What to Include in a DJ EPK: The Ultimate Checklist
Hell Yes Your Mixes Are FIRE… But Are Promoters Getting the Message?
If you’re a DJ without an EPK, you have no idea how far behind the competition you are.
Curious but short on time? Take a half-minute for this bite-size summary: While your sick beat-drops and wicked 808s are reliable crowd-pleasers, your EPK is what impresses booking agents. This guide slices open the modern DJ Electronic Press Kit to reveal the 4 indispensable elements you need to get hired: Bio, Visuals, Music, and Contact Info. Also covered are the "pro-league" additions (Tech & Hospitality Riders) that separate the struggling hobbyists from in-demand headliners. Learn how to avoid letting a low-energy PDF cost you a paycheck.
Just about every DJ will agree that their most mission-critical professional asset when onstage is their mixer. But what about before you get booked for that gig? While your 303s and 808s are great for the kicks you drop for the crowds, the EPK is among your most effective tools for everything that goes into actually getting yourself hired.
And in today’s brutally competitive DJ market, you need the targeted showcasing power that the Electronic Press Kit (EPK) was created to deliver.
In a nutshell, the DJ EPK is a digital resume that serves as a brand showcase used to secure bookings on the strength of the bio, media, music, and contact info.
Think of your DJ EPK as a kind of department store window display for your brand. It’s a virtual showreel of your best performances, backstory, photos and vital info, all link-accessible on one convenient digital format.
In our previous EPK blogs, you might remember we discussed the crippling disadvantages of being a DJ without an EPK, and the career-boosting benefits of having one.
There are basically two ways to create an effective EPK that will impress the real gatekeepers to your success: If you have the tech know-how you can just go ahead and make one yourself... yeah, problem solved! Or you could hire a professional with specialist experience in press kit design. How much? Depending on the volume of content used and the overall complexity of your design needs, expect to spend anywhere from a couple-hundred to a few thousand bucks.
Not exactly pocket change for most working DJs.
But whether you’re paying a pro or going full-on DIY, you absolutely need to know which DJ promotional materials to include in your EPK, which ones are optional, and which apply to your unique DJ brand.
Let's start with the must-haves.
4 Essential Elements of a DJ EPK
Sure, you can load your EPK with all kinds of content for specific types of job pitches. But when you just need a basic, no-frills version of your “digital billboard”, it’s important to know the four key elements that no EPK for DJs should be without.
Let’s take a closer look, you're probably already familiar with some of these…
DJ BIO
Your bio should include a brief artist introduction with highlights of your mix-life journey, list of professional achievements, DJ nGme and even branding elements like your logo or signature tagline. With everything all in one place, promoters can quickly scope out your groove and genre to quickly understand what you're all about.
VISUAL MEDIA
Since the EPK you present to prospective clients needs to convey your live-show energy to someone who has probably never seen you live, it just makes sense that pro-quality performance photos and videos should be included. Include some studio or promotional pics/VDO clips and tie it all up with a ribbon by adding a personal message that captures your brand ID.
MUSIC SAMPLES
I mean DUH, of course a big part of your DJ EPK is going to be examples of your top-performing music tracks and wickedest mixes. These should be clips of you performing live that feature your most crowd-screaming tunes. (Pay attention to video quality and avoid the dreaded “potato-cam” footage.) This lets promoters see exactly what you’re about so they can make a quick decision when they like what they see.
CONTACT INFO
It kind of goes without saying but we’ll say it anyway: Your basic EPK kit should include all of your contact information for those with booking inquiries or collaboration offers. It’s best to use a dedicated work email (no Gmail or Yahoo!), and make sure there are links to your website and all social media. (be careful about posting sensitive info like phone or personal email.)
Advanced DJ EPK Element For High-Pay Gigs
The bare-bones EPK described above might be useful for specific situations where the potential client has seen you before and is already familiar with your stuff. But when you’re going up against a sea of well-prepared competition, your EPK will have to provide a much more detailed look at the ‘DJ’ you.
Along with that basic information above, your EPK will need to provide this additional intel just to be considered for those $weet, big-payday bookings…
PRESS COVERAGE
If you’ve ever been the subject of a media interview, been featured in a published news story or had your show reviewed in print, you definitely want to get those in your EPK. Besides giving you a sharp advantage over your Hunger Games-inspired DJ competition, such coverage, even by local or independent press, energizes your brand with valuable cred as someone worth dedicating some media space to.
QUOTES, MENTIONS, TESTIMONIALS
Has your DJ name ever been mentioned by music critics, industry professionals or fans writing 5-star comments? You’ve struck the promotion jackpot because that’s EPK gold! If your stage-handle ever comes up in any videos, articles or pod recordings, treat it like a valuable asset that will give your EPK a much needed edge in today’s shark-tank DJ industry jobscape.
