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Supporting Commentary
Purpose & Reasoning.
My vision for my EPK was to demonstrate my pure passion for music creation, whether it be from behind the kit or behind a mixing desk. Whilst I don’t have much experience in live performance or many released songs, I believe I can express my love for my work and the path I wish to follow. Not only is an EPK a creative CV it should also make your love for your craft painfully evident.
Aesthetic & structure.
I wanted my EPK to be presented as professional but also lighthearted. I began with a cover photo for myself behind a mixing desk so people can see from their initial glance what it entails. Then I went into my artist bio in order for others to get to know my path in regards to music from how I got into music as a child as well as how I would depict myself now as I start to refine my career and identify my unique selling points amongst all the other producers hopefully, my word phrasing and simple design will attract potential clientele.
I then thought it would be ideal to address my skills and interests because although it is important to know about myself people are going to be focussed on what I can provide them with and whether I am suited to their vision. As a producer my main goal is to be able to support artists and offer an outside opinion on what may be best for their tracks without making them feel as if I am undermining them.
I follow that up with what I wish to achieve alongside my music. I included this as social stand points and personal intentions are very vital in today’s society as people won’t wish to work with someone whose morals they don’t agree with.
Fortunately I know someone who is an amazing photographer and invited her into one of my band rehearsals to take some photos of us playing- these professional grade snapshots of my personality behind the kit are vital for my audience to get a feel for what energy i can radiate as well as the more ‘silly’ photos i placed at the bottom of a couple of my pages, i did this as it also proves i can enjoy being behind a kit and don’t take myself too serious as i feel this can come across as being seen as pretentious or ‘snobby’. In comparison I wanted the first photo on my EPK to be a more serious photo as in the studio I need to be focussed and invested in what I am creating in there.
What do I intend to develop?
In the future I would like to be able to include more reviews from people i have worked with, this is a vital part of trying to persuade other people to work with you as hearing previous experiences gives them a third-party, unbiased perspective. I would also prefer to add more examples of my work as this would allow people to make up their own opinions on a range of things I have worked on as I pride myself in being a versatile producer and drummer. Anything that evidences what I claim to provide will only boost my chances of being contacted. Although too many examples may overwhelm or bore people going through my EPK.
Instagram vs EPK.
I believe Instagram and other various social media allow a more intimate view on someone’s career as it tends to be more casual, especially with the rise of TikTok. In current society people feel as if they have developed a more authentic connection when they are under the impression they know a significant amount about a person as it establishes trust and in an industry as vulnerable and potentially toxic / isolating as the music industry.
Social media also allows for global access to your work as tailored algorithms push you towards your desired audience
https://labelgrid.com/blog/music-marketing/social-media-marketing-for-musicians
However, social media is also time consuming trying to remain in the public eye or relevant amongst current trends as people often find themselves changing too much just to stay trendy causing them to stray too far away from their true intentions causing a stir amongst their original fans. On the other hand- an EPK does not wholly represent your journey as an artist and is awkward to demonstrate your growth as a professional. It has a more professional and organised quality to it.
They also allow more control over your own narrative and what you wish to put forward as an artist, especially as ‘cancel culture’ is so prominent today.
Revenue and Costs.
An interesting, high quality, and modern EPK can attract all sorts of attention whether it be from venues, event organisers or journalists which are all profitable interactions however,
In order to obtain a professional, high quality EPK you will require aspects such as professional photographers and graphic design costs. Thanks to certain websites such as Canva and Artistecard, you can create an EPK at home for free but this opposes the risk of it not being professional enough. On the other hand professional services can cost between £100-£600 and that excluding domain fees which are approximately £17.50 a year, however elements such as websites are crucial in order to organise things such as access to merchandise and tour tickets.
Evidence of group work and evaluation.
Throughout my seminars we were encouraged to obtain reviews of our work. However whilst it is good for my audience to have access to what previous clients have to say in regards to working with me, I didn’t like how it flowed on my presentation and requesting for people to write a review may cause a biased statement. I would rather encourage people to access my social media as I stated previously you can obtain a more authentic connection with someone and potentially reach out to me if they have any queries in regards to my work!
I used Canva to create my EPK, it has a vast array of templates for documents such as this for free. We spoke about how a simplistic design can go a long way and avoids overwhelming someone who is going through your EPK. Too many colours or images can also look tacky and stray away from the simplistic, clean aesthetic people usually go for by adhering to a wider audience. Canva has a fantastic tool that analyses a photo and hones in on the main colours of the photo and creates a colour scheme for it. This was a crucial tool when making sure I remained within those simplistic boundaries. We spoke about the fine line between simplistic and unenthusiastic- whilst this is a grey area I believe my EPK is suitable as the dark background allows for the photography and wording to have enough space to be the main focus.
In order to develop my EPK although my desires contrast what other people expressed in my seminars, I would rather incorporate it within my social media as i truly believe that has a higher likelihood of being picked up on for example: Myles Smith, quadruple Brit award winner swiping ‘Rising Star’, ‘Song of The Year’, ‘Best Pop Act’ and ‘Breakthrough Artist’ in the 2025 Brit awards. In 2025, he was considered as one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. His career was hatched when he started posting his music on TikTok and his breakthrough single “Nice to Meet You”. Whilst I’m aware that EPK’s are still essential for certain endeavours, the music industry is constantly changing and adapting to the modern day. Therefore I must be ready and have the ability to follow suit as people’s attention span is decreasing and I believe an active, authentic social footprint is the best way for me to be discovered as both a drummer and a producer. I would also rather be able to promote upcoming gigs or events I will be attending (which is predominantly done via social media) as well as set up on online platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music so I can be featured and appropriately credited on any tracks I am involved in as this is also an ideal way for people to discover my music as a lot of independent artists are discovered via featuring on more popular artists tracks. Or potentially begin to document my studio sessions or potential drum tech ventures as I am heavily inspired by Matt Horn, a well renowned drum tech who posts his ‘day in the life’ videos on various social platforms i.e. YouTube and TikTok.
