Introduction
A music website can be many things, but it’s best to consider it your online presence. It’s where you show off your art, share information about yourself and connect with people who like what you do.
In this guide we will walk you though and outline the importance of having a website
- Discoverability
- The troubles with social media
- Owning your data
- Monetising your fanbase
Why musicians should have a website?
Discover
Having a website provides a dedicated fanzone for your fans to learn about your music and the story behind it. Your website can feature your biography, discography, tour dates, and photos, giving fans a comprehensive understanding of your career.
You can also provide information on your creative process, inspirations, and background, helping to build a stronger connection with your fans.
Having this information in one central place makes it easy for fans to find and share with others, expanding your reach and helping to grow your fanbase.
In addition, you can regularly update your website with new content such as blog posts, videos, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into your life and work, further deepening the connection with your fans.
Social media
Don’t think you can only use social media to showcase your brand to you fans. But while social media platforms are a great place to showcase your music and story, you must remember they are just rentable platforms.
You do NOT own the data.
Social media platforms want you to stay on the platform as long as possible and want you and your fans to spend as much money as possible on them.
You are constrained by their rules, regulations, and crucially algorithms that make organic growth near impossible.
Social platforms also do not give anything back to the musician. But running your website gives musicians more control over their brand and allows them to gather information about potential customers.
Which in turn helps build trust with those who visit the website.
Owning Your Own Data
Having a music website means collecting email addresses where you own that data. And it is better to have 1,000 email subscribers than 100k followers with little or no engagement.
With email addresses, you have much more control over who and what they see with a higher ROI.
Lastly, you could be held hostage if your social media account gets hacked and deleted when ransoms are unpaid.
We at Ma’ana have had personal experience with this, as one of our artists lost 25k fans on Instagram and had to start all over again!
A great comment I heard the other day on a podcast was “likes” don’t pay you, fans do.
So let’s jump into the last reason why you should have a website.
Monetize
Having a music website provides an opportunity to monetize your talent by selling music and merchandise directly to fans.
By setting up an online store on your website, you can sell physical merchandise such as CDs, vinyls, t-shirts, and more, as well as digital products such as albums, singles, and sheet music.
This direct-to-consumer approach cuts out intermediaries, allowing you to keep more of the profits and build a sustainable income stream from your music.
In addition, by offering exclusive merchandise and experiences, such as VIP packages and early access to new releases, you can create additional revenue streams and provide a unique value proposition to your most dedicated fans.
By leveraging the power of e-commerce on your music website, you can turn your passion for music into a thriving business.
Wrapping Up
Building a music website can be an intimidating task. However, as we’ve shown you, It’s easier than it seems!
We hope the tips and strategies we’ve shared today will inspire your next steps in creating a world-class website.
If you still need to figure out where to start or how to build out your site, don’t worry–our team is here for you every step of the way.
Before we wrap up — please take advantage of all these fantastic resources by visiting our blog regularly for more information.
