We were tickled with the folks that responded to our survey about what they wanted in an EPK press kit or Website from musicians wishing to be heard and considered for promotion! In our original post, “The Best Advice From Industry Pros,” which includes many tips for getting past the human spam filters and onto the label’s desk, we discussed the importance of what to include in your email as well as what should be on your website and EPK.

Here, we’re just going to share the numbers. To avoid confusion, remember, the following does not mean to include all this in your introductory email.

We asked if people prefer Simplicity or Flash: [by “flash” we mean “fancy” if your web designer wants to use Flash script, get a new web guy]
Simplicity – 100% of respondents want simplicity.
Flash – 9% of respondents appreciate a bit of flash.

Things to Include:

Group Bio – 99% want your bio.
Contact Information – 92%
Web Links – 84%
Music Streaming – 64%
Press – 64%
Show Schedules – 60%
Large, High-res Photos – 56%
Video – 52%
Music Download – 44%
Label / Legal Details – 44%
Reverbnation or other Stats – 32%
“Thumbnail” type Photos – 28%
Rider Information – 8%

Web Links to Include:

Just the website – 23%
Website and Relevant Profiles – 37%
ALL Profiles – 33%
Other – 7%

Preferred Method of Information Delivery:

EPK – viewable and downloadable – 60%
EPK – viewable – 18%
Just the Website – 21%
Email with Links to dig from – 9%
Controlled Form Submissions on the Service’s Site – 8%

The initial presentation of an artist’s request:
Has a great effect on how I react – 75%
Has some effect on my reaction – 21%
Has little effect on my reaction – 4%
Doesn’t matter at all – 0%

To summarize the results:

Most services will appreciate a well-written email with a short introduction and your reason for contacting them. They would like a link to your site and a link to download your EPK. They don’t want you to write a book, and they don’t appreciate an email that only includes the links.

You probably want to include one or two photos as well.

Always thank them for taking the time to read your message and ask what you can do to make their job easier.

For some Great Quotes that were included with the responses, Click Here