Why an artist still needs their own website

When everyone is on social networks and streaming services, your own website can look like an unnecessary expense. Yet all those platforms have something in common: someone else sets the rules and can change them without notice.

What can change overnight

• The reach of your posts depends on an algorithm you have no influence over.
• A profile can be restricted or shut down, sometimes by mistake.
• A platform can lose its audience. Networks that once mattered are barely opened today.
• Follower data stays with the platform. You cannot take it with you.

What a website offers that platforms do not

• One place for everything. Music, concerts, news, photos and a contact for promoters and media, without searching across several profiles.
• A direct line to the audience. A list of email addresses of people who want to hear about a new album or concert is yours and stays yours.
• Sales without a middleman. Releases, tickets and merchandise can be sold directly.
• Accurate information. Biography, discography and press materials in one place, always in the current version.
• Visibility in search. Whoever types the artist's name should find the official website first.

What is enough to start

An artist's website does not have to be big. Five things are enough to start: who you are, where the music can be heard, where you play, how to contact you and a newsletter sign-up. Everything else is added when the time comes.

More important than scope is that you can update it yourself. A website whose latest announced concert is from last year sends a worse message than having none.

Social networks are still the best way for people to discover you. The website is where you lead them once they have found you. More on the Artist Platforms page.