Yellow Seahorse
The music industry is a constantly changing place. It allows artists to express themselves through their music and performances. Throughout the last 10 years, there have been various changes which have taken place, vinyl's to CDâ€&#x;s to downloads and the changing genres of music. In modern times, artists have a want to make money as much money as possible for themselves and their labels. They do this through the sales of their music, tours and merchandise. This is the same now as it was 10 years ago. However, the internet has become a more prominent place in the industry and artists have taken to the web to promote themselves and sell their music. The music industry is taking advantage of the new technology that is being brought in and replacing their old ways with new up to date ways.
Making money is a big part of this as having a website not only saves money but also increases the revenue coming into the band. There are many ways in which this can be done and many factors, which include the design, usability and accessibility of the website, that can influence the amount of revenue the band gets. Yet, there are laws which can define how a website should and should not act when it comes to being accessible for the users of the internet and possibly there sites. There are also downsides of using a website rather then using more traditional techniques. The report is going to explore the music industry and how websites can be effectively used to create more revenue for the artist.
Music has existed for millennia but only in the last century could it be stored and reproduced. „In 1877 Thomas Alva Edison discovered how sound could be stored‟ [Gronow, P & Saunio, I. 1998]. Ignoring earlier music from the Middle Ages through to the romantic era which comprised composers such as Mozart and Beethoven and the symphonies they produced; music and the music industry as we know it today didn‟t really emerge until the 20th century. In the 20th century the introduction of the radio allowed artists exposure. This was the primary portal of promotion, which allowed artists to create revenue by promoting live gigs and club appearances. Compact discs first became available to the general public to buy in March 1983, and eventually replaced vinyl (still available due to the niche market for the nostalgic). The music industry is in essence made up of „musicians, songwriters, producers, record companies and music publishers‟ [Wikstrom, P. 2009]. All of which are tied by the record label; which emerged in
do this internally. There were a multitude of record labels in the early 20th century, however by the 1980s many had failed due to the dominance of the „Big 6‟ which included EMI, CBS, BMG, PolyGram, WEA and MCA. Due to takeovers and mergers this eventually became the „Big 4‟. The „Big 4‟ major record labels are; Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. In terms of market share, in the first quarter of 2010 Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music entertainment (SME) both held 28.7% of the market share, with Warner Music Group (WMG) owning 14.8% and EMI owning 11.8%. This is shown in the table on the right. The remaining 16% of the market share comprised smaller independent labels (indie).
The different ways to make money in the modern music industry are: through merchandise, digital music downloads, CD‟s, touring/live performance, music production, publishing and marketing. The current most profitable means for artists to make money are through live performance and publishing. Live performance or live music is „reserved for those situations where the audience is in physical proximately to the performance, and the experience of the music is contiguous with its actual performance‟ [Shuker, R. 2002]. Although it is one of the best ways for the music industry to make money it „is not considered as a part of the music industry‟s core. Rather, live music is considered to be a part of the performing arts industry‟ [Wikstrom, P. 2009]. Reasons for live performances popularity and income include the „audiences‟ physical proximately to the actual performance and intimacy with the performer(s) with a more authentic and satisfying musical experience‟ [Shuker, R. 2002]. Further more, some artists put on a great live performance choreographed for a sensually stimulating experience. Juxtaposed, after production some artists can be considered to be „manufactured‟ and different, and maybe not as good live. Further more the very nature that live events normally take place inside licensed premises such as clubs, bars and festivals; add to appeal of live performance to an artist‟s audience. In terms of revenue, on a yearly
basis live performance has been steadily rising and from 2007 to 2009 it increased by 23.7%. This supports the consensus of live performance being one of the most profitable means in modern music, this is shown below. The amount of money concert-goers‟ spent on merchandise in the past 12 months varies rapidly. It is based on the most popular types of music concerts and festivals and consists of 749 adults aged 15+ who have visited a concert/festival in the past 12 months. The chart outlines how visitors to classical music concerts are the most likely to buy merchandise, with visitors to jazz/blues concerts second most likely to buy merchandise. 39% spend more than £11 and 31% spend below £11. Rock and Indie artists are less likely to buy merchandise but when they do they are more likely to spend between £11 and £20. The second most profitable area for artists to make money is through music publishing. Music publishing defined, is the area of the music industry „concerned with developing,
