Excitement and Friction
Jan 2012 23

Excitement and Friction

Posted In Thoughts

Lots of artists call D.I.-Why asking for advice.  While they may not be ready to engage our services, they’re curious to see what (free…) advice we might have for them.  Regardless of the question, there’s always a two part answer and directive:

Is It Interesting?

  • You put up a website without any pictures of the band.
  • You’ve only got a couple of clips for people to listen to.
  • There’s no band bio or background.  The design is “minimalist”  – in the bad way.
  • You’ve got no news or blog.
  • Are there videos of your band performing?
  • Do you “paint the picture” for people finding you for the first time?
  • What’s the value proposition for someone who might buy your music?
  • Can YOU update your own website?

Is It Frictionless?

  • Can anyone visiting the site/page/profile find all the information they’re looking for?
  • Do you have more than :30 second clips of your music?
  • Does the site load quickly?
  • Does the site load completely on all browsers?
  • How does it look on mobile devices?
  • Can you easily “circle” from Facebook to your website to Twitter and back around?

As we discussed in The Analysis of Hype, it takes more than “just” music to be a musician.  What seems obvious to many people gets lost in the (emotional) discussion of how to promote your music.  We understand that it’s difficult to make business type decisions around your music.  For some artists it’s harder than deciding how to raise their children.  It’s ok though — we’re here to help.
But please, don’t ask us to babysit…