What a press kit is — and what it is not
EPK stands for electronic press kit: the digital version of what used to be a folder. In practice that means a single address — a subpage of your website, a public folder, a page with one of the usual providers. What counts is that a recipient can open it without a signup, without a download and on a phone.
What it is not: an attachment. A 40 MB ZIP with eight photos and three mixes in WAV format is not an application, it is a chore — and people who send chores do not get replies. Nor is it a biography: your history only becomes interesting once the mix has convinced.
The four building blocks
In the order a booker actually touches them — not the order in which they present best.
| Block | What exactly | Why this first |
|---|---|---|
| The mix | 60 minutes, direct link, tracklist below it | The first click. If this does not convince, the text never gets read — which is why it sits at the very top and not under the bio. |
| The photo | Landscape, high resolution, you behind the decks | Needed the moment someone says yes — for the poster and the event page. If it is missing the promoter has to ask, and that costs both of you time. |
| The text | Three to five sentences: where, what, what is different | Places, genres and BPM ranges instead of adjectives. A booker is looking for exactly one thing in it: does this fit my night? |
| The tech | What you bring, what you need — two lines | The part almost everyone leaves out and the one that saves almost every follow-up question. Predictability argues for you, not against you. |
| Contact | One email address you genuinely read | No form, no direct-message inbox with a request filter. Something that does not get read is not reachability. |
The one rule: one click, not a folder
Everything between the message and the first sound costs you recipients. A signup wall, a download, a player that does not work on a phone — every one of those hurdles halves the number of people who actually hear your mix.
So the mix comes first and as a direct link, not as a file. And so the message itself is short: two sentences, one link. The press kit carries the details — the message only carries the way there.
A press kit in 5 steps
Built once, it lasts a year. What changes is the mix — the rest stays.
Record a mix that carries 60 minutes
Not the technically cleanest one, but the one with an arc: beginning, middle, end. A booker rarely listens all the way through — they hear minute 1, minute 20 and minute 50. All three have to work.
Put the mix at ONE public address
Playable without a signup, on a phone, with a tracklist below it. Not a file, not a shared cloud folder, not a link that expires after seven days.
Get one landscape photo
You behind the decks, face recognisable, high resolution, no logo on it. Landscape, because every event page and every poster thinks in landscape — a portrait photo has to be cropped, and then someone else does the cropping.
Write three to five sentences
Where you play, what you play, what sets you apart. No adjectives about yourself — places, genres, numbers. „Monthly at X since 2024, house and tech house between 124 and 130 BPM“ says more than „passionate DJ with a feel for the floor“.
Add the tech in two lines
What you bring and what you need. Two lines are enough: own controller plus headphones, needs two free mixer channels and a power socket. Writing that down saves the promoter a follow-up question — and follow-up questions are where applications quietly die.
Mistakes that get you binned on sight
Everything as an attachment
A ZIP full of photos and WAV mixes is not an application, it is a chore. People who send chores do not get replies.
The mix behind a signup wall
Every hurdle between the message and the first sound halves the number of people who hear it. A link that demands a signup does not get clicked.
Bio before mix
Your history only becomes interesting once the mix has convinced. Before that it is the reason someone closes the tab.
Adjectives about yourself
„Passionate“, „versatile“, „a feel for the floor“ — everyone writes that, so it says nothing. Places and numbers say something.
A link that expires
Shared cloud folders and transfer services time out. A booker might open your message in three weeks — the link has to still be alive then.
The check before you hit send
Open your own address on a phone, in a private window, not logged in. Whatever does not work there in thirty seconds will not work for the recipient either.
Opened on a phone
In a private window, not logged in. That is how it reaches the recipient.
Mix starts in under 10 seconds
From click to first sound. Longer means: they will not hear it.
Tracklist visible without scrolling to the bottom
It often gets read BEFORE the listening.
Photo loads and is landscape
And at a resolution a poster can take.
The email address is one you read
Send yourself one and check that it arrives.
A press kit does not replace skill, and above all it does not replace an evening on which someone saw you play. Most first gigs come not from an application but from a person — the press kit is what you send after that conversation has happened. Doing it the other way round takes considerably more attempts.
Frequently asked questions
Do I even need a press kit as a beginner?
For a first gig usually not — that comes through people, not paperwork. But the moment someone says „send me something“, you do not want to spend three days building it. Built once, it only costs you the current mix from then on.
How long should the demo mix be?
60 minutes is the norm, because it matches the shortest common slot. 30 minutes works if the arc inside is complete. Over 90 minutes does no harm but does not get heard — and a mix nobody finishes should be strong at the front, not the back.
Does a tracklist have to be included?
Yes, and not out of politeness: it shows a booker in ten seconds whether you fit their night. They often read it before listening. Leaving it out demands five minutes of listening for information a list delivers in seconds.
Several mixes for different kinds of events?
Better one that fits than three to choose from. Offering three hands the decision to the recipient — and then they pick none. If you genuinely play two directions, build two addresses and send one depending on the occasion.
Should I put my follower counts in?
Only if they are an argument. A small number sitting there reads worse than no number — and a promoter who cares about reach will look anyway. What does land instead: places you have played and dates where it can be checked.
What is a technical rider and do I need one?
It is the list of what you need in order to play. For big names that runs to pages; for you it is two lines, and that is exactly how it belongs in the press kit. The purpose is not entitlement but predictability: the promoter should know in advance whether your gear fits their mixer.
First be able to play
The material comes from practising
A press kit is quick to build. The mix inside it is the work — and that starts with a cleaner transition, not a better photo.
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