protecting and valuing music‟ [MPA. 2010]. The main areas of music publishing are: finding new songwriters and composers and developing them, registering their work with all societies and agencies, producing demo recordings and licensing the music produced, promoting and marketing the artists, licensing the use of the music, monitoring this licensing and taking action against the breach of licenses and copyrights. The majority of money made through publishing is done through PRS who „exist to collect and pay royalties to our members when their music is exploited in one of a number of ways – when it is recorded onto any format and distributed to the public, performed or played in public, broadcast or made publicly available online‟ [PRS for Music. 2011]. Therefore an example of PRS‟ use is, every time a video is watched on YouTube which contains an artist‟s content they are paid for its use. In terms of the different online music destinations and the traffic they received in 2008 and 2009. Out of the websites shown in the table out of the top four; YouTube offers streamed videos but does not offer any purchasing or
download of songs, iTunes solely focuses on the purchase of music, AOL has a similar focus to YouTube but also reviews and interviews artists and Spotify combines all the ideas of iTunes, YouTube and AOL‟s functions. The need for PRS is evident as whilst „visits to music entertainment sites have increased 21% during the past year, music retail sites‟ traffic has decreased by 47%‟ [Gavin, J. 2009]. The music industry is an ever changing dynamic market, where competition is fierce and success is not guaranteed. New technology keeps the industry fresh and gives fans more access to artists and their music. This greater access is allowing artists new ways to merchandise themselves and generate revenue. Comparing 10 years ago to now CD sales are not as profitable as a result of illegal music downloads and the supermarket wars where they are pilling CDs high and selling them cheap. This thus has a direct effect on music retailers such as HMV and even caused Zaavi to close. The change in the music industry can also be accounted for by the change in online digital landscape.
The growth of social media means it is not a portal between artist and fan. This also means that artists no longer have to rely on exposure through traditional medians like television and radio airplay. A well designed website, Facebook or twitter account with constant communication allows promotion to be done in an instant and allows artist more exposure then they have had before. Digital promotion and social media also allows emerging artists a way to gain a fan following and some exposure and potentially the chance to generate an income before they have even „made it‟ into the wider music industry. Geoffrey Shulman outlines in an interview for artist house music how „most record labels are still not identifying their market‟, „have a Lack of focus‟ and how the market is „much more of a niche market then it was‟ he then goes on to dictate how the artist is „the best marketing and promotion person they will ever have‟ and needs to engage in „shameless self promotion‟ to make money in the music industry these days [Shulman, G. 2008]. In the last decade CD sales have largely been replaced by digital music downloads. CD singles don‟t really exist on the high street anymore and CD album sales have been reduced. This change was due to the rise of illegal mp3 download sites and peer to peer sharing programs which received wider popularity. The most renowned illegal music
sharing program was Napster which founded in June 1999. Napster combined the use of mp3 files, with file sharing without a central database (peer to peer) and IRC (internet relay chat). All of the music offered on Napster‟s service was free to download and as below:
from 1999 the units (singles and albums) sold of the record industry dropped dramatically by 7% in 2000 on the previous year and 10% in 2001. Outlined in an article by the BBC, the year 2001 was the first year that album sales dropped in a decade. „Album sales in the US dropped by almost 3%‟ [BBC. 2001] the fact that „the US accounts for 40% of world CD sales‟ [BBC. 2001] shows this sharp decline is a problem. The UK was the only country not to follow the global decline in sales which „rose by 5% in the first nine months of 2001‟ [BBC. 2001]. This drop in CD sales led the music industry to fight the illegal download of music with legal music downloads.
These legal music downloads are offered through services such as iTunes, HMV and Napster (legal). Music downloads have been in existence since 1993 however the shift from CD sales to music downloads was slow at first. Not until 2003 did music downloads outweigh CD single sales. This was mainly accountable to the factor that iTunes became readily available in 2003 allowing digital music sales to increase A report published by the BBC analyses the download of music from mid 2003 through to November and found that „some 7.7 million tracks were bought and downloaded since the end of June - compared with four million CD singles sold‟ [BBC. 2003]. Since 2003 digital sales have been steadily rising and a report published at the beginning of this year by the Guardian outlines how the „digital album sales were up by 30.6% on last year – from a little over 16m to 21m – but the CD market continued to slump, falling 12.4% to 98.5m‟ also „the singles market continued to grow, with sales up 5.9% to 161.8m‟ with „digital tracks representing 98% of overall singles sales. CD singles now account for only 1.9m sales‟ [Topping, A. 2011]. Despite this the RIAA note how „global music piracy causes $12.5 billion of economic losses every year, 71,060 U.S. jobs lost, a loss of $2.7 billion in workers' earnings, and a loss of $422 million in tax revenues, $291 million in personal income tax and $131 million in lost corporate income and production taxes‟ [RIAA. 2011]. In all music downloads now account for a “quarter of all recorded music industry revenues worldwide” [IFPI. 2010].
