The Truth Behind Press Kits, Bios, and Controlling Your Image
A lot of what you have been told about creating your image is
false. This article is meant to be a simple list of things that
might surprise you as a musician. Some of you have had
“managers” misguide you. You know the drill. Your guitar
player’s girlfriend has a connection at some local club so now
she thinks she is fit to orchestrate your entire career. Maybe
you have a know-it-all singer who spent 5 minutes glossing over
some music industry website and now he is writing your bio chalk
full of transparent lies and over-exagerated descriptions of
your rock fury. No matter what the case may be, I can guarantee
you that you have at least a few misconceptions about how to
properly present your image. This article will briefly outline
some of the major issues on writing better bios, press kits, and
press releases.
YOU HAVE MORE CONTROL THAN YOU THINK
The most important thing I can tell you is you have more control
than you think. If you really get the hang of image presentation
and playing this game we call the music biz you can virtually
create any image you want of yourself or your band. First and
foremost I want to talk about the press. Ever surf the net doing
some research of some new band your friend told you about? Ever
notice how multiple music sites will have the exact same
description of the band? Of course, you aren’t an idiot, you
realize these sites simply rip what the band wrote in their bio
on the band homepage. But do you realize the POWER of this?
Basically, you have the power to syndicate your image in a way.
These websites simply don’t have the time, nor intimate
knowledge of your band, to create some pseudo-bio for you. They
rely on you, and what you have to say about yourself. This is
power. Use it wisely. But you already knew that. What I’m about
to tell you is something you may not know, but could drastically
affect your bands promotional campaign. PRINT MAGAZINES DO THIS
TOO. Yep, a lot of those long write-ups you see in your favorite
magazines about your favorite band, have content ripped straight
from the bands’ bio. The trick is that this only applies to well
written bios. If you do in fact have such a bio, this can be the
most powerful weapon in your promotional arsenal.
THE SECRET BIO SAUCE RECIPE
Ok. So let’s recap real quickly. You know that your bio can help
control your image on the net. And now you know you can even
control how the print media presents you. But how do you write
such a bio? First, let’s go over what NOT to do.
INFLATE: Do not inflate your image beyond the reality of your
band. Don’t be all flash and no smash. In other words, don’t
talk about what you can’t back up. This is the most common
mistake in bio writing. I call it “inflation”. This is pretty
much adjective abuse. Avoid phrases like “intense live show” or
“super sonic blast from the future”. This is stock. This is not
creative. If you aren’t the biggest drawing band in your own
market, don’t say “this band is taking the nation by storm”. The
press and online community have been reading bios with such
inflations since the beginning, they see past this very well.
QUOTE FANS: If you can’t get someone credible to say something
nice about your band DO NOT resort to using a fan comment.
Ever…for any reason.
LIST SONG DESCRIPTIONS: If you are already an “inflator” then
talking about your own songs will only cause pain and tragedy.
SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON PREVIOUS BANDS: If your last band
didn’t have a record deal or tour, don’t bother. If you have
some leverage with your “former member of…” status use it
tastefully and only in brief.
Now that we have got those cardinal sins out of the way you are
probably thinking “jeeze, what else is there to write about”.
This is where we start digging. Time to put on your thinking
cap. You have to think like a reporter looking for a refreshing
angle. You have to find the one thing that can create an image
that will stick. You have to find THE STORY. By this time I have
lost some of you. You either don’t know what I mean by “the
story” or you have a bio that breaks every rule I just outlined
and you can’t admit it. The best bios read like a good music rag
write-up. If your bio is written correctly it should make a
staff writer’s job easy. It should be easy for him to “rip” or
“cop”. It’s no co-incidence that many pro bands use these kinds
of writers to pen their own bios! Perhaps you have an
interesting story about how you came together. Perhaps you have
some gimmick, like Siamese twins or 3 bearded lady bassists. But
hopefully you have something that connects your band to
something going on in the world of music. You need something
that will get people’s attention. Maybe your band is the only
Death Metal band for 100 miles in the Bible belt. You get the
picture. I am going to list some things that can make great
stories (and double as press releases). - Being produced by
someone reputable - Being managed by someone reputable -
Breaking some mark in online CD sales or downloads - Getting a
supporting slot on a festival or tour - Having a reputable
person as a quoted fan
A PHOTO SPEAKS 1,000 FLAWS
I want to get one thing out of the way: I’m not going to tell
you how to dress. But I am going to tell you that it may be your
biggest problem. I am not a stylist. I can not solve this
problem. I can tell you this though: The camera will expose
every flaw you have in your style. With that said, let’s get on
with at least getting a quality photo. I am not a professional
photographer. I am not going to tell you how to take a photo of
yourself. I am going to tell you where to get one. Your best bet
is to find a local photographer that you see at local shows.
