DJ Press Kit (EPK): What Promoters Actually Read (2026)
A DJ press kit that gets booked: what promoters check first, the mixes, tech rider, real numbers and photos to include, plus DJ bio templates by length.
Quick Answer
A DJ press kit (or DJ EPK) is the one link a promoter opens to decide whether to book you. It is not a musician's EPK. A booker is hiring a set, not licensing a song, so the order of what they check is different. First comes a recent mix in the genre they are booking. Then recent and upcoming dates, social and streaming numbers that look real, and a usable press photo. The bio comes in three lengths, and the tech rider is short and states exactly what you play on. Everything else is optional. The numbers get checked harder than most artists expect: across 2,000 public SoundCloud profiles we measured in August 2026, no follower tier had a median comment rate reaching 0.5%. A kit claiming far more than its tier's norms reads as bought. Build it as one web page with a PDF fallback, keep every section scannable in seconds, and update it every time your dates change.
From the promoter's side of the inbox, most DJ press kits fail in the first few seconds, and almost none fail on the music. They fail because the mix link is buried, or is two years old, or because the numbers do not match what a quick look at the profile shows.
I book nights, I get booked, and I run a label. The questions on the booking side are always the same, and a good press kit answers them in the order they get asked.
This guide is that order, section by section, with a checklist table and bio templates you can fill in tonight.
What a DJ Press Kit Is For
A DJ press kit is a single document or page that gives a promoter, booker or agent everything they need to say yes. It is a booking tool, not a scrapbook.
That distinction is why generic EPK advice misleads DJs. A musician's EPK sells a release to press and playlists. A DJ EPK sells a set to someone who has a room to fill on a specific night.
| Musician EPK | DJ press kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary reader | Journalists, playlist curators, labels | Promoters, bookers, agents, festival programmers |
| Lead asset | The new single or album | A recent mix in the right genre |
| Question it answers | Is this release worth covering? | Will this person deliver this room on this night? |
| Must include | Release info, press quotes | Dates, mixes, tech rider, real numbers |
| Usually irrelevant | Tech rider | Long discography detail |
The same artist often needs both. Keep them separate, because a booker scrolling past release notes to find a mix is a booker who might not finish scrolling.
What Promoters Actually Check, In Order
When a press kit lands, the read is fast and roughly the same every time.
- Is there a mix, and is it recent? One click, playing, in the genre of the night.
- Where have you played lately, and where are you playing next? Dates are proof that other promoters took the risk.
- Do the numbers look real? Not big, real. Follower counts that match engagement, listeners who follow.
- Is there a photo I can put on a flyer today?
- Can I lift a bio without rewriting it?
- What do you need in the booth?
Most kits are built in the reverse order, with a long bio on top and the mix at the bottom. Flip it.
Mixes: The Section That Decides It
The mix is the audition. Everything else is supporting evidence.
Include two or three mixes at most, and put the one closest to the night being booked first. A peak-time techno promoter wants a peak-time set. A warm-up mix, a closing mix and a two-hour journey each prove something different, so label them.
Recency matters more than polish. A mix recorded live in a club last month says more than a perfect studio mix from two years ago, because it shows what you sound like now in a room.
Where to host them
Use platforms a promoter can open in one click on a phone. SoundCloud is the default in most electronic scenes. Mixcloud is the other common choice, and it says it has licence deals and pays royalties on the music played, which matters if you upload long sets heavy with other people's records.
Whatever you use, test the link in a logged-out browser. A private link that asks for a login is a mix nobody hears.
The Tech Rider: Short and Exact
The tech rider tells the venue what you need to play. It protects the promoter as much as you, because nobody wants to discover a format problem at 1am.