Fashion and music goes hand in hand and tends to go in circles. New genres of music and fashion styles either emerge from nothing or evolve from a mixture of musical styles. For example the punk music genre evolved the fashion style of punk which was designed to reject the current society and enforce anarchy. Anarchy defined is simply „either the negative condition of unruliness or the positive condition of being unruled‟ [Woodcock, G. 2004]. The music and fashion style of punk is just one example of the link between fashion and music. Other genre examples include Britpop, Indie, Hip-hop and Metal which all have an individual style which is directly associated with there music and the fashion choices of the artists. Different music money making models
Traditional music model: The traditional model of an artist creating music, having airplay on the radio, making it available for sale and touring is now out of date and new tactics to keep the music industry fresh and profitable. Free music model: Prince gave away his 2007 album Planet Earth with the mail on Sunday for free. The primary idea was to sell the huge number of concert tickets associated with the albums tour (which he did) and to get his music into as many people‟s homes as possible to accomplish this. SpiralFrog lets users download music for free on the condition that every 30 days the user listens to a certain number of advertisements or their account and the music downloaded gets disabled. Spotify is similar to spiral frog and offers about 10 million songs free to stream and listen to on the grounds that advertisements are listened to periodically between the music.
Subscription model: Spotify also has a subscription model which disables the advertisements in the free Spotify model. This is achieved by purchasing an unlimited or premium account for a monthly subscription fee of 5 or £10 depending on the chosen subscription. Napster is similar to Spotify and offers more than 10 million songs. All the features of Spotify are included but only the subscription service is available. Further more for £5 five mp3‟s are available to keep each month as well as unlimited streaming. Pay what you want model: Pioneered by Radiohead when they released their album In Rainbows they placed it on their website with a voluntary price tag where the user could pay nothing at all, or make a donation to download the album. As a result of this concept the album reached number one in the UK as well as America and generated revenue far greater than their previous album. Marillion model: British Rock band Marillion presold their 2001 album anoraknophobia to acquire the desired funds to produce the album and release it. Unlike most artists they owned and had access to everything to create the album except the ability to distribute it. The Robbie Williams Model: Get your record label to pay a set amount before the albums release and give all of the income from the album and all live performances associated to it to the record label.
The Music Tax Model: A flat tax paid by everyone whether they download music allot or hardly at all. Everyone has to pay the same percentage tax to the government and depending on the sales of each artist they get a percentage of the total tax collected
„Unless a website meets the needs of the intended users it will not meet the needs of the organisation providing the website. Website development should be user-centred, evaluating the evolving design against user requirements.‟ Bevan (1999). The design of a website is very important when designing and making a website. The design has to appeal to the target audience in terms of accessibility, aesthetics and usability. To be successful, the brand needs to identify who they are targeting so they can relate the site design towards that user instead of making hard for some of their audience to use. The aesthetics of a website communicate many things to the consumer, including the values and personality of the company. A website needs to have a personality to grab attention from consumers; fun, formal, engaging, etc. The site personality can set up the aesthetics for the design of the site as the
personality needs to be reflected in the way the site looks. Keeping the viewers attention is key. If attention is diverted or the viewer gets bored then they will simply view a competitor‟s website. The basics of a website, such as the colours used, play such an important role in what consumers think of the site as it needs to fit in with the personality, target audience, the brand, as well as being right for usability and accessibility to the site. As different colours portray different feelings, such as oranges showing warmth and blue being cool, companies need to consider how they want to come across. Bigger brands also need to consider what colours mean internationally as a colour which is positive in one country could be negative in another. Companies use this to get across certain meanings and messages, for example if you wanted to market you new range of high end make up products you may decide to go for a more soft, passionate colour scheme rather than bright vibrant colours. The basics of the site need to be welcoming and positive for the website.
The consumer should be able to get to the product/service they desire within three clicks upon entering the website, this way the customer attention is still there and has easily found what they were looking for. This makes it more likely that the customer will come back to the site, therefore making the site a success. The user is also a big influence on the aesthetics of a website. The website needs to be user friendly, for example, some users are not going to want to go on a very intensive site and might rather go on something more uplifting and fun. The usability of a website needs to be simple enough but yet challenging enough so the user does not feel too clever for the website as they may not visit it again. U.S. Government. Accessibility is also a big factor in the design of a website. As Chaffey and Smith (2008) states: „Web accessibility is all about allowing all users of a website to interact with it regardless of disabilities they may have or the browser they are using to access the siteâ€&#x; Within the UK, websites have to meet the accessibility guidelines stated in the Disability and Discrimination Act 1995. Websites need to be able to let all users access their website to make it a success.
