How to build a DJ press kit that gets you booked
What bookers actually open, in the order they open it, and what to leave out.
A booker looking at your press kit is answering three questions fast: can this person hold a room, will they be easy to work with, and can I sell a ticket with them. Everything on the page should help answer one of those.
Lead with a photo and one line
The first thing anyone sees should be a strong photo of you playing, and a line that says what you sound like and where you're based. "Minimal tech, Milwaukee" says more than a paragraph about your journey.
- Use a photo from a real night, not a headshot against a wall
- Make sure the photographer is credited
- Keep the line under ten words
Put your sound where they can hear it
Two or three of your best mixes or tracks, playable right on the page. Bookers rarely click through to five different platforms. Pick the sets that sound like the rooms you want to play.
Show that rooms trust you
A short list of venues and who you've supported does more than any bio. Recent and relevant beats long. If you've played the same city five times, say so: it tells a promoter you bring people back.
Two bios, ready to paste
Write a short bio (about 50 words) and a long one (about 150). Write them in the third person so a promoter can paste them straight into an event page. Lead with what you play and where, then one or two highlights.
Press photos with credit
Five to ten photos, landscape and portrait, in sizes people can use: full size for print, a 4:5 crop for Instagram posts and a 9:16 for stories. Every photo should carry the photographer's credit, so nobody has to ask.
The practical stuff
- Your tech rider, so the booth is ready before you arrive (see what to put in a DJ rider)
- Logos in light and dark versions, with transparent backgrounds
- One booking contact, easy to find, at the bottom of the page
What to leave out
Long lists of every gig since 2014, follower counts that don't match the room size you're pitching, and anything a booker would need to download before they can read it.
On presskit
Your EPK has all of this as sections you fill in, with photos coming straight from the media teams who shot you, credit attached. Your media kit holds the files, and you decide who can download what.