Press kits are a common promotional tool used by musicians, labels and promoters when launching a new album or starting a tour. If you consider the following checklist, the journalists will love you!
Press kits should have this set of components:
- The complete album as mp3 files (320kb/s, don’t forget to tag the files)
- The cover of the album (in high and low resolution)
- The track list of the album (title, duration, music composer, lyricist, producer)
- The Story behind the album
- Obligatory album information:
o artist name,
o album name,
o artist provenance,
o genre,
o release date - Furthermore:
o label name,
o label code,
o distributor,
o EAN/UPC/JAN,
o catalog number,
o total duration of the album,
o total number of tracks - Two or more high resolution press photos with credits
- Biography / history of the artist
- The line-up (the musicians playing on that album or tour)
- Discography (all previous albums released by the artist)
- Contact information for the band’s label, manager, publicist, or other representatives
- Links to music clips
- Links to promotional videos
- Links to websites (Facebook etc.)
- Tour dates (in text format and in csv format for import)
- Press reviews and interviews
- “RIYL” or “recommended if you like” list (list of artists in similar styles or genres)
- High resolution photos or images of key executives, the company logo etc.
- A fact sheet (one-sheet) with all important data in a format which emphasizes key points concisely
- The booklet as pdf
Create three compressed file containers (rar or zip etc.):
- the mp3 files (it’s ok, if you put the album cover into this container)
- the image files
- the remaining files
Keep always in mind
- Time is money. Therefore, provide several text lengths and several text formats (pdf = good for printing, txt = good for copying, rtf = good for both).
- Don’t “yell”: Using only capital letters is understood as yelling. So, don’t use words with only capital letters.
- All texts should also be available in English.
Very important
- Scan the files for viruses before spreading the press kit!
- Do not attach the three containers to your email, but provide links for download.