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THE BAND PROJECT
Press Releases
What the heck is an electronic press kit (EPK)?
Let's start with the the general idea of a press release. A press release is a short, compelling news story written by a public relations professional and sent to targeted members of the media. The goal of a press release is to pique the interest of a journalist or publication. The press release should contain all the essential information (who? what? where? when? how? and most importantly why?) for the journalist to easily produce his own story.
A press release should read like a news story, written in third-person, citing quotes and sources and contain standard press release information. In short, your job is to make the job of the media very easy so that they are 1) more likely to publish an article about you and 2) able to give correct information about you.
Often, companies (and artists) will create a site that includes all of the pertinent information needed for the media to promote them. This is where the electronic press kit comes in. On this site, press release documents will be available for download, along with bio information about the band members, professional photos to use in print articles, etc. Click HERE to get an idea of what to include in an electronic press kit.
The Huffington Post has written a good article about press releases and it can be read by clicking HERE. Likewise, disc makers.com has provided music specific tips for writing a good press release. Since we are writing a press release for a band, it is worthwhile to check it out by clicking HERE.
Think you get the idea? Great! Find a press release example online and use it as inspiration to write your own PR on your own EPK. Turn this into ASPEN and do not proceed until I have reviewed it and given you the green light.
So I Have A Press Release... Now What?
Check out Bandzoogle by clicking HERE. You can find some great inspiration by looking through a few of these professional EPK's. Yours will look very similar to these so get some ideas and get ready to make a winning EPK!
Your EPK must include the following pages:
HOME: Includes a welcome message, the music video, your hit song and your logo.
BIO: Story behind the band, full bios of ALL members (with pics), music video and song, and quotes from the press. This is where you will provide a link to your official press release.
Merch: Put your band's logo on something and sell it! Shirts, hats, etc. Be creative! If you win, this is what will be placed on your shirt that we print.
Concerts: Place upcoming concert venues with dates. Please don't get caught up with the details of this page. This should be quick but pretty.
Contact: A contact form, phone number, and mailing address.
*Note: All of these items must be shown on your site. You can, however, change what is on each page if you are following another artists EPK design. If you change up the order of you items, pleases how me the site that you used as an inspiration piece.
Terms to Know Before You Go
TERMS
Paid media
Earned Media
Shared media
Institutional PR
Goodwill
Internal Communications
Lobbying
Propaganda
Publicity
PressRelease
Boilerplate
THE 7 TYPES OF PR
Internal Relations
Media Relations
Investor Relations
Government Relations
Community Relations
Customer Relations
Marketing Communications