AlphaTheta, the company behind Pioneer DJ, publishes downloadable technical riders for its common setups, including CDJ-3000X players with DJM-A9 or DJM-V10 mixers. They are a useful starting point for wording, even if your setup is different.
| Rider item | What to write | Why the promoter cares |
|---|---|---|
| Players | Model and number, e.g. 3 x CDJ-3000X | Venues have what they have; they need to know if it works |
| Mixer | Model, e.g. DJM-A9 or DJM-V10 | Mixer layout affects your set |
| Format | USB with rekordbox export, vinyl, or laptop | Decides whether turntables or a laptop stand are needed |
| Monitoring | Booth monitors, headphone output | The most common booth complaint |
| Set length | The lengths you play well | Helps them slot you |
| Hospitality | Keep it short and reasonable | A long list early in your career reads badly |
One page. If it runs longer, the promoter will not read it, and the venue will not follow it.
Socials and Real Numbers
This is the section most artists get wrong, and it is the one experienced promoters check most carefully.
Promoters look at numbers to answer one question: will your name sell any tickets, or at least not cost them any? Big numbers that do not hold up are worse than modest numbers that do, because they suggest you will lie about other things too.
What a booker checks in thirty seconds
They open your profile and compare what the kit claims with what the page shows. On SoundCloud, the quickest tells are the follower-to-following ratio and engagement on recent uploads.
Our measurements from 2,000 public SoundCloud profiles, sampled on 28 August 2026, give the realistic ranges:
| What gets checked | What our data shows | What a promoter reads into it |
|---|---|---|
| Follower-to-following ratio | A ratio near 1 at any real follower count signals reciprocal follows | The audience may not be listening |
| Median like rate | 3.1% to 4.3% depending on follower tier | Far above that on every track looks bought |
| Median comment rate | No tier reaches 0.5% | Kits claiming high comment engagement get a second look |
| Repost rate | Peaks in the 1,000-2,500 follower band | Normal for small and mid-sized artists to repost actively |
The full tables are on our SoundCloud benchmarks page, and our SoundCloud profile audit walks through the same read promoters do, step by step.
On Spotify, monthly listeners are the number everyone quotes and the one that means least alone. The better signal is whether listeners become followers and whether recent releases kept momentum.
Benchmark before you print
Do this before a number goes into the kit, not after a promoter has spotted the gap. Otocracy's free audit reads your public Spotify, SoundCloud or YouTube profile and shows where your numbers sit against artists your size. For SoundCloud specifically, the SoundCloud audit compares your repost and like rates against your exact tier.
Based on 2,400+ campaigns run by our founding team, the press kits that convert are the ones where the numbers and the profile tell the same story. Put the numbers that are strong for your tier, leave out the ones that are not, and never inflate any of them.
Press Photos
A promoter needs a photo they can drop onto a flyer or event page today, without asking you for a different crop.
- Three to five images. One portrait, one wide shot, one live or in the booth, and a square crop for social.
- High resolution, in a direct download. No screenshots, no images that only exist inside an Instagram post.
- Recent and consistent. The person in the photo should be recognisably you, at your current look.
- Credited. Put the photographer's name in the filename or caption, so promoters credit them properly.
- Clearly named files. Your artist name plus a short description, not a camera filename.
If your budget only stretches to one shoot, prioritise a clean portrait that works on dark and light flyers. It will be used more than everything else combined.
DJ Bio Templates by Length
A promoter will paste your bio into an event page, a newsletter or a festival app. Give them three versions so they never have to cut yours themselves.
| Tier | Length | Where it gets used | What it must contain |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-liner | Around 25 words | Flyers, social captions, lineup apps | Name, sound, one credible proof point |
| Short bio | Around 75-100 words | Event pages, newsletters | Sound, scene, two or three credits, what is next |
| Long bio | Around 200-300 words | Festival programmes, press, agent pitches | Story, credits, releases, residencies, current project |
One-liner template
[Name] is a [city]-based [sub-genre] DJ known for [one specific thing about the sets], with releases on [label] and recent dates at [venue or festival].
Short bio template
[Name] plays [sub-genre] built around [what makes the sound specific]. Based in [city], [he/she/they] holds [residency or recurring night] and has played [two or three named venues or festivals]. [His/her/their] productions have been released on [labels], with support from [named DJs, only if verifiable]. [Name] is currently [the current project: new EP, tour, label launch].