More often than not, they are either legitimate press,
legitimate artist, or a legitimate student. Browse their catalog
of band photography and if you think it stands up, there ya go.
This may all seem like common sense, but I want to stress that
this is abandoned and somehow your guitar player’s girlfriend is
your “photographer” because her mom has a camera. Do not let
this happen to you. Find people with pro gear. Get a
professional or at least a digital arts student. These are
always your best bets. If you are going for sheer impact with
your 8 x 10 one good tip is to at least look like you are in the
same band. I’m not saying get a gimmick or wear make-up. I’m
saying that even if you think your personal look is “plain”,
your band as a whole can benefit from at least being on the same
page.
LOGO
The miracle of Adobe Photoshop has given birth to some of the
most breathtaking digital art we have seen. It has also, to the
misfortune of bands mostly, created total rubbish. If your logo
sucks it says many things about you. It shows you have high
tolerance for bad art. It shows you yourself might be a bad
artist and were not smart enough to hire a professional. It
shows you have a very distorted view about the genre of your
band. It shows some of you are totally unprofessional and don’t
care about your image.
You might be surprised how many ways there are to find good
digital artists to create your logo. In my personal opinion,
even paying up to $100 is worth it for a good logo. Bottom line,
the sites below are the best place to find killer artists.
DeviantArt.com Mylkhead.com AngryBlue.com PlayWithKnives.com
EyeSuckInk.com
PRESS KIT SECRETS
One very strong tip I can offer is to try to think of your image
as “dynamic”. It has to be all things to all people. You might
have to add something extra to that envelope before you send it
off. If you are sending your kit out to an artist rep at a
prospective endorsee you ALWAYS want it to contain tour dates.
This is the most important thing in your attempt to get gear for
cheap and say those lovely words to all your loser musician
friends playing crappy guitars… “I got an endorsement deal”. A
great add-in is a DVD. There are a lot of affordable ways to
make a DVD these days. Again, this is one of those things that
will expose your flaws. You don’t want to put your life story on
there. Live footage is great if its done right. Fake smoke and
that cheesy “page turn effect” are not. Don’t make a wedding
video. This will be valuable in your arsenal when try to book
gigs. Ask First. Send. Follow Up. This is your best way to make
some impact and get a solid contact in the biz. Your press kit
will always have more impact if the person is expecting it (send
it promptly). Make sure you are to the point when calling
someone you’d like to send a press kit to. You are Jon Doe from
The Doetones. You are going to be in town around this time. You
want to send a press kit for a possible gig. If you are sending
an email and have an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) NEVER send the
press kit in first. Always try to get a response before sending
the press kit. If you are sending to a possible endorsee put
your upcoming dates in the initial email. Following up is
crucial. Many of the people you will be dealing with in this
business are either busy or forgetful…mostly both. You must
initiate contact. Be tactful and patient. Do not hound people,
but make sure you give yourself a chance to make some
opportunities and pick up the phone yourself. Remember, you are
in essence, trying to self yourself to a company or consumer.
You have to be a salesman. Try to connect to people and have
them want to talk to you. If you can do this they will always
want to help you or get you involved in something that will. Or
best of all, spend money on you and your product.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bruce Prokopets is co-founder and editor of music news blog http://www.scenejumper.com.
Bruce had his first live gig at 15 and has had various jobs in
the industry since. He spent years as a guitar tech, tour
manager, endorsement liaison, bassist in a national act, and
promoter in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.
Music is the art of arranging sounds in periodic time so
as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative
composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and
timbre.
