By Charlie Dahan

Where we left off last issue discussing the importance of the press kit in advancing your career. It is a musicians or band’s calling card and in one package should verify to the recipient why they should be doing business with your act.

The first three elements are the most important, the bio, the cover letter and the demonstration recording. While in most cases this info will be sufficient for your intended recipient, there are other bits of information or enclosures I have always found helpful.

1. A Quote Sheet and/or Tear Sheets ­ Please do not include every article that ever mentioned your band or listed your name in the concert calendar. Simply pull out some flattering quotes from reviews or articles and organize them neatly on one page. The exception to this rule is that if your band has been reviewed or written about in a major publication (i.e. Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, Relix, Jazz Times, Chicago Sun Times, etc), then you should include the article along with the header from the magazine / newspaper that includes the issue or date. Nothing is worse than receiving a package with fifty tear sheets...if it looks like it is going to take some effort to get through the press kit, you will have put off your recipient. If they want more press, they will ask.

2. 8x10 Black and White Photo ­ I wish I could reprint all the awful 8x10’s I have received over the years, but I just cannot do it. This is a visual representation of the artist. It should convey not only what you look like (an unfortunate item of importance in some genres) but your image and what audience you might connect with. It will also be used to reprint in papers and magazines. Please do not stand on a rooftop or in front of a brick wall…. its been done so many times it has become too much of a cliché. Try and be original and have some fun with your photo, but please have someone with a good sense about them help you approve your photo, as it will help you not appear on the ‘wall of shame’ that every A&R department keeps somewhere in its office. And please, whatever you do, don’t autograph it!

3. Tour Schedule and History ­ not important to all potential recipients, but essential for most. It is a very important tool to evaluate what level the artist has achieved in their career. Are they playing out a lot? Are they local, regional or national? What size venues are they playing? Record labels, agents, managers LOVE to see an artist playing out over a hundred dates a year regionally or nationally and in venues that hold a few hundred fans…know why? Fanbase! A guaranteed audience that will buy your new record when it comes out and a commission to make off the dates for the agent and manager.

4. Other ­ Do something to dress up your package, so you look both professional and serious about your career. Granted a professional package will not guarantee you the gig or a record deal, but it will implant a subliminal message into the recipients head that your are going to take your career seriously. Put the contents in a nice folder, print the bio on parchment paper, and if at all possible include some ‘swag.’ Swag is the term for free stuff in the music business. People in the music business LOVE free stuff. It can be anything you think they might keep that has your name on it: a mug, lighter, stickers, etc. - be creative. I still have a rubber ducky that Guster sent me when they were looking for a record deal.