Cooler Clinics Online: Your Music in Words

Each month, Improvised Music Company hosts Cooler Clinic CPD events, offering artists practical insight and honest conversations around sustaining creative practice.

For May, this session focuses on a skill many musicians find unexpectedly challenging: putting words to their music.

Whether it’s a short bio, a grant application, an email pitch, a newsletter, or a social media post, artists are often asked to describe their work clearly and compellingly — often at short notice, and for very different audiences.

This session will explore how to approach writing about your music across a range of real-world contexts, including artist biographies, project descriptions, funding applications, email pitches, press materials and social media posts.

We’ll look at questions such as:

• Who are you writing for — and how does that shape your tone?
• How do you describe what your music sounds like without relying on jargon
• What makes a strong first line?
• How can you make your writing specific, clear and engaging?
• What are the common pitfalls — and how can you avoid sounding generic or overly formal?
  

Drawing on practical examples and simple frameworks, the session will introduce ways of translating musical ideas into language that resonates — whether for audiences, industry, or funding bodies. We’ll also touch on tools such as EPKs, press releases, and using AI as a starting point without losing your own voice, as well as opportunities to develop your writing, including reviews and reflections on the scene.

Participants will be invited to take part in short, guided exercises to develop their own descriptions and project text during the session.

As always, there will be space for questions and discussion, and the option to book a one-to-one conversation with a member of the IMC team on any aspect of your professional development.

Attendance is free, but registration is required. Shortly before the event, a Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants.