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Great Musicians Seeking Effective Musician’s Websites (Part 1 of 2)
Some of today’s great musicians, both mainstream and indie, are using effective musician’s websites and social media to connect with fans, build anticipation, and generate revenue. As large record labels start to dissolve or take the backseat, many artists are given the chance to use their own creativity and marketing skills to carve their own paths, and are even doing so without the help of multi-million dollar record label advances. With this comes an array of opportunities for self-promotion, as independent artists are not forced to worry about breaching their contracts by saying the wrong thing, talking to the wrong media outlet or interacting too closely with fans. This, along with the interconnectedness of social media, has created the perfect environment for musicians to share their music to large audiences, create and cultivate communities of devoted fans and to do so much quicker than could be done in the past.
One of the strongest examples of this is Cassidy Haley, a talented Los Angeles-based rock ‘n’ roll artist, or as he also refers to himself, a storyteller. Cassidy was born and raised in California’s Bay Area, and has written quite a story himself. Born to a lesbian midwife mother from Berkeley and an electric car-making gay father, Cassidy first began singing when he was five years old. As he grew older, he did everything from join the Hari Krishnas in the mountains of Kentucky to hitchhike barefoot across the country and stilt-walk in the circus. Following this, he helped found two fashion houses, including Skingraft, which allowed him to design clothing for other musical artists, such as Alanis Morissette, Steven Tyler, Fergie, Pink and recently, most of “American Idol’s” contestants.
But creating and performing music was his stronger passion, and he soon set off in pursuit of that goal. In 2009, he released his first EP, “Little Boys and Dinosaurs,” which climbed to the No. 3 spot on iTunes’ Electronic Albums chart only a week after being released. And in December of 2009, the album was named to the Houston Chronicle’s list of “Top Ten Best Albums of the Year,” placing him in the ranks of U2, Green Day, Kelly Clarkson and Shakira. This couldn’t have been done without his acute knowledge of social media tools. Every day, Cassidy tweets quirky, uplifting and interesting statements about his day on Twitter, and interacts with fans on his own website (www.cassidyhaley.com).
According to Kathie Adams, Director of External Programs at RiaEnjolie, Inc. a New Jersey web page design company that specializes in websites for most small and medium businesses – including musicians, “The vast majority of musicians, artists, photographers, authors and writers seem to be most interested in getting a website that is search-engine-friendly; includes industry-specific content and offers them top-notch designs and webmaster support – all at affordable prices.”
“Online content for Musicians tends to be very unique,” explains Adams. ” RiaEnjolie’s research has shown that most Musicians want to provide their own content to help them stand out.”
RiaEnjolie has created a structure of pages for its Musician-client websites and specialized base content to the extent that is feasible. Musicians and performers can provide and/or change content or, if they wish, the company’s writers will work with them as an added service to help ensure their content is effective for the web.
Kathie Adams, also pointed out that “her company’s websites also include features based on extensive research by industry experts and they are designed specifically for Musicians.” RiaEnjolie offers, for example, a Gallery and Music page where the artist can upload his or her songs and showcase what they have to offer, as well as a Guestbook to see who might be interested. There is even an Event Planning application available to schedule gigs and Blogs to interact with fans.
Aside from these niche features, all the same basic rules apply for musician and performer websites as they also do for any small or large business website model. So take a look at your website and ask yourself the following questions about it?
Does Your Website Pass This Test?
1. Is your website’s design aesthetically pleasing?
2. How intuitive is your website to navigate, with a strong web menu design?
3. Does your website have a clear statement of PURPOSE near the top of its homepage?
4. Is your website copy concisely written and richly informative?
5. Do you update your website content REGULARLY?
6. Does your website have a “call to action” on every page for customers to respond to?
7. Does your website’s index page draw visitors further into its content and to where you display and sell your products and contract your services?
8. Is your website designed to encourage future visits (i.e. is there a newsletter; a tell-a-friend feature; a blog with an RSS button to subscribe with?)
Musicians spending some time and resources to improve their current websites are sure to be singing a different tune once their fans and business associates start dropping by to read about them, hear their music and buy their albums.
This two part series is co-authored by Steve LeVine, President of Grapevine pr (www.theprgrapevine.com), Los Angeles, California and Marc LeVine, Director of Social Media, RiaEnjolie, Inc. Plainsboro, New Jersey
Watch for Part Two and find out what one rising star is doing in Social Media to enhance his fan recognition. Coming Soon!
About the Author
Marc LeVine is the Director of Social Media for RiaEnjolie, Inc. (http://www.riaenjolie.com) a NJ-based web development company specializing in professional looking and affordable websites for small businesses.
Read Marc’s Full Bio at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marclevineica
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