We know a thing or two about building and maintaining musicians’ websites. You’re about to learn 7 critical things every musician’s website must have.
While a lot of artists find the idea of building a musician’s website daunting it’s absolutely necessary to have a site. Why? Because it’s the only thing online that you actually own. Instagram and Facebook are owned by Mark Z and TikTok is owned by ByteDance (and it’s been banned in India where it used to be the most popular site, but I digress), While a certain amount of business and fan growth takes place on socials, if you don’t have an effective musician’s website, you’re going to have a hard time being found and your SEO won’t be yours not to mention your musician’s website is the place where fans and industry peeps (media, bloggers, promoters, managers, venue owners, etc). will come to take a deeper dive if they want one.
This post will help you maintain a successful musician’s website.
And – all of the amazing indie artists mentioned in this blog post are featured in Ariel’s book The Ultimate Guide to Music Publicity.
Your Pitch
Your pitch does not have to be lengthy to be effective; it just has to explain your sound and maybe even your personality in a few words or sentences and, if you can, add it to your homepage or make sure it really stands out in your bio. Example: Heather Mae.
Musicians Website Bio/Press Kit
You must have a press section/press kit on your site that displays photos, links, your bio, and album art. Embed your absolute best videos and photos, put up your best press quotes, link out to an interview you did with a music blog, etc. The more legit you look, the easier you make elements findable for writers and promoters.
Your bio is also very important, so make sure it is updated, tells a story, and is captivating.
TIP: Photos/Images. Make sure your photo really captures who you are and give clear instructions on how it can be downloaded. Example: Ilyana Kadushin.
Buy Merch/Stream Music
Your musician’s website is where fans can buy your music (Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon, etc) as well as stream it, of course.
People are so used to streaming nowadays, that if your homepage really doesn’t have a readily available SoundCloud or Spotify link, they may lose interest. An embedded Soundcloud link is a great option (people can stream your music without having to sign into the platform like on Spotify).
And if you have MERCH – add a store as well! Examples: Manafest, Eli Lev.
Tour Dates (Live & Streaming)
If you play live or stream regularly, you should have a section of your site dedicated to this. To have your fans alerted to your shows while they are in Spotify streaming your music, you need to use Songkick – otherwise, we recommend using Bandsintown. Example: David Myles.
Email List
Directing people to sign up for your email list is an imperative part of your musicians website. This means you also need to send an email to your newsletter at least once a month with great attention to what actually goes in it. A “free download in exchange for email” campaign is an effective way to build your list.
Some useful programs to consider include MailChimp and Bandzoogle.
Musicians’ Website Contact Information
Make sure that you have your contact information with the email address on your musician.’s website.
I do not recommend a contact form alone. Make it easy for people to contact you for booking, publicity, or just to tell you that they like your music, but also include your PO Box and an email address for professional inquiries.
Links to Socials
Make it easy for people to find you on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or wherever else you may want to be found.
TIP: Only link socials that you actually maintain – you don’t want to lead fans to a dead or inactive page.
Don’t let your site or socials go stale. Make sure to return often to keep your site and socials updated! That means daily multiple daily and weekly posts for socials and at least once a month for your musicians website.
These tips will assure that your site remains interesting and dynamic and fans will want to stop by your musician’s website again and again.
Interested in more ways to improve your website? Download all eight Freebies today for the latest tips and tricks!
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