DJ Press Kit

Importance of a Press Package

A DJ press kit is a very important step for self-marketing success. A press kit or "press package" use to consist of manila folders filled with information about you, nowadays you can fit everything on 2 CDs. One of these CDs will have your demo mix on it. See the section How To Record a Demo DJ Mix for tips on doing that properly. Once you have your demo, make it look nice. I recommend hiring a friend that is good at graphic design to create a cool looking CD label. (if you are not a good designer yourself). That may cost you $50, but well worth the extra effort and money. You want the mix to catch a person's eye, and poorly designed CD labels will not impress anyone. If it looks like crap, many people will assume it sounds like crap too. The objective is to get them to listen to the thing, not throw it out. And you'd be surprised how many demos may get thrown out. Also, do not use those stick on CD labels. Those labels can ruin car CD players, as well as some of those thin Apple computer CD drives.

Have your design printed right on the CD from one of those special home CD printers, or what works even better is to get a company to print them up professinaly for you. For an example, I have always used the company Mixonic.com to print up my demos. You get professional quality CD printing, and fast turnaround times. It deffinatley helps you stand out from other DJs that printed their CDs at home, and your CDs won't get stuck in car CD players... people hate that!

Incorporate your DJ name and contact information right on the CD label (website, email, MySpace, phone number, etc.). I wouldn't recommend using a full size CD jewel case, personally I like to use Clamshell CD Cases. They are just large enough for the CD, so you can put the whole thing in your back pocket if you wanted to. This makes it much easier for people to carry the CD around with them. Sometimes if I'm at a club enjoying myself, and get handed a demo in a full size jewel case, I'll probably chuck it because I won't want to lug the thing around with me all night. But the slim clamshell cases are the perfect size for your back pocket. In fact, you can also get the Clamshell CD cases added right to your CD printing order at Mixonic. (I think they call them "Flexible Plastic Cases" there.)

The second CD will contain your biography, contact information, and any press photos you want to use for possible flyers or other advertising. If you've been DJing for a while now, you should also include your resume of clubs your played at, event companies you've worked for, etc. For the resume and the biography, just write it up nice and save it as a Word (.doc) and a Text (.txt) file. Don't make the biography sound cheesy. Be honest and real with it. If you've played with some well known DJs, you can include that. Maybe include the names of big parties you've played at.

For press photos, get a photographer to take them, not your best friend. Or maybe a friend studying photography. Crappy photos of you spinning in your bedroom will not work. In fact, don't take photos of yourself spinning at all. The photos should look like head and body shots for a model agency. Don't worry, you don't have to be a model. But even fat hairy TV actors have professional head shots. Save 2 or 3 photos in .JPG format and add them to your press package CD. Make sure that CD makes it clear that it contains press materials, and a list of what those materials are.