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Sometimes a bad book is better than no book for a reading reset
#I am not enjoying glass sword by Victoria Aveyard#I am not enjoying the main character from glass sword by Victoria Aveyard#I didn’t think I was even gonna read it since I didn’t really like red Queen either#I only read that cos I heard there was gonna be a show and my sister had read it#and I wasn’t vibing anything after the Handmaid’s Tale cos I still wanna reread asoiaf#so I was like I’ll read something on my phone in the meantime and I still had the series on there#and here we are#rolling my eyes every few pages at mare barrow#idk I’m sorry if you enjoyed them I’m just not having a good time#not everything has to be so dramatic#something happens and her narration is always like ‘but I’m a ✨weapon✨’ or something#these books could be a couple hundred pages shorter if she just described stuff without the extra angst#anyway prolly gonna finish it anyway because I’m over halfway and I refuse to feel like I COMPLETELY wasted my time#goes on my goodreads as finished that way at least lmao
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Character Study: Jay (1)
[Quite note for CW -- vague reference to drug use.]
1. Intro My name is Jay Johns, though my parents would probably deny it. Oh no, they’d say, that’s not our boy. Must be another Johns, y’know I hear there’s another family with that name out north.
Don’t get me wrong, they love me to death. That’s their mistake.
People would probably look at my life and go, oh my gosh, where did they go wrong? Or, what happened to him to make him like this? The trouble is, nothing happened. This isn’t a product of trauma or a horrible home life or whatever else. No funny uncles. No ridiculously strict parents making me rebel. No reason.
Just… boredom, I guess.
Technically speaking I suppose it can be traced to an injury I sustained when I was fourteen, but don’t read anything into that. Truth be told I was being a moron, thinking I could balance on a ledge I shouldn’t have been trying to balance on and, surprise surprise, I fell. Nothing insidious about it.
Same can’t be said for the panadeine forte I was prescribed for the broken collarbone, though.
Stuff’s fairly well regulated if you don’t need it, and doctors weren’t particularly keen to prescribe it to a teenager more than once. So I outsourced. Knew a guy who knew a guy, you know how it is. Except turns out the guy on the end was kinda tangled up in some heavier stuff. And at fifteen I didn’t exactly have disposable income.
So I had to do a few odd jobs to get the next fix. But, like, who the fuck cares. No big deal. Flow like mine, didn’t really matter what they asked me to do; it was always get in, do the job, get out.
Y’know talk about, like, a self-fulfilling prophecy? Where you do a thing in order to get the result but the result makes you do the thing again, and so ad infinitum?
Yeah. Given my… aptitude for certain jobs, I suddenly started getting only those. And those morphed into Jobs, capital J, which I didn’t regret so much as want to erase from my memory which was facilitated by, you guessed it, more opioids. And so on and so forth.
Dunno why I decided to get clean – well, that’s a lie, the decision was taken out of my hands, essentially – but I was way too entrenched by then to get out. Knew too much about the operations, the players, the secrets.
Plus, y’know, it was easier. And the pay was almost worth the nightmares.
Almost.
So, yeah. Take the Jay Johns of today and describe him to my parents, and they’d marvel at the coincidence of some amoral gangster having the same name as their beloved golden child. The one who’s off working as an engineer a few hundred clicks south – no, haven’t heard from him lately, but you know how it is, they get to be adults and forget about their dear old parents. And, I mean, I could disabuse them of that notion, sure.
But I don’t wanna break their hearts. They deserve better than that.
They deserve better than me.
2. Family Jay had a very specific memory he wanted to preserve of the last time he’d seen his parents. They’d been so very proud, and through the guilt that threatened to strangle him they’d had an exceptionally pleasant day, culminating with a barbeque in the backyard, warm summer evening heavy with the buzz of dragonflies reminiscent of his very favourite recollections from childhood. If he closed his eyes he could still see his mother’s beaming face as he told her about the job offer; could still see his father’s gruff pride, hidden behind layers of learned reserve but shining through his eyes regardless. He could still taste the tang of lemon in his mother’s specialty cheesecake on his tongue.
