For years now, the trend with some aspiring musicians has been to ditch the website and stick to other online options, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp, and a plethora of others. Those are all great platforms, and they’re worth spending time and effort to develop as an artist, but none of them–and not even all of them combined–can replace a proper website.
Musician’s websites are still incredibly helpful, useful, and they’re no longer the expensive investment they used to be. These days, making a website doesn’t mean hiring a webmaster and spending huge sums of money on special effects or hosting. Everything connected to crafting a personal page has become easier and cheaper than ever, and there really is no excuse for not having a landing page for anyone who’s interested in you and your work.
Here are five reasons why musical artists should still have a website for themselves and their music:
In This Article:
- Do People Still Google Bands?
- Not All Your Fans Are On Social Media
- Does Social Media Meet All Your Band’s Promotional Needs?
- It’s A Catch-All Platform
- Websites Are Future-Proof
Do People Still Google Bands?
You might not realize it, but if you have any kind of following at all, there’s a chance that people are out there in the world looking you up online. There is simply no way of knowing who is heading to Google to search for you, your song, your live album, or anything else, so you need to be prepared!
Especially when you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to have a website so Google knows where to point people when they search your name. While they may first be offered links to your social channels (more on that in a minute), adding to the list of links the engine can deliver to those who are curious about you is a best practice. In fact, if you can work to ensure your website is the first thing that comes up on Google, you’ll start seeing some positive effects.
If people are looking for you online, it’s time to invest in digital marketing for your music.
Vulfpeck’s minimalist website reflects the bands’ focus on music over image
Not All Your Fans Are On Social Media
It may be difficult to believe, but even in 2022, there are still people who aren’t on social media. Okay, there aren’t many of them, but they do exist, and you don’t want to alienate them by only having social profiles and no traditional website.
It’s also worth mentioning that if you do decide to focus all of your energy on social media, you have to pick which platform to build as your main home…or do a lot of work to ensure they’re all sharing the same info all the time. If you opt to make Facebook a hub for all info related to your music, touring, and merch, keep in mind that a lot of people have ditched the site in the past few years. Others also might not have profiles on some options, such as Twitter, TikTok, Instagram.
Avoid this headache entirely and build a website!
Does Social Media Meet All Your Band’s Promotional Needs?
Social media is incredibly important for musicians who are creating a product and putting it out into the world with the goal of reaching the masses, but these platforms aren’t built to do everything. They all have their upsides as well as their missing features, so if you decide not to make a website and only employ social outlets, chances are you’ll miss out on opportunities to educate your followers and deliver the most important info.
Twitter is great, but it only allows for short-form messages. Instagram promotion is invaluable, as it is a place to share photos and videos, but it’s not ideal for posting anything that requires text. Both of those sites also don’t grant users much real estate in their bios to write anything more than a sentence or two, and that can be a hindrance. Facebook is a good substitute for a proper website in some ways, but it’s becoming less and less popular in some countries, and it still doesn’t have all the space and offerings as a website.
Social media is vital for anyone promoting anything, and it should be a major focus for you…but even these platforms can’t completely replace a full website.
Looking for some hlep with your band’s social media promotion? Planetary can help with that!
It’s A Catch-All Platform
One of the biggest drawbacks to social media profiles, as is mentioned above, is the lack of space and flexibility. These platforms aren’t meant for writing long bios or selling merch, for example, and while it’s possible to do some of that from time to time, a website is still best. Often, musicains can link their website from their social media platforms which will send social media users to the website for more info as well.
Your own personal website allows you to do…whatever you want. You can update it as often as you like, and it can be used as a catch-all for anything and everything related to your music career. Instead of having to focus only on what’s new, as is usually the case on social media, you can ensure your site features all your music, tour dates, photos, merchandise, and so much more. Many bands can recieve tips and donations on their websites which also adds to their monthly income!
send social media users to your band’s site for more information, tour dates, donations, and more.
Websites Are Future-Proof
It’s not common, but sometimes things happen on social media that causes content to disappear. How many artists spent a lot of time building their Myspace pages, only to see the platform fall out of favor? As if that wasn’t enough of a bummer, the company also changed its layout one day, and now profiles are nearly unrecognizable, with all that text, imagery, and code lost to time. How dissapointing is it to craft the perfect instagram bio for your band just to have it dissapear two weeks later?
With your website, you own everything that’s on your page, and there is almost a zero percent chance it’s going to disappear–just make sure you pay your hosting bills and you’ll be fine.
If you’re ready for the world to hear your music (and visit your website), look to Planetary Group for music promotion – call today! (323) 952-5050
