How to write a DJ bio, with real examples
A promoter rarely reads your bio. They copy it. It goes on the event page, the ticket listing, the flyer caption and the festival program, usually without a single edit. So the real job of a bio is to be the text you’d want printed under your name when you aren’t there to fix it.
Here’s how to write one at the three lengths promoters and press ask for. The examples are real bios from our own EPKs (we run a label and a party series in Miami), including one that needed a rewrite.
Write three, not one
Different people need different lengths. If you only publish the long one, someone else will cut it, and their cut becomes the version that circulates.
- One line, 15 to 25 words: Instagram captions, lineup posts, ticket listings
- Short, 50 to 80 words: club and festival listings, event pages
- Long, 150 to 300 words: press, interviews, label and agency pages
The one-line bio
Four things, in this order: who you are, where you’re based, what you do and one fact that proves it. The city matters more than it looks. A promoter booking outside their home city searches for “techno DJ” plus a place name, and a bio that names your city can be found that way.
Miami-based DJ, producer, live performer, A&R and event curator with more than 24 years in electronic music.
It skips the genres because the EPK lists them right next to it. If your one-liner stands alone, as an Instagram caption does, add two genre words.
The short bio
Take the one-liner and add proof a promoter can check: labels you’ve released on, parties you run or play regularly, a residency, a festival. Names do the work here. A promoter who recognizes one label in your bio keeps reading. Two or three names are enough, so save the full list for the long version.
ShyMan is a Miami-based DJ, producer, live performer, A&R and event curator with more than 24 years in electronic music. He has released on Kittball, Great Stuff Recordings, RIKODISCO and Trippy Code, founded and runs Other Dimension Records, and curates the GLITCH Miami event series. Every track is written, produced and mastered independently, without ghost production.
56 words. Two sentences of facts, then one line on how the music is made, because a booker might ask about it.
The long bio
This is the version for press and for anyone who wants the story. It can cover where you started, what changed and what you’re doing now, but each sentence should still hold a fact. Keep it under 300 words. Features rarely use more, and a writer would rather quote you than cut you.
ShyMan is a Miami-based DJ, producer, live performer, A&R, and event curator with more than 24 years in electronic music. His path started with vinyl, club culture, and underground events, later growing into live performances with synthesizers, original productions, and his own label platform — Other Dimension Records. All music is written, produced, mixed, and mastered independently, without ghost production. Every track comes from real studio work, long nights, hardware, experiments, and experience behind the decks.
ShyMan has released music on labels including Kittball, Great Stuff Recordings, RIKODISCO, Maneki Neko, Trippy Code, Trip and Acid, Other Dimension Records, and more. Alongside his artist project, he is the founder and A&R of Other Dimension Records and the founder of GLITCH Miami — an event series built around music, community, artists, and the local nightlife scene.
From the studio to the dance floor, the focus stays the same: honest music, real energy, and steady growth.
153 words. The first sentence repeats the one-liner on purpose. Editors cut from the bottom, so the top has to stand on its own.
Before and after: swapping adjectives for facts
Here’s the other bio from our own roster as it was first written. Every word in it’s accurate, and it still tells a promoter almost nothing.
Ilya Hype is a dynamic DJ, musician, remixer, and producer known for his innovative approach to techno and house music.
Ilya Hype is a Miami-based DJ and producer who started out playing Detroit techno on vinyl in 2000 and now performs house and techno live on synthesizers.
“Dynamic” and “innovative” became a city, a start date, a format and a sound. A promoter can use every one of them.
Words promoters skip
These show up in almost every bio, which is exactly why they don’t register. If a sentence leans on one of them, replace it with the fact behind it.
- Dynamic, versatile, eclectic → the two or three genres you actually play
- Unique sound, pushing boundaries → the labels or artists you get compared to
- Captivated audiences, unforgettable sets → the clubs, parties or festivals you’ve played
- Passionate about music → how long you’ve been doing it
- World-renowned, in demand → leave it out unless a lineup or a quote proves it
If you’re just starting out
You don’t need releases or festivals for a good bio. You need true, specific details: the party you play every month, the crew you’re part of, the radio show or mix series you host, the sound you’re known for in your city. A plain bio with small facts reads better than a big one with none.
Write the short version now and add a sentence each time something happens. A bio that grows with you is easier than a full rewrite every year.
Denver-based DJ playing deep house and minimal, resident at a monthly warehouse party and host of a weekly mix show on local radio.
Small rules that save edits
- Third person. Promoters paste it into their own copy, and “I” doesn’t survive that.
- Present tense for what you do now, past tense for what’s done.
- No “this year” or “upcoming.” Dates age, so name the year or leave it out.
- Spell labels, parties and venues the way they spell themselves.
- Keep one current version in one place and send the link, not a pasted copy.
Common questions
- Should a DJ bio be in first or third person?
- Third person. Promoters and writers paste it into their own copy, and a third-person bio drops in without edits. First person works for your own captions and newsletter.
- How long should a DJ bio be?
- Write three: one line of 15 to 25 words, a short version of 50 to 80 and a long one of 150 to 300. Most event listings use the short one.
- Should I list every label I’ve released on?
- In the long bio, list the ones a promoter in your scene would recognize, plus your own label if you run one. In the short bio, two or three names are plenty.
- What should go in my Instagram bio?
- Your one-liner trimmed to fit Instagram’s 150-character limit, plus a link to your EPK so a promoter can find the rest.