Press kit

A press kit is what promoters, designers and journalists work from when they present the artist. A complete one holds:

• Logos as vector files and as PNG with a transparent background, in a dark and a light version
• Press photos, current, in portrait and landscape and in print resolution, each with the photographer’s credit
• Biography, short (two or three sentences, for listings) and long (a few paragraphs, for press)
• Links to the artist’s music and channels, and the name exactly as it should be billed

Example

A club in Graz announces [Artist A]. The designer takes the landscape photo for the event banner and the portrait for the story, sets the credit under both, uses the white logo on the dark artwork and the short bio for the listing. Nobody has to write to the agency the evening before print.

What to watch for

• Every photo goes out with its credit line. Leaving it off is a common slip. Press photos are usually cleared for promoting the artist and the show, not for merchandise.
• Use current material. An old logo or a photo from an earlier phase of the project confuses the audience and annoys the artist, so download the kit for each show instead of reusing last year’s folder.
• Leave the logo as it is: no new colours, no stretching, no effects.
• Having the files doesn’t mean you can post them yet. Wait until the announcement embargo ends.
• Artists looking for an agency: the press kit is often the first thing an agent opens. Keep the bio short and the photos recent; a long list of past venues mostly gets skimmed.