If you do not have an autonomous website for your band’s music, then I really doubt your seriousness. The cost that it requires to get a basic site up is so low there just is not any excuse to not have one. In fact, in a couple clicks, you have a domain from GoDaddy.com for around $10, then buy a year of web hosting from Bluehost
for less than $100/year. Bluehost has automated features to install content management systems like WordPress for free. Considering there are thousands of free templates to personalize your WordPress page, you have the lowest barrier of entry to building your own music website in the history of Internet.
Some of you may think this topic is a retread and you would be right. I talked about this before on a piece featuring digital marketing expert Chris Brogan. That matters not, because I have not seen a proliferation of websites by the artists that are supposedly working hard to be heard and gain fans. Therefore, I write. Let’s review the seven reviews.
Legitimacy
Sorry if this offends your senses, but let’s face it. You know you care about what people think. That is why you post your music on the web in the first place. Give yourself that additional piece of status.
Autonomy
I mentioned it before in the other piece, but it begs repeating. You have no control over the actions of Facebook and MySpace, which legally can do whatever they want because most people are using their sites for free. You should not rely on another to help you get your message across in the right way. You need to be in total control.
Control
Yes, this coincides with the point of autonomy, but you must understand – YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH YOUR OWN WEBSITE. Want to show post a video that shows artfully-displayed nipples? Do not even think about it on YouTube or Vimeo. They do not care about art! The Moral Right has way more clout than you. Plus you can create the facade of your dreams with the right designer.
Flexibility
I am going to drill this point home. You can do whatever you want with your own website. Want your fans to focus on keeping the idea of buying your new record on their mind without having to update them daily? You can do it with your own website. You can get into landing pages and optimizing your site design, which is not really possible with the social networking sites. Then you can change things up again. It is your site!
Information
In the other post, I called it “analytics.” I am dumbing it down though here. It is about INFORMATION. How can you ever understand the who, what, where, why and hows on the relevance of your work without it? Google Analytics will be your best friend when you come to learn it. If you use WordPress though, they have a stats generator that will tide you over until you get more education.
Simplication
I hear a lot of complaints from artists regarding all the sites they “need to be on” to get their music heard. Personally, I think lies are being told. You do not need to be anywhere. Can having a Twitter or Facebook account help? Oh heck yeah, it can, but it is not necessary.
Instead of pondering which social network to focus on, focus on your own website. Make your life and the life of your (potential) fans easy. Have one place for all your information to be found. Sure, people can discover you on Twitter, but you should want them to check out your website. That is where you can truly get their attention.
Keeping it simple is great, but realize that social networks are tools that can help you make new fans. They can also be helpful in other ways too. Music marketing master Michael Brandvold gives some excellent advice on how you can use social networks to drive traffic to your site.
Potential
On this site, I plan to talk about a lot about opportunities in the new age of promoting music. One of the biggest, undersold places where opportunity can be had is on your own website. If you can build enough traffic, there are businesses that would love to work with you. The possibilities are only limited to your imagination. Hopefully you will find this sight a guide and an inspiration for what can be achieved.
If you need help setting up your first website or you want to improve what you already have, contact me today! I am here to help!
