Thinking outside the box for music web sites

[-]

I've been checking out some of the band/artist web sites that have been posted here in the past few days and have been getting some ideas for what I'd like to do with my own. Although my music falls into an acoustic-y pop vein, I am very much in the same situation as a techno studio-only guy: I won't be performing live, and my recordings are meant to be the final product. Also, I don't have any immediate plans to release a CD... Instead, I'm planning to release mp3s on my web site after I'm finished with them. If people like 'em, great -- but this is definitely not going to be a money-making career move. [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] So I'm doing some creative thinking about web sites, ways to get audience feedback, and provide an interesting web experience for visitors... As there is no album or nothing to sell... The web site [i]is[/i] the album. [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Some ideas are... * Visually, the web site has to look consistent and artistic, much like the cover and inside of a nice CD booklet. * There would be a mp3 page where you can download songs as well as rate them on a scale of 1-4 stars... That way I might have an idea as to which songs are working and which ones aren't (should I decide to put together a CD one day). Plus, you can rate the songs anonymously, so I'm more likely to get honest feedback. * There would be a mailing list so that visitors can be notified any time I've uploaded a new song to the site. * There could be a script which will track approximately how many megs of mp3s that have been downloaded from my site, and, if I'm getting dangerously close to the traffic limit that my web service provider allows, the mp3 links will automatically go to an outside web site to download the mp3s. (The reason I wouldn't use the outside web sites for regular downloads is because there will likely be a pop up ad which would distract from the visual appearance of the site.) Granted, I could probably just get a page on mp3.com (and I probably will as a backup), but I don't care for the artist page layout... It definitely won't fit with the visual concept of the web site. I'd like to provide a nice web experience where the mp3 page looks consistent with the rest of the site. What are some other ideas you've seen or would like to see for a music-oriented web site? I'm especially interested in what you'd like to see on a site where you've never heard the artist's music before... Are lo-fi RealAudio versions necessary? What kinds of things would intrigue you and make you interested in checking out the music? (And d gauss, I [i]know[/i] what you're gonna say in response to that last question... [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] ) This message has been edited by popmusic on 08-27-2001 at 12:45 AM

[Anderton]

Remember that if you go with lots of graphics, it will take a while to download the page with dial up systems.

[Chip McDonald]

[quote]Originally posted by popmusic: [b] Are lo-fi RealAudio versions necessary? What kinds of things would intrigue you and make you interested in checking out the music? [/b][/quote] Real Audio plugins always cause problems, I refuse to run them... why are they needed with MP3's around? Web content: having watched the web grow from the beginnings of a few text files in directories here and there, to rudimentary HTML, the MOSAIC era, to now... eventually a more stentorian approach will become the standard. I'm sooooo tired of busy web pages. It's CONTENT that matters, CONTENT. It may fool your client, who is perhaps older and not web saavy (I would think that's quickly becoming a rarity), but the bottom line is I know what I want to see/read/hear. The more attuned web designers are to that, the more successful they'll be in the long run I think. ------------------ [b]New and Improved Music Soon:[/b] http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[Guest]

[quote]Originally posted by Chip McDonald: [b] Real Audio plugins always cause problems, I refuse to run them... why are they needed with MP3's around? [/b][/quote] there may be plenty of reasons to hate Real, but - there are good reasons why people might choose Real format delivery depending on their situation. This is what people are thinking about when they select Real instead of mp3. * Real provides for streaming delivery. This is different than a download. Streaming means that I can mount a program of any length and you can access any point in it without downloading the entire file. This is a big deal especially in long-format situations. * because they want to expose something without providing a downloadable. Real allows a developer to choose whether the asset can or cannot be saved. * because they want to manage their server assets - Real allows a developer to provide different encoded versions of content. One file can contain differently-sized bandwidth streams. Remember when you installed Real you selected the speed of your connection. That is passed to the server when you request the file. Further Real specifies the way that the service will degrade in heavy traffic situations. * Real typically sends its server traffic using UDP. Unlike TCP/IP, UDP is not constantly checking to see if you got that last bit before it hands you another. It can fail gracefully. * When you request a Real file you are actually negotiating the transaction with a piece of plain text called a metafile. This enables the streaming process. You can engage with the server right away, without waiting for a few megs to arrive on your computer. Waiting drives people away. * The model is more like radio, than it is like a trip to the record store.

