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Why one page of paper? A&R reps, booking agents, CD and concert reviewers, radio programmer and anyone involved in this business of music get hundreds of bios a week. Imagine all of that info arriving on your desk each week. Most press kits get treated like you treat junk mail – looks bad, toss it in the trash. Your bio has to get to the point quickly and deliver a message that elicits a tangible reaction. If you can finish this phrase in 15 words or less, you are on the way to having a great bio: "You’ve got to see this band, these are the guys that……." If you finish this sentence and I want to go see them or hear their CD, you’ve won.

So how do you get to this in a bio?
1 Write down every compelling story you have about the band. For example, did the bass player once appear on General Hospital as a musician? Has the band sold 6000 CDs without playing a show? Did your debut CD chart on CMJ stations? What happened when the members were busking on the corner and George Bush dropped coin in the tip jar? Do you have tons of loyal fans that follow you all over? Are you selling out the 2000 seat arena in town? Any band that has been playing out for a little while should have 10-20 stories that reveal the personality or accomplishments of the band. Write them all down. Now pick the single most compelling story and keep it. Throw out the rest, you only get one story.

It is OK to hype stuff, but avoid the out and out lie or boast you can not back up. The second you claim you sold 6000 CDs, someone will request your Soundscan reports or your CD pressing invoice. If it is proven you only pressed 4000 CDs, you will be labeled a liar and will get not second chance.

When creating the story, do your best to "show don’t tell". You may have heard an annoying English Prof teach this over and over in a creative writing class. You may have understood what he/she meant. If not, let me try to explain it to you. If you say "people love our music", "we’re the greatest band ever", or "with your help we’re headed straight for the top", you are telling them something they would rather decide for themselves. Instead, show them exactly how desirable you are with the story such as, "Last April, Slughammer bought a van, stocked it with gear, beer, 500 CDs, maps and t-shirts bound for a three week tour. After two weeks, Slughammer has sold out of all their merchandise. Now as July rolls around, the band has yet to come home while their little tour of Michigan has taken them into the fourth month, 10th state, and third CD pressing." Yeah, I guess people love that band. And now A&R might want to hop on the bandwagon while the fire is hot.

On a different style of music, I really liked this description from an article out of Taxi’s archive: "One hundred years ago Harold Payne would have jumped freight trains or stowed away on tramp steamers. He would have written novels like Jack London, painted portraits of exotic womanhood like Paul Gaugin and been a guide through steaming jungles from the furthest outposts of civilization. In these days of the jet plane, Harold Payne uses songs, his voice and a guitar to traverse a global road from Chang Mai to Moscow, from Bali to Bora-Bora. He’s sung in Singapore, strummed in Samoa, dreamed in Hindu temples and jammed with itinerant street musicians in Ireland. He shares it all on his new release…."

2. Answer the question, "What do you sound like?" Damn, that question sucks. But you have to answer it eventually. On a bio, though, you get to answer it in your own way. Let me first state that if you say, "We can’t be classified" you’re wrong. Let me say it again, you’re wrong. You play instruments. You perform songs. You once listened to another song. You can be classified and here is your chance to do so concisely. If you pass on this chance by claiming you are unfit for any category, you allow others to classify you. At this point, it does not hurt to get outside opinions. Friends and family are helpful, but sometimes not very objective. Local music writers can offer some insight, but you have to be careful of their bias as well.

A great resource in this technology age is a service like garageband.com. Before uploading one of your songs to their service, you are required to listen to 40 or so other bands’ songs and review them in various categories. After your song is uploaded, you can ask other musicians to review various parts of your songs – vocals, guitar, production, or even who they think you sound like. This is extremely helpful. I had one band that I thought was a cross between REM, Wilco and the Jayhawks. With those bands listed in the bio, the band got slammed in press all the time. After some garageband.com reviews, it became apparent that the bands others compared them to were Velvet Underground on one hand and New Order and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin on the other. Suddenly by using these comparisons, this band received much more positive and on target reviews in press. They were finally able to give the press a framework on which to evaluate the band. It didn’t matter that nobody in the band listened to these other artists, the critics did.

3. Collect reviews of the band. You can claim anything you want in a bio, but when it is put forth by reliable third parties, it carries greater weight. Of course the Catch 22 is that you have to have a bio to send out before you get reviews. So, consider it a work in progress. This part of the bio will build up as your band grows and gets more exposure.