Long bio template
Use the short bio as the spine, then add one paragraph on where you came from in the scene, one on releases and labels, and one on the current project and upcoming dates. Third person, present tense, no adjectives you cannot back with a fact.
Every claim in a bio is checkable, and promoters do check. "Support from" a big DJ means a real play you can point to, not a reply to a promo email.
The EPK Template: Section-by-Section Checklist
This is the build order for a complete DJ EPK. Use it as a checklist, in this sequence.
| Section | What goes in it | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Artist name, sub-genre, base city, booking email | Yes |
| Lead mix | One recent mix in your main genre, playing in one click | Yes |
| More mixes | One or two others, labelled by context (warm-up, peak, closing) | Recommended |
| Dates | Recent and upcoming dates with venues | Yes |
| Numbers | Your strongest real numbers for your tier, with profile links | Yes |
| Press photos | Three to five high-res images, direct download, credited | Yes |
| Bio | One-liner, short and long versions | Yes |
| Releases | Recent releases and labels, linked | Recommended |
| Press and support | Real quotes or features, linked to the source | Optional |
| Tech rider | One page: players, mixer, format, monitoring, set lengths | Yes |
| Contact | Booking email and agent if you have one, nothing else | Yes |
How to Make an EPK That Gets Opened
Build it as a single web page, and keep a PDF export for promoters who want an attachment. The link goes in the email body, and the subject line says who you are and what date you are pitching for.
Keep it short enough to scan in seconds. When we covered pitching labels before ADE, the rule was that a twelve-page PDF tells the reader you do not know which fact matters. A booking kit is the same.
Update it every time your dates change. A kit with a "next dates" section full of past dates tells a promoter nobody has booked you since.
Based on 2,400+ campaigns run by our founding team, the best moment to refresh the kit is the release window: new music, fresh numbers, and a reason to pitch.
When the kit gets used most
Conference weeks are when promoters, agents and press are reading kits in bulk. Before ADE in October or Miami Music Week in March, the kit needs to be ready weeks ahead. The press angle is covered in our guide to getting press coverage during ADE, and the meeting side in how to meet labels at ADE.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a DJ press kit include?
A recent mix in your main genre, recent and upcoming dates, real social and streaming numbers with profile links, three to five high-resolution press photos, a bio in three lengths, a one-page tech rider, and a booking contact. Put the mix first, because it is what promoters check before anything else.
What is the difference between a DJ EPK and a musician EPK?
A musician EPK sells a release to journalists and playlist curators. A DJ EPK sells a set to promoters and bookers, so it leads with mixes and dates and includes a tech rider. Many artists need both, and they work better kept separate, since each reader is looking for different things.
How long should a DJ bio be?
Write three versions. A one-liner of about 25 words for flyers and lineup apps, a short bio of about 75 to 100 words for event pages, and a long bio of about 200 to 300 words for festival programmes and press. Promoters paste them directly, so give them versions they never have to cut.
Should I include follower counts in my press kit?
Include the numbers that are strong for your size, with links so promoters can verify them. Promoters compare the kit against your actual profile, so a figure that does not match engagement hurts more than a modest one that does. Benchmark against artists your size first, using our free audit.
What format should a DJ EPK be in?
A single web page you can link from an email, plus a PDF export for promoters who prefer attachments. Keep mixes and photos as one-click links or direct downloads, test every link in a logged-out browser, and update the page whenever your dates change.
Do I need a tech rider as a new DJ?
Yes, a short one. State your players and mixer, your format, monitoring needs and the set lengths you play well, using AlphaTheta's free rider templates as a starting point. Keep hospitality requests modest early on, because a long list reads badly before you have a draw.
A press kit does not get you booked on its own; a good mix and real dates do. What the kit does is make sure a promoter hears the mix and believes the numbers, instead of closing the tab after a few seconds. Build it in the order bookers read it, keep it honest, and keep it current.
When the numbers in the kit need to move before the next round of pitches, Otocracy's release campaigns run the paid push, creator work and playlist strategy on your next release as one operation, with the ad budget at cost on your own account, so the profile a promoter opens tells the story you want.