However, there are downsides to having a near enough purely internet based brand. Starting up a website can take a very long time. This means that not only is time being consumed but money is being wasted and not made. Unless a brand employs someone to create the website quickly but yet effectively, the brand will suffer. When it comes to the start up, there are many ways that may postpone the launch of the site, for example, not all of the information needed may fit into the site, as there is limited space to fit the facts in and the site may not comply with laws stated . One of the main issues when it comes to starting up a site is that the design of it does not fit in with the personality of the site, therefore there is a need to start all over again. A website needs opinions before it is started up to make sure it is suitable for the intended audience. The up keep of a website is also a feature that some websites can fail on. Constant up dating is one of the factors, found by Forrester, which consumers look for in a good website. However, some sites find this hard to handle and eventually the updating stops and as a result, the website dies. Responsibility is also a key factor which Steven Holdaway (2009) found was one of the main disadvantages to a website. He states that the need to answer emails, and the need to make the site seem relevant and true is a major need for a successful site, otherwise the site wont seem legitimate.
For the music industry, especially up and coming bands, creating a credible website which consumers want to visit again and again is hard. This is because most small bands use free websites or social networking sites, such as MySpace and Blogger.com, to create their bands page. Having a site like this may make consumers see them as a joke as they do not have their own proper site. Also, with websites like these, the bands have no control over what appears on their site, banners and adverts may appear on the site which may have no relevance at all to the genre or information of the site.
A successful website keeps up to date, even with technology, therefore, embracing Apples products, iPhone, iPod, iPad, which are very popular, therefore it would be advisable to create an app which would give the user up to date information on new products, sales and any information which may help to market products. This would also enable brands to get closer to their audience and learn more about them so web design can be targeted towards them. A successful website also, complies with many different models. AIDA is a model which acts as a guideline or checklist. Straker (2008). The Attention, Interest, Desire and Action model shows the way consumers buy off a website, and allows website designers to follow this checklist to make sure their website is successful and convince consumers, through the website, to buy off of that particular site. However, many critics have said that the elements in this model are outdated; this is why it should be used as a checklist and not as the only model to build a successful website. Most websites follow the AIDA „checklist‟ by having headings at the top of the page to grab the attention of the customer, they then keep the interest by exploring the features and benefits of the subject
they are covering, a desire is then created and action is taken to pursue their desire. Smashing Magazine (2008) described the AIDA model as the way how potential buyers are tricked into buying products or services they actually don‟t need.
The 5 S‟s also offer a great way to make sure that a website is good, through:
Selling – Through communicating well, having an online value proposition and making the web easier, websites can help make sales growth, if web design is done well. Serving – Consumers rely on the web to be up-to-date in modern times, therefore a website needs to be updated and use services on the website easily. Speaking – A website allows a brand to get closer to their customers, so by having a well communicated website companies can communicate to their customers about the brand as well as learn about their needs and tailor the website specifically to help them.
Saving – Modern technology has helped companies save a lot of revenue as websites have taken over what would of been done with paper and delivering the content previously. Therefore, websites are able to save the companies money which would have been spent on other items before. Sizzle – The other 4 S‟s need the „sizzle‟ of the website to achieve their main target. The sizzle is about the site personality being shown through the design of the website and reinforcing what the brand stands for.
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Making money on a website is becoming easier as technology and times progress. Websites serve the needs and purpose that offline activities used to do. As well as doing features for their own purpose, websites also have space created, where advertisers can buy up their space to advertise their own products and services. Also, there is the option to sell products on the site, which most websites in the music industry do. This brings direct revenue to the company, as well as a postage and packaging fee, which would create profit for the brand.
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It is, in general, a mixture of features which can help a website successful and make money for the company. There are other features which can help a website contribute to the growth of sales, depending on the type of industry the website is a part of. A website needs to stand out and make consumers want to visit and re-visit the site. A survey by Forrester came to the conclusion that a site needs four things in order to keep customers returning to the site; high quality content, easy to use, quick to download, frequently updated. If a site does this consumers are more likely to come back to the site and tell their friends about it, if they have had no problem with the content or usability of the site.
