Bio writing

[CGBMike]

Why is this so impossible?! It's so difficult to get the balance right between selling yourself short and sounding like an arrogant jerk.
I thought this thread could help people (aka me!...and others...mainly me) - anyone out there please offer hints and suggestions? Would be fantastic to hear how other people do it!

Cheers!

 

[boingoman]

Make it short. Where you are from, what your general genre leans toward, maybe a couple major influences, any professional work or credits and awards. Skip the adjectives and any description of where your music "takes" anyone.
Make it so the publicist of an event or venue can copy and paste it without having to edit it to put on their website.

 

[danny.guitar]

Don't be afraid to tell people how great you are and how amazing your music is. I do it all the time, even if it's not true.

There are people you can hire to do this. And it might be better to have another point of view write your stuff.

Also, if you come across modest, your music will sound modest. If you make it sound that you like it (and you should) and point out the good qualities, they will stand out when listening to it, especially the first time.

 

[mikeh]

There is a fine line between selling yourself and over selling your self. I've always believed that you can't go wrong if you avoid fabricating facts.

Important facts would include:

Releases of any recording on a record label (even if it's your own label). Obviouly multiple releases, major labels and large the sales numbers can be impressive on a bio - but a creative presentation of less impressive info can still look good on a bio.

Acts you've opened for (in particular national acts) - even if you were the first band out of 6, you're still the opening act (now this may be a liberal interpretation - but is not fabricated).

Large venues you performed at - even if you were at the bottom of the bill (natually you don't need to admit you were bottom of the bill)

Press clippings or quotes from media coverage - any media coverage adds credibility (the more establshed the media the better).

Something that identifies the genre of music is needed (although many of the above would establish that). I agree that personal discriptions of how "moving" your music is has to be used sparingly.

 

[newheights]

try this,http://bumbershoot.org/band-bio-generator.htm, It got me going on my bio very fast. I just changed and added a few things here and there and it was done.

 

[danny.guitar]

try this,http://bumbershoot.org/band-bio-generator.htm, It got me going on my bio very fast. I just changed and added a few things here and there and it was done.

Awesome. I released a hit song that went Platinum in Europe and my lead singer (which doesn't exist).

Pretty cool though.

 

[DavidK]

There are people you can hire to do this.

I dont know if I would actually pay, but having an outside source or two is a good idea. Throw some drafts up here and get some opinions and modifications.

Make it short. Where you are from, what your general genre leans toward, maybe a couple major influences, any professional work or credits and awards. Skip the adjectives and any description of where your music "takes" anyone.

That sounds about right. It all depends on what you've done, and how much filler you need. Good advice about skipping the adjectives. Also, read as many as you can. Learn to spot the good ones, the bad ones, the true ones and the total BS ones. Then use a bit of each.

Its important, first impressions always are. My bio can get me in a lotta doors, so take the time and make an outline. Make a list of the things you want to get in it. Influences should be minimal at best, when I read a big list of influences I know right away that the person is padding and has little to say.

 

[danny.guitar]

I dont know if I would actually pay, but having an outside source or two is a good idea. Throw some drafts up here and get some opinions and modifications.

I would. But I guess that's how bad I suck at writing a bio. And I'm talking about the kind of literature you see on the back of a record or something. I have like 200 records. If you look on the back, it's obvious the bio/description wasn't written by the artist himself.

You could post your song on www.garageband.com. There are plenty of critics who will review your music, and do it well. And possibly, good enough to put on the back of your CD or something. But if I were serious about releasing an album I would probably throw down the money for a marketer or someone who knows how to write that kind of stuff.