It is also the vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a
degree of melody, harmony, or rhythm. Music can also
be when an aesthetically pleasing or harmonious sound
or combination of sounds are produced example the
music of the water falling from a tap in a vessel.
Most of the time music is kept in memory and
performance only. If handed down orally, this music
may be considered “traditional” or not considered
composed by individuals. Different musical traditions
have different attitudes towards how and where to
make changes to the original source. If the music is
written down, it is generally in some manner which
attempts to capture both what should be heard by
listeners, and what the musician should do to perform
the music.
In most of the parts of the world music is a part of
everyday life. Chanting and singing during religious
rites and festivals are very common. Music as a
performing art is very usual among Indians. It was also
among the seventeenth-century New England settlers
who used music during their religious observances by
chanting psalms in the meeting house as an important
communal activity.
By the end of the century psalm singing had become
dissonant since worshipers could no longer read the
musical patterns in the religious book. The right
rendering of tunes was of lesser importance than
religious passion so many ministers and musical
refreshers, observed the teaching of musical notation to
restore order in the community. Regular singing soon
gave rise to the development of singing schools and the
creation of music for secular entertainment.
The revolutionary war saw a flowering of musical
creativity. Supporters of the American cause quite often
changed the words of British songs, such as “Yankee
Doodle,” to taunt their adversaries. The immediate post
revolutionary cultural climate was one of optimism that
Americans could create their own culture free of English
influence.
In the 1850s, the call for an independent American
music was heard again, this time from a composer
whose New York lectures in the early fifties inspired an
interest in the development of an American musical
language. But the drive for cultural independence fell
short.
With the wars came the marches and sentimental
songs that spoke of home, wives, mothers and children
became popular. Composers and entrepreneurs printed
many of these. In the second half of the century, many
successful American composers had studied in Europe
and adopted the romantic style despite the ongoing
arguments for an American music. Many men who
earned their livelihoods as professors achieved
respectability with works that bore considerable
resemblance to similar pieces being composed in
Europe at the time.
In the end of the century, major orchestras came up in
New York. Smaller communities observed
performances by local bands, which reflected the
popular taste for dances, marches, and synchronizing
excerpts. The troupes moving throughout the country,
performed combined comedic episodes, scenes from
Shakespeare’s plays, dancing, and minstrel songs
performed in black face.
Patica Masicuz is the owner of
BTX Music
which is a premier resource for music information.
for more information, go to http://www.btxmusic.com
Musical instruments have existed in one form or another for many thousands of years. There were several stringed instruments made before violins, but some of them are so ancient that modern scholars hardly know anything about them, having only seen them depicted in artwork or written record. The violin has existed in its current form since the 16-th century. The first Violin makers were Italians who were probably influenced by other ancient stringed instruments from around the world.
Some of the violin’s precursors date back several thousand years. The ravanstron, rebec, and rabab are ancient stringed instruments that were used thousands of years ago. By the 11-th century, the rote and vielle had been invented. These instruments looked somewhat similar to modern violins in that they fingerboards that containing strings which players could press in order to produce different tones. The vielle was probably the instrument most similar to the modern violin, different models had between two and five strings that could be plucked or bowed.
The history of the violin itself goes back to 16-th century Italy. The Medici family commissioned a famous lute builder named Andrea Amati to make a stringed instrument that was small enough for street musicians to use but had a sound quality similar to that of a lyre. His first violins were very successful and he was soon commissioned to build an entire orchestra by King Charles IX of France. The earliest known violin still in existence, dated 1564, was from this orchestra.
The Amati family — along with fellow Italian families like the Guarneris and the Stradivaris — continued to refine and develop the violin’s design until the 18-th century, when Antonio Stradivari built a violin that formed the basis for all future models.
Acoustic violins have not changed much since the 18-th century; the designs proved they could with stand the test of time. Some innovations, such as the advent of the electric violin have been made in recent years, but the basic design remains unchanged.
Violins Info provides detailed information about antique and electric violins, violin music, sheet music, strings, and shops; violin makers and repair; and explanations of how to play the violin and a short history of the violin. Violins Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.
