Leading musicians write clear, successful musician bios as vocal and instrumental performers, music teachers, conductors, and composers. Encourage fellow musicians, students, and music promoters to collaborate by formatting long and short-form bios for directories, websites, social media, and concert programs.
Writing Your Musician Bio for Music Directories, Websites, Social Media & Concert Programs
The work it takes to write, update, and revise your musician bio is significant. Having a compelling bio is critical for potential collaborators to know whether or not you are the person to be part of their collaboration. Although it is a big project, it is well worth your time.
The good news is that once you write your basic bio, you can expand, contract, and tailored to the medium in which it appears, including music directories, social media, your website, and even the written programs that are part of concert performances.
What is Your Bio’s Order of Priority, in Terms of Your Income and Artistic Goals?
Consider balancing your income goals with your artistic goals when coming up with what you wish to prioritize in your musician bio. As musicians who earn income from our music, we seek satisfaction both financially and artistically. What is the mix for you?
Performance, Teaching, Composition & Arranging, or Another Music Focus?
The first thing to keep in mind is that you must place the essential information higher up on the page. Here’s why:
- Google, and other search engines, give more prominence to information in the upper part of web pages in order best match a person’s search inquiry
- Likewise, readers may not read through your entire biography, so placing your most critical information at the top of the page makes the best sense
- Even though it is common for people to lead off their bios with their formal music education, credentials, and awards, potential collaborators first need to learn about your musical focus to decide if it is relevant to find out more about you
For those reasons, I recommend musicians who want a listing within this LeadingMusicians.com website to structure their directory listings in this order:
- Start with an introductory sentence at the top of your bio that explains any initials behind your name
- Add a second sentence that summarizes your main activities
- Write about your musical activities by order of importance – either based on income potential or based on your artistic goals
- Your first section explains your most prominent musical activity – perhaps performing
- List and write about your second most important activity – perhaps teaching
- Add and overview your third most important activity – perhaps composing or arranging
- Next, add your section outlining your musical education – from your early years through your formal education. Don’t forget any additional training that you received after your formal music education
- Finally, complete your bio with personal notes, where you tell a little about your own life, in addition to your life in music, which can include hobbies, significant relationships, and fun facts
How to Optimally Format Your Musician Bio for Music Directories, Websites, Social Media & Concert Programs
Format Your Musician Bio for Music Directories
Some directories limit the number of words that you may use to fill in the fields that their particular format utilizes. For that reason, people expect directory listing to be more concise, to-the-point, and straight-forward. Please note that it does pay to maximize the space allotted as long as you stay on point.
If a particular directory does not limit your word count, expand the length out to some extent with more examples of your competence, trustworthiness, and ease of collaborating with you.
Is it Best to Write My Bio in First or Third Person?
- Writing in the first person connects you with your reader. It is like you are talking directly, one-to-one with him or her
- Your reader is likely to feel more valued because, in the first person, you are a real human being, like her or him, warmly telling that reader what is helpful to know about you and your work. This is likely to feel more connected to your reader. You are talking directly with your readers and they are likely to feel more comfortable and engaged with you.
Format for Writing a Long Musician Bio
Because you are not limited in length on your website, and in some directories, including this LeadingMusicians.com website.
Writing your long-form complete bio:
- Be liberal in the use of your images
- Include a variety of pics including more formal shots of you doing performance
- Have informal pics of you and your instrument in practice or rehearsals or even outdoor or less usual settings
- Embed a video of you engaged in performing or teaching within your bio webpage.
Short Musician Bio for Promoters to Use
Promoters need short musician bios to copy and paste into their promotional materials, or concert programs. For the short bio, aim for just one medium-length paragraph of three to four sentences. It needs to be concise, compelling, and cover essential points about you as a musician who is worth engaging.
Because the primary usage of this bio is for others to use in their promotion of an event that you are a part of, write it in the third person. It would make sense to the reader that the promoter of the event is writing about you.
Many musicians include their short bio at the top of their ‘about me’ web-page and identify it as their short bio. Their long bio typically follows it.
Format Your Musician Bio for Differing Social Media Platforms
What is your music education & training?
