This is my site that I made to do several things at
one place. First, to be able to get the ATA bands on
here as friends so that I can send them their flyers I
do for upcoming bookings. It's also instruct bands on
how to make their own EPK's, or, contact me for help.
My husband and I have Alien Talent Agency, a booking
agency for musical entertainment.
I have done electronic promotional kits, hard paper
promotional kits, (promo paks), electronic media
presentation, photography, and video professionally
for private industry, various state agencies, and for
bands, for 16 years.
We listen to what buyers want to see and hear from the
band electronic promotional sites, and what they don't
like seeing or hearing, all day long, every day.
Basically, like any consumer, they want to see what
they are getting. No fancy frills, no extras, just
the real deal. Some complain about studio recorded
music, some complain about it NOT being studio
recorded (if the video or mpg sound recording is not
good).
The market is changing to an internet based buyer's
access: we use the site www.alien-culture.com with an
Alien Talent Agency page to feature bands we book.
There are 5 visual components to electronic
promotional kits:
1) Your logo
2) Your choice of graphics concept
3) Your choice of web colors (RGB)
4) Your photos of your band
5) A short video of your band performing
It's best if you decide on all these components at the
same time, so that you have continuity of concept.
You can chose not to have a logo, or choose no color!
It's really up to you, and what you think your fans
and market base would like best to see on your site.
Interactive Needs:
One of the great things about MySpace (aside from
being a free site to show your talents) is all the
room for .jpg photos, and you can use that space to
store flyers you want to post on other MySpaces, or,
to send to clubs/events for them to print out. I
recommend registering at Photobucket.com, and
uploading your pictures there, for ease of posting the
copied HTML to other MySpace sites that allow comments
sections of flyers, if we aren't booking the gig, and
you want people to know where you'll be playing in
style.
I also recommend: slideshows of pics at the club, of
your fans and the fun you have, and a band bio in
video slideshow or slideshow lay out, to avoid too
much text on your MySpace music site, like I have on
this one right now!
The most text you want to have is the at-a-glance list
of upcoming shows!
WHAT ATA NEEDS FOR FLYERS:
We need a good band picture, with space for text,
and/or other graphics. You might be in love with that
big gorgeous drawing somebody did for you, or those
gorgeous portrait studio type pictures, but, it's
probably not something suitable (without a lot of work
on my part) for printable flyers.
EXAMPLE OF A GREAT BAND PICTURE FOR FLYERS:
:
This picture is also dynamic, has lots of positive action and style.
This band pic has space for graphics, and when you add them, you get:
Don't worry about how you are dressed, or worry about appearing like the 80's idea of a "rock star".
The "rock star" is dead: rappers are the new rock stars. The industry now is about accessibility, and personality: if you aren't a rapper you are just going to appear to be a person who plays music who is trying to look like a rock star. And that doesn't sell, and people see through it...your music is YOU. BE YOU.
WHY ATA NEEDS YOU TO HAVE A GOOD VIRAL VIDEO OF A PERFORMANCE, NOT A MUSIC PLAYER:
The buyers want to know what you look and sound like while performing, that's why! And, they want reassurance that you are professional, and presentable. WE know you are, but our opinion doesn't count...They want to SEE you!
THE BONUS: YOUR BAND BIO PAGE FOR PRINTED OUT PROMO PAKS CAN BE IN YOUR MYSPACE, ALONG WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS, AND SONGLIST.
There are a lot of fun things you can do with your MySpace live performance video, and the Puget Sound area is perfect for photographs and art to include.
Some dinosaurs in the business are still demanding the printed out promo pak. You can store that, ready for print out, at any time, right in your MySpace, so it's available to the band to print out and send or drop off, right away. And, you can burn a CD-R of your video, and tuck that in, as well!
I use a Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 MPEG movie camera to shoot both photographs, and viral videos. You can do anything you want, and edit in or out whatever you want, with a good graphics program like Adobe Photoshop and digital video editing from Elements by Adobe.
If you are lost, and have no ideas, or don't know how to, or the skills to; be able to do your own EPK, you can contact me at this site, or through Alien Talent Agency Monday thru Thursday, 9 am to 5 pm.
Thanks for stopping by!
