Everything that a chutney artist should know about “press kit”: Chutney Music

Terminology

Traditionally the term, “press kit”, referred to a set of documents, photographs and other relevant materials packaged together, and designed to be sent to a newspaper or magazine as part of an organisations Public relations or promotional program. Recently, as print media circulation and readership levels have been declining,^[1] marketing and PR people have begun using the broader term, “media kit”, so that it now refers to any promotional material distributed to any media outlet.

A PR media kit should not be confused with an advertising media kit developed by a newspaper or magazine for distribution to prospective advertisers. Advertising media kits typically consist of documents outlining the print media’s editorial philosophy, detailed profiles of the medium’s audience, a rate-card and information about forthcoming special features.

What is Needed in an Artist Press Kit

One thing that’s vitally important to your press materials – across all platforms – is maintaining your brand identity. It may be distasteful to think of your art and your music in terms of “branding,” but you need to take control of your image, your message, and how you present yourself to your fans, the press, and the world. Establishing and maintaining a consistent and recognizable artist brand is critical to creating a relatable and enjoyable experience for your music fans. Just as you should work to make the look and voice of your website reflect across all your social network accounts, your press kit should be an extension of that same aesthetic. The color palette and font choices should be the same, headers and banner art should relate to one another, and your photos should present a consistent image.

It is also important to maintain a consistent message across all your platforms and press items. Your band bio and press releases – along with your newsletters, tweets, and blog posts – should maintain the integrity and voice you’ve established as your own. Your entire promotional output should fit together like a puzzle to tell one big story.

A press kit will change and evolve depending on what it is you’re promoting or what stage you are in your career. Start by asking yourself, “What am I trying to accomplish?” Are you promoting an important gig? Announcing a new release? Looking to book shows, sell CDs and merchandise, get radio airplay, or get a song placed on TV? Whatever the purpose of your promotion, your press kit should reflect it, along with all your social networking efforts.

1. Artist Statement

The artist statement is a written summary about your art, and the direction you are going. It articulates what your art is about, so that others will know where you stand as an artist. Artist statements are meant to be updated often, especially before exhibitions and explorations of new themes. Most artists already have one of these, so there should be no problem formatting and editing it for your press kit.

2. Artist Biography

The biography is about what you have accomplished as an artist. It highlights your exhibitions, awards, achievements, etc. The main difference between this and an artist statement is statements are written in first person, while biographies are generally third person. This is also information which most artists already have complied.

(click on the link to know more about what is a biography) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biography

3. Artist Resume

The artist’s resume typically has the same structure as a regular employment resume. It is a summary of an artist’s contact information, education, exhibitions, awards and more.

The resume should also be type written on quality paper and formatted accordingly.

To learn how to make an artist resume, please visit this tutorial: How to Create an Artist Resume

4. Artist Business Cards

Business cards brand the artist with a professional image and are effective for promotional purposes. Include your logo, your name (or studio name) and contact information. Also include your artist website if you have one. Hand them to potential buyers, gallery owners and also include at least one in your press package.

4. Press Releases

Press releases are summaries sent to media outlets concerning exhibitions and other art events. Include any recent and important press releases to your media kit. Please visit this article for information on how to make a press release. How to Create an Artist Press Release

(Click on link to see what is a press release) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_release

5. CD or DVD of artworks and Interviews

The CD or DVD can include some images of your best artworks. The artworks should be professionally photographed. Have them well categorized and labelled accordingly.

Realize though that some busy people receiving the CD may find it to time-consuming to even browse through the CD. An alternative would be to have several artworks printed on heavy stock paper (post card size) and include critical details such as title, medium, dimensions, date, and artist.

If you have been interviewed in the past or would like to include a visual tour of your studio, have this in a separate DVD.

6. Published articles

Published articles can include write-ups about you in art magazines and well-known art blogs.

7. Artist Brochure

We may include information and tips for creating an artist brochure in an upcoming article. Please subscribe if you do not want to miss this post.

8. A photo of yourself

Have one professionally photographed, or have someone photograph you in your studio. Here are various ways you can format and create your press kit. Here are some tips for doing so.

Use good quality paper.
Have a good quality heavy-weight folder to hold everything. Have one of your best and attractive artworks on the cover and your name at the top.
Have your contact information on each sheet of paper.
Use consistent fonts.
Add your logo to each part of your press kit.
Label CD’s and DVD’s
Save your press kit in PDF and/or Word form, so that it can be edited later.
Consider adding your press kit to a page at your artist website.

Why should chutney music artistes have a press kit

For many artists, it may not be necessary to have a printed press kit, but there are reasons why having a press folder can still be a major part of your promotional assets. When submitting a CD for review, arming yourself for a music conference, seeking press coverage of a release party or major show, or submitting music for placement or licensing, your printed press kit can make an important first impression.

Here are some of the advantages of having a press kit for artistes

It can give you the exposure you might need
Allows you to stay in the public eyes
May put you in the spotlight
You can become more popular and make more money
It can help in marketing your music
It can give you a chance to brand yourself as a high authority artist
It can boost your exposure
You can have a chance to get more clients
It can help you to get you media coverage
It can help build your reputation
It can act as a promotional
They’re affordable
Highlight your accomplishments
show your level of grind
A picture tells a thousand words and a media kit can do the same for your business.

Here are some disadvantages of a press kit for artistes

If a press kit is poorly done it might not be confusing and you may lose the attention of the public
Some people may think this method is old school
You may have to keep everything up to date to keep up
not all of the target audience may be internet savvy
it may be time-consuming,but at the end it’s all worth it
If you do not do a press kit you might not get the exposure that you need

You may have noticed that though these are called disadvantages, you don’t always have to face them. A right shift in your strategy will definitely turn these cons into pros, and you need to learn that trick to save your time, reap more benefits, and improve your ROI.Doing this is hard, but never impossible.

(Click on the link below to view examples of press kits or media kits)

https://www.pinterest.com/JulsSolomonBlog/press-and-media-kit-examples/

Conclusion

Remember that you still need to go out there, network and put yourself out there if you want to get press coverage for your business.You still need to do the work to make it happen Therefore based on this research we can clearly see that a press kit is an important aspect in the life of being an artist in the chutney soca industry,because there is definitely a lot of competition and it is very important to market ourselves and put all the information out into the public. Once you are able to do a perfect press kit you will definitely reap the benefits of it.