Bio writing tips

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mo-Kay
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Mo-Kay

Dragon Soul Productions
I figured I'd put my music-management education to use here...
Don't know, maybe somebody could make this a sticky...Since it's an often overlooked aspect of musician's self-promotion...)






So by now, most people know a demo shouldn't be a 15 track thing... Companies won't come to you unless they know about you...BUT!

Writing a proper bio is something a lot of people don't seem to know how to do.

Now I know some of this stuff seems rather obvious, but you'd be suprised of the kind of stuff I've come across when I interned at an independent record company...

so here goes:

Know who you are writing for
Different goals need different means.
You need gigs, you make sure you make clear you're a great live band.
You need a record deal... make sure you tell about what sets ou apart from the rest... (also see: "Don't be afraid...")

Keep it short, sassy, sweet
You were in your high school orchestra, you made a crappy demo at 13, your parents are Mathilda and Harold Johnson, you have 3 sisters and your dog's name is Sparky.
Guess what? NO ONE CARES!

Ofcourse, BRIEFLY recapping your musical career up till now, can shed some extra light on where you stand now...but it must have a purpose!
Your bio should be focused and to the point, keep things relevant!

Try to keep it down to half a page of text, in a 12-14 size font. No one has time to read 3 pages of bio.

Also, try to have a catchy first sentence to get the reader's attention. Be catchy, not corny, nobody likes a bad comedian.

Don't be afraid to "bigup yourself"
It's a jungle out there. Some msuicians screw their own promotion up, some have managers/promoters/bookers that'll promotionally rip you in half if you don't stand up for yourself.

Be positive, make sure you know what your strengths are, and put them in your bio. If you don't believe in yourself... why should anyone else?

KNOW what you DO
It's absolute HELL for venue-programmers, A&R managers etc. to have to read the same thing over and over again:
"We don't really fit into any category, we do our own thing, we have a unique sound..."

Get over it! Like I stated before, you DO need to know what makes you different... but the person on the other side of the mailman's route will be SO THANKFULL to you if you can give him some REAL info to work with.

REAL info in terms of style could be:
-name your influences
-describe yourself as a mix/cross of this-and-that band

i.e.: "Jon Bon Jovi and Slayer have been a great influence for me in terms of songwriting" or "Our sound could be described as a crossover between RATM and Linkin Park, with some Madonna and Robbie Williams influences in the vocal department."

Also, you DO have a style. Name it. if it's pop rock, it's pop rock. Ok?

Be known.
This may sound stupid....but you really need to make clear what your (band)name is, so it doesn't get mixed up with your demo title, for example.

Include your contact info!!!
Put your contact (direct phone number!!!)info everwhere.
On your CD!!!, on your enveloppe, on your bio, on your CD booklet/case.
Your CD might land somewhere in a pile, but if your phone number is on it, and not just your title and band number, you're cool.

Layout/packaging
-Give the person you want to reach a call. Ask them if they are accepting demo's/promotional material...and get their names!
Now you've asked them...you can take a red marker and write "REQUESTED MATERIAL" on the enveloppe.

-Use a computer. Nobody wants to decrypt your sloppy handwriting.

-It's not all about packaging. If you DO choose to spend hours on building a 5 foot windmill to put your demo in...it better be good. But let's face it. You don't have time to do that.

-Keep everything in your package TOGETHER. I've had this one case where a guy sent his demo CD via mail, and his letter/bio via e-mail.
Again...No one has time for that kind of BS.

-Keep the text plain. Basic fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, size 12-14), no funny extra drawings or pictures on your bio sheet.
One thing you CAN include is your band logo, should you have one. Put it at the top of the page.
DO include ONE picture of you/your band, seperatly.
Check your local photo store for discounts on bulk-prints of the same picture.


Final thing
Keep sending out material. The more of your stuff is out there... the bigger your chances are to get hooked up somewhere. Don't take the "I sent out 30 demos so now I'm ok" approach. Keep working.














GOOD LUCK :D

Mo-Kay
 
Good stuff.

Well timed too, doing a biog is my next task while waiting for the CD to come back from manufacturing!
 
Glad it's usefull to ya :)

Hope the same goes for the other 15+ viewers of this thread :rolleyes:
 
If it helps here's one I made up for my band, The GCO.

www.thegco.com/gcobio.pdf

Keep in mind we only play locally and do our own production/distro, so we only send this to clubs and media. We also got 1" buttons made from www.crucialpins.com and add a few of those to the package as well (we also include our CD, of course)
 
Nice to see useful info still flows through the BBS... Thank you sir!

- Tanlith -
:D :D :D
 
glad to see it appreciated :)

Oh...1" buttons... now that's punk! :D
 
was browsing around and thought I'd give it a bump, in case newbies are looking for info on this subject :)
 
One other thing I don't think was mentioned was to include a small 'notes' space at the bottom of the PR so you can scribble something personal to the reviewer.
eg hand written "Hi Steve, thanks for speaking to me the other day, here's a copy of the album as discussed..." etc. If nothing else it will remind 'Steve' of who you are and looks more personal than just an unsolicited mailshot. Also you can state here what it is you're after, 'I'm looking for management representation/I'm putting a tour together/I'd like you to consider playlisting this' etc.
Oh one other thing, consider including quotes from respected sources, if you're lucky enough to have some. That way you're not just blowing your own trumpet, someone else is blowing you too! ;-) No use mentioning Aunt Mable says you're fab, but if the guy from Rolling Stone said something positive then why not include the quote.
 
yes indeed, that last remark is a really good one...the quotes.

As for the "personal note"....the PR KNOWS he's not the only one recieving this package... and "requested material" should take care of the "unsollicited" part.

A "note on a letter" would be very cute and all, but it might be a bit too much, and take away from your clean, no-nonsense package.

But if you're all cool with the A&R you're sending your package too, sure, why not :)
 
One thing that has struck me over the past few months is the emphasis placed by reviewers on the information you supply in your PR/biog accompanying the CD/EP or whatever.

Think carefully about what you write, because chances are it will certainly be read by the journo/reviewer and some of it WILL end up being used in the piece/review.

Quote your influences & they'll quote them back to you in whatever they write. Mention a little anecdote about your life and it may well end up being published. One even quoted something I said in the hand-scribbled note.

If you're unknown and unsigned, all they may have to go off is the short PR you supply. So make it succinct interesting and only include things you wouldn't mind the world knowing! Don't expect the journo to visit your website to read about you, some will, but many are way too busy with a stack of stuff to get through and deadlines to meet.

It will be easier 'next time', because you can quote what others have said about your stuff in your PR.
 
Don't think its asking too much, some people enjoy doing that kind of thing like website evaluation or critique of a song or whatever.

I looked at the link. Here's my 2 cents.

I'd take out this "...despite his relative lack of popularity. "
You don't need to tell people that. Later you go on to say you have fans across the globe, so it doesn't fit. I guess you could add " undiscovered talent" in there instead if you want to?

How about:
"GJ has international appeal, with fans and producers ranging from the Mid-Atlantic region (Baltimore to North Carolina), to as far away as Denmark and Austria hitting the website on a daily basis. Skill speaks for itself."

" with the fervor of a hurricane." I'd swap 'fervour' for 'power' " with the power of a hurricane." 'Fervour' doesn't seem to fit to a hurricane?

For the 'Highlights' rather than list the actual performances with dates (which seem far apart), you could list them but without the dates.

Only my ideas, I'm no expert.
Good luck with it.
 
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