An electronic press kit (EPK) is a single web page or PDF that gives a booker, journalist, playlist curator or music supervisor everything they need to say yes to you: who you are, what you sound like, proof that people care, and how to reach you. It replaces the folder of photos, bios and PDFs that used to travel by email, and it is judged in about a minute.
This page gives you the template (nine sections, with what to write in each), a downloadable copy, the mistakes that get kits closed, and a free builder that hosts the kit for you.
Who needs an EPK, and when
Anyone pitching their music to a person rather than an algorithm. The same kit does four jobs; what changes is which section the reader opens first.
| Who is reading | What they open first | When you send it |
|---|
| Venue booker or promoter | Shows, live video, booking contact | 2 to 4 months before the date you want |
| Journalist, blog, radio | Bio, press quotes, a streamable track | 4 to 6 weeks before release for premieres; 2 to 4 weeks for reviews |
| Playlist curator | Discography, listener numbers, the track itself | Before release, with the pre-release link |
| Sync (music supervisor, library) | Discography, ownership of masters and publishing, contact | Any time; sync is not release-timed |
The timing rows for press come from OnesToWatch's pitching guide, which recommends pitching premieres four to six weeks out and reviews two to four weeks out. One number worth knowing before you pitch any blog: when Stage read the feeds of 5,077 music blogs in September 2026, only 33.8% had published anything in the previous 90 days (method and genre table here). Check the date of the last post before you send the kit.
The 9 sections an EPK needs
These are the nine sections in the template below and in Stage's EPK builder. Header, bio and contact are required. The other six are optional, and an empty section should be left out of the kit rather than filled with a placeholder.
1. Header
Your artist name, a one-line tagline and your city. The tagline is genre plus one true detail, not a slogan: "Electronic · Neo-shoegaze · Berlin" works; "Redefining sound" does not. The city matters more than most artists think, because bookers route by region and journalists cover scenes.
2. Bio
Two to four sentences. Say what you make, where you are from, what you have done that a stranger can check (a release, a tour, a placement), and what is next. Write it in the third person so a journalist can paste it. Keep a longer version (150 to 250 words) in a text file for the outlets that ask, but the kit itself should carry the short one. Cut every adjective that you could not defend to a sceptical editor.
3. Stats
Monthly listeners, followers, top cities, and release count. Take them from Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists, round them honestly ("214k monthly listeners", not "214,318"), and date them. Small numbers are fine; invented or stale numbers are not, because the reader can open Spotify in a second tab. If you have no streaming numbers yet, use live numbers instead: shows played, cities, a sold-out room. If your streaming dashboard is connected to Stage, the free Data Stream shows monthly listeners, followers and top cities, refreshed about once a day.
4. Press
Three quotes maximum, each attributed to the outlet and, where possible, linked. One sharp sentence beats a paragraph. A quote from a regional blog that a booker has heard of is worth more than a generic line from a site nobody can place. If you have no press yet, leave the section out; a kit with no press section reads better than a kit quoting a friend's newsletter.
5. Discography
Title, year and type (single, EP, album) for each release, newest first, with artwork. Link each one to a smart link or your preferred store rather than to one platform. For sync readers, add a line stating whether you control both the master and the publishing, because that single fact decides whether a supervisor can clear your track quickly.
6. Shows
Upcoming dates first, then a short list of notable past shows (venue, city, who you supported). Date, venue, city, ticket link. Nothing says "active act" to a booker faster than a real calendar, and nothing says "inactive" faster than a shows section whose newest entry is two years old. Remove past dates as they pass.
7. Music and video
One embedded player (Spotify or Bandcamp) and one video, preferably live. A phone-shot live clip with good audio tells a booker more than a polished lyric video. The point of this section is that the reader never has to leave the page to hear you.
8. Stage plot and tech rider
Only for live pitches, but essential there. A one-page stage plot (who stands where, inputs, monitors) and a tech rider (channel list, backline you bring, backline you need) as downloadable PDFs. Promoters forward these straight to the sound engineer; a kit that includes them saves a round of emails and marks you as easy to work with.
