Putting together your own DJ press kit is an essential process for any aspiring DJ who wants to book more gigs and advance in their career.
Using a press kit template is a great way to ensure nothing is missed and that all the relevant information a booking agent looks for is on hand.
Continue reading to find out how to create a DJ press kit, from branding that showcases your style to important website and social media links.
How To Create A DJ Press Kit (Step-By-Step)
Whether you’re completely new to DJing and want to land your first gig or you’re a nightclub veteran looking for new venues, a DJ press kit is essential for success.
Not only is it an opportunity to showcase your music taste and personal brand, it’s also a good way to build industry connections and network with professionals.
We’ve put together this guide to help you create the best possible kit and leave no stone unturned to impress booking agents and club managers.
Why Create A Press Kit?
Creating a DJ press kit is essential for any aspiring DJs who want to get the attention of a booking agent and land more top-tier gigs.
It’s also a necessary tool for DJs who want to work closely with record labels and gain access to the latest releases before they’re available for a commercial audience.
While some DJs prefer to avoid the marketing aspects of their work, without a press kit it’s almost impossible to find representation and achieve your career goals.
By compiling a digital version of a DJ press kit, you can easily reach out to influencers, agents, and venue owners and gain their interest in your brand.
DJ Press Kit Essentials
Before you can begin reaching out to booking agents and promoters in your area, you’ll need a detailed press kit template to make sure you include all relevant information.
This template will cover everything from the necessary contact details and biographical information to the photos and videos that showcase your abilities.
Without further ado, let’s dive into our complete step-by-step guide to creating a DJ press kit:
Step 1: Write A Detailed Biography
One of the most important things to consider when using a press kit to get DJ gigs is how effectively you present yourself to prospective clients.
A great press kit template will start with space for a detailed bio, which allows you to project your strongest selling point in a clear and concise manner.
The style and tone of the music you play in your live sets, what new twists you bring to the table, and your background as a DJ should all be included in your bio.
You should also use the bio in your electronic press kit to showcase any career highlights, such as any events you’ve headlined or noteworthy club DJ residencies.
If you’re a music producer as well as a DJ, mentioning this here as well is a good way to indicate your talents go beyond working the DJ booth.
Step 2: Include All Relevant Contact Information
It’s all well and good putting together a visually striking and engaging press kit, but if the reader doesn’t know how to contact you, the kit won’t achieve its goal.
When using a press kit to promote your music, you should make sure all relevant contact information is clearly featured in the kit.
You want to make it as easy as possible for a potential booker to get in touch, so give them as many options as possible where they can reach you.
This includes your email address, as well as your mobile phone number for local gig bookings, allowing the venue’s events manager to talk to you directly.
Step 3: Add Professional Photos
A great DJ press kit should be a visually-stimulating source of information for potential bookers that shows as much as it tells.
Using professional photos, as well as any press photos you might have from previous events, is a good way to add visual interest while showcasing your personal brand.
If you don’t already have any photos from previous gigs you can use, you should take some fresh snaps and include them in your press kit.
Try to avoid using the camera on your mobile phone if possible, and ask around to see if you know any professional photographers or amateurs who use high-quality cameras and lenses.
These photos should present you in a flattering way, taken in good lighting conditions and a suitable environment such as a DJ booth.
Linking to high-resolution versions of these photos is also important if you’re planning on using them for press releases and making them available for wider use.
You should also provide a version of your main profile photo as a PNG file with a white background, as this makes it easier to crop and use on posters.
Step 4: Link To Live Performance Videos
Photographs are a great way to put across your personal brand in a DJ press kit, but you can take things to another level by including videos of live performances.
Footage from your biggest gigs or long-term residencies can be used to showcase your DJing techniques, as well as how the crowd reacts to your sets.
While you might not be using the best DJ visuals and light systems, you can still make your live performances a showcase of your unique DJing style.
If you’re new to DJing and haven’t landed any gigs yet, there are other ways you can perform and record live sets to include in your press kit.
Learning how to DJ on Twitch or other popular platforms such as MixCloud can help you to create video content that demonstrates your abilities behind the decks.
Recording your mixes on such platforms also gives you the opportunity to perform your sets multiple times, fine-tuning them so the final video is perfect.
