EPK stands for “electronic press kit.” In the past, a press kit was typically a package of materials—such as photos, a bio and a CD—that a band would prepare in physical print form to distribute to music industry professionals. An EPK is an electronic version of this kind of press kit.

An EPK is a Onesheet page, website or digital file used by musicians to promote their music. Similar to a portfolio or resume, it allows musicians to provide their essential information to industry professionals—music bookers, venues, journalists, bloggers, playlist curators, labels, managers, radio programmers and more—in one convenient package.

An EPK visually represents a musician’s music, branding and general vibe as a single-page Onesheet, a multi-page website or a PDF file. Depending on what material the band has available, an EPK might show band logos, a music player, images, embedded videos, and various sections of text.

The best way to make an EPK is to use a platform like Bandzoogle that lets you easily design an EPK and host it online as a web page—that way you only need to provide a URL when sharing your EPK with industry professionals. In some cases you may be asked to provide an EPK file, so it’s a good idea to use a platform that lets you create a downloadable PDF version as well.

Your EPK should include a sampling of your best work. Most band EPKs include music (in a music player), a short artist bio, professional photos and album art, embedded high-quality music videos, a summary of recent achievements and reviews, social and streaming links, and contact information. You may want to include other specific content depending on who you’re sending it to and why—and also depending on what content you have available.

When sending an EPK to industry professionals, the most important thing to do is to make it easy and convenient for them to access it. Check whether your contact has specified a format or process they prefer. If you are sending an email, sharing a URL to a page where your EPK is hosted online is often the most effective format. If your contact prefers that you upload a file, then it’s often best to provide your EPK as a PDF file.

Sometimes, yes; there are many options you can choose from. In some cases a website and an EPK can be one and the same—some musicians choose to create a full website to use as their EPK. Many create a dedicated Onesheet EPK web page, which can either be a standalone page hosted online or a page within their larger website. Other times, musicians prefer to have an EPK in offline PDF format.