to SoundCloud, not a download link. Thirty to ninety seconds is enough. If your music fits their night, they'll seek out more. If it doesn't, no length of sample will change that.
Finally, they need a booking contact in one click. Not buried in a footer. Not a contact form that requires five fields. An email address, visible and easy to find. Every extra step between "I want to book this person" and "I've sent them a message" loses bookings.
It's worth noting that the EPK's job is not to tell your full story, it's to clear enough obstacles that a promoter wants to continue the conversation. The most effective EPKs are short and decisive. Resources like Hypebot have covered this consistently: artists who over-explain in their pitch materials fare worse than those who lead with clarity and let their music do the rest.
Common EPK mistakes
The most damaging EPK mistake is using a PDF. PDFs don't load reliably on mobile, they sit in email inboxes as attachments that get ignored, they can't be updated without resending, and they can't embed audio. A live URL is always superior. If your EPK is a PDF, it's already working against you.
Including too much irrelevant information is the second most common mistake. A promoter doesn't need your full biography, your influences, your equipment list, and five paragraphs about your musical journey. They need the short version: who you are, what you play, where you've played, and how to contact you. Everything else is noise.
Outdated photos are a silent credibility killer. Photos from a different era of your career, different look, different name, different genre, create confusion and suggest you're not actively maintaining your presence. Two or three current, well-lit photos are worth more than a gallery of outdated ones.
No music on the page itself is a surprisingly common issue. Linking to a SoundCloud profile is not the same as having embedded audio. Promoters won't open a separate tab. If your music doesn't play on the page, your EPK isn't working as hard as it should be.
One more mistake worth naming: not having a dedicated EPK at all and sending a Linktree instead. A link aggregator built for fans is not a substitute for a structured professional page. They answer different questions for different audiences.
The right way to structure your EPK
A short, punchy bio
Two to three sentences max. Who you are, what you play, and where you've performed. No life story, no adjectives like "passionate" or "versatile." State the facts clearly and let your music do the rest. A concise bio reads as confident; a long one reads as insecure.
Music samples (embedded, not download links)
A 30–90 second clip that immediately conveys your style. It should play on the page without any redirection. SoundCloud or Mixcloud embeds work well for this. Promoters won't download files, and they won't click through to external players, but they will press play if the button is right in front of them.
High-quality photos
At least two or three professional or semi-professional shots. One performance photo and one portrait is a solid minimum. They need to be well-lit and current. A modern smartphone in decent lighting produces results good enough for an EPK, the key is quality over quantity.
Past events and venues
A list of where you've played signals credibility. Even small local venues count, they show you're actively working, not waiting for your big break. A promoter seeing a recognisable venue name in your history is a significant trust signal. Document every gig and add it to your list.
A direct booking contact
Your email or a booking form. Make it completely obvious. "Book me" with one click is the goal. This should be the most visible element on your EPK after your name, because it's the only element that turns an interested promoter into an actual booking.
How to keep your EPK working for you over time
An EPK is not a one-time task, it's a living document. Update it after every significant gig. Add the venue to your past events list. Swap in a newer photo if you've had a better shoot. Refresh your bio if anything meaningful has changed about your sound or your positioning. A stale EPK with events from two years ago signals inactivity, which is the opposite of what you want a promoter to think.
Keep your bio current. If you were primarily playing house music two years ago and you've shifted to techno, your bio should reflect where you are now, not where you were. Genre clarity matters at every stage of your career.
Think of your EPK as the anchor for all your professional outreach. Every pitch email you send, every follow-up, every booking inquiry should point back to the same page. This means the quality of that page directly affects the conversion rate of everything else you do. A strong EPK compounds over time: each gig you add makes the next pitch more credible. Independent artist platforms like CD Baby reinforce the same principle for distributed music, the more consistently you maintain your profile, the more professional traction you build.
If you haven't built your EPK yet, start with our guide on how to create a press kit fast. And if you're not sure how to present yourself visually without a design background, see our guide on how to look professional without a designer.
Frequently asked questions
How long should my EPK bio be?
Two to three sentences for the short version, up to one short paragraph for the full version. Promoters don't read long bios. Lead with the most important information, your genre, your positioning, and your most notable past gigs. Cut everything else.
Should my EPK be a PDF or a link?
Always a link. PDFs don't load on mobile, get lost in email, and can't be updated. A live URL is always current, always accessible, and can embed audio and video in a way a PDF never can. If your EPK is currently a PDF, replacing it with a live page should be your first priority.
Do I need professional photos for my EPK?
Not necessarily professional-photographer photos, but they need to be clean and well-lit. Two or three good smartphone photos beat ten blurry ones. Find a well-lit space, ask a friend to take the shots, and choose the two or three where the lighting is clear and your expression is natural.
Should I include press quotes or reviews in my EPK?
Yes, if you have them. A line from a blog review, a quote from a venue booker, or a mention in a local publication all add credibility. Keep them brief, one or two sentences each, and only include quotes that are specific and genuine. Generic praise ("amazing DJ, 10/10") adds nothing. Specific, sourced endorsements ("played to a packed room at [venue], will have them back" from an actual booker) carry real weight.
BookedKit structures all of this for you, so you don't have to figure out the format from scratch.
BookedKit structures all of this for you, bio, music, photos, past shows, and booking link, into one polished, shareable profile. No design skills needed.
Build your EPK free