To help make their website helpful also, a brand needs to make sure that their intended audience knows about the website. This means building up traffic to their website is a must. There are various ways a brand can do this, through search marketing, online PR, online partnerships, offline, viral marketing amongst many. Included in these categories are the more recognised ways of getting attention in modern times, such as social networks, blogs and viral e-mails, as well as the more traditional techniques of search engine optimisation, sponsorship, affiliate marketing and pay per click. There are many ways to get up and coming bands noticed, leaving a trademark sign on blogs, use a „tell a friend‟ option where people can click on the link and e-mail their friend about the site. Search engine optimisation is one of the main ways sites can build traffic up to their site. Search
engine optimisation refers to the adjustments made to a website in order for it to appeal more to search engines and result in higher rankings in search results. Searchengineoptimisation. co.uk (2011). This allows one of the first pages on a search engine search to be your site. By accommodating these techniques, a brand is sure to get recognised and guide consumers to their website. The next report which will be written will be based upon the different marketing techniques that the music industry uses to build traffic towards their websites.
Alex Winston is a singer/songwriter from Detroit, who is currently in New York working with production duo The Knocks. Alex is also a multi instrumentalist playing the guitar, drums and piano. She is currently not signed to a record label. This emerging pop/indie artist‟s primary promotion portal is the social media site MySpace. The objective of an artist‟s website/social media site is to promote themselves, their music and how to purchase it and their live concerts; as these are what lead to revenue and success.
Sell: When you first come across Alex Winston‟s MySpace page the main focus at the top are all of the songs and their videos and a button which enables people to buy the songs. This is a vital part of online promotion and the layout of the page enables people to straightaway make a purchase. Serve: the added value to Alex Winston‟s MySpace page is the strong communication link between her and fans. She ensures that her social networks like MySpace and twitter are linked and therefore constantly updated
Speak: The communication between artist and fan is further enabled through the opportunity to leave comments and interact with the artist. This allows Save: As MySpace is a social network Alex Winston main e-marketing portal is free. As she doesn‟t have a website she has saved money as a website is expensive to set up and maintain. Sizzle: Alex‟s page design reflects her style of fashion and music and reinforces the carefree but funky nature associated with her. The site is well designed as all the most important aspects are all on the index page. These include her „product‟ which are her songs available to buy, and also the dates for her upcoming live gigs and information which redirects you where to purchase tickets. Navigation around the sight is simple to use as on the left is a navigation panels which can take you where you want to go with one click. This MySpace page follows and beats the three click rule.
The MySpace page is orientated to a younger audience identified by colourful and modern graphics with contemporary photographs and it being a social network.
Another form of promotion is product placement. This has happened in Alex Winston‟s case. Her song "Choice Notes" featured in a Hyundai advert; this has given her song widespread media coverage and exposure.
Tonight we‟re electric is an up and coming indie band who have been together for about 4 years. They are currently signed to record label, „Hat Factory‟. Although it is not a big label, it uses its resources, website and music industry sites, to promote their sign ups. Tonight we‟re electric does not currently have an actual website, they use MySpace to act like a website, as you don‟t need to be part of it to view the pages.
The 5 S‟s come up in the design of the site. Speak – links with Twitter and Facebook allow the band to communicate directly with their fans and potential fans. Saving – As a new band, Tonight we‟re electric needs to save as much money as possible, having a website allows them to do this as they don‟t need to spend money on things they can do via their website.
