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EPK means electronic press kit. It is the one link or PDF a promoter, venue, festival or label opens before they book you, sign you or write about you. It holds your bio, photos, music, highlights and contact details in one place, so nobody has to ask you for them.
Below: what EPK means, what goes in one, three EPK examples, and how to make yours.
Key takeaways
- EPK = electronic press kit: your bio, photos, music, highlights and contact, in one link or one PDF.
- It is a booking and press document, not a second Instagram.
- The first screen decides everything: name, genre, best mix, contact.
- Press kit, presskit, EPK and one-sheet all mean roughly the same thing.
- You can build a professional EPK for free. What matters is that it is complete and up to date.
EPK meaning: what an electronic press kit is
Before email, artists mailed a press kit to venues, labels and journalists: a folder with a printed bio, photos, a CD or tape and press clippings. The electronic press kit is the same idea, online. Today an EPK is usually a web page or a PDF (often both), shared as a single link.
Who opens an EPK:
- Promoters and venues deciding whether to book you, and for which slot
- Festivals and agencies building a line-up or a roster
- Labels and managers checking whether you are worth a call
- Journalists, radio and playlist curators who need a bio and a photo to write about you
That is why an EPK is not your Instagram feed or your life story. Everything in it should help someone make one decision quickly, and then make the next step easy.
What goes in an EPK
A complete EPK has these parts. The first four are what people actually read; the rest is there when they need it.
| Section | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Header | Name, genre, city, one booking contact |
| Music | One standout mix or 2 to 3 tracks, playable in one click |
| Bio | A short bio (about 50 words) and a long bio (150 to 250 words) |
| Photos | 3 to 5 sharp press photos, portrait and landscape |
| Highlights | Real venues, events, releases, press and support slots |
| Upcoming shows | The next 2 or 3 dates |
| Tech rider | For DJs and live acts: the gear you need on stage |
| Socials | Instagram, SoundCloud or Spotify, Resident Advisor if you have it |
| Contact | One email or a booking form, not ten links |
For a ready-to-copy version of every section, with bio templates and specs, use our free EPK template.
EPK examples
Three short EPK examples, one for each type of artist. The names are made up; the structure is what works.
Example 1: DJ EPK
VELA STRAND · Hard techno · Hardgroove · Based in Zurich
Mix: "Vela Strand · Peak-time hard techno · Oct 2026" (60 min, SoundCloud)
Bio: Vela Strand is a hard techno DJ from Zurich known for fast, groovy peak-time sets that never lose the dancefloor...
Played at: 3 club residencies, 2 local festivals, support for touring headliners
Next: Nov 21, Zurich · Dec 5, Basel
Rider: 3 x CDJ-3000, DJM-A9, 2 booth monitors
Booking: one email + booking button
What makes it work: the genre and city are clear in one line, one mix comes first, and the tech rider is right there for the venue's tech team. A DJ EPK lives or dies on the mix.
Example 2: Band EPK
THE GLASS ARCADE · Indie rock · 4-piece from Lyon
Listen: 3 tracks from the new EP, plus one live video
Bio: short and long versions, with the band's story and what the live show feels like
Press: two quotes from real reviews, with links
Live: stage plot and input list for the sound engineer
Contact: booking agent + label contact
What makes it work: a live video and a stage plot. Venues booking bands want to see the show and know what fits on their stage.
Example 3: Producer EPK
KAIRO VALE · Melodic house producer · Berlin
Releases: latest 3 releases with label names and streaming links
Support: tracks played by other DJs, with links to the sets
Bio: focused on the sound, the labels and what is coming next
Contact: management for releases, a separate booking contact for DJ sets
What makes it work: releases and support come first, because labels and promoters judge producers by their records.
You can also see a real, live EPK here, built from the same sections:
Live presskitAstro BlastKrach · Fribourg, CHView presskit
EPK vs press kit vs one-sheet
- Press kit / presskit: the original term, still the most common among DJs. Same content as an EPK.
