When sending out invitations for artists to be listed on AWLH, I spend countless hours viewing artist’s MySpace pages and websites. I listen to music, view photos, and read blogs, but of all the activities I engage in when viewing an artist’s site, reading artist bio's is one of the most important. In fact, the only thing I consider more important is the music. Why is the bio so important? Because the bio tells your story. In fact, the bio is your story. It tells the reader who you are and where you're from; where you are and how you got there; and finally where you're going and how you plan to get there. Not only does the bio tell your story, it also tells readers what you're capable of as an artist. It's like your musical resume. It gives the reader a view of your experience and skills at a glance. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the bios I read are terrible, and don't effectively do what they're supposed to do. Add to that the many artists who don't even have bios, and we have a real problem.

 

There are many reasons for artists to have bad bios or no bios at all. Some artists don't understand the importance of having a good bio while others feel they don't have the time to write one. Many simply aren't good writers while others just don't know the proper way to write a bio. Regardless of the reasons for them, bad or non-existent bios can wreak havoc on an artist's attempts to further his or her career. At the very least the artist's progress will be slowed down. At worst the artist may never be able to fully break into the music industry.

 

While I’m sure that most people in the music industry who are in charge of reviewing artist's music share my feelings that the music is more important than the bio, I’m also sure that they are more likely to read the bio before listening to the demo or album. Think about it. In most cases, when I open a MySpace page, the music starts playing automatically, so I get to hear the music first. However, when an A&R rep opens your press kit, the first thing she will see will probably be your bio. Hopefully, she’ll pop your demo into her disc player and let it play while she reads the printed materials. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Many times A&R's read the printed material first and if those materials are bad enough, they don't even consider listening to the music.

 

I hate the thought of seeing good artists and their music automatically relegated to the rejection pile before they're even heard. So, in order to help, I've done some research and have put together this great little guide to writing bio's. In Part One: Determining Your Purpose and Audience, I explain the purpose of writing a bio and discuss who's reading your bio. In Part Two: Writing Your Bio, I give you some guidelines for writing a bio and provide a general outline for the most commonly used bio writing format. In Part Three: Having Someone Else Write Your Bio, I let you know what you can do if you're unable or prefer not to write the bio yourself.