Pick up any fiction book and the back cover will feature a ‘plot synopsis’. Here’s one for Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Who are you?

What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren’t made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife?

This short premise of the story is written in such a way that it piques the interest of the reader and makes them want to learn more (and buy the book!). Maybe we need to look at writing your artist biography as if you were an author writing a book.  When you think about it,  your artist biography is your plot synopsis.

Too many band bios focus on FACTS: how many people are in the band, what sort of music you play, where they play it. It’s boring, it doesn’t engage the reader and doesn’t make them want to investigate further. Instead it should focus on your differences, your musical ethos, the reasons you are making your music. It should put your music into context in such a such a way that it makes people WANT to click play. Here’s a good example:

Athletes In Paris come from the Northeast and sing in an accent too broad for anyone outside a 50 mile radius of Sunderland to fully comprehend more than little soundbites. Their idiosyncratic, danceable indie-pop sound is induced by two drummers, chanted gang-vocals and frantic guitar-work that make you realise the missing link between Sting, Prefab Sprout and Katy Perry.

A good artist bio is a great story that makes you want to learn more!

So, today, have a look at your band/artist bio.  Take out the facts and see how you can change it so that it captivates a reader!

Further Reading:

How A Clash of Clans Advert Can Help You Market Your Music

Got any questions about this post or how you can better market yourself?

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