Do NOT do this when writing an artist bio
An artist’s bio is a huge reflection of your brand and who you are, so you’d think more musicians would be attention to making sure it’s a-list material. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Here, we look at a few key pitfalls to avoid when crafting an artist bio.
Guest post by Angela Mastrogiacomo of the ReverbNation Blog
When you’re involved in two sides of the industry like I am–being both a publicist and a writer, sometimes it feels like all you’re ever reading is artist bios.
Trust me, I’ve seen it all, and a lot of those bios I’ve read are not pretty.
A bio is a major reflection of the band or artist it’s about. This may seem like a big duh, but you’d be surprised at how many bios out there are poorly written or make the band look bad because they are poorly written.
And honestly, I think the truth is most of us don’t realize how important a bio really is, and we don’t know what to look out for when it comes to writing them.
Take a look at some of these don’ts to get a head start on what not to do in your next bio revision. Don’t Ramble
Please, please, please, save everyone’s time and energy by keeping your bio concise.
This is not the place to ramble on and on about the entire history of your band, or about your entire life story. Sure, you may be interested in those details, but the rest of the world probably isn’t. Remember, we’re going off first impressions here which means if a stranger isn’t going to find it compelling, it’s got to go.
Your bio is another place where you can sell yourself and give people a reason to listen to your music so they can then hopefully become new fans. You don’t want to bore them with useless facts.
Think about what you would and wouldn’t want to know about another band, and what will help you stand out. Do you have any notable accomplishments? What is your mission? What’s a unique story about the band?
At the same time, we don’t want a bio that’s only a few sentences. Staying around 400-500 words gives you enough space to convey your story and the relevant details like the above, without going too far off track Don’t Leave Your Fans Uninformed
I’ve read my fair share of bios, and you wouldn’t believe how often a band’s bio will leave out information about their latest release. I get it, you’ve got other things going on. But before you start sending that baby out, make sure it’s updated to reflect who you are and what you’re actually promoting.You may think no one will notice, but the truth is your bio should be getting an upgrade with every new release. This is crucial because if your bio is how you tell press, venues, etc about who you are, it needs to reflect the most recent version of that.And the great news is, it […]
