The purpose of my EPK is to clearly present who I am as an artist in a format that is easily accessible to potential collaborators, promoters, and industry professionals. It includes essential materials such as press photos, a DJ mix, links to my tracks, and a biography that outlines my identity, creative direction, and aspirations as a DJ and producer. The aesthetic is aligned with the sonic and visual language of hard techno — raw, atmospheric, distorted, and industrial in tone. As noted by Haven (2025), this is grounded in a “consistent groove,” which I’ve reflected through both content and layout design. Visual elements and structure intentionally echo the genre’s defining characteristics, ensuring cohesion between music and presentation. My aim was for the viewer to instantly grasp the concept without needing to decode it — as Kao (2024) suggests, clear visual and verbal signposting allows the message to be immediate: this is a hard techno artist.
I’ve structured my EPK strategically to help my artist brand stand out and connect with viewers—not only through my creative work but by using subtle psychological marketing techniques. The first section of my EPK features my artist bio. I chose to lead with this to create an emotional connection with the audience, offering insight into who I am, the type of music I make, my influences, and the kind of atmosphere I aim to create during my sets. Following the bio, I’ve included a series of press shots and short videos of me mixing. These visuals are intended to give a stronger sense of my identity as a performer and help potential promoters or collaborators get a better feel for my style and presence. I’ve placed my contact information at the bottom, so that once someone has engaged with the content and wants to reach out, it’s easily accessible without altering the initial impression. In shaping my EPK, I’ve drawn inspiration from artists I admire, particularly Sara Landry—often referred to as “the high priestess of hard techno” (Levin, 2024). Her EPK helped guide my decisions around layout, content, and visual tone (Landry, S. No date). Everything in hers is clean, intentional, and user-friendly—qualities I’ve aimed to reflect in my own. By focusing on storytelling, visual impact, and ease of navigation, I’ve created an EPK that not only introduces me as an artist but invites the viewer into my world in a clear and engaging way.
Both an EPK and platforms like Instagram are useful tools for promoting yourself as an upcoming artist. An EPK offers a professional overview of who you are, what you’ve done, and what you represent as an artist – ideal for industry professionals like music publishers, management teams, label owners or venue promoters, looking for clear, focused information (BRADBURY , 2023). In contrast, Instagram is more informal and personal, allowing real – time engagement and giving followers insight into your personality and creative process through reels, instagram lives, insights to behind the scenes at shows and links to their music/ tour dates. This makes it easier to connect with audiences and show your journey as it happens (Michele, 2023). Using both together helps strengthen an overall artistic presence an reach a wider range of viewers, but the EPK offers the formality and focus that instagram lacks.
In today’s day, an epk may not come as a cheap investment. Theres extra costs involved such as photographers for press shots which can range depending on the location, but as I am based in London this can stand in-between £50 – £200 per hour depending also on the photographers experience and capability (education, 2025). The cost of a logo can vary as you can pay for this to get professionally done which can range from £230 – £1950+ depending on who’s creating the logo. This can be cheeper and range from £0-£80 if you do it yourself which is more accessible nowadays due to online tools and AI services (Barker, 2024). There’s also further costs regarding websites, graphics, recording studio sessions for filming etc. However, in my case there was little to no cost involved as I own the rights to everything. I paid the photographers, videographers and graphic designers a flat fee for their work in order to retain 100% of the copyright of my imagery and brand style. In the UK I get copyright protection automatically but I will also email my creative works to myself to have a digital record and timestamp (Service, 2015). If I have the budget I can pay to trademark alias and logo and for my social handles and I will also use one @ across platforms for simplicity and to make it easy to be found by my audience.
Group work:
When I first started working on my EPK, I wasn’t sure what to include or how to present myself. As someone still gaining experience, I felt like I didn’t have much to show—I haven’t played at major clubs or venues yet, and I haven’t released any music. This made it difficult to know where to begin. After discussing it with someone in my group, they suggested I tailor my EPK toward promoters and label owners, focusing on getting my foot in the door. This shifted my perspective and gave me a clearer vision. Everyone has to start somewhere, and building something that helps me secure my first few gigs felt like the right direction. Taking that advice on board, I began developing my EPK with a clearer purpose. I shared my initial ideas with the group, particularly the visual design. My first draft had a washed-out dark blue background with sparkly, textured elements. While it looked interesting, the group pointed out it didn’t quite match the genre I was aiming for. With their feedback, I changed it to a darker, more industrial color scheme, which felt more aligned with the overall aesthetic. I also walked them through my broader plan for the EPK, including sections like performance videos, unreleased music clips, press shots, contact details, and an artist bio. Their positive reactions reassured me that I was on the right track and helped me feel more confident in the direction I was taking. Overall, getting feedback from my group was incredibly helpful. It guided me through the parts I was unsure about and gave me the clarity I needed to move forward. What started off as a struggle turned into a focused, purposeful project that I feel reflects me well. With their support, I was able to finalize a strong foundation for my EPK that I can build on as I grow.
Barker, K. (2024) How much does a logo cost? (2024 – UK): Keefomatic Creative Marketing, Keefomatic Marketing & Design. Available at: https://keefomatic.com/how-much-does-a-logo-cost-2024-uk/#:~:text=The%20cost%20of%20logo%20design,re%20getting%20for%20your%20money. (Accessed: 19 May 2025).
BRADBURY , W. (2023) How to make an EPK for artists (with examples & templates), Pirate Studios. Available at: https://pirate.com/en/blog/epk-music-artists/#:~:text=all%20this%20material.-,Benefits%20of%20creating%20an%20EPK,gets%20people%20excited%20about%20artists. (Accessed: 18 May 2025).
education, P. photography (2025) A guide to product photography pricing in UK, 21 March. Available at: https://welpix.com/product-photography-pricing-in-uk/#:~:text=In%20the%20UK%2C%20hourly%20rates,to%20those%20in%20smaller%20towns. (Accessed: 19 May 2025).
Haven, S. (2025) What is hard techno? everything you need to know in 5min, EDMProd. Available at: https://www.edmprod.com/what-is-hard-techno/#:~:text=In%20Hard%20Techno%2C%20synths%20are,their%20sounds%20even%20more%20aggressive. (Accessed: 18 May 2025).
Kao, W. (2024) Signposting: How to reduce cognitive load for your reader. Available at: https://newsletter.weskao.com/p/sign-posting-how-to-reduce-cognitive?utm_source=chatgpt.com (Accessed: 18 May 2025).
LEVIN, H. (2024) Hard techno maven Sara Landry talks ‘spiritual driveby,’ creating a safe space for emotion & leaving it all on the dance floor, GRAMMY.com. Available at: https://www.grammy.com/news/sara-landry-interview-spiritual-driveby-debut-album (Accessed: 18 May 2025).
Michele (2023) Instagram for musicians: The ultimate guide, iMusician. Available at: https://imusician.pro/en/resources/guides/instagram-for-musicians#:~:text=Instagram%20Highlights%20are%20a%20powerful,know%20much%20about%20you%20yet. (Accessed: 18 May 2025).
Landry, S. (No date) Artist Bio – . Available at: http://www.saralandry.com/s/Sara-Landry-EPK-Final-61418.pdf (Accessed: 18 May 2025).
Service, G.D. (2015) How copyright protects your work, GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/copyright (Accessed: 21 May 2025).
Michele (2023) Instagram for musicians: The ultimate guide, iMusician. Available at: https://imusician.pro/en/resources/guides/instagram-for-musicians#:~:text=Instagram%20Highlights%20are%20a%20powerful,know%20much%20about%20you%20yet. (Accessed: 18 May 2025).
