My EPK is aimed and targeted at: Artists, Bands, Record Companies, and generally anyone who has a project and needs a drummer, or even a bassist or guitarist. It aims to grab the attention of any potential employers and draw them in to what I do and how I can work with them to create something beneficial for the both of us. It is not just a promotional tool, but a representation of my professionalism, versatility, and commitment to collaboration. The photoshoots represent the type of musician I am and how I can elevate the potential employer’s project to higher levels, both musically and creatively. These visuals are chosen with intent, they’re not just aesthetic but reflective of my approach, energy, and musical ethos.
It is very easily accessible to anyone reading it, the images are professional and portray me as a serious musician and depict my identity behind the kit simultaneously. Each section of the EPK is structured to highlight specific aspects of my skill set and personal brand, offering a clear, concise, and immersive snapshot into who I am as an artist. The process of an EPK is essential to the commerce of your ‘brand’ as a musician, the more professional and polished the EPK, the stronger the correlation to the amount and quality of the business you, as a musician, get. It functions as a first impression—a digital handshake that speaks volumes before you’ve even picked up an instrument.
I have really emphasised the importance of being a serious musician, and that resonates with record companies in their recruiting process. Demonstrating discipline, professionalism, and dedication through an EPK adds weight to your credibility and seriousness as an artist. Furthermore, I reinforce the effect that knowing more than one instrument can affect the way I see not just one aspect of the project, but the whole orchestration and development of it. This cross-instrumental awareness helps me understand and anticipate the needs of a project, giving me a broader musical vocabulary to contribute meaningfully across genres and styles.
Now I have presented myself as not just the drummer but a well-rounded, multifaceted musician, this is likely to pique the interest of record companies heavily as it argues for my competence in a musical scene. I’m not just filling a role; I’m offering a dynamic perspective that enhances the collaborative process. What furthers this idea of me being a well-rounded musician is the emphasis on the visual aspects of the music. The photography and the graphic design, although it doesn’t demonstrate my skills on the kit and my experience in the field of performing, it does however show that I have a deep understanding of the storytelling of music and how to translate emotion across mediums.
How a certain chord can make a person feel a certain way, I’ve expressed this not only through the drums but also visual mediums. This visual-musical synergy enhances my ability to connect emotionally with the music and audience, something that sets me apart from a purely performance-based player. I believe this will heavily impact the record companies’ understanding of me as an instrumentalist and how this insight can affect my playing, approach, and interpretation of musical direction. This all signifies my employability, showing that the financial benefits far outweigh the liabilities when it comes to the EPK, as it presents a clear return on investment through my versatility and creative contributions.
If I were to compare my EPK to that of a pre-existing session drummer, I would see holes in mine that haven’t been filled through a lack of experience. But this awareness isn’t discouraging—it motivates me to continually develop and refine my professional presence. Extreme examples of polished EPKs, such as Larnell Lewis’, depict a musician with a much broader level of experience. Most notably, the absence of any music or links to streaming sites to reflect my work as a session player stands out in my current EPK. This is something that one day I hope to have plenty of; however, at this point in time, as a first-year student, that section remains limited. It’s part of the growth journey.
I think this is quite a crucial part of an EPK, as it really gives a potential employer a sense of the kind of work the musician has done in the past, which is essential to having a real understanding of what they’re paying for. It’s like a portfolio—it builds trust and demonstrates proof of capability, something I aim to develop over the coming months through active collaboration and session work.
Social media, being quite a personal endeavour, can tend to depict musicians in a severely different light to an EPK. It often focuses on personality, lifestyle, and informal performance clips, which may not align with the polished and structured nature of a professional application. The way a musician comes across to a record company or a potential employer is paramount to their employability and suitability to the employer. An EPK is a far more formal method of communication of an artist or musician’s suitability, using professional photos and providing detailed experience of a musician is a much more significant way of portraying the person the employer will be working with, as opposed to the ‘showboat-y’ atmosphere of social media.
However, despite the drawbacks of social media as a form of application, it has a far more accurate depiction of the musicians’ skills and how they play. In this respect, an EPK lacks the full depth of how the musician presents themselves, which can be clearer when looking into an Instagram account, for example. The raw, unfiltered nature of social media sometimes gives a better sense of a musician’s vibe and chemistry with others. Overall, there are two different sides of a musician being depicted by an EPK and an Instagram account. One depicts a one-dimensional insight into a musician’s capabilities and formally presents their past achievements and goals for the future, whereas social media can indicate a musician’s personality with much more depth and spontaneity, especially as some of the content can be created by a completely separate third party, it’s not curated or scripted. When combined thoughtfully, both tools can offer a powerful and holistic representation of a modern working musician.
As a result of the group work undertaken in seminars, we established that the primary focus of the EPK was to be on the main aspect, the idea of identifying as a drummer, predominantly a drummer, and thinking from a potential employer’s point of view the kind of professionalism that they would want to see around the profile of a drummer. This includes not only technical ability and experience, but also how the musician presents themselves visually and conceptually, through professional photos, clear layout, and a defined identity within the EPK. However, there came the idea in the group session that to appeal to the employer as a well-rounded musician and team member, the musician can depict surrounding areas of their skill set which impact their playing and overall consumption of music. This might include abilities in composition, production, secondary instruments, or even visual creativity, all of which contribute to a more complete musical perspective. Including these elements helps to primarily set themselves apart from other candidates and give them a greater likelihood of getting the position in this specific project. It adds a layer of depth and flexibility that employers often look for in today’s collaborative and fast-paced industry environments.
Going forward as a musician, I would like to gain more experience to display and thoroughly reinforce the ‘drummer’ aspect of the EPK. This is the most important part, and I would like to get some tracks out there to really emphasise the breadth of session work I am willing to contribute towards. These tracks would serve as tangible evidence of my range and reliability, giving employers a chance to hear my playing in a variety of contexts. This will not only strengthen the foundation of my EPK as a drummer but also support the earlier point about being a well-rounded musician, demonstrating not just potential, but active contribution to different types of musical projects. By combining these two aspects, focused identity and multidimensional skill, I can continue developing a professional profile that speaks directly to what employers are really looking for.