Right now all he could taste was blood, and he wondered if that was why it had taken him so long to place the figures wandering past the end of the alley.
Markus had frozen as soon as they’d come into view, his fingers still wrapped around Jay’s wrist, and it took Jay a half-second too long to clap his free hand over his mouth. The sound that escaped was truncated but hellishly loud.
The figures hesitated; the shorter, wider one swivelled towards the alley.
“Did you hear that?”
Her voice was more curious than apprehensive, and Jay was nearly certain being stabbed in the chest would be less painful than hearing that warm, comforting tone juxtaposed with the tiny, pleading whimpers rising in Markus’s throat. The hold around Jay’s wrist tightened and Markus squirmed a little.
Without looking away from the mouth of the alley Jay uncovered Markus’s mouth and instead buried his fingers in his hair, twisting savagely. It elicited another whimper, but at least he stopped moving.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Jay heard his father say, even as the two of them took a couple of steps forward, into the darkness and squalor. “What was it?”
Jay’s jaw was aching – he hadn’t even realised he’d clenched his teeth – and his grip on Markus was white-knuckled, less due to concern the dumb fuck was going to move and more to keep his hands from shaking. His breath was roaring in his ears and there was an uncomfortable scrabbling inside his chest, some sharp-clawed animal desperate to get out.
“It sounded like someone in trouble,” his mother said, alert and worried and good god for once in your life don’t be a fucking good Samaritan.
The only advantage Jay had was the light; he’d chosen to ambush Markus in this alley for a reason, it being one of the few he knew that completely lacked any illumination. It was stupid enough for Markus, a young man experienced with the unsavoury elements of the city, to try to cut through. Surely an older couple wouldn’t risk it. Plus, motionless as he was, Jay was nearly certain that his parents couldn’t make out whether or not there was actually someone down there.
Anxiety was an iron band around his chest. He couldn’t breathe.
His mother stopped.
“It was probably just a cat,” his father said. “I read somewhere that they’ve actually evolved to mimic the cries of human babies. Which, as far as I’m concerned, is just another strike against them.”
His mother chuckled, though she continued to peer into the gloom. “I guess it could’ve been. It just sounded so…”
There was a pause that stretched interminable. Jay twitched the hand knotted in Markus’s hair, a silent warning not to try anything stupid.
“… tormented,” his mother finished finally. Then she shrugged and turned, making her way back to the street. “I must have been imagining things.”
Their voices faded as they walked away, and Jay sucked in a deep breath. It felt like he was choking on it.
“Johns,” Markus gasped, twitching in his grip. “Please. I’m not—I get it, okay? I understand. You don’t have to—”
Jay hauled him up and around, slamming him against the wall of the alley. Markus’s cry of pain was so breathless it was nearly inaudible.
“Unfortunately, Markus,” Jay said, his voice light and even and betraying none of the shame surging so strong inside of him he felt like he was drowning, “My colleagues see it differently.”
“Johns—”
“I like that word. Tormented.” Jay twisted his left hand. He felt the familiar tingle of the Orn between his fingers, and then the just-as-familiar weight of his knife in his palm; Markus’s eyes widened when it shimmered into being in the physical world, a low keen breaking out of his throat. Some tiny part of Jay cringed at the noise, at the fear in his eyes, but he refused to acknowledge it. Instead he just cocked his head a little, letting the detached smirk settle on his lips. “Let’s see just how tormented you can sound.”
3. Friends “It’s not like you have to screw him,” Cassidy said matter-of-factly, crunching another couple of almonds between her teeth. “I’m just asking if you like the guy.”
Jay raised an eyebrow, very purposefully continuing to stare down at the book spread out over his lap. “Keyword being guy, Cass. Who says I even swing that way?”
They were spread out on his bed, ostensibly doing homework, although Cassidy had abandoned that pretence nearly half an hour ago in favour of interrogating Jay on his nonexistent love life. The fact Jay still had his books open was more to provide him with an excuse not to look at her than any real attempt at finishing his math assignment.
