Let’s reiterate what Andy Cahan said about your contact info. On the CD, and on the CD jacket you should always put your name and contact info. It is quite easy for your demo cd and the press kit to become separated from each other, and you want your demo to be clearly marked with your name and the way to contact you. This way if someone sees a lone CD sitting on the desk, plays it and loves it, they do not have to go far to know who they need to contact.
Put your headshot in the left hand front side, and your cover letter in front on the right hand side. The CD can be tucked in front of the cover letter. Now you have a worthy press kit containing all of the essentials to get the point across that you indeed are a serious contender. But wait. There’s more. If this record company is like any other successful record company, then they are receiving boatloads of new press kits and demos daily. Many as nice as yours, or they would be if they ever made it out of the envelope. You do not want all of your hard marketing work to go to waste by having your beautiful press kit sit atop a growing sea of other beautiful press kits. Tomorrow, another envelope may be placed on top of yours forever obscuring your beautiful penmanship on the mailing label. There is nothing you can do to guarantee someone will tear open your envelope the second they get it. But you can take steps to make sure that your envelope stands out from the others. Don’t use a white envelope. Or a brown one. Be bold! If your stationary supply store has them in hot pink or bright yellow, then go for it. It will also help later when you make your follow up telephone calls. They may remember the hot pink envelope! I mentioned penmanship earlier. Hand address your envelope. Don’t make it look like you ran off a bunch of these to mass mail out. They may not even notice it, but if they do, it can only help. If your handwriting is terrible then seek out the skill of another, one whose handwriting is a work of art unto itself.
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Press Clippings and Reviews
If you don’t have any of these, get some. Every local paper pretty much has an Arts and Entertainment section. Find out who the reporters are and call them. Find out exactly what they are looking for, and try and get them to come out to one of your performances. Being printed in the newspaper or in a magazine gives you another level of credibility and is just another thing that sets you apart from the other gazillions of garage bands out there try to get attention.Top Ten Independent Pop Record Companies
1) Epitaph Epitaph Records was founded in the 1980’s by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz to put together a record label that was artist-friendly. The label helped propel the punk revitalization of the 1990’s with releases from bands such as The Offspring and Rancid. Key artists on the label today are:Do you have a Press Kit or a Promotional Pack?
Do you have a Press Kit or a Promotional Pack? Just like an actor or a model, you need to assemble a marketing package specifically tailored for you and your music. This is like a product brochure where you are the widget to be sold. And make no mistake, this package must “SELL” you because in this arena of the music world, you are a product. Your Press Kit must present you in a most favorable light and must instill in the reader or viewer, enough interest to take the next step.