EPK??

Hey what's this EPK stuff?? Is this some follow up to Steven Spielberg's mega movie hit "ET"?? Well, I would have never known what this "EPK" stuff was about had I not used Disc Makers to manufacture and print my CD. One of the perks of going with Disc Makers was a "free" six month subscription to a company called "Sonicbids". OK, another strange term here, "Sonicbids", but hey, Chinese people just love free stuff, and me being 15/16 Chinese, I thought to myself, "take the free stuff, just take it and don't grumble, after all it's "FREE". I slowly learned that "EPK" stands for "Electronic Press Kit". Fine and dandy, I now had a free six month suscription to something that was just so foreign to me. Big deal, woop dee dooo!!!! So exciting.

Well several month's went by and I very lethargically started filling in some stuff that the "EPK" asked for. I kept thinking to myself, "what's the big deal about this "EPK" stuff". My friend Aaron Aranita kept on talking about it and how it could save a lot of money. He kept bringing this up whenever he had the chance, "it could save a lot of money, it could save a lot of money". Being 1/16th Spanish sometimes my Chinese side gets smothered by my other side and doesn't show up until way later. Finally one day after getting yet another call from Aaron and his preaching about "Sonicbids" "EPK" and how "it could save a lot of money", the gas lantern finally went on and it finally made sense. With the internet being such a critical tool in communication today, this "EPK", "Electronic Press Kit" could be used to get information out to tons of people without even spending a penny on postage and related stuff like you would have had to do in the old days. Wooooh!!!! What a "Revelation"!!! Hey, that's the name of my CD!!!! Buy my CD!!! Just kidding.

Anyway, as an example of the "EPK" and the big money it can save, here's a true story. Several months back I sent emails out to a local Christian radio station to its general email address and to a couple of the radio personalities. You know, to try get some airplay for my CD. Gotta try, never know you know. A day went by, a week, a month. Nada, zippo, no response. I then began to diligently work on my "EPK" and when it was finished with the click of my mouse I sent it out to the local Christian radio station tonce again to its general email address and to the same radio personalities email address. A day went by, a week. Nada, zippo, no response again. The point here?? Here's the point that Aaron was trying to get thru my thick Chinese skull. In the old days I would have sent out a copy of my CD to the radio station's program director and a copy to the radio station personalities. The cost of postage for one mail-out would have been $1.29, the bubble wrap envelope would have been 59 cents (individually bought at Longs Drugs, not purchased in bulk), the cost of an individual CD (from studio time to manufacturing to shipping from New Jersey to Hawaii) in my case would have been about $ 6.20. If you do the quick math, if it were not for "Sonicbids" "EPK", I would have spent $ 8.08 times two, which is $ 16.16 to send out the old fashioned way two CDs to that particular Christian radio station. I would have wasted
$ 16.16, but, with the "EPK" I spent absolutely nada. Hoooo hoooo!!! Now that my friend would make all of my Chinese ancestors jump for joy....... big time!!!!

That's what the "EPK" is all about, using scarce resources in the most efficient way. By bombarding the radio stations across the nation via the internet via emailing your "EPK" you can get feedback from program directors who have a serious interest in your music and send physical CD packages out on a selective basis (you get all these email addresses from "The Indie Bible" which is another perk you get when you use Disc Makers). Now that my friend is being a good and proper Chinese. I say excellent Hop Sing, excellent (for the younger ones out there Hop Sing was the famous Chinese cook in the old, old western black and white TV eries "Bonanza")!!!!!!

Now what's in this "EPK"?? Lot's of cool stuff. A brief description with a photo you think is reflective of your project on the front page, your bio and a history of CDs you've released, audio of three of your songs from your CD, pictures of you or you and your band, performace specs, pertinent stuff like that, all put together in a very neat and professional package. That's your "EPK", your "Electronic Press Kit". Once your "EPK" is done with a few strokes of the keyboard and the click of your trusty mouse your vital info is emailed out to perspective radio stations, etc., etc., etc., just like Yul Bryner would say in the "King and I". Check out Aaron Aranita's "EPK" and my "EPK" in the link section of this blog. What do you think???? Pretty cool huh, and real Chinese.

"Sonicbids", "EPK", in the eyes of "Cool Tropical Jazz" your product is well put together, well thought of, and you guys get two thumbs up. Cool company, cool product, real cool.

Link
-posted by Cool Tropical Jazz LLC @