Selling – On the website, there is options to buy merchandise and tracks. This also allows revenue to be able to go straight to the band and record label, making them money by cutting out the middle man. Serving – By having a direct link with Twitter, Tonight we‟re electric are serving their fans by keeping them up to date with what they are doing. They also put tracks up as soon as they can, as well as up dated photos, events, merchandise and news in general. Sizzle – All of the other S‟s contribute to the sizzle factor of the site. The site is exciting to look at, and serves the purpose it was made for well. The aesthetics of the bands website are pleasing. The design and colours of the website all reflect the bands personality, as, for users, the colours are bright and fun. This makes the site more and more interesting and as it does not look boring, users feel they can come back to the site and rely on it not to bore them. The aesthetics also make the site user friendly, as the typography is clear and precise, it can be read by anyone who comes onto the site, and not just the intended audience. Through the aesthetics, the site is very user friendly as everything is clear to where it leads and can be used by anyone as it is simple and accessible, not only through search engines but through the website as a whole. The navigation around the site is easy and very usable; the
scroll bar at the site allows users to explore what the site has to offer, as well as the navigation bar on the left hand side of the page, which leads users to exactly what they want to know. The headings are clear and lead to exactly where they say they go. This website was shown to 4 people, who would be the intended audience for the band. They were asked what they thought of the website and key points of the design of the site. Overall, the aesthetics kept the attention, and made the interviewees want to explore the website and learn more, a trick of AIDA. They thought the colour scheme was suitable for the type of band they are, indie genre, and that it was not too harsh for the website or for users. The interviewees also thought that the way there is a Twitter update at the top of the page shows that the band wants to be able to communicate with their followers. This makes them more inclined to follow the band even more as they feel like they care about their fans and not just about the music. Tonight we‟re electric use a few traffic building techniques to direct people to their site. Using social networking sites is one of the main ways they get people to go to their site. On
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what they are up to. Social media is the main traffic building way that the band gets people to view the site. Gigs are also another way that they promote their website. Merchandise at the gigs, which includes tshirts, bags and posters, contain the website somewhere on them, as well as having little cards with details on them, which direct people to their site to find out more. An indirect way of getting people to want to know more about them is through their record label. The label helps to promote them and show them to new, potential fans through websites such as gigsunlimited.co.uk.
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Overall, Tonight weâ€&#x;re electric have a very good band page for a MySpace page. However, their traffic building could be improved by having more offline traffic building promotions, as well as building up affiliations with other sites, in order to gain more attention from their audience. Also, due to the main picture of the band being so big and space filling, the title of the band has become overshadowed by this, and as a result, the consumer needs to look harder for the name of the band.
Sell: In terms of the website of Bishop Lamont (Shown on the right) it doesn‟t offer any products to buy but in terms of generating leads there are four sites clearly linked from the top of the homepage. These are Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and twitter with each of these sites offering material from the artist and aiding in promotion. Further more there is a music player and a free downloadable mix tape linked from the homepage. Serve: In terms of serving there is quick and easy access to all the information the audience may want to know through an interactive drop down (shown on the next page). The information ranges from a bibliography, to touring/events, a discography, press releases, video clips, pictures and contact details. Despite the services offered this information is relatively out of date and only tracks the artist until 2008. However in terms of maintenance this site is maintained regularly but some links are broken or the content is missing.
Save: The press section and the highlights section offer news articles and up to date information regarding bishop. Shown on the right is the most recent highlights article, it outlines a new mix tape derived from discarded material for Bishops first album. Sizzle: The website manages to differentiate itself by firstly the links from the website to different social networking websites. The look is very square, symmetrical, clear and bold. Further more the website is building the brand of bishop Lamont throughout the site as shown on the right the L and the B in Bishop Lamont are being replaced by a personalized and recognizable logo. Speak: Personalized content doesn‟t exist within this website; however social media is abundant and is a key part of enhancing the brands relationship with its audience. The website almost acts as a Sheppard into the different social media websites and content. (Youtube links)
In terms of easy access to content and services to support the user; the home page shown is clear and offers links to four social networking sites, along the top of the websites homepage. Further more within the top left box is a drop down linking the audience with a biography, tours/events, discography, press releases, video clips, photo albums and contact details. In terms of the location of the audience it is mainly focused in the USA, Bishops origin and the stronghold of Hip-Hop. The website is aimed generally at new prospects aged between 10 and 30 and male. Therefore the three most important information needs of this audience are a biography, brief summary, pictures and videos of the artist. In terms of an audience „wish list,‟ links to related or similar artists would be beneficial.
In terms of accommodating different users experience and familiarity with the internet the website is quite simple to navigate and find information a new user may want to find. Familiarity with the artist is done through a bibliography, video clips, photos and explanations of what certain content is, such as Bishop‟s record label (shown to the right). In terms of generating familiarity with Bishops products there is a link to his mix tape discography and download links to some of hismusic. Finally familiarity with the site with search and help options is not available however there is a contact section with the ability to email a representative of the website if data cannot be found or help is needed.
