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Music Business 107;
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Your PR (Public Relations) kit may keep you working all the time, and then again, it may end up in a garbage can 95 percent of the time. You can't generalize on this, it will be hit and miss depending on just about any aspect of your music or the market you are attempting to work in. It should help you sell yourself in instances where there is a close fit. The more you know about your market, the better the odds of your PR kit being a successful sales tool.
Who are you sending this to?
The person who is considering booking your act needs to address specific needs. If your act happens to supply these needs for the expected market (ie, the people who might be expected to come and see/hear your), then there is a potential fit. People who book have different needs, depending on what they are booking for. Some examples of venues that live music frequently appears:
- Local Concerts
- High Schools
- Colleges
- Private Parties
- Country Clubs
- Tourist Resorts
- Weddings
- Local Malls/Department Stores
- Clubs/Bars
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Campgrounds
- Company Picnics/Employee Functions
- Private Clubs
- Religious Organizations
- Local TV/Cable
- Local Sporting Events
- Military Bases
- Promotional Events
see Music Business 105; Getting Noticed - Working the Media for more elaboration on some of these topic areas.
You may find that if you really look, you have many opportunities, but they all have very different needs and expectations. If you are adaptable to the needs of some of the markets, and not others, your PR kit can focus on the ones where there is the most potential.
Another thing to consider is that your act may be adaptable, but you can't really make that point in a single PR package. As an example, if you include photos of your act leaping about the stage in multi-colored Spandex with pyrotechnics going off around you, that will not fit the needs of quite a few of the types of places listed above. Some places may require a Tuxedo, or a nice suit. The point is simple, if you know your potential audience, you can create more than one PR kit for each market.
First impressions are important. Don't hesitate to create a set of PR packages that fits the needs of specific markets. Use the right one when appropriate. You will be using this package to define your image, as well as your capabilities.
The Basics - What any PR Kit needs
The kit need not be expensive. Keep in mind that it may immediately go out in the trash 5 minutes after you walk out the door. It needs to be reasonably nice. You can use a folder or a Manila envelope to hold everything. The packaging should be large enough to hold any papers without folding anything.You must list the Band name (or entertainers name), address, phone number(s) and contact person(s)
There needs to be a Biography page that lists all the performance members, and if possible a photo along with each member (this is pretty easy to do with most Word Processing software on a home computer and a laser or ink-jet printer). The Biography should be specific about the person and what they provide for the act/performance - really anything that relates. Don't use small fonts; many people have trouble reading anything less than 12 point fonts. Pick a font that is easy to read (things like 'Gothic' fonts are neat for titles but are very tiring to read).
At least one Photo that's either a posed photo or a photo from a performance. A collage (a number of photos on a single page) may be useful to further define the act and what can be expected.
References (if available) can be strong selling points. You may ask people that your have worked for to write a letter (If you are Christian performer, this can be quite important if you want to perform outside of your general area).
Song Lists give an idea of what range of music you perform and allows people to make selections of their favorites, or suggest areas that you may want to focus on. Also make sure that this is dated and is no more than 3 months old (relative to the date on the song list).
An Equipment List that highlights the gear that you will be providing. You might show up expecting someone else to provide a large PA only to find that they were expecting you to bring one. It happens.
If you have a Mailing List of fans, don't hesitate to mention this in your PR kit. Its possible that you may want to help publicize your up-coming performance, and the person hiring you may help foot some of the expense, particularly if they see an opportunity for greater profits.
Keep this simple and to the point - don't clutter it up with too much data, otherwise, its apt to be set aside because it appears disorganized or doesn't fit the needs of the booking. This is really crucial - a decision will often be made in the first minute based on what the person sees. You may not get a booking right then and there, but it what is there looks promising, you may see a booking down the road.
Audio component of your PR Kit
I never liked to include a tape (I never made any demo CD's) in a package unless I had to. I preferred to hand deliver the PR Kit and talk to the person looking at it while they reviewed the contents, it gave me an opportunity to find out what that person was looking for. The benefit was that I had more than one type of cassette tape in my pocket, and I wanted the person who was in a position to do the booking to tell me which one they wanted to hear.This helped me close deals (always carry contracts and your booking schedule along with you). I played a variety of music styles and I built up a set of demo tapes to fit specific needs and I handed out the ones that were best fits. You may not have this option available to you, or you may not be interested in performing at any place that does not suit your style of music.
I don't believe in handing out tapes or CD's to people who are apt to throw them out as soon as you walk out the door - especially when you consider that you could run out of tapes/CD's right before a perfect match for your skills presents itself. I'm speaking from experience.
Rest assured that the odds of your tape or CD getting played on a system that has terrible sound quality are very high. I usually brought my own inexpensive cassette deck along with me - This way I knew what it sounded like before I played it for anyone, and I could also be certain that at least some of it would be heard.
Information about what to put on your Demo tape/CD will appear in the next segment of this article (due in November 1998).
Additional things to consider having
A Band/Performer Logo - This should look very professional. If you are not up to it, find someone to work with you and get a high quality result - this could be an artist friend or a commercial artist you hire. If you can get a crisp Black and White Master drawing, it can be used for stationary, Tee-Shirts, Hats and other trinkets. I bought an inexpensive Badge-Maker from Badge-A-Minit (1-800-223-4103 in the U.S.A.) and made up custom badges for many of the parties we performed at. You can work wonders with a Ink-Jet or Laser Printer and one of these kits. A Hot Logo makes you look more professional.Performance Posters - These should reflect your image. If you are not up to it, find someone with a graphics arts background that is interested in working with you; preferably someone who likes what you do. You might find that local vocational schools that teach offset printing may make these up fairly cheap as their students learn the process (in the U.S.A. some High Schools also teach this - contact the Industrial Arts department and see what's available).
Business Cards - Use your Logo if possible (you can create your own using pre-cut Business Card Laser Printer paper - look for it at stationary stores that deal in office supplies). It should list at least 2 phone numbers and you don't need that many on hand. I often replenished my supply with 24 new ones at a time. This allowed me to make changes without having a huge stock of obsolete cards if any of the information on the cards changed (this is quite a common occurance). Look at other performers business cards to get ideas. You may have more than one set of cards, depending on the market you are shooting for. All the more reason to do only a 24 or so at a time.
Add copies of any newspaper clippings and press releases you have made. This would include written releases of any of your audio tapes/CDs.
What if my PR Kit contact is by Mail?
In these cases, try to estimate the best selection of photos and tape/CD and enclose that in your mailer (always include something that they can listen to). Send it out and follow up on it. You can't always pick the best combination of information without really knowing your audience, you have to take a risk and hope for the best. If you can find someone who has performed at any of the places you want to perform at before, you can always ask for suggestions.Your kit should answer enough questions about your act that there is a potential for you getting a booking. Try to think in terms of how well your PR Kit answers those and plan to follow up with who-ever you sent the PR kit to. Experience will teach you a great many things in this area.
Ways to lose opportunities
- Don't have any promo material
- Handwritten Promo info
- Copies of copies of copies
- No Photos
- No Song-list
- No audio recordings of you available upon request
- You may need a Video
- Sloppy PR package
If you want to be treated as professional, be prepared to put together a professional PR package.
Questions? Comments?
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