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
Promoters will want to know what other venues have paid you to perform at their venue or event. Along with one-time gigs, be sure to note any club residencies, exceptional or special-case gigs or feature-act billing. Each of these represents another tile in the mosaic of your overall industry presence which helps give you a step-up over rival gig-seekers.
PRESS RELEASE
If you’re not regularly dropping press releases, now is probably a good time to start. Proper press release formatting is all-important—media outlets are super picky about this. Once you become part of the DJ Funnels virtual community, you’ll learn how to create a standard format online template where you can list your latest projects, upcoming gigs, and any collabs. Make it concise, informative, and don’t forget to refresh the dateline.
Pro-Level Add-Ons: Technical & Hospitality Riders
The EPK we’ve described so far isn’t a magic bullet that will bring you instant success, but it will open up many more opportunities to win gig bookings than being without one. That said, there are some additional info-ingredients you can add to your EPK recipe that some venues and agents might even require, depending on where you are in your career.
For example, you could have two separate EPKs: One that talks to club/venue owners and another aimed at festival promoters. Each is fine-tuned for its target group to get you a higher fee per festival gig than for a club performance. The goal is to come across as a DJ that knows their shit, and an EPK will make an expert. (No shit!).
Tech Rider
A tech rider is useful for giving prior notice of any special electrical power, sound setup or stage spec requirements over and above the standard Main CDJ and mixer set up. It’s for acts that feature a heavy visual element like elaborate lighting, SFX or maybe a giant, disturbingly human-like robot-monster shooting sparks from arm-blasters that struts across the stage (no joke, some guy actually does this!)
A tech rider helps avoid unexpected headaches, while filtering out time-wasting conversations with potential clients who just aren’t equipped to handle your mind-blowing act.
Hospitality Rider
Think of a hospitality rider as your comfort guarantee that clearly lists all of your preferences for essential provisions associated with travel and event needs of performers and their staff. In addition you want your backstage needs all taken care of at the event itself.
This is where some top-name DJs get creative, and in my 20-plus years in the biz I’ve seen some crazy stuff, from Steve Aoki requiring each layer of his cake to be prepared individually, to Dimitri and Mike demanding helicopter service for trips of more than two hours’ drive. One performer even asked for three pairs of Calvin Klein boxer shorts.
Here's what the typical hospitality rider covers:
Transportation
Hotel accommodation
Food service requirements
Backstage amenities
Social Media Metrics
If you’re lucky enough to be on the short-list for a career-changing collab with an established artist or once-in-a-lifetime $ponsor$hip deal with a major gear brand, they’ll likely want a close look at your numbers before moving forward. Here’s where you reveal relevant social media stats like follower counts, engagement rates, and brand reach that show you are actively growing your community. Not having to ask you for this essential intel saves them time, and demonstrates your tuned-in industry awareness. And providing this intel shows that you’re a performer who’s focused on selling tickets and filling dance floors.
Is There an EPK In Your Future?
Now that the massive advantages of an Electronic Press Kit are clear, chances are you realize you’re going to need one too, but you don’t want to spend the time and money.
or…
Did We Mention DJ Empire Protocol?
Let’s get real here — being a DJ without an EPK in today’s meat grinder DJ job market is like jumping from a plane with half a parachute. That’s why it just makes sense that you’d want to take action aimed at getting your digital showcase up and running, and the DJ Empire Protocol is pinpoint-designed to do that and a bunch more.
While other platforms take your money and say thank$ and good luck!, the DJ Empire Protocol gives you the strategy, the tool, and the team to attract leads, keep you booked and eliminate the repetitive, grinding tasks that distract you from composing sets and dropping sick beats.
Remember the press kit we talked about above? Great! Your fellow DJs do too, and that’s why this is a game-changer: it’s a shift away from boring static press kits to a fully interactive new-era Sonic Profile Pro EPK. Your sign-up gets you the full build-out template for this high-performance marketing machine, designed to explosively expand your digital footprint, and pull fans and promoters into your universe… all for less the price of a round of drinks or a couple of take-out pizzas.
And you won’t be taking this journey alone — your FREE 30-day all-access pass instantly makes you part of the VIP DJ Empire Builders Community that will help get your Sonic Profile Pro EPK up and running within 7 days.
Does this sound like the action you need to get to where you deserve to be? Then smash the link below to get the deep-insider system and promotional tools you need to be seen, pump-up your reach and get booked!
Now if you think the time is right to evolve your marketing into pro-level asset that will attract leads, automate workflows and get you booked solid, press Go! on your DJ Empire Protocol system trial and 30-Day All-Access software pass now and have your automated booking engine operational in just one weekend.
