https://gabryellacaval1708.wixsite.com/gabryellacaval

I chose to do an EPK as I wanted to have something that would help me throughout my career in the music industry, as it allows me to advertise myself better to potential customers as well as employers I may work for in the future. I chose to create a mock up almost of what my real EPK would look like, as I would like to create one showcasing my final 3rd year works and accomplishments. Starting an EPK has allowed me to not only reflect back on my previous projects and what I could have done better but also allows me to properly structure the way I work around my projects. One of the main reasons I chose to do an EPK, besides having a portfolio, is the ability to portray my work however I want aesthetically. I believe aesthetics play a big role in the process of clients picking out a producer, as it displays the way you present yourself. 

I chose to do my EPK in the form of a website on WIX as it made making a website very easy and streamlined, in the future, I want to buy my own domain and hire a website designer to work on a concise website that displays both my portfolio and biography in a professional manner. I chose simplistic bright colours such as red and white as a way to have some form of design without overwhelming the audience too much, as I wanted them to be able to focus more on my biography and works. I chose to put my biography on the main page so that it’s the first thing that people will look at and will hopefully have their attention drawn to my previous expertise. 

I created the portfolio page by using the music extension built into WIX, as it was the simplest way to upload my work without it corrupting. Due to my files being too big for the embedder, some of them have been chopped up and not been uploaded fully as a way to also make sure the website is not lagging or bugging out, as this has happened to me many times whilst trying to use WIX. Having this music uploaded on the website also helps me metaphorically dip my toes into releasing music, as I haven’t released anything yet and I’m planning on doing so in the future. Therefore, by doing it on the website I can get an idea of what it would look and sound like. 

I named the website after my name, as I feel I don’t need an artist name, my first and last names are unique enough to stand out. Moreover, it makes it easier to search me and recognise me as it would be the first thing to come up when you google my name. In the future I may want to choose an artist name for myself , which would stand out from others’. In the meantime, since this is just an idea of what my professional EPK would look like, I decided to keep it simple and just use my name.

I made a separate page for my portfolio so that I could have a structured format that is easily accessible. In my portfolio, I showed both my personal projects (such as compositions, etc..) as well as recorded projects. As I want to focus a lot on my ability to record in the studio and become a mixing/studio engineer, I placed a lot of emphasis on having as many recorded projects as possible within my portfolio, as well as projects I’m working on solely as a mixing engineer. Due to having a lot of time taken up by work and university, I have many projects that are still unfinished, however, I decided to still upload them to my EPK as a way to show the progress I’ve made and I’m continuing to make during my time at university and throughout my career I will continue to do so. This is also helpful in showing the ways I’m branching out genre wise, as I want to showcase as much diversity in my work as I possibly can, this is partly because I want to be as multi-faceted as possible, but also partly because I truly love every genre and want to be able to work on as many different projects as I can. I believe that a lot of producers limit themselves by deciding to specialise in certain genres, while I don’t think that’s necessarily bad, I want to be able to explore a broad range of music both in and outside of my career. 

I’m currently working 2 separate projects, one in which I act as the mixing engineer for singer songwriter Freddie Rose, and another one in which I am the producer and mixing engineer for a duo called Gassington Station, who focus on creating experimental music and creating as many interesting and fun melodies as possible whilst also using a lot of processing in post production. 

There are 4 types of copyright that are essential throughout my career mechanical royalties, performance royalties, sync royalties and print royalties. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the industry, producers and mixing engineers often don’t receive royalties for the songs that they work on. Instead, they receive a flat rate from the artist themselves or their record label. However, if you are successful, you may ask to receive a small percentage of the copyright for the song, this also depends on how much input and work you put into the released music. 

In the future, if I want to upload copyrighted and released music I’ve worked on as a producer, I will have to have sample clearance in case any samples are being used, have a track list crediting everyone who worked on the tracks and an ISRC code to track streams and royalties. 

I would also like to use social media to advertise my work and take videos/pictures of me in the studio. For my real EPK, I want to be able to have an Instagram, Facebook preferably a YouTube account, all of which I can use to upload my work on and advertise my portfolio on. These would be posted on my EPK as well so that if anyone comes across it they can find more of my projects on my social media. 

Group work:

During the seminars we spoke at length about how to create a strong EPK, outlining the weaknesses, such as poor grammar, informal language or a lack of information about the individual or their work. We also outlined strengths such as a strong artist bio, what they have achieved, prior experience, showing their character and showing the true range of their work and abilities. During our discussions I got given an idea by one of my classmates to include testimonials from co-producers to people I have worked with in the past, to further strengthen my portfolio. I went and asked these people personally for a review and typed them out myself as examples of what I would have in my EPK if I was a professional music producer. In the future, I would like to have an option for people to type these testimonials out in their own time and sign them off on their own, as a way to enable people to be as truthful and concise as possible with their wording. I would then also have to consider having someone running the website for me so that it could be as professional as possible and stay up to date with my current work and future projects. 

In the future I would like to be able to not only build a professional EPK that I could then advertise to people, but also be able to pay a graphic designer to work on the logistics of the website and design it in a sleek, modern way that fits the genre of my music and work, as well as my general presentation. I would also like to be able to create social media profiles that advertise my work and have a more visual aspect. Moreover, I would like to have more picture and video proof of me in the studio or mixing, as I believe it would be more credible and it may be beneficial to future clients to have a visual as to what it would be like to work with me. I would also like to have a stronger portfolio, as I am a beginner, I have tried my hardest to get involved in as many projects as I can and be as proactive as possible, however, for my professional EPK I would like to have an individual folder for each genre I specialise in, and at least 3-4 tracks per folder, showing variety and expertise in all of them. Overall, I believe that this may not be the EPK I would use in the future, but rather a rough idea of what I would like my EPK to look and feel like. 

Bibliography:

Beentjes, D. (2021). Portfolio careers: the many hats of a music producer. [online] United Kingdom. Available at: https://abbeyroadinstitute.co.uk/blog/portfolio-career-the-many-hats-of-a-music-producer/.

Dargahi, D. (2023). Performance and Production: How playing an instrument can help you as a music producer. [online] United Kingdom. Available at: https://abbeyroadinstitute.co.uk/blog/performance-and-production/.

help.prsformusic.com. (n.d.). Case Portal. [online] Available at: https://help.prsformusic.com/s/article/what-is-an-ISRC-code.

help.prsformusic.com. (n.d.). Case Portal. [online] Available at: https://help.prsformusic.com/s/article/explaining-codes-and-numbers-for-musical-works.

Rayden, M. (2022). What Royalty Rate Do Mixing and Mastering Engineers Get? [online] Major Mixing. Available at: https://majormixing.com/what-royalty-rate-do-mixing-and-mastering-engineers-get/.

Waxman, M. (2018). Home. [online] ifpi-isrc. Available at: https://isrc.ifpi.org/.