Music Think Tank - MTT Open

With the explosion of social networking sites like MySpace, PureVolume and Last.fm the importance of a band having their own website has gone down considerably. Why is this? Well, the number one factor could be that joining these sites is absolutely free. More times than not, a band will go the ‘Free’ route. Free you say? It may all come down to how much you value your time. Think of how much time has been wasted by band members trying to customize their MySpace profile page. If you’re going to take the time to learn HTML and CSS enough to customize the look of your MySpace page, then why don’t you just create your own website!

Let’s take a look at The Top 5 Reasons Your Band Should Have a Website.

Credibility & Professionalism - If you’re in a band and truly serious about making it in the music industry, having your own domain name and website is an absolute must. Nothing is worse than when you hear a new band and all you want to do is check them out on the web, but your only option is to look at an unorganized, cluttered MySpace page. The best way for a band to build credibility on the web with their fans is to have their own website.

Marketing & Promoting – Composing great music is the real key to success, but Marketing & Promoting could potentially be the ‘make or break’ of a band. It’s pretty hard to build a fan base when little or no effort is made to ‘get the word out there’. A Band with a nice clean website that is well-branded has endless possibilities for marketing and promotions. Caution: Do not make the horrible mistake of trying to trick potential fans by securing a domain name and pointing it to a MySpace page. Nothing will cause a band to lose web credibility quicker than doing this.

Build a true fan base – Although social networking sites do hold value, the goal seems to be for most to get as many ‘fans’ as possible. The question then becomes are they fans that just want to see their ‘friend’ count go up, or are they truly a fan of your music. A band with their own website can have a much deeper connection with their fans and will easily be able to solidify ‘who’ their fan base is. Giving fans the option to sign up for a newsletter or join the forums on your website is invaluable when it comes to building a fan base. Fans want you to have a website.

Have the EDGE – This point is pretty easy, but powerful. Let’s say your band has direct competition with another band. Having your own website and all the things that it brings to the table could be a deciding factor in giving your band the EDGE to beat out the competition.

The best of both worlds – Even though I’ve enjoyed bashing social websites for bands, it is time to give them a little bit of credit. Sites like PureVolume, MySpace and Last.fm can help gain some new fans. Your band website should be your hub for all of your other social networking sites. This not only helps your website gain rank with search engines, but it allows your fans to go check out your social pages if they so choose.

To wrap things up, if you’re dedicating the time, effort and money to having a band, take that extra step and have your own website. Give your band the ability to reach potential fans around the world.

Eric is an editor for http://www.launchyourmusic.com. A site dedicated to Indie Bands, Unsigned Bands and Musicians.