When you write your bio, you are NOT writing your autobiography. You are writing a music business document. Your bio then is written FOR the music business contacts you want to impress, deal with, and create lasting relationships with. (because you are into this for the long haul, aren't you?)
Before you begin to write your bio, be sure you have taken an inventory of your background, accomplishments, goals, and objectives as a musician, and, once again, remember who you are writing the Bio for: A&R Reps at Record Labels, Media Contacts, Booking Agents, and Management Contacts, Booking Agents, Promoters, etc.
These professionals in the music business are busy individuals, who may deal with dozens of "wanna-be's" every week, so make your bio informative, upbeat, and filled with useful comments, descriptions, quotes, and motivational language that can make them want to listen to your music, and help you on your musical way.
When you are ready to write your Bio using this outline can keep you focused and organized.
Note: The instructions and suggestions below are for traditional music business oriented needs. Since we are in the midst of the digital music revolution, I would ask you to do one other thing besides write a traditional artist or band bio. Please visit this important site.www.sonicbids.com They can help you with what are called EPKs (Electronic Press Kits. However, the information I am providing you with will go along way to helping you with your EPKs, but you WILL need both at this time.
So, let's get going. Follow these directions and you will have the tools to write your own bio, and essential part of any Press Kit, analog or digital.
1st Paragraph:
Start with an introductory sentence that clearly defines the essential band/artist name, your specific genre of music, where you are from, and perhaps a positive quote about your music from a contact you have made in the music business.
2nd Paragraph:
This section should address the immediate purpose of the Bio. What are you doing at this time? Mention a current activity you are involved with. If a new CD or digital release is coming out, that should be the main topic of the first sentence of the second paragraph. In other word, a reason why the Bio has been written should be clearly stated early on. Hints about any promotional activities that will be occurring to support the CD or digital release is also useful in this paragraph.
3rd and 4th Paragraph:
At this point, information on any other band members can be introduced, and background information on the forming of the group, past experience, accomplishments, and recognition issues can be addressed. If you have developed a plan for your career path, additional paragraphs elaborating on this type of can be written, that demonstrate how your current project is part of a larger career development plan. Quotes from a couple of your songs can be useful to highlight your new release.
Ending:
Remember, the bio should not waste words. For a new artist 1 page is sufficient to get the job done. For more experienced artists, a page and a half to two pages should be the maximum length. So, ending the Bio in a efficient way should be the aim; use another quote from a gatekeeper who supports the artist, or summarize the 2nd paragraph information, reminding the reader of current activities.
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Thank you! Exactly HOW to write my bio and make it effective has been a challenge since day one.Not wanting to say too much but still say the "right" stuff and still add in some subtle promotion without feeling boastful is hard. Your blog is very useful-- I've already spread the word to my musician friends.
ReplyDeleteMay I add my wholehearted agreement that a concise, effective, short bio absolutely helps. The trick is to emphasize all your most sellable qualities, keeping it brief. No need for encyclopedic entries of biblical proportions. Just a readable summary of the pertinent facts. I found my own niche with shortbios.com, helping professionals of every stripe get unstuck and create their perfect Bio. The bio is often just as important in selling the music as the content itself. I hope this is helpful for you. Steve Brent
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Enormous information I found in your blog on writing effective bio, I just love it. I must appreciate and mention that you completely know how to keep connected reader to blog post even if it is little long. Very good job. It is useful when you are writing a business bio. Nice content. Please keep sharing informative content.
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