Hope for Small Bands on the Web

by Doug Smith and Greg Ausley

http://web.archive.org/web/19980215201248/wwwiz.com/issue05/wiz_f03.html

Copyright © 1996 Doug Smith and Greg Ausley. All rights reserved.

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Small bands with little backing have always had a problem with "getting the word out." There is little doubt, though, that the World Wide Web is the most innovative way for a band to market itself, whether it be a local, independent band or a nationally known act. The Web is always changing and is the closest thing to anarchy you're going to get. Creativity is the only restriction on the World Wide Web; you're limited only by what your mind's eye limits you to (and what a 14.4 modem can send). The Web itself and the number of people who use it grows daily. Advances such as Java and Real Audio only open more doors and allow for greater creativity and expression.

Utilizing the Web and email is an economic way to market your band's talent and merchandise. Web pages can cost as little as $30 per month. Unlike the old business model of bulk mail, printed catalogs and expensive postage, email provides instant, affordable communication across the world. Web access provides instant international exposure and a major advantage over other forms of distribution and advertising: people who find your Web site are looking for you. In addition, no one can tell the difference between the smallest garage band and the biggest arena band if you have a creative Web site for your band!

On the Web, you can promote your band, advertise shows, sell merchandise, and create mailing lists with ease. You can negotiate contracts and bookings via email. Some bands have been signed to record labels and other bands have booked many gigs based on their Web sites and the availability of songs to download!
With a Web site you can have direct contact and interaction with the fans of your band, and you can interact with them in ways not possible before. You can advertise merchandise for your fans to order. You can provide music, photos and information for your fans to download. In order to encourage more visits, you can make special offers available to only those who access your site. The possibilities are endless.

There are many fine Web sites that deal with bands on the Web; following are only a few examples:
One of the biggest out there right now is the Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA). IUMA was started by two friends out of their dorm room. At first they dealt only with friends' bands, but now have over 800 unsigned bands and 32 labels they work with. IUMA now has 15 full-time employees and receives about 300,000 hits a day.

SDRocks is a site out of San Diego that deals mainly with San Diego bands. The site contains pages for about eight different bands and has concert and venue listings. Bands get free access at SDRocks. The most popular site here belongs to Rocket from the Crypt with 20-30 hits