9. Contact
Booking email, press email (they can be the same), website, and your main social handles. Put a real name next to the booking address. This section is the one every booker scrolls to, so it goes at the bottom of the page where they expect it, and it should never be hidden behind a form.
Download the template
The template is a plain, fill-in-the-blanks version of the nine sections. Print it and fill it in, or paste its text into any builder.
The PDF follows the same sections and word limits as this page: bio 2 to 4 sentences, three press quotes, newest release first, upcoming shows first, contact last. It splits the bio into a short and a long version and gives photos their own box, so it has ten numbered boxes under the name and one-line header.
Or build it in Stage and get a hosted link
Stage's EPK builder is a free, click-to-edit version of this template. What it does, as of October 2026:
- The same nine sections: header, bio, stats, press, discography, shows, music and video, stage and rider, contact. Empty sections are hidden on the public page rather than shown as placeholders.
- 41 templates, all free to use: 15 classic designs (MUSE, MONOLITH, GHOST NOTE, SOLAR, FILM, WIRE, VELVET, ATELIER, CANVAS, EDITORIAL, FOLIO, MARQUEE, NEON, SLATE, EMBER), 21 genre templates for rock, indie, pop and rap (AMPLIFIER, HEADLINE TOUR, GIG FLYER, LETTER, SWASH, STILL LIFE, VHS, SCRAPBOOK, ERA, CONTACT SHEET, OUT NOW, CLOSE-UP, DESKTOP, VOID, HEAVYWEIGHT, SYSTEM, PORTAL, SPOTLIGHT, QUOTE WALL, BACKSTAGE, TYPEWRITER), and 5 signature designs (HELVETIA, PLACARD, RISO, RESORT, CHROME): a Swiss poster, a concrete wall poster, a two-colour zine, a city pop print and a Y2K chrome page.
- A hosted share link at stage.groovegainer.com/epk/your-name. Free on every plan, no time limit, opens read-only in any browser, and updates automatically whenever you save. Slug rules: letters, numbers and hyphens, 3 to 60 characters.
- Embedded Spotify and YouTube, press quotes with attribution, a shows list with ticket links, and downloadable stage plot and tech rider files.
- A "what a booker sees" checklist in the publish panel: bio, a real photo, music, booking contact, and one piece of proof (a press quote, a listener count or an upcoming show). It advises and never blocks. Stock placeholder photos never publish, so the checklist asks for one real press photo.
- Autosave as you edit, and a snapshot link for one-off sends: the snapshot carries the kit as it was when you copied it, so it does not change when you edit later.
- Pro adds PDF export (print-ready), standalone HTML export you can host anywhere, and the option to hide the "Powered by Groove Gainer Stage" line. Pro is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a 14-day money-back guarantee on the first payment. Free kits always carry the Stage line.
Every template, with a live preview
All 41 EPK templates are free to publish. Previews load as you scroll; the same list with more detail is on the EPK builder page.
Signature templates (5)
Hand-designed print and poster looks.
- HELVETIA (helvetia): Swiss Poster. A Swiss-style poster: a strict 12-column grid, one heavy extended grotesk, black on white with a single ink colour. Every fact is set as typography. For precise, modern music. Free
- PLACARD (placard): Concrete Poster. One poster pasted on a concrete wall: enormous condensed type, hard black blocks, exposed grid lines and vertical section titles. No curves, no softness. Loud on purpose. Free
- RISO (riso): Two-Colour Zine. A two-ink risograph zine: pink and blue overprint into a third colour, slightly out of register, grainy on uncoated paper. Made by hand at a DIY space. Free
- RESORT (resort): City Pop Print. A 1983 summer sleeve: ultramarine sky, flat sun, sea, a palm shadow and hard-shadow cards. The kit reads like an album you want to be on the cover of. Free
- CHROME (chrome): Y2K Chrome. A 2001 launch microsite: liquid chrome type, holographic gradients, sparkles and a pixel font for the data, inside a bevelled window. Shiny, fast, slightly absurd. Free
Classic templates (15)
The original hand-built layouts.
