Making an Indie Press Pack

Indie Press Pack Conclusions

The one thing we haven’t talked about yet is the actual envelope or package that you’re going to send everything in.

I’ve gotten anything from CDs in paper envelopes to cardboard monstrosities two feet in diameter. But the standard is often those yellow Bubble Padded Envelope Mailers which you can buy in bulk for fairly cheap. The second most common is cardboard CD boxes which can be a bit more expensive.

If you are burning CD-Rs and you don’t have a jewelbox, then you might be able to get away with a manilla envelope, perhaps backed with cardboard. Cardboard does add a bit of weight though. It is often less important to the recipient that the jewel box not be cracked, than having all the correct materials inside.

You may also want to think about the order you pack things together. For instance, if you have a cover letter make sure that is folded so that it is the first thing the recipient sees when pulling it out of the package. If you have stickers or small flyers you want to bundle them so that they don’t fall to the bottom of the package and are accidentally thrown away with the bubble mailer. This often happens because the contents settle after shipping.

Use suitable packing tape on seams of the packaging (but don’t overtape the package) There’s nothing worse than having your CD actually fall out of the packaging in transit! I’ve gotten packages that have opened flaps where the material has fallen out. The Post Office isn’t the best in service sometimes, so you’ve got to prepare for the worst.

One of the best and worst things about putting together an indie press pack is that like a lot of things in music, a lot depends on chance and luck. You can only try and minimize the things that will potentially turn off the recipient of your CD and materials. The press pack is sort of the “armor” you’re putting on your CD before it goes out to do battle in the hostile music world. No doubt there’s a lot of guesswork as to what people will like. But hopefully, whoever you’re sending your CD to is impressed with the work you’ve put into making your press pack, and more importantly with the actual music!

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