The artists name and logo are used a lot within the websites homepage and subsequent links and help to build the brand of the artist. Consistency of the menu and layout throughout the website reflect a standardized webpage which is easy to navigate and learn. The footer of every page displays the copyright and piracy information (shown bottom right) and is consistent throughout the website. Further more the page titles are relevant to the information presented throughout (shown on the right). The content management system (CMS) or page template uses a clearly defined layout with the use of colours, sections and bold/big text to contrast to the dark background and stand out effectively. Further more the use of different colours, sections and bolder/bigger text place a clear emphasis on the different content types and there hierarchy. Marketing is present in the form of a banner advertisement at the top of each page of the website with further marketing on the left and right of the homepage in the form of news and downloads. The websites personality is of a formal, professional and engaging nature and of an information intensive style making the most of screen real estate. The website
also incorporates some of the ideas of a graphic intensive website with the different links to social networking sites, for example. In terms of the colour scheme of the site the dark background and smooth square areas of the page suit that of the male target audience and the Bishop Lamont brand. Further more the contrast in colours aid to the sites usability and accessibility as they make each area of the page stand out and differentiate from the other parts. This combined with the layout of the website being consistent and clear further aid to its usability. Finally the sites typography is consistent throughout with the same font (sans-serif) and only minor font size changes when used as a title. The text is justified to the left and combined with the choice of font aids legibility.
Successful components The links at the top of the web page are unique and attract the audiences eye Constant use of the Bishop Lamont logo, used as
as within the main webpage The audio player The links to downloadable content from mix tapes to other songs and interviews are placed all over the site The layout, bold text and use of colour to differentiate different parts of the web page.
The contrast in colour‟s is easy on the eye Information is relevant and informative and is designed to inform rather then sell the artist. Components that makes money YouTube and MySpace generate money through publishing Tours/events through ticket purchases Search engine ranking: After searching the term „Bishop Lamont‟ on Google, BishopLamont.com appears as the
third link down within the results, only outweighed by Lamont‟s MySpace, Wikipedia pages and personal images. However, when the search terms Lamont or Bishop are searched on their own the artist is not even present within the first page of results. Shown above are the results from a key phrase analysis of Bishop‟s website conducted using Google‟s keyword tool. Notably the most common, and key phrase is Bishop Lamont with 27,100 searches each month. Website Drive Social media is the main concept driving Lamont‟s website, as outlined earlier there are 4 clearly emphasized links to Facebook, YouTube, twitter and MySpace. Further more the website is promoting the artist as a opposed to the artist driving the website. The artists involvement and drive is however evident within all of his social media channels.
Chase and Status consist of Saul Milton and Will Kennard. In the five years they have been Chase and Status they have received support from artists such as Jay Z, Pendulum, Snoop Dogg and radio DJ‟s Annie Mac and Zane Lowe. The highlight of their young career so far has been their debut LP 'More Than Alot' which has helped turn them into a unique urban phenomenon, and become the biggest crossover act to come out of the underground since Pendulum. The main issue for Chase and Status making an impact in the online world of music is to conquer the five S‟s: Chase and Status‟s website give a link straight to their online store which offers albums, singles and apparel. With their albums they clearly show any relevant information such as free UK delivery and the cost of the product. If customers aren‟t sure whether that is the right album they can click on it and a full list of the songs on the
album are listed. On top of that previews of the songs can be heard. The reason that Chase and Status‟s ability to sell albums online is effective is that within three clicks of entering the website customers can easily access the variety of albums and its content. You select the album that your song is from and purchase it from there. Their apparel section is relatively small but puts all the key pieces of information over clearly such as clothes sizes, cost and a good sized picture of the product. Acting as a customerservice tool is important on Chase and Status‟s website. This is because then the customers feel integrated with the band. The website clearly shows links to the social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. If you join as a group member to Chase and Status then news feeds will appear each time something is
stated on their group page. On their website you can also sign up to be a member which again, gives information on what‟s going on. What Chase and Status need to do is treat their customers different to if they weren‟t members, make it worth their while. Blogs or video diaries are a good way of giving members that little bit of gossip, a bit of behind the scenes which you wouldn‟t get if you were your average Joe. Maybe taking a few personal details off each member and telling them when they are playing nearby, almost like an invitation. It‟s all about the transfer of information to and from the customers. Firstly, Chase and Status need to get their people to their website, which they have done well. Chase and Status dominate the first page of Google, as shown below. Their official website is first, their Myspace page is second and Youtube is third, with Facebook further down the
page so straight away customers are onto pages which are directed to Chase and Status. And just a little bit extra, they have a sponsored link on the right. Now that it has established that Chase and Status are unavoidable on Google, on the website the only way for customers to communicate with the band is via the „contact‟ tab which only relates to management and bookings. This isn‟t the kind of communication that will gain customer opinions. What they need, as stated in the previous section is a blog or maybe even a chat room where viewers can express opinions and ask questions and Chase and Status can get back to them. But, admittedly the band‟s social network sites such as Facebook and Myspace do have regular updates and conversations going on.