- MUSE (muse): Dark Gallery Serif. Black-and-cream fine-art gallery press kit: slow ken-burns photos that drift and zoom, headings that rise into view, high-contrast Cormorant serif, arch-top portraits and ruled release metadata. Elegant and editorial, for jazz, soul, and singer-songwriters. Free
- MONOLITH (monolith): Punk Zine Collage. Cut-and-paste punk fanzine: torn cream paper, masking-tape photo cutouts, grayscale grain, ransom-note Anton headlines with red marker highlights, rotated scraps. Loud, analog, hand-made, for garage, punk, and indie bands. Free
- GHOST NOTE (ghost): Cyber Terminal HUD. Sci-fi terminal interface: scanline overlay, hazard-stripe bars, bracketed HUD frames with corner ticks, lime-duotone photos, glitch/chromatic headline, and monospace system readouts. Club-ready and digital, for drill, trap, hip-hop, and electronic. Free
- SOLAR (solar): Warm Cream Editorial. Warm-cream pastel press kit with brutalist black frames, Fraunces serif display, a bordered portrait, and a release-cover grid. Gallery-grade warmth for soul, jazz, and singer-songwriters. Free
- FILM (film): Cinematic Editorial. Bold-yellow editorial press kit: a live scrolling film-leader ticker, scrolling sprocket strips and giant Archivo Black headlines. High-energy and unmistakably cinematic. Free
- WIRE (wire): Hyperpop Sticker. Hyperpop press kit on a shifting candy gradient with bouncing star, sparkle and heart stickers, bold white Unbounded headlines and a faded portrait bleed. Embedded Spotify + YouTube so fans listen and watch in-page. Maximal and tender. Free
- VELVET (bloom): Velvet Spotlight. Deep-plum theater press kit: a breathing rose spotlight, drifting dust motes and a shimmering Playfair title, centered like a torch-song set. Romantic and a little haunted, for artists whose mystery is the brand. Free
- ATELIER (atelier): Painter's Atelier. Warm-beige painter's atelier press kit: hand-painted brushstrokes that draw themselves in, matted canvases hung on a slight tilt with engraved plaques, DM Serif display. Refined and curatorial, for indie, folk, and jazz artists. Free
- CANVAS (canvas): Bauhaus Pop. Coral Bauhaus pop press kit: primary-colored circles, triangles and diamonds orbiting the portrait, drifting shapes, bold Bricolage display and numbered sections. Warm, playful, impossible to sit still to. Free
- EDITORIAL (editorial): Cover Story. Lavender fashion-magazine press kit: a glossy cover with the title over the photo, cover-lines that slide in, a scrolling teaser marquee, drop-cap feature columns and tilted polaroids. Reads exactly like a spread. Free
- FOLIO (folio): Blueprint Spec. Periwinkle blueprint press kit: a living drafting grid that drifts, a sweeping spec scan-line, registration-tick photo plates and FIG. annotations in mono. Technical and precise, for producers whose discography reads as work. Free
- MARQUEE (marquee): Kinetic Motion. Animated, in-motion press kit: giant scrolling name marquees, inverted accent bands, a moving 'out now' ticker, and oversized Outfit display. Loud and performative, for pop, nu-disco, and hip-hop. Free
- NEON (neon): Synthwave Grid. Retro-future synthwave: an animated perspective grid floor, a pulsing neon sun, glowing cyan/magenta type and frames, Syncopate display. Night-drive energy, for synthwave, electronic, and producers. Free
- SLATE (slate): Slow Horizon. Sky-pastel minimalist press kit: hairline rules that draw themselves across, slow atmospheric light, a single line sweeping the horizon and light-weight Sora type. Calm, glacial, gallery-minimal, for minimalists with story. Free
- EMBER (ember): Cinematic Ember. Dark cinematic press kit lit by rising ember sparks and a flickering glow, elegant Spectral serif, gold-framed photos and copper-orange heat. Intimate and brooding, for modern-classical, jazz, and singer-songwriters. Free
Genre templates (21)
Layouts made for rock, indie, pop and rap.