Most bands send in pages of entire articles with their info highlighted or buried. Some even send in listings where they played. Who cares? Just quote the applicable part of the story – the best part – end quote and credit the source. For example:

Next is a cheat sheet including the best and worst G-Spot Run press
"…..G-Spot Run hit the stage with a fervor that lit up the Grog like a hundred Roman Candles in a fireplace…" SCENE MAGAZINE 8/12/00.

Time To Write It. Now you’re sitting at your desk with a great story to tell, a dead on description of the band, and tons of great press. It’s time to organize it on one page. Choose the most compelling item between your story and your description, then lead with it. Do not be afraid to use sarcasm or humor. An inexpensive bio can seem much better with the right amount of humor, but try not to overdo it. Now work your style or story into the next section. If you are able to work in quotes, do so. If not, reserve your best quotes for a cliffs notes section after the bio.

Somewhere in the bio – whether it be part of the story or in its own section – list the members of the band and their duties. Nobody really cares what your favorite hobbies are unless they relate to the music (i.e. "we write about car racing because our singer is on the NASCAR circuit"), they tell a story about the member, or the info really is funny.

Finish the bio with a call to action. Tell the reader that for more information, CDs, photos, interviews or dating advice, contact Person X at address, phone, e-mail, or GPS location.

Got all that written out? Now how much white space remains? I hope there is a lot. Because you’ll want to have your professionally created logo and possibly a few photos included to make your bio page look totally pro. Most likely, you’ve gotten to this stage and have filled out two pages with no room left. It’s back to the editing table for you. Keep cutting and you’ll find your story is better, the description more enticing and the quotes more compelling. Then find other bands’ bios and use their arrangement for examples on how to lay yours out. But make yours even cooler.

Lastly, have someone with a grasp of the English language proof your final version. Nothing says "we suck" more than bad grammar and misspelled words.

Or hire a pro.

Suggested reading: Tons of articles all over the web with further examples. On paper: "The Self Promoting Musician" by Peter Spellman from Berklee Press, "This Business of Music Marketing and Promotion" by Tad Lathrop & Jim Pettigrew Jr

by Tim Brennan

Every musician needs a bio that can create their identity, answer the question of "what do you sound like" and allow the reader to identify with and root for the band. All of this on one page of paper.

Why one page of paper? A&R reps, booking agents, CD and concert reviewers, radio programmer and anyone involved in this business of music get hundreds of bios a week. Imagine all of that info arriving on your desk each week. Most press kits get treated like you treat junk mail – looks bad, toss it in the trash. Your bio has to get to the point quickly and deliver a message that elicits a tangible reaction. If you can finish this phrase in 15 words or less, you are on the way to having a great bio: "You’ve got to see this band, these are the guys that……." If you finish this sentence and I want to go see them or hear their CD, you’ve won.

So how do you get to this in a bio?
1 Write down every compelling story you have about the band. For example, did the bass player once appear on General Hospital as a musician? Has the band sold 6000 CDs without playing a show? Did your debut CD chart on CMJ stations? What happened when the members were busking on the corner and George Bush dropped coin in the tip jar? Do you have tons of loyal fans that follow you all over? Are you selling out the 2000 seat arena in town? Any band that has been playing out for a little while should have 10-20 stories that reveal the personality or accomplishments of the band. Write them all down. Now pick the single most compelling story and keep it. Throw out the rest, you only get one story.

It is OK to hype stuff, but avoid the out and out lie or boast you can not back up. The second you claim you sold 6000 CDs, someone will request your Soundscan reports or your CD pressing invoice. If it is proven you only pressed 4000 CDs, you will be labeled a liar and will get not second chance.

When creating the story, do your best to "show don’t tell". You may have heard an annoying English Prof teach this over and over in a creative writing class. You may have understood what he/she meant. If not, let me try to explain it to you. If you say "people love our music", "we’re the greatest band ever", or "with your help we’re headed straight for the top", you are telling them something they would rather decide for themselves. Instead, show them exactly how desirable you are with the story such as, "Last April, Slughammer bought a van, stocked it with gear, beer, 500 CDs, maps and t-shirts bound for a three week tour. After two weeks, Slughammer has sold out of all their merchandise. Now as July rolls around, the band has yet to come home while their little tour of Michigan has taken them into the fourth month, 10th state, and third CD pressing." Yeah, I guess people love that band. And now A&R might want to hop on the bandwagon while the fire is hot.