Cassidy waved a hand expansively, blowing her fringe out of her eyes. “Jay. There is no need to pretend in here. I know you.”
“Wait,” Jay said, glancing up briefly enough that he hoped she wouldn’t notice the blood he could feel warming his cheeks, “Are you assuming I’m gay because I’m not into you?”
“Well, I mean, that would be a fair assumption, because I’m hot as hell,” Cassidy said, her grin wide enough that Jay could hear it in her voice. “But one, you have never actually said you’re not into me, and two, I never said you were gay. I was simply asking if you liked a guy. Singular.”
“For the record,” Jay said, turning a page in his textbook. He hadn’t actually absorbed anything on the preceding page, but hell if he was gonna give up the ruse now. “I am not into you.”
Cassidy sighed theatrically. “Oh gee, well there go all my hopes and dreams. Whatever will I do now, how will I overcome this devastation.”
It was getting difficult to keep his face straight, but Jay was fairly sure he managed it. “I’m sure you’ll find the strength to carry on.”
“Mayhaps!” Cassidy clapped a hand to her chest and fell backwards on the bed with a wail. “Or perhaps this broken heart will be the end of me!”
“Could you at least die quietly?”
Jay jumped when her hand landed in the centre of the page he was looking at.
“Never,” Cassidy said. “Or at least not until you answer the question.”
“You mean how on earth you will carry on knowing that I’ll never be your boyfriend?” Jay glanced up to throw her a smirk, and Cassidy jabbed a finger at him.
“No, whether or not you like Johnny Davis. Come on, Jay. I’ve seen the way you look at him.”
Jay couldn’t stop himself; this time he jerked his head up to stare at her, feeling horror unfurl across his face. Any hope of hiding his blush was gone, his cheeks flaming as he processed what she was saying. “I’m not—”
Cassidy’s teasing veneer vanished and she scooted close enough to rest a hand on his arm. Jay dropped his eyes. “Relax, darl,” she said softly. “It’s not obvious at all. Like I said, it’s because I know you.” She ducked her head, and Jay let her catch his gaze again. Her face was warm, made even more comforting by the tiny crinkles extending outwards from the corners of her eyes as she smiled; not that Jay would ever tell her that. She’d probably end up in a back alley getting illegal botox if he so much as suggested she had anything remotely resembling wrinkles.
“I’m not trying to be a bitch,” she added.
“No, that just comes to you naturally,” Jay said without thinking.
For a beat Cassidy just stared at him, before she roared with laughter, swatting at his arm. Jay grinned as well, raking his fingers through his hair as he waited for her to calm down.
“Nice one,” Cassidy said eventually, still snickering. “I’ve gotta remember that. Man,” – she swiped her hand across her face – “What was I saying?”
The smile wouldn’t shift from Jay’s face, and he met her eyes as he said, “The answer’s yes. As in yeah, I like Johnny Davis.”
The admission was more than worth the grin that practically split her face in two.
4. Education/Mentors Friday was the Big Day.
Mrs. Phillips had told them all about it, had explained how important it was and how they weren’t allowed to muck about in the waiting area or they would be sent to the principal’s office. Jay thought it was all a bit of a hullabaloo. After all, the Orn was just a fact of life. Why did it need to be measured?
Mum and Dad had told him that he should be very careful when he was taking the Test. But that didn’t make sense either. They’d talked about all sorts of stuff and Jay had stopped listening pretty quickly. After all, Mrs. Phillips had told them that there was no way they could fail the Test. It was just to get an idea of where they were at.
Like with their reading. That was a Test, too. Normally it was done when the rest of the class was working on their handwriting, so they were real quiet. You waited until your name was called, and then you went up to the teacher’s desk – all by yourself, so that the other students couldn’t hear you in case you made a mistake – and you read through the list. It was a very long list, and it started with super basic words like ‘at’ and ‘the’ and then by the time Jay started stumbling he was up to words like ‘pneumonia’ and ‘rendezvous’.