In terms of saving money, Chase and Status promote mainly through online methods such as their own website and social networking like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. From this alone they can advertise new products or gig dates and get enough of an audience. On top on that word of mouth would enhance the advertising but it all starts from online promotion. From this Chase and Status have a basic method of saving money, but this is only because they moved straight into the digital world. Once money has been saved online there is not much else they can do apart from lower costs elsewhere within the brand.
Being different from the rest is worth it. That „sizzle‟ factor is what keeps customers on websites and doesn‟t allow them to get bored. Chase and Status allow viewers to sample their music. The way the do it though, is like no other artist. When the viewer clicks on the „audio‟ section of the website a drop down section appears to reveal two decks which viewers can select music and play on the decks. This interactive sampling is unique and not doubt keeps the
attention of customers. Pictures of where on the website it is will be displayed later when analysing the website design. If there is something on a website that customers can play around with for a few minutes it may make them curious as to what the rest of the website is like. Also changing the colour of the font throughout the website is available. It is a minor interactive facility but may keep the customers attention that bit longer which may lead to a sale being made. Chase and Status‟s website is simple and clear. Any piece of information a customer may need is available in approximately three clicks. This means that new customers can find what they want just as quickly as customers who visit the site regularly. If that wasn‟t the case and the website took forever to get through many would inevitably get bored and the customer simply won‟t bother and may even look at competing artists. From a zoomed out perspective it is clear to see that Chase and Status‟s website has bold, colourful writing against the dark background makes the headings very easy
to read. Down the left hand side are the upcoming gigs. On each date it states where it is, when it is and whether it is a live or DJ set. This works well because the majority of the information is already shown without customers having to keep clicking on links to find relevant information. Down the centre of the page is the bands news reel which gives viewers information on interviews theyâ€&#x;ve had, special gigs and up and coming album launches. On the right had side are a mixture of things. In the top right is a picture changing link which is advertising their new album and the ability to purchase it on iTunes. Having a website that is motionless doesnâ€&#x;t catch the viewers attention, alternatively having a website that gives the viewer an epileptic fit because there is too much flashing movement will do the same. What Chase and Status have done effectively is choose something on their page i.e. promoting their new album and create
show new customers, what their gigs are like; a little taster before going to a gig of their own. This is a good way for Chase and Status to sell themselves. If that isnâ€&#x;t enough, underneath the video link is a photo album of gigs the have attended. The video and photo link help to sell Chase and Status as is shows viewers who they are and what they are about. Finally at the bottom of the page is the link to the store where customers can purchase the albums, singles and apparel. Overall, from their website there is a sense that it is driving Chase and Status, enhancing their image and giving viewers a taste of who they are as upcoming artists. Previously, stated it takes approximately three clicks to get to whatever you need from the website. This goes to show that navigating the website is relatively easy. With the clear heading, which is shown next, the customer can easily return to the previous page or advance onto another page.
Taking a closer look at the top of the page, there are links to the leading social networks sites, Myspace, Facebook and Twitter as well as Youtube. As mentioned before these sites help Chase and Status gain their audience by allowing people to join their group giving them information about the band. As well as being a member on the social networking sites, viewers can become members to their personal site. Just below where people can sign up to be members is that feature where
When the viewer clicks on the audio section on the menu bar, there is an interactive deck set which comes down from the top of the screen. Here, viewers can pick the vinyl from the right hand side and sample some of Chase and Statusâ€&#x;s music. This really is a special feature on Chase and Statusâ€&#x;s website and would keep the attention of their viewers, which is what they need for them to be successful. Today, Social media is a very important component is the success of an upcoming music band. With the amount of people on Facebook and Twitter, it gives great opportunities to create a page on there and link it to and from your own website. Myspace today, acts more as a musical social network where music artists display their music to the world, letting anyone listen to it. It is from here that some artists have been found and made very
With the declining sales of CDs and the increase in illegal downloads the music industry can no longer rely on the purchase of music to make money. This is where the digital landscape can revive the music industry, through online advertisement and promotion. Through social networks and websites these emerging artists can get exposure and make their music available even if theyâ€&#x;re not signed to a record label. Pre-digital it would have been very difficult and expensive to promote to such a large audience. As live music is the method artists make more money it is important to communicate to fans the dates and availability of tickets through such medians as a website or social network. Another point highlighted in the research is that getting the artists music used in an advert is great publicity and another form of making money. Overall in conclusion an artist must utilise e-marketing to its full potential to be able to make money from what they have to offer, they can no longer singularly rely on album sales alone.
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