https://soundcloud.com/daniyacobi/nail-me?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fdaniyacobi%252Fnail-me
https://soundcloud.com/vespa-770720319/move-your-body?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fvespa-770720319%252Fmove-your-body

https://www.instagram.com/daniyacobi

Supporting commentary 

I have structured my EPK with a home page that includes links to the other pages on the EPK to make it easier to navigate. This will make it more accessible and more appealing as people wouldn’t want to scroll through a big document. I have organised pages in a standard and professional layout that is the norm in the industry, this includes contact details at the bottom, biography and recently released music at the top, and things such as testimonials and skills in the middle. Since this is usually how EPKs are laid out, it makes mine more familiar and, again, easier to navigate. I know this because I looked into other artist’s EPKs and found similar layouts, such as https://myaluv.com/#about (Mya luv’s EPK).  

I acknowledge that my EPK’s Music and upcoming events pages are quite empty, as a first year student, I intend to slowly but surely grow these pages and fill them with more content as I continue through my university degree and music career. The same goes for my skills and experience page, as you can only gain experience through time and work. I could also establish social media pages on different platforms to create more of an online presence and put myself out there more. These platforms include but are not limited to, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and while it’s not a social platform, Spotify, because my music can be added to playlists which will further push me into the mainstream and help me reach a wider audience. On the contrary, I believe my photos page on the EPK has quite a variety of different photos stemming from different scenarios through the years I’ve been a musician, such as rehearsals, photoshoots, and live performances. The fact I’ve included images from when I was younger as well shows how long I’ve been in the industry which infers that I’m experienced which is a valuable and sought-after trait in the music industry.  

While social media platforms are very important, as are EPKs, in my opinion they have separate uses. I think EPKs should be treated as a more professional document, especially for my case where I’m trying to convey myself as a session bassist looking for work. I’ve created a more professional look to my EPK by using contrasting colours that make it easy to read text and using more professional vocabulary. While some EPKs have dashes of personality, I’ve conveyed my personality through my social media more, although there are hints of personality in my EPK such as photos, font colours, my biography and testimonials. However, while I do treat my Instagram as a professional page, I use it more casually. This allows me to keep my personality in the page by posting less serious photos, using music in my posts, rich colour schemes and palettes on images, and through pictures of my personal life as well. While my personal life has nothing to do with my professional career, someone hiring for bands or session work would rather work with someone with personality as greater bonds between colleagues makes workflow swift and more enjoyable, as opposed to working with someone who you know nothing about. You could argue that I could integrate personality into my EPK to make it more admirable for people looking for session work, however this is why I’ve included a link to my Instagram. I have also included the title of performer on my home page to try to appeal to people looking for acts for an event rather than session work. 

My target audience for my EPK is mostly people looking for session bassists, people looking to collaborate on music, or event organisers that need bands or artists to play at their event. I have tried to reach this audience by keeping a sleek and professional look to my EPK. I feel that this will help navigation which is more appealing to event organisers as they most likely don’t have a lot of time to go through many artist’s EPK’s and work. This is also the reason to why I’ve placed my music page at the top, as I feel it makes it easier for them to find.  

I believe EPKs can drive revenue but under certain circumstances. A higher quality EPK will make navigation easier and will also make the EPK more appealing. By having a professional website designer create your EPK, getting professional photos taken, and by paying for a certain domain name, the EPK will be a lot more likely to get me hired, as opposed to a website designer app or photos taken on an iPhone. However, it will be harder to break even, as creating a higher quality EPK will cost money for the things I have listed. 

Group work evaluation 

During seminars, and out of university work sessions, my group and I discussed our EPKs to see what we could improve upon. It was brought up to our attention that some of us were creating more personality hire based EPKs. This was apparent because they were using more vibrant colours, informal writing, etc., which made me realise that I wanted my EPK to look more professional and sleeker instead. We talked and agreed that a sleeker appearance to my EPK would help me target my audience more efficiently. I also originally didn’t have a music page in my EPK, but as the group and I did research into other artist’s EPK’s, we found that many artists were including their new or previously released music at the top as it’s the first thing they want people to see. It was recommended to me to add the music page to show myself as a songwriter and artist as well as a performer and session musician too. Although I don’t have any properly released music, I added some SoundCloud links. Upon speaking to some peers, we agreed that this is something I could definitely improve on during university, as in second year I could record music professionally in a studio and have the music released on Spotify. This would cost money through the use of certain distribution companies such as distrokid and ditto but it would help me work towards a higher quality EPK.