Mrs. Phillips had been very impressed with how good he was at his reading. So why shouldn’t he try to impress these teachers too? Just because he didn’t know them didn’t mean he should pretend.
And it wasn’t like Dwayne’s parents had told him the same thing. Jay knew, because they’d been discussing it for the last forever while they waited for their names to be called.
That was kinda why they were friends, because Cass was in Mr. Allen’s class this year and Dwayne’s last name was Jacobson so he and Jay always got to sit together. And if they were real careful and talked real quiet Mrs. Phillips didn’t seem to notice.
“But, see, like, there’s different, like, levels,” Dwayne said, leaning sideways as he kept one eye on the door their classmates kept disappearing through. “Y’know how I can do different things to most everyone else?”
Jay nodded, as wisely as he could. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“So that’s what this is for. Mum calls it a attitude test, so that they can get an idea of what sorta connection to the Orn you have and then they can teach you the right way to handle it.”
They paused as Gary came back out of the door, and Mrs. Phillips whispered to the man who came with him. Then she nodded and ushered Gary back over to the other side of the room as the man glanced down at a paper and called, “Carrie Harvey?”
Jay watched Carrie disappear through the door and then said, “So your parents didn’t say, like, some people get taken away after the attitude test?”
Dwayne frowned, deep furrows appearing in his forehead. “No. Why would they? They just wanna know what we can do.” He straightened a little, smiling instead of frowning now. “And they reckon that the testers’ll be real impressed with me.”
“Well, yeah,” Jay said, like he was saying well, duh. “You’ve gotta be the best at it out of all of us.”
Which was annoying, really, but Mum and Dad had been very very clear about Jay not showing off. It would get him into trouble, they said, and Mum and Dad were normally right. But this wasn’t showing off, was it? This was just showing the special teachers what he could do.
Carrie came back, Mrs. Phillips whispered to the man, and Carrie took her seat on the other side of the room.
“Dwayne Jacobson,” the man called.
Dwayne sent Jay a nervous sort of smile, and Jay gave him two thumbs up.
Without Dwayne there to talk to the time seemed to drag even more. Or maybe they were actually taking longer to test Dwayne. Jay didn’t want to look at the clock, because every time he did the second hand seemed to freeze into place.
When the door opened this time, the man and a woman stepped out with Dwayne.
Mrs. Phillips hurried up to them, quicker than she had been walking. Jay watched carefully as they talked, trying to look around Mrs. Phillips to see Dwayne’s face, to get an idea of whether he thought he’d done well or not. But try as he might, he couldn’t get a good look.
After a few more seconds of whispering, Mrs. Phillips nodded and stepped back. But instead of ushering Dwayne to the other side of the room, she just nodded at the strange woman, and the strange woman took Dwayne’s hand and led him through the side door.
Jay stared, waiting, waiting for them to come back. Maybe Dwayne had just really needed to go pee. But Mrs. Phillips had walked back to her chair and sat down. She didn’t seem to be waiting for Dwayne to come back.
Jay felt like his chest was about to burst. Heat raced up into his eyes and he tried not to sniffle as he swiped at it. He was not gonna cry. Not in front of everybody.
But he could suddenly hear Mum’s words, real clear.
You’ve gotta be careful, Jay. Promise me, alright? Promise me you’ll be careful.
“Jay Johns,” the man called.
Jay swiped at his eyes one more time, and then pushed himself to his feet. He held his chin up as he walked across the room.
He was gonna be careful. Even if it meant he didn’t show them everything.
He wasn’t gonna give them a reason to take him away.
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Writing an Effective Music Bio: The Musician’s Guide
Writing an Effective Music Bio: The Musician’s Guide: via LANDR Blog
Your step-by-step guide to writing an effective music bio.
Writing an artist bio is one of the hardest things to do as a musician. It’s hard enough to write—let alone write about yourself!