Step 5: List Social Media Links
Building a strong digital presence and engaging with both fans and promoters through social media pages is an important aspect of building a DJ brand online.
Setting up a Facebook account dedicated to your DJing personality is a good place to start since this platform has plenty of options for posting and promoting your events.
You can also use platforms such as Twitter to further engage with fans and industry figures, as this site is where many music professionals go to stay in the loop.
If you’re on a live streaming platform such as Twitch and use this to post videos and streams of your live sets, make sure you include a link for these as well.
While you might want to avoid using every social media platform available for ease of management, there are services such as Hootsuite and Buffer you can use.
Step 6: Brand The Press Kit With Logos
The most successful DJs understand the importance of creating unique and eye-catching branding, from Deadmau5’s iconic helmet to Aphex Twin’s “A” logo.
Your DJ press kit should include your own unique logo throughout the formatting, whether this is a graphic design or a particular styling of your DJ name.
Before you settle on a logo design, check out some of the best DJ websites for established and successful DJs to see what aesthetics work the best.
Try to pick out any specific rules of thumb that professional designers use when putting together branding for big-name DJs.
For example, the expression “less is more” is one worth keeping at the forefront of your mind when designing a logo, using bold imagery and a limited color palette.
Your logo needs to work well in all sizes, so if there’s too much detail and multiple colors, it might not look too great when scaled down to a thumbnail.
Include this logo as a vector graphic when possible since this will make it easier for the recipient of your kit to resize and use for print or online purposes.
Step 7: Write A Concise Cover Sheet
While a DJ press kit is great for allowing you to really go into details about your brand and style, venue owners and promoters will need a quick summary before diving in.
This means writing up a concise cover sheet that you can include at the beginning of the PDF file that sums up what you’re about.
Sometimes referred to as an impact statement, the cover sheet should be easy to digest and read through from start to finish in around 30 seconds.
It should mention your career highlights and any sell-out performances at large venues, notable support slots, and air time on radio stations.
It can also include a brief summary of the contents of the press kit and should begin with a short but catchy description of your DJ persona and style of music.
Step 8: Share Any Press Testimonials
If you’ve managed to establish a reputation working as a DJ and are lucky enough to have received press coverage, this should also be used in your press kit.
Being proud of your accomplishments is a crucial element of the most successful DJ marketing campaigns, so make sure you include any testimonials from the press.
This could be a review of a night you’ve put on in a local club or other venues, as well as any articles or blog posts covering your performances.
Additionally, testimonials from former clients can be included in your press kit, whether this is from work as a wedding or mobile DJ or any other professional gigs.
If the testimonial is available online, make sure you include the relevant links, so the person reading your press kit can jump straight to the source.
Step 9: Include A Technical Rider
A technical rider is another document that you may want to consider attaching to your main press kit as a text file or appendix located at the end.
This document outlines the specific requirements you may have for a venue, so they can prepare for your gig in advance.
It includes a list of the gear you expect the club to provide, sometimes referred to as “backline requirements,” and expectations for the sound system used.
If the venue isn’t able to source all the equipment you request, they are then in a position to let you know ahead of time so you can make other arrangements.
DJs who like to bring additional elements to their sets, for instance, live vocals and musicians, can use the rider to request equipment such as microphones and stands.
Step 10: Create A List Of Potential Recipients
Once you’ve filled out all the sections from the press kit template, it’s time to put together a shortlist of local venues and music journalists to send it out to.
Unless you reach out to influencers and promoters, your DJ business isn’t likely to get off the ground, and you’ll continue to struggle to find new gigs.
Set up a spreadsheet and use this to compile a comprehensive list of local bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other venues such as gyms you might want to perform at.
You can add other tabs on the spreadsheet to include any like-minded DJs and music producers you’d like to reach out to and collaborate with.
If you want to try your luck getting early access to new music, expand the list of recipients so that it includes record labels known for releasing the kind of music you play.
Summary
So there you have it, our step-by-step overview on completing an electronic press kit template to promote your DJing brand and book exciting new gigs.
As your DJ career develops, so too should your press kit to reflect your latest gigs and update regularly to include any important highlights.
When combined with a strong social media presence and quality examples of your DJ sets, a press kit can help take your career in exciting new directions.
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