A good artist bio tells a stranger what you sound like, why they should care and what you've done, in this order. Write three versions: a one-liner for social profiles, a short bio of two to four sentences for promoters, and a long bio of 250 to 400 words for press. Use the third person, lead with your sound, and back every claim with a name, a number or a place.
Why you need three lengths
A promoter building a flyer wants two sentences to paste in. A journalist writing a feature wants the whole story, and Instagram gives you one line.
| Version | Length | Who reads the bio | Where the bio goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-liner | Up to 15 words | Fans, followers | Social profiles, email signature |
| Short bio | 40 to 80 words | Promoters, bookers | Top of your EPK, event listings |
| Long bio | 250 to 400 words | Journalists, festival programmers | Further down your EPK, press releases |
Write the short bio first. The one-liner comes from its opening sentence, and the long bio grows out of its outline.
The short bio formula
Four parts:
- Who and where. Name, genre, city.
- The sound. One or two comparisons a booker will recognize.
- The proof. Your strongest credential, whether a support slot, a label, a festival or a radio play.
- What's next. A new release, a tour or a residency.
Fill in the template, then rewrite until it sounds like you:
[Name] is a [genre] [DJ / band / singer] from [city]. [Sound description, with a comparison]. [Strongest credential]. [What comes next].
Examples
The artists below are invented to show the formula at work.
DJ. "Mara Voss is a Rotterdam DJ playing hypnotic, percussive techno in the lineage of Ben Klock and Dax J. She holds a monthly residency at a 400 capacity club in the city and has supported touring headliners across the Netherlands. Her first EP lands on a Berlin label this spring."
Band. "The Low Tides are a four-piece indie rock band from Glasgow, with jangling guitars and the late-night melancholy of The National. Their debut single picked up plays on BBC Radio Scotland, and they sold out their first headline show at a 250 capacity venue. They tour the UK in March."
Singer. "Ana Reyes is a Madrid singer-songwriter writing bilingual folk-pop in the space between Natalia Lafourcade and Phoebe Bridgers. Her songs have streamed over a million times on Spotify. She plays her first London show in May."
Each opens with city and genre, hands a booker two reference points, and ends on what's coming.
Writing the long bio
The long bio stretches the short one across four paragraphs:
- Opening. Your short bio's first two sentences, nearly word for word.
- The start. How the project began. Skip childhood stories unless they explain the music.
- The work. Releases, labels, collaborators, key shows and press, with names and dates.
- Now. The current release, upcoming tour or next project.
Got a quote from press or a respected artist? Include one and name the source.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing in the first person. Promoters paste bios into their own copy, and "I" means rewriting every line.
- Opening with a list of influences. Save them for one comparison in the second sentence.
- Vague praise. Thousands of bios say "unique sound" and "high-energy sets." Swap each phrase for a fact.
- Inflated claims. Promoters check. One credential they confirm beats three they don't.
- Old news. Update the bio after every release or notable show.
Test your bio
Read the short bio aloud and split any sentence needing more than one breath. Then send it to someone who has never heard you play and ask them to describe your music. If they land on your genre and comparisons, you're done.
Put the bio to work
On Artist Kit, your bio sits in the About section, with music, gigs and contact details below. The EPK checklist covers the rest of the page, and the Artist Kit EPK page shows how everything is laid out.