On a different style of music, I really liked this description from an article out of Taxi’s archive: "One hundred years ago Harold Payne would have jumped freight trains or stowed away on tramp steamers. He would have written novels like Jack London, painted portraits of exotic womanhood like Paul Gaugin and been a guide through steaming jungles from the furthest outposts of civilization. In these days of the jet plane, Harold Payne uses songs, his voice and a guitar to traverse a global road from Chang Mai to Moscow, from Bali to Bora-Bora. He’s sung in Singapore, strummed in Samoa, dreamed in Hindu temples and jammed with itinerant street musicians in Ireland. He shares it all on his new release…."

2. Answer the question, "What do you sound like?" Damn, that question sucks. But you have to answer it eventually. On a bio, though, you get to answer it in your own way. Let me first state that if you say, "We can’t be classified" you’re wrong. Let me say it again, you’re wrong. You play instruments. You perform songs. You once listened to another song. You can be classified and here is your chance to do so concisely. If you pass on this chance by claiming you are unfit for any category, you allow others to classify you. At this point, it does not hurt to get outside opinions. Friends and family are helpful, but sometimes not very objective. Local music writers can offer some insight, but you have to be careful of their bias as well.

A great resource in this technology age is a service like garageband.com. Before uploading one of your songs to their service, you are required to listen to 40 or so other bands’ songs and review them in various categories. After your song is uploaded, you can ask other musicians to review various parts of your songs – vocals, guitar, production, or even who they think you sound like. This is extremely helpful. I had one band that I thought was a cross between REM, Wilco and the Jayhawks. With those bands listed in the bio, the band got slammed in press all the time. After some garageband.com reviews, it became apparent that the bands others compared them to were Velvet Underground on one hand and New Order and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin on the other. Suddenly by using these comparisons, this band received much more positive and on target reviews in press. They were finally able to give the press a framework on which to evaluate the band. It didn’t matter that nobody in the band listened to these other artists, the critics did.

3. Collect reviews of the band. You can claim anything you want in a bio, but when it is put forth by reliable third parties, it carries greater weight. Of course the Catch 22 is that you have to have a bio to send out before you get reviews. So, consider it a work in progress. This part of the bio will build up as your band grows and gets more exposure.

Most bands send in pages of entire articles with their info highlighted or buried. Some even send in listings where they played. Who cares? Just quote the applicable part of the story – the best part – end quote and credit the source. For example:

Next is a cheat sheet including the best and worst G-Spot Run press
"…..G-Spot Run hit the stage with a fervor that lit up the Grog like a hundred Roman Candles in a fireplace…" SCENE MAGAZINE 8/12/00.

Time To Write It. Now you’re sitting at your desk with a great story to tell, a dead on description of the band, and tons of great press. It’s time to organize it on one page. Choose the most compelling item between your story and your description, then lead with it. Do not be afraid to use sarcasm or humor. An inexpensive bio can seem much better with the right amount of humor, but try not to overdo it. Now work your style or story into the next section. If you are able to work in quotes, do so. If not, reserve your best quotes for a cliffs notes section after the bio.

Somewhere in the bio – whether it be part of the story or in its own section – list the members of the band and their duties. Nobody really cares what your favorite hobbies are unless they relate to the music (i.e. "we write about car racing because our singer is on the NASCAR circuit"), they tell a story about the member, or the info really is funny.

Finish the bio with a call to action. Tell the reader that for more information, CDs, photos, interviews or dating advice, contact Person X at address, phone, e-mail, or GPS location.

Got all that written out? Now how much white space remains? I hope there is a lot. Because you’ll want to have your professionally created logo and possibly a few photos included to make your bio page look totally pro. Most likely, you’ve gotten to this stage and have filled out two pages with no room left. It’s back to the editing table for you. Keep cutting and you’ll find your story is better, the description more enticing and the quotes more compelling. Then find other bands’ bios and use their arrangement for examples on how to lay yours out. But make yours even cooler.

Lastly, have someone with a grasp of the English language proof your final version. Nothing says "we suck" more than bad grammar and misspelled words.

Or hire a pro.

Suggested reading: Tons of articles all over the web with further examples. On paper: "The Self Promoting Musician" by Peter Spellman from Berklee Press, "This Business of Music Marketing and Promotion" by Tad Lathrop & Jim Pettigrew Jr