- AMPLIFIER (amp): Loud Wordmark. One flat, loud color and your name as a giant rounded black wordmark over a grainy live photo. Tour dates as ticket stubs, press as shouted pull-quotes. For punk, post-punk and anything played too loud. Free
- HEADLINE TOUR (tourbill): Tour-First Photo. A full-bleed, saturated live photo with a blackletter name, and your next dates right on the hero as bold blue buttons. Built for bands on the road. Free
- GIG FLYER (flyer): Photocopied Flyer. One hot color, underlined caps, a headline that shouts, and your photo pasted on a gig flyer with a LIVE badge. Crude on purpose: garage, punk, pub rock. Free
- LETTER (letter): Handwritten Letter. Lavender paper, ink-blue handwriting, a round postal stamp and taped prints. Your bio reads like a letter. For songwriters whose words come first. Free
- SWASH (swash): Wavering Serif. An earthy color field and your name as one enormous, wavering serif line, with spaced-out type and a monochrome photo strip. Soft, strange, confident. Free
- STILL LIFE (stilllife): Painterly Night. A dark, painterly photograph fills the screen and your name floats over it in fine handwriting, with one outlined Listen button. Candle-lit and quiet. Free
- VHS (vhs): Late-Night Tape. Pitch black, your name as a smeared teal video title, scanlines and a motion-blurred still. Lo-fi and cinematic, for sad songs at 3am. Free
- SCRAPBOOK (scrapbook): Collage & String. A collage on worn paper: torn-edge photos, taped labels and red string tying it together, with typewriter captions. Every section is an object. Free
- ERA (era): Black & White Era. Black grain, a black-and-white street photo, your name in a heavy high-contrast serif and one condensed line that names the era. Pop as a statement. Free
- CONTACT SHEET (contact): Film Frames & Crest. A wall of film frames, a gold monogram crest and your name in engraved capitals, with the new single announced in the middle. Glamorous and nostalgic. Free
- OUT NOW (single): Single Campaign. Deep navy, your name stretched wide, and the new release as a clean announcement block with Listen, Watch and Book links. Built for a single rollout. Free
- CLOSE-UP (intimate): Quiet Minimal. Near-white, one tall intimate photograph and almost nothing else. Small type, lots of air. The quiet confidence of a diary entry. Free
- DESKTOP (desktop): Computer Desktop. Your kit as a computer desktop: folders scattered on white, and each section opens as a window with a filename in its title bar. A concept, not a brochure. Free
- VOID (void): Mystery Black. Pitch black, a ghosted photo in the dark, your name in a scrawled display face and round pill buttons. Mystery first, information second. Free
- HEAVYWEIGHT (heavy): Painted Texture. A painted, textured color field, your name in massive condensed caps, a strip of covers you scroll sideways and a tracklist-style discography. Free
- SYSTEM (os): Operating System. Your kit as an operating system: a menu bar with a live clock, frosted windows with a sidebar, and a dock of your links. For producers and internet-native rappers. Free
- PORTAL (portal): Early-2000s Portal. An early-2000s web portal on warm paper: a banner with your name in spaced serif caps over a script flourish, and three columns of boxed modules. Nostalgia as identity. Free
- SPOTLIGHT (spotlight): Classic Black EPK. The classic press kit, done right: a dramatic monochrome hero, your name in wide yellow caps, EPK centered, then plain, highly readable sections and three press shots. Free
- QUOTE WALL (quotegrid): Press Tiles. A soft, blurred color photo behind a thin wide name, and your press quotes as colored tiles mixed into the photo grid. Let the reviews carry the page. Free
- BACKSTAGE (backstage): Fixed Photo Panels. Your photo stays fixed behind everything while the player, videos and sections scroll over it on deep translucent panels. Warm and bookable. Free
- TYPEWRITER (typewriter): Pink Frame Zine. A hot-pink frame around a yellow page, wide-tracked typewriter type and a lyric-style opening quote beside your photo. Personality first. Free
Common mistakes
- A phone screenshot as the press photo. One landscape press photo at 2000px wide or more, with the artist's face visible, does most of the work. Bookers use it for the listing; journalists use it for the article.
