HOW DO I WRITE A BAND/ARTIST BIO?

Writing a band bio is a daunting task. It doesn’t need to be! Here’s a few pointers help with the uncertainty surrounding what you should write about.

1- It doesn’t need to be too long. A few paragraphs will be plenty. Most people don’t want any more than that.

2- Highlight your strong points and hide your weaknesses. If you’ve played some support slots with well-known acts then mention that. If you haven’t played gigs then don’t mention it. Overall stay truthful, but a sprinkling of hype never hurts as long as you don’t go overboard. If you do then you risk losing credibility with the person you are reaching out to. List your accomplishments. Your recordings, producers you’ve worked with, awards, festivals you’ve played at, etc.

3- Make sure you have a logo and use it! Be consistent with your branding. Don’t be afraid to utilise sites like Fiverr.com to get your logo professionally designed.

4- Classify your genre. Artists normally think that it’s a bad thing to say that they sound like someone else or belong to a certain genre due to a fear of diminishing their originality. It’s actually a good thing to list your influences and specify a genre. The music industry person reading your bio normally needs this information and it can work really well to come up with a description of your sound.

5- Don’t tell them you’re the best band/artist ever, it’s arrogant will give a bad 1st impression. Let the reader make their own mind up.

6- Give important details. For example, “we’re donating all proceeds from our next single to charity”. Avoid going into micro details about band members. This can be irrelevant, boring and it’s not the platform for it. A quick, on-point listing for each member is fine.

7- Make sure you include your name, email address, phone number, social media links and website URL.  

8- Reference other bands’ bios! Rewrite if you have to. Remember that this is your only chance to make a good first impression with the music industry professionals.

Who am I? My name is Dave Skelton, I produce records for Indie/Alt pop, rock and folk artists. I’m tired of seeing artists struggle with releasing their music so part of my process is to educate them on how to get their music heard in a noisy music industry.