- EPK: the electronic version. Most used by bands, labels and the music industry in general.
- One-sheet: a single-page summary, often used by labels and distributors for a release. Shorter than an EPK.
- Media kit: the creator and influencer version, with audience numbers and rates. Photographers and content creators use media kits.
If someone asks for any of these, they want the same thing: everything needed to say yes, in one place. For the DJ angle in detail, read what a DJ presskit is.
Website or PDF: which EPK format?
Both have a job:
- A link (web EPK) goes in emails, DMs and your Instagram bio. Music plays in one click, dates stay current, it opens on any phone, and some tools show you when it was opened.
- A PDF is what promoters and agencies save, print and forward. Some festivals ask for one.
The trap is keeping both up to date by hand. Pick a setup where the page and the PDF come from the same information.
How to make an EPK in 5 steps
- Pick your best music. One mix or two to three tracks that sound like the gigs or releases you want next.
- Write two bios. A 50-word version promoters can paste, and a longer version for press. Third person, real facts only. Stuck? Our free DJ bio generator gives you three lengths from your facts.
- Get 3 to 5 good photos. Sharp, well lit, portrait and landscape, at least one behind the decks or on stage.
- List real highlights and your next dates. Real venues, releases and press only; promoters check.
- Add the practical part. A tech rider (the free tech rider generator makes the PDF in two minutes), your socials and one booking contact. Then send it as one link.
- Name, genre and city visible without scrolling
- Your best music first, playable in one click
- Short and long bio, third person
- 3 to 5 sharp photos, portrait and landscape
- Only real highlights, past dates removed
- Tech rider for DJs and live acts
- One clear booking contact
- Opens fine on a phone
Do you need an EPK builder?
No. You can build an EPK in any design tool and export a PDF. An EPK builder saves time and fixes the update problem: you fill in your details once and get a page and a PDF that always match, often with extras such as a booking form or view tracking.
If you want to compare options, we tested the main tools in the best EPK builders for DJs, with real prices and what each one is good at.
Make your EPK on Backstage.dj
Backstage.dj is a free EPK and presskit builder made for DJs and electronic artists. Fill in your details once and you get a page at backstage.dj/yourname, a downloadable EPK PDF, a tech rider and a booking button, all from the same information. You also see when a promoter opens it.
Find DJs by genre
Frequently asked questions
What does EPK stand for?
EPK stands for electronic press kit. It is the digital version of the paper press kit artists used to mail to venues, labels and journalists: a bio, photos, music, highlights and contact details, shared as one link or one PDF.
What is an EPK in music?
In music, an EPK is the document an artist sends to promoters, venues, festivals, labels, playlist curators and press before they book, sign or write about them. It answers three questions fast: who you are, how you sound, and how to work with you.
What should an EPK include?
Your name and genre, a short and a long bio, your best music (one mix or two to three tracks), three to five press photos, highlights (venues, releases, press, support slots), upcoming shows, a tech rider for live artists and DJs, your social links and one booking or contact address.
Is an EPK the same as a press kit?
Yes, in practice. A press kit used to be printed; an EPK is the electronic version. DJs often say presskit or press kit, bands and labels often say EPK, and some people say one-sheet for a single-page version. They all describe the same thing.
Should an EPK be a website or a PDF?
A link is best for sharing in emails and DMs because it plays music in one click, always shows your latest dates and opens on any phone. A PDF is still useful because promoters and agencies save it and forward it. The easiest setup is a page that also generates the PDF, so the two never get out of sync.
How much does an EPK cost?
Nothing, if you build it yourself. A PDF made in a design tool is free, and several EPK builders have free plans. Paid builders usually charge a monthly fee for extras such as a custom domain, analytics or removing their branding. You do not need to pay a designer to have a professional EPK.
How long should an EPK be?
As short as possible while still complete. A web EPK should show your name, genre, best mix and contact on the first screen. As a PDF, one to three pages is ideal. Promoters skim, so cut anything that does not help them decide.