What is your musical experience in being in ensembles, bands, or other musician collaborations?
- Past collaborations
- Current collaborations
- Planned future projects
- List some of your projects such as recordings or YouTube videos
- What have others said about your musicianship and dedication?
- Readers can more easily connect with you as a person by hearing the story of your musical education including when and how you got into music and the first instrument that you studied
- Your early teachers and how they influenced you
- Your other significant music teachers
- Your more formal musical education such as private study while in K-12 as well as colleges, universities or music schools that you attended
Format Your Musician Bio for Concert Programs
Your Musician Bio Must Answer Your Future Collaborators Questions: Are You Competent, Reliable?
Do you get along well with fellow musicians?
Say Something About What it is Like for Other Musicians to Work with You
- Are you a team player?
- How have you been helpful to your fellow musicians?
- Do you show up for rehearsals prepared?
Write About Your Reliability
Do you show up:
- On-time
- Rarely absent
- Come prepared, including knowing your part before a rehearsal?
Write about those beneficial aspects that your fellow musicians appreciate when working with you. Here is an example:
“I show my commitment to my music colleagues by showing up for rehearsals on time, prepared and am willing to pitch in to help the group when needed.
Within each section, you might sprinkle in the little ways that you contribute to your ensembles. Examples of how you pitch in to help your orchestra, band, or chamber group could include:
- Setting up or putting away chairs and stands
- Arranging car-pooling with fellow musicians
- Informally promoting concerts and recitals by passing out and posting flyers and posters of upcoming performances
- Sending emails to your contacts with attached files of the performance promo
- Posting on social media to your fan base
Note: At this time, we are inviting you to develop a robust listing for LeadingMusicians.com. We are not charging a fee for this audience-building resource. At some point, we might begin to charge for listings to cover the costs of operating LeadingMusicians.com. We plan to give you three months of lead time to let us know if the amount is reasonable for the value that you receive.
I have been successful in generating a strong web presence with my counseling and consulting practice. I am applying the same principles for this website, so your listing will, over time, show up when other musicians, or those who are hiring musicians, do an online search.
Optimize Your Musician Bio by Including the Following Components
| Sections | Sample Headings | 1st Sentence | Your Intent | Evidence | Call to Action | Examples: |
| BioIntro. | YOUR NAME, with INITIALS.Your professional name including your primary credentials such as degree initials | Welcoming short statement of your mission & passions | Statement and rest of the bio written in 1st person to connect with readers as a musician | That statement invites readers to feel that you are credible, care about you and want to read on | The statement and rest of the bio seek to connect with the reader | My passion for collaborative piano performance & teaching student … |
| 1st Musical Activity | COLLABORATIVE PIANO PERFORMANCE | As a freelance performing collaborative pianist, I have … | Describe what you do and how it could be relevant to your reader | You may listen to my collaborative piano recordings on these website links: | Please give me a text, call or email to discuss your recording project or performance | Susan Miranda Bio |
| 2nd Musical Activity | PIANO TEACHING STUDIO | Although my piano teaching studio is primarily beginning adults and youth …. | Describe how your 2nd area of focus grow out of your 1st musical activity? | Here is some of what my studio piano students and parents have said: | Contact me to meet with you as a student or parent to discuss joining my studio | Laurie Merz Bio Listing |
| 3rd Musical Activity | ONLINE PIANO LESSONS | Living close in no longer a barrio to studying with me! | Describe how your 3rd area of focus rounds out what you musically offer. | This satisfied online student stated: | Check out this website page to see how easy it is to study piano online: | Richard Chandler Bio Listing |
| Musical Education | MUSIC EDUCATION IN PIANO | Despite being considered old to begin piano lessons, … | Convince readers that my education training qualifies me … | Showcase your schools, teachers & awards | Let me apply my education to helping you to … | Richard J Chandler Website Bio |
| Personal Notes | PERSONAL NOTES | My life outside of music refreshes me | Help readers connect with me as a person | Social media links that you are comfortable putting in your bio | Connect with me on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram | Susan Miranda Bio |