But your music bio is one of the most important parts of your musician press kit. Especially once you release music, you need a solid promotion plan. So a good bio is your starting point.
Your bio is a key tool that communicates why people should care about you and your music. A good bio gets people intrigued to listen to your music—especially if you’re not already known. It may well be the reason why more people come see your show!
You need an ‘about’ blurb for all your social channels, gigs and festival applications because people crave the stories and context behind the music.
So here’s your step-by-step guide to writing your best artist bio possible with tips from seasoned professionals.
1. Take Notes
Open up a blank document on your computer. Write down all your basic info and everything you consider a milestone in your music career. Point form is fine!
Need some help? Answer these questions:
Where are you based?
When did you start making music, releasing music and/or playing shows?
What was the ‘aha’ moment that made you start making music?
What genre can people expect to hear?
How do you describe your sound? Get specific.
What are your influences?
What are your releases so far? (EPs, albums, mixes, remixes, etc.)
What are the most notable shows you’ve played?
What are you doing right now (touring, recording, collaborating, etc.)?
What other related projects are you involved in (a radio show, event organizing, etc.)?
2. Start Simple
Once you’ve filled out the bullet points above, you’re ready to start writing.
Begin by fleshing out your notes into full sentences. Write in the third person (i.e. “He/She/They” instead of “I”). Start with a factual, neutral tone.
Avoid opinion based phrases like: Incredibly influential, critically acclaimed, wickedly talented, etc. Leave that up to journalists and fans.
In the editing phase, make your music bio more writerly. Think about how the sentences flow one after the other. Read it out loud to see how it sounds—it’ll give you a good idea if it reads well.
Write everything you need to, then edit ruthlessly. Cut out 50%.
If it’s too hard to even start, ask someone else to help you write it. Pick someone with writing experience. Give them the bullet point notes and your music for reference. Ask for an honest draft—and compensate when necessary!
3. Edit and Style
Structure is Key
Split up your text into 2-3 easy to read paragraphs.
The first paragraph should be the most important one—journalists might copy-paste only that part when writing about you. It should give a good picture of who you are as an artist, what kind of music you play and your top achievements (shows, releases, collaborations).
Go more in depth in the second paragraph. Give some background. But no need to go too far back either… “Sandra became a music lover at age 9 when she first heard the Beatles…” That’s unnecessary!
The last paragraph should be about what you’re currently working on.
Once you have that, rewrite three versions of your music bio:
The ‘Tweet’ version (one-liner)
The short one paragraph version (150-200 words)
The longer 3 paragraph version (max 300-400 words)
Do it With Style
Don’t over-embellish or distort the truth. Even if you aren’t an international touring artist, find the thing that makes you special and focus on that. You don’t need to have a won Grammy to write an interesting bio.
Don’t name drop too much. You’ve opened or played with famous artists? Name 1-2, those that matter the most and best match your stylistic affinities. Even better: describe your musical aesthetic without falling back on other artists.
Hot Tip: Train yourself to become specific at describing music and sound by reading a lot of good music journalism—for example The Quietus, The Wire or the book How to Write About Music. Also read record descriptions on online stores like Beatport, Hardwax, Bleep or Boomkat. You’re a music fan anyways, so it’ll be fun!
Get a few writer friends to thoroughly spellcheck and edit your bio. The spellcheck again!
If it makes sense for the kind of music and scenes you’re involved it, add some humour. If it doesn’t fit the music, abstain yourself.
Go Global
Consider translating your bio into 1-2 other languages by natives or professional translators. A background in music will help—music genres have a lot of quirks that not all translators will get. Choose wisely!
Think of what audience and countries your music is reaching. When you release with LANDR, check your dashboard to see where your music is streaming the most. Translate your bio into the languages of the top 3 countries.
Keep it Fresh
Don’t forget to update your music bio often—take a pass at it every month or so. Edit it based on new accomplishments, releases, shows and projects.
4. Tips From People Who Read Hundreds of Artist Bios
We asked some industry professionals to give us their best tips for writing music bios. Take notes!
