For this assignment, I chose to create an EPK as I thought it would be the most helpful in advancing my knowledge in advertising myself as a musician. When starting my EPK, I felt it was ideal to think about the mood my music creates and transform that into a page that represents me, mainly through the colour palette, layout and images that I feel best represent me as a musician. I decided that my intended audiences would range from performance venues such as jazz clubs, hotels and restaurants, to more of an educational based audience, such as jazz camps and youth programs, therefore I included images that show me playing at the BBC youth proms with a jazz association, and include in my future ambitions that I feel passionate about not only performing but also music tuition and music therapy. To also successfully reach my intended audience as a jazz musician, I thought it would be appropriate to think about the overall aesthetic of jazz in the 1900’s compared to the present day, and the take a deeper insight into how to advertise the development of jazz music. When I think of jazz music, I think of classy, discreet colours, specifically darker shades, such as navy, cool tones, or even black and white. Some of the great jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Ella Fitzgerald all used black and white photography with accents of colour to make certain elements stand out, such as titles, headings and their name. However, present jazz musicians, for example Jamie Cullum, uses more vibrant colours in their images used, but with a similar layout in terms of a big, vibrant title, an engaging, sophisticated photograph of the artist, and a unique, bold font. This is shown particularly in the photography in ‘The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum’¹ with bright, bold colours still with a sophisticated yet classy look which I found heavily inspiring. In terms of style of playing, I really enjoy blending the style of musicians such as Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson, but experimenting with adding my own unique, modern style, making it appropriate for me to combine the aesthetic of 1900’s jazz advertisement with modern jazz advertisement, which displays my love for a range of different styles of jazz, my ability to play different styles, which demonstrates to venues I enjoy adapting to and experimenting with a plethora of styles of music. Whilst creating my EPK, I found that I struggled to find a range of good quality images which I feel makes an EPK look more professional and allows an artist to appear experienced and advanced in their industry. This evoked the idea of potentially finding a photographer to photograph performances I take part in or even ensuring when I am performing to take more photos of the band or photos backstage, expanding my style of images from just being on stage, almost meaning the images included in my EPK take the viewer on a journey, which evoke the idea of me having photographs taken whilst in a recording studio with my quartet and trio. Whilst in a recording studio, I asked a friend to take photos of me playing, which portrays me in a professional, behind the scenes way and allows my images to appear more interesting and less repetitive. Furthermore, I asked a friend to be a videographer for my playing in the recording studio, to ensure I didn’t only include images but also videos for more variation and so that industry professionals that are interested in my EPK can also listen to my playing for further information as to who I am as a musician. Also, this will make my EPK appear more thought out and put together, by including many different aspects of what is crucial for an industry professional to see when seeking new musicians.

Having an EPK is almost a personal online identity, which supports the argument of an EPK boosting digital relevance. It allows artists to be easily found, shows that they are active and are easy to communicate with online, and reduces the chance of missed opportunities. Furthermore, an EPK along with other social media platforms such as Instagram allows industry professionals to view the artist on different platforms and get a deeper insight into their style, instead of only relying on an EPK. However, striving to create a perfect online imagine through an EPK may create pressure on the artist to live up the expectations of their EPK, and raise questions of authenticity through creating the perfect online image.

Although an EPK is a useful promotional tool, it must also be acknowledged that an EPK can strategically generate income. This is because an EPK can help secure potential sponsorships, leading to an increased income and potential brand deals, bookings for performances leading to better pay and more opportunities, and sync licensing opportunities, as if an EPK includes original tracks it is more likely that your work could be published and used for media. Furthermore, intellectual property considerations are crucial for an EPK, especially when including original images and recordings. For example, in my recording of the jazz standard ‘Monopoly’, I made it clear that my recording is protected to avoid unauthorized use, and to also demonstrate that I understand the legal rights of an EPK.

As I was speaking to my peers from the conservatoire, I asked my peers if they knew any jazz musicians or musicians from other backgrounds that may be good inspiration for my EPK. One that really stood out to me was Nubya Garcia, mainly due to her unique modern aesthetic, and because of her style of playing that I find interesting. Furthermore, her professional images all have a similar colour palette, consisting of blue and pinks that I find aesthetically pleasing and engaging, which I took inspiration from for my own EPK. This is demonstrated through websites such as ‘downbeat’ ² and ‘passion of the Weiss’. ³ I also asked my peers at the conservatoire what they think makes an engaging EPK, as I found in the beginning, I was struggling with how to arrange my EPK in terms of the layout, the information included and how to make my EPK look as professional as possible. I was told that if they were looking at EPK’s, they would find it easy to follow and professional with a consistent colour palette, and making it very clear with headings and subtitles where the information is, making it easy to find where all the information is, and also ensuring that the images I use relate to my paragraph, for example including images from my performances in the same section as notable performances, and a peer made the point that these images almost act as proof of my performances. After I had worked on these different areas, my I asked my peers for further advice on how I could improve my EPK from its rough draft. A peer gave me the advice of relating the EPK to my own style more and include elements more typical of traditional jazz. I took this into consideration by editing the images I used in different ways, making some colourful and some black and white, which I feel also adds variation and interest across all my photos used. After applying these changes and taking it back to my peers, I was told the research I did into artists and the alterations I had made allowed my EPK to reach it’s intended audience a lot better and fit my style better too. Furthermore, I decided it would be helpful to ask my peers outside of the conservatoire, almost as outsiders, to ask what they might do differently in terms of creativity. I got the advice of making the images bigger to add more life to my EPK, and to make it appear less cluttered and more spaced out, as I was told this would make it easier for a viewer to navigate and find what content they’re specifically looking for. I took both points into consideration, and I found that spacing paragraphs and images out actually made my EPK look neater and easier to edit or add material to in the future. Moving forward, I would like to improve on the quality of my images and ensuring that I have planned my EPK better in advanced in terms of layout and the content I will include, leading to better organisation and a more confident approach to starting my EPK.

Bibliography –

1 – BBC Radio 2. (04/06/2024). The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum. 2025

2 – Ammar Kalia. (2024). DOWNBEAT jazz, blues and beyond. [Online]. Nubya Garcia Available at: https://downbeat.com/news/detail/nubya-garcia-thinks-big

3 – Joel Biswas. (2020). Passion of the Weiss. [Online]. Nubya Garcia. Available at: https://www.passionweiss.com/2020/10/21/you-need-both-sides-of-the-coin-to-feel-like-there-is-substance-an-interview-wit

Word Count:

EPK: 421

Commentary: 1,465