[Mr Darling]

I've been checking a lot of populer artists web pages lately for the same reason - improving and desgining the Webpage. The first problem is getting people to visit the site in the first place. I seconed Craigs advice, fancy - flash/graphic crowded sites do take longer to download and creates problems. And after you've seen it once ... well you've seen it. My internet computer is packed with ADSL, latest flash plugin etc... and still I can't seem to access some sites. So I keep my website old fashion, no flash (so far - will wait another year until most consumer have it) Your second problem is to get prople returning, I realy do my best to update the site once a week. We get a nice 350 hits a day avarage, and it is hard work - but it doe pay back. To know all I think should be in a music related website you'll have to check our site... http://www.DarlingNikkie.com HTH and don't forget sign the guestbook. [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] Danny ------------------ Visit http://www.DarlingNikkie.com/sounds for free MP3's

[-]

[quote]Originally posted by Mr Darling: [b]I've been checking a lot of populer artists web pages lately for the same reason - improving and desgining the Webpage. [/b][/quote] I saw your site and thought the "My Diary" section was definitely like thinking "outside the box"... I've seen journal entry type things on artist's web sites, but I've never seen them go back to 1974! [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

[Mr Darling]

[quote]Originally posted by popmusic: [b] I saw your site and thought the "My Diary" section was definitely like thinking "outside the box"... I've seen journal entry type things on artist's web sites, but I've never seen them go back to 1974! [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img][/b][/quote] Thanks, lots of fans and freinds realy liked it as well. in fact most interviewers cliam to have read it as well. It kind of show that there is a real persone behind every star. Yes, my wife is a star [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] Guestbooks are very nice. If you have any guests and they bother to write anything. To be honest, we both check it at least once a day and are very happy every time we see a new entry. That said, their will allways be a$$holes, who do all in their power to clowd your day. As for audio - mp3 is much better. but lofi real audio is good for a taste or for people who are picky with their time. For an eye opener: I've recently run into erykahbadu.com . Amazing look, very artisty and very pro. How ever not so much info, and no real reason to revisit. but I am thinking of using the idea of an audio loop runing along... I'll check your site when it's up, don'thesitate to ask anything. Danny ------------------ Visit http://www.DarlingNikkie.com/sounds for free MP3's

[-]

[quote]Originally posted by Mr Darling: [b]As for audio - mp3 is much better. but lofi real audio is good for a taste or for people who are picky with their time. [/b][/quote] How do y'all feel about the entire song in RealAudio (for quick listening purposes, like [url=http://www.mp3.com]www.mp3.com[/url] ) or just a segment in RealAudio (so you can decide whether you're intrigued enough to download the whole MP3 -- kinda like what [url=http://www.cdnow.com]www.cdnow.com[/url] does)? [quote]Originally posted by Mr Darling: [b]I am thinking of using the idea of an audio loop runing along... [/b][/quote] Ack -- Don't do it! [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] It's neat to hear a taste of the artist's music [i]the first[/i] (and only the first) time you visit a web site, but it drives me absolutely batty to hear it every time... A loop is even worse -- it makes me quickly try to go to another page so I don't have to keep listening to the loop!

[KenElevenShadows]

Web pages without a gaggle of graphics are probably a whole lot better for enticing people to explore your site further. Something that looks good, but is clean, something that doesn't take a long time to download. And why not put both MP3s and RealAudio up? If it's not that much of a hassle to you, why not offer someone a choice? ------------------ Ken/Eleven Shadows/d i t h er/Nectar http://www.elevenshadows.com 4 music, travel, more! http://www.cdbaby.com/elevenshadows

[Mr Darling]

[quote]Originally posted by popmusic: [b]How do y'all feel about the entire song in RealAudio (for quick listening purposes, like [url=http://www.mp3.com]www.mp3.com[/url] ) or just a segment in RealAudio (so you can decide whether you're intrigued enough to download the whole MP3 -- kinda like what [url=http://www.cdnow.com]www.cdnow.com[/url] does)?[/b] The only reason for segments is that they are worried that people won't buy the CD if they can hear full song online. If you can put all songs as realaudio LoFi + HiFi, and MP3. The real audio will let them decide if they want the mp3 on their hard disk. Ack -- Don't do it! [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] It's neat to hear a taste of the artist's music [i]the first[/i] (and only the first) time you visit a web site, but it drives me absolutely batty to hear it every time... A loop is even worse -- it makes me quickly try to go to another page so I don't have to keep listening to the loop! [/B][/quote] Did you check Erykabadu site? It does work for them. since the loop is so short (1 bar) the quality is so good, and it simply feels like your sitting in a lounge bar looking at the site. The only problem is if you try to listen to any of the audio the loop doesn't go off. And of course if you have internet radio on while surfing they will colide.... And anyway, you can allways have an audio off option... [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] ------------------ Visit http://www.DarlingNikkie.com/sounds for free MP3's

[Mr Darling]

PS. As your site will attract a lot of us (studio user) you might want to add a studio section with pictures of your studio and descriptions of how you constracted your tracks... Just a thought [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]