Supporting commentary for EPK

I have created an EPK as a means to promote myself as a guitar player to open myself up to future collaborations, promotors, other industry professionals and venues. As a visually engaging portfolio it has allowed me to showcase my experience as a musician and my greatest strengths, whilst also giving insight to my personal background and musical style/preferences. In an increasingly competitive industry, a well crafted EPK is pivotal in giving a great first impression, and allowing myself to be opened up to new opportunities.

The layout of my EPK has been intentionally organized to meet the expectations and needs of any music industry professionals who may consider me for potential work opportunities. By breaking content into six focused pages, the EPK allows visitors to quickly find the information most relevant to them. There is an abundance of background details, media assets and professional contact information. The photo section is designed to maintain visual engagement and draw attention to myself as a guitarist by having supporting imagery, and multiple testimonials to offer social proof of my live presence and performances. The recordings section, although being somewhat lackluster at the moment due to an absence of recordings, has an assurance of music soon to come to maintain some form of engagement.

As a first year student it was inevitable that my EPK would not be entirely where I want it to be yet, for example in an attempt to come across as a somewhat successful guitarist at this early stage in my career I fear i may have over – compensated by over mentioning certain achievements such as selling out a show for the first time recently with my band, which i fear may come across as arrogant and may make me less appealing as a musician, however as my time progresses at leeds conservatoire and as a musician in general I will have more content to mention to showcase my talents in a perhaps more professional manner. Another shortcoming is the lack of any artist/band spotify links and the absence of any recordings, this feels like a crucial aspect of the EPK as there’s already the information and visual content on display, but the recording evidence is where i prove myself to be the musician i want to be portrayed as, to overcome this i will be making an artist spotify and will be recording an EP with my band in June so that i will eventually have some listenable evidence.

Many of the photos used were specially picked to showcase the lively nature of much of my playing styles/genres, incorporating certain photos that highlight movement due to slight blurs around me and my guitar was done intentionally to suggest a lively stage presence. I also incorporated a more recent photo from a gig with a singer/songwriter collaboration to show versatility in my playing. The overbearing aesthetic is the black and white gig photos, although at this time there is a limited choice and all photos were taken on a friends iphone, the next goal is to bring a camera and get some higher quality photos which may suit my EPK better.

My EPK has allowed me to formally present my work in a structured and professional manner. Instagram’s strengths lie in real times updates to maintain relevance, for example the most effective way to interact with an audience is via stories and reels which can be uploaded at any time, and allows for more personalised interactions with collaborators, industry professionals and even fans and has been a regular means for getting gigs and collaborations both in my own work and with my band. However in the working world the EPK is better tailored to industry professionals and promoters. 

My target audience consists of singer/songwriters and bands in the funk/jazz/blues/indie scene, most likely these are digitally engaged musicians who are looking for skilled and adaptable musicians. My EPK subsequently tailors to their expectations by including live performance evidence and testimonials to provide reassurance, as well as direct contact links so that these artists have a means to reach out.

It is standard practice nowadays for musicians to maintain a strong media presence, however i find that sometimes this comes across as forced, it’s important to remain unique in one’s content creation rather than following mainstream trends such as using popular meme audios or following standardised video formats.

EPK’s can drive revenue by securing paid opportunities, for example a promoter looking for a blues band might see the EPK thus deciding to hire The New Strangers for s show. Showcasing my skills, experiences and credibility in one accessible package increases my chances of being hired by industry professionals and promoters.

It didn’t cost me to create my EPK as all the photos were pre-existing and not taken by a professional photographer. This cost as a one-time fee, could have however amounted from anywhere between 100 to 500 pounds. Domain names are relatively affordable to upkeep, ranging around 10 – 20 pounds a year. My EPK did not entail any nuanced graphic design as this cost could have amounted anywhere up to 400 pounds. While the DIY options seem more suitable and approachable for my EPK for the meantime, in the future hiring professional services may become a necessity to achieve a more polished and presentable look in order to be competitive with other artist EPK’s on the internet.

Although all photos and music that can be found via the instagram link on the EPK are original, registering these as copyrighted and trademarked will be the next step in strengthening their legal position. Trademarking The New Strangers name will certainly play a key role in securing the band’s brand identity. And another step to be made will be securing a domain name that matches with the instagram handle to further reinforce branding consistency and protect from any possible impersonation.

Evidence of group work

Although the creation of my EPK was primarily an individual task, many of the ideas and decisions that shaped the final outcome were developed through discussions and informal collaboration with peers via the in person seminars. This group work played a helpful role in refining my ideas and enhancing the overall quality of my work.

Starting with ideation, this began with group brainstorming what aspects of myself as a musician that I would want to communicate. Suggestions from others led me to focus more on the professional tone of my About page and to structure it in a way that highlights achievements towards the end almost as a sort of climax to the About page. Feedback was also useful in deciding the layout of the EPK, focusing on making the shift between pages seem natural and free flowing, also leading to the decision to add a page dedicated to testimonials/reviews. Although initially the testimonials section was intended to be last, group discussion led to it being moved so that ‘Recordings’ would be last due to an absence of content.  Sharing initial drafts with my peers allowed me to refine my language and visuals, resulting in a clearer and more focused presentation of my musical identity.

Industry insights and commercial application – Being in a group with others who were also developing their own promotional materials exposed me to different approaches  towards achieving industry standards. This is where the importance of visual branding as a means to enhance my digital presence was derived, for example the suggestion to incorporate not just black and white but also coloured photos, so it would appear more visually dynamic. This was also incorporated into the general layout as the importance of consistency in fonts and banners in the EPK were emphasized so that there would be a cleaner, more professional look. Discussions regarding the importance of media presence for modern day musicians ensured I had a ‘Get in touch’ page with Instagram links and my email address displayed in a clear and accessible manner, this has helped tailor the EPK to better suit the needs of industry professionals who may want to make contact with myself.

In regards to personal and professional development, working in a group setting encouraged me to be more open to feedback and to view constructive criticism as an essential part of the creative process. This is also reflected in the supporting commentary as recognising my shortcomings in this EPK will allow me to improve it as I improve as a person and a musician.This was instrumental in shifting my own personal view from just a musician to a professional and presentable person. Moving forward I would like to improve my EPK with some more direct demonstrations of my playing style and versatility, a first step towards this would be incorporating some recordings into the EPK which are readily available to listen to.