The fastest way to get ignored is a press kit that screams amateur. Giant file attachments that bounce inboxes. Dead links to deleted videos. Bios that read like fan fiction. Bookers and writers have seen it all, and they delete fast. Every mistake in your kit is a reason to pick someone else. Audit yours with brutal honesty.
Never send files when links will do. A twenty-megabyte attachment gets deleted unopened. Host everything on a clean page and send one link. Never include low-quality photos. One blurry image poisons the whole kit. Never bury your music three clicks deep. If it takes effort to press play, most people will not bother.
Outdated information is a silent killer. Old tour dates, last year’s streaming numbers, a bio that mentions a project from three years ago as upcoming. Stale kits tell professionals you stopped caring. Update quarterly at minimum. And never lie about numbers or credits. The industry verifies fast, and getting caught ends relationships permanently.
Finally, never make people hunt for contact info. Your email and phone should be impossible to miss. The whole point of a press kit is to start a conversation. Every barrier between the reader and contacting you costs you opportunities. Clean, current, clickable, contactable. That is the entire formula.
Have someone outside your team review the kit with fresh eyes before every major send. They will catch the dead link, the typo, and the photo that does not match your current look. Familiarity blinds you to your own mistakes. A ten-minute outside review saves you from the errors that cost placements. Ask them one question: would you book or cover this artist based on this kit alone. Their hesitation points straight at what to fix.
About the Author – Ruben Burgos: Ruben Burgos brings over 25 years of music expertise and more than 15 years of model guidance to the table. He is the indie major pinnacle to retaining credits for musicians and helping them navigate this wicked industry without the fuckery.