PATTI SCHMIDT — festival curator and radio personality
Patti Schmidt is a curator for the world-renowned MUTEK festival. She writes most of the bios on their website. She also has over two decades of experience writing for radio—everything from short blurbs to 10-page artist profiles.
Patti’s DOs
When I’m reading artist bios, I’m always looking for a conceptualization of the artist. I like a little bit of background: Where did you start? What was the revelatory entry point into creating or producing?
Think about your audience—who is the bio for? Make several versions for several audiences: for the public on your social media, for festival submissions, for press.
Think about the experience you offer as an artist. The bio should make people excited to come see your shows.
I’m always trying to get people interested in something they don’t know they might like. So I’m searching for that nugget, that thing that conveys what is touching or interesting about an artist. I want people to come see it.
Describe your aesthetic with attention to precision and what is unique about you.
When it comes to music, you’re trying to create entry points—especially if you’re an experimental artist. This is big point of debate, because some artists think that their art should stand on its own. But that doesn’t help me! My business has always been to convey. It’s not about dumbing it down, but creating access points.
Patti’s DON’Ts
Avoid a long list of releases and reviews. The music bio should not seem like a series of record reviews or lists. Mentioning recorded work can be helpful in understanding an artist, but it’s just one component to use judiciously.
Stay away from comparisons to other artists—treat yourself as a unique artist.
Avoid passive sentences. Use the active voice—where the subject of your sentence performs the verb. For example:
Passive voice: Boundaries get pushed by Aurora Halal’s music, which mesmerizes in a bold quest for both experimentation and intimacy.
Active voice: Aurora Halal’s music pushes boundaries and mesmerizes in a bold quest for both experimentation and intimacy.
Avoid boilerplate genre identifications. ‘Electronic’ is much too broad. Even ‘techno’ could use more specifics. Is it hypnotic, dreamy, dark or inspired by 90s Detroit?
CHRISTINE KAKAIRE — music journalist and editor
Christine Kakaire is a music journalist, editor, copywriter, curator and radio host. She writes for all the biggest names in music journalism—Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, Red Bull Music Academy, Boiler Room, Ableton, Google Play, Berlin Community Radio and Electronic Beats.
Christine’s DOs
Shorter is better. If you’ve been making music for multiple decades then take up more space—if not, 300 words is more than sufficient.
Cover your top 4-5 achievements you are the most proud of.
Include descriptions of your music and sound in your own words. This makes your bio more personal.
If someone is reading your bio in full, it’s because they already have an interest in you—let the music do the selling for you.
This is a functional piece of text geared towards media, bookers and promoters. Journalists will most likely just cut and paste the first couple of paragraphs… so front load the first paragraph with a brief overview of your most recent stuff and talk about historical stuff later.
If you’re writing it yourself, get another person to check it before you publish.
If your music bio is being written in a language that isn’t your native tongue, ask a native speaker to check the grammar.
Always: SPELL CHECK!
Christine’s DON’Ts
If you’ve been active as an artist for a while, no need to include every single gig, remix, track, release, review from your entire career. A music bio should be a highlight reel, not a longhand version of your Discogs profile.
Of course your bio should be positive, but avoid filling it with over-the-top adjectives. Substance always beats style. If you’re not sure, err on the side of toning it down.
Don’t open with “John’s love of music started when he heard X band on the radio for the first time…” 99% of bios have a similar opening sentence.
Avoid long laundry lists of names, venues, record labels or festivals within sentences. Most readers will lose interest by the 4th or 5th name, so only include the most relevant ones.
Never skip the spell check. Check and double check that all proper nouns (names of people, record labels, magazines etc.) are spelled and formatted correctly.
CHRISTOPHER CARGNELLO — composer and songwriter
Christopher Cargnello is a composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He’s toured the world, written music for TV and topped the Quebec charts with his band Skinny Bros. He’s also been hired to write multiple bios for other artists.
Christopher’s DOs
Focus on career achievements more than telling your backstory.
