NOTE: I love a "two-fer". I write content on two different blogs: The Plannedscape blog on technology and The Bigfellas "Words About Music" blog. This week, I've got a topic that fits into both perfectly, so we'll run it at both. Now that's synergy.


This week we’ll put together a checklist of what should be on a music artist’s website. But make sure you’ve read our general band site opinions and our website "don’t’s" in last week’s Part 1.


Things We Put On Music Sites


Enough of the comically bad things. Here is a checklist of what you should have.

Top - I should be able to click play on a music player or video player without having to scroll on your site. The very top "above the fold" in old newspaper speak, needs to be set up for the first time casual viewer as described above. You've got 5-8 seconds. You're a musical artist. Let them play the music to see if they like it. That's your only chance to make them a fan.

Tagline/Description - Bonus points if you can describe what your band sounds like in 10 words or less. Every time I've loaded into a gig, I get asked by a bar patron "What do you sound like?" I've learned to respect that question over the years. If the answer is "Basic rock and emotional originals" then the response will be a polite yawn and they're out of there. If your answer is "If Adele was the lead singer of The Who", then you're going to get some curious attendees.

Same thing goes on the website. If you could have something in your masthead that people see in those first 5 seconds, it buys you some interest and people will press play. For my solo stuff I've gone with "The stupid man's Randy Newman". Not entirely accurate but it cultivates an appeal to the people who I think would like the music anyway. The Bigfellas for years have had "Steely Dan for the Pabst Blue Ribbon crowd"; again, maybe misleading but it's click-bait. Think of some clickbait line for your music that you can live with and put it up top where the page first loads.

Schedule/Calendar - Don't make people hunt for this. For the second part of our audience (existing fans) this is the most likely info they want to see. Give it to them.

Also, I know at this moment you are focused on promoting the hell out of the next immediate show, but list whatever shows you have coming up, like your next 3-4 shows. People have busy lives. They're not checking you out daily or weekly, so if they see shows on the 3rd and the 23rd and they can't make it on the 3rd, then can at least make plans or make note of the 23rd.

Now, if you have no shows coming up or schedule - I think it hurts to show that you're not playing. If you can, remote the calendar link from your menu and website when you have no shows; then reinstate those sections and menu items again when you have shows scheduled again.

Similarly, when we've developed blog sections for websites, I really like coding in the feature that if there's no blog posts in the past couple of months then the blog is disabled. In some ways, having your recent content obviously outdated is about the worst thing you can do on a website. Whether you're a band or a business and I see a latest article from 2023, then I figure your band or business is defunct.

Videos - Any video is good. Even if you don't have good performance video, you can still have great video. Just film yourself on your phone talking directly with a message to fans. Have a static image YouTube video of one of your songs. Show a clip from rehearsal. Not only is this for existing fan website visitors, but if you're in the middle of intriguing a new visitor with your music, show them who you are and be authentic. If they like you, great. If they don't like you or your persona or your music, they were never really gonna be a helpful fan anyway, so who needs them.

You can post your videos to YouTube then embed them in your website. It's easy. (Ask us if you want help.) And if you don't want this video in your official YouTube feed, you still upload it to your account but make it an Unlisted video instead of Public. Then you can still embed it in your website, but it won't show up in your YouTube channel or if people search you on YouTube.

Mailing List Signup - Don't even start thinking that mailing lists are archaic and no longer necessary. You absolutely want one as a band. Personally, I've got a band that only had a 300 person mailing list but sending out a notice to the nearest 100 fans in advance of a show gets 20 additional people to that show, besides the social media. Besides your actual music, your mailing list is really your band's greatest asset.

Contact Page - Gotta have it. Not only do you want it so somebody can tell you they liked Song X or ask about parking at the next gig or whether it's all ages - booking agents or other opportunities are going to come through this. Warning, some spam is gonna get in there too. That's life on the internet.

Where To Buy Your Music Or Merch - I have musician friends with decent websites but no music player and no links to buy on Amazon or listen on Spotify. That's embarrassing. If somebody is on your website for more than 30 seconds they're a fan. Now close the deal, send them somewhere to buy something from you. That's how you become or stay a working artist.

Note: Most people really want to support you as an artist. At a show, they'll be a CD from you for $10 because they like you, even though they no longer have a CD player. On the band pages I'm involved with I try to have all albums and several live shows available to play for free on the website. Even if they're not paying, if they're on your website that's valuable to you.

The one thing I really haven't cracked is that great music fans know that you make fractions of a penny on the dollar as an artist on streaming platforms. They want to support you. But there's not a lot of great ways to buy and play music direct from you on their phone or smart TVs. It's a problem.

EPK (Electronic Press Kit) - It's kind of your one-sheet with press clippings, testimonials, highlighted list of impressive previous shows you've played or bands you've opened for. This doesn't have to and shouldn't be a public page on your website. But this page should exist as a hidden URL that you can send to press, bookers, radio stations, etc. A good one makes you like a pleasure to work with where a bad or non-existent one is a red flag.

Mobile Responsiveness - The CMS systems like Wix or Bandzoogle are well designed to look good on phones. But some sites end up behaving poorly on the phone or take forever to load. Don't be that guy or be that band. Pay attention to this during planning and testing; always check out changes to the site for how they look on the phone. Do this right and you're already better than 30% of larger bands' websites.

Blog - It's a great way to show your personality. But if you're using this article as a checklist then you're probably just starting or re-designing your website. Let's pump the brakes on the blog. It's a lot of work. And I wouldn't advise committing to a regular blog unless you're already killing it with social media content.

Visual Theme Associated With Your Band - Not every band has an iconic logo like the Rolling Stones lips image. But DO SOMETHING to give your band a theme, even if it's just a color scheme or a particular font. Thinking of your music as a "brand" is a little gross, but just hold your nose and do it if you're going to promote yourself properly.


The Takeaway

I hope these Don't's and Do's helped somewhat. Developing a website for a business is one thing, it's supposed to be about money so marketing seems natural.

Your band, on the other hand, is your art. You might not feel great about thinking about these things like clickbait taglines, website visit duration, press kits and mailing lists.

But without knowing you, I know that you want people to hear your music. The more people that you reach makes the whole experience more real: more frequent and better gigs, press, word of mouth, and in the long run it can make enough money to keep you going and pay for that next album. Until you're signed by a record label in 1988, music is a Do-It-Yourself business. So make sure your website is as good as it can be and you'll already be a leg up on the ALL CAPS competition and you'll have a chance for your music to get out there.

If a song falls in the forest and there's nobody there to hear it, is it even a song?


NOTE: Feel free to reach out to us through our contact page here if you want any help with your website or if you just need a piece of advice to get yourself going.