- The ten-paragraph bio. Nobody reads past the second paragraph. Keep the long version in a file and send it on request.
- A PDF with no links. If the kit is a PDF, every release, video and contact must be a clickable link. A reader who has to type a URL will not.
- Stats without a date. "50k monthly listeners" means nothing without "as of September 2026". Dated numbers are trusted; undated numbers are assumed to be the peak.
- Shows from two years ago at the top. Sort upcoming first. If there are none, title the section "Selected shows" and keep it to the notable ones.
- A contact form instead of an email. Bookers forward kits to colleagues. A form cannot be forwarded.
- Logos for "as heard on" without a link. Each claim should be clickable to the article, the episode or the playlist.
- A kit that goes stale. A hosted page you edit in place beats an attached PDF that lives in a hundred inboxes with last year's numbers.
How much does an EPK cost?
Nothing, if you use a template and host it yourself or on a free builder. This page's template is free, and Stage's hosted EPK link is free on every plan with no time limit.
Paid options sit in three bands. Pre-made Canva and Google Docs templates on Etsy sell for roughly $6 to $10 per download (observed on the "epk template for musicians" results page, October 2026). Website builders charge a monthly fee for an EPK page: Bandzoogle's EPK-only plan is $6.95 a month, or $6.37 a month billed annually (checked on bandzoogle.com/pricing, 4 October 2026). A designer or publicist building a custom kit charges by project, and those rates vary too widely by country and scope to quote a useful range here; if you go that route, ask for the kit as an editable web page or document rather than a flat PDF, so you can update the stats yourself.
The expensive mistake is not the fee. It is a kit that cannot be updated, so the numbers in it quietly age.
FAQ
What should be in an EPK?
Nine sections: a header with your name, tagline and city; a bio of two to four sentences; dated streaming or live stats; up to three attributed press quotes; a discography with links; upcoming and selected past shows; one embedded track and one video; a stage plot and tech rider for live pitches; and a contact section with a real booking email. Leave out any section you cannot fill rather than padding it.
What format should an EPK be in?
A web page you can update, with a PDF as a backup for people who ask for an attachment. A hosted page can be fixed when a show is added or a number changes; a PDF in someone's inbox cannot. If you do send a PDF, keep it to one or two pages and make every title and contact a clickable link.
How do I create an EPK for free?
Download the PDF template on this page and fill in the nine sections, or build the same nine sections in a free builder that hosts the page for you. Stage's EPK builder is free on every plan with every template, and the hosted link has no time limit; only PDF and HTML export are paid.
Are EPKs still a thing in 2026?
Yes. The format changed from a zipped folder to a web page, but bookers, publicists, radio producers and music supervisors still ask for "your EPK" or "a one-sheet" because it is the fastest way to evaluate an act they do not know. Many submission forms, from festivals to sync libraries, have a field for the link.
How long should an EPK bio be?
Two to four sentences on the kit itself, around 50 to 80 words. Keep a 150-to-250-word version in a separate file for outlets that request a long bio. The short version should state what you make, where you are from, one checkable achievement and what is coming next.
Build yours
Download the template above, or open Stage, pick one of the 41 templates, fill the nine sections and publish a hosted link in the same session. Free, no card, no time limit. Start at stage.groovegainer.com. Plans and what Pro adds are on the pricing page; the step-by-step is in the Help Center. For real kits to study, read EPK examples that get booked; to point your kit at a release page, see the music smart links guide.
Corrections: info@groovegainer.com.