Know (and use) correct lingo. It looks bad when a musician gets these terms wrong in their bio. It also looks awkward when an up-and-coming artist writes that they “performed with” a really big act when in fact they just performed at the same festival–maybe even on the same stage, but much earlier in the day.
Here are some terminology tips:
“Shared the stage with” means you were an opening act. Usually in a one-off situation (as opposed to touring with someone as their opening act).
“Performed with” means you were on stage with that artist while they performed, usually in their band, or as a featured performer during their show.
“Compose” usually means you wrote the instrumental portion of a song.
“Write” usually means that you wrote the lyrics.
If you’re speaking about hip hop and electronic music, “produce” means you were essentially the “beat-maker”—the person who created the instrumental track. But if you’re speaking about country, folk, rock, or other kinds of more organic music, “produce” means you were the record producer—more of a creative manager during a recording session.
Nowadays the term “composer” generally refers to someone who writes music for TV and film.
The term “songwriter” generally refers to someone who writes pop songs that contain lyrics and instrumental accompaniment.
Be ready to edit the shit out of your bio. Especially if you have lots of achievements. Shorten or remove some facts to make space for others.
When the list gets too long—especially with touring locations—lump them together in geographic regions. If you had gigs in the United States, Guadeloupe, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand… just say that you “toured across the United States, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia.”
Mention something that you are currently doing! Even if you don’t have much going on at the moment, it’s better to say “Max is currently working on new, original material” than to say nothing at all.
Christopher’s DON’Ts
Don’t write bios that are too long. If it’s for an award ceremony or a festival website, give them 1-2 paragraphs, less than 200 words. If it’s for industry people, get everything into 3-4 paragraphs—under 400 words.
You want your music bio to be compelling. Rely on interesting and impressive facts, not clever wording, to make up the bulk of your bio.
Don’t try to stretch an inch into a mile and make it sound like you’ve toured the world and recorded with every important person over the past decade. A small number of achievements written in a factual, confident manner reads way better than a bloated list of hyperboles.
Don’t write every single festival you’ve played at. It’s better to only mention a few. For example: “Camille is a true veteran of the Canadian festival circuit, having performed at dozens from coast to coast, including Halifax Jazz Fest, Francofolies in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver Folk Fests.”
5. Where to Put Your Music Bio
Now that you have a killer bio it’s time to make sure it hits home.
Here are the places you should put it:
Your artist website and/or electronic press kit (EPK)
Your social media profiles (Facebook, Resident Advisor, Instagram, etc.)
Your streaming profiles (SoundCloud, Mixcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify*, Apple Music*, etc.)
*You may need to request access or get verified to edit these.
Don’t forget to make sure you keep it updated!
6. Get Inspired
If you’re still having trouble, read some good music bios to get inspired.
Pay close attention to what’s included in each bio and how it’s written (style, grammar, etc.). Does it make you want to listen to an artist’s music? Does the tone fit the artist’s image and music? That’s what you should aim for.
Here are some places to look for great music bios:
MUTEK festival
Moog Fest
Primavera Sound
Lapsus Festival
4AD
Ninja Tune
True Panther
Your Bio is Key
Writing a drum-tight music bio is the key component of a good music promotion campaign.
Your bio is the tool that will get journalists, festival-goers and future fans intrigued by you. It’s the way you represent your image and music to the world before they even press play.
Words have power—the power to get more people to come see your show and listen to your music.
Remember to make your music bio unique, keep it short and spell check!
Thanks to Patti Schmidt, Christine Kakaire, Christopher Cargnello, Sarah Lamb, Dave Vega, , Ruth Grader, Lowebrau, Grey People, Bruno Belluomini and Volvox for their precious contribution to this article.
The post Writing an Effective Music Bio: The Musician’s Guide appeared first on LANDR Blog.
from LANDR Blog http://blog.landr.com/music-bio/ via https://www.youtube.com/user/corporatethief/playlists from Steve Hart https://stevehartcom.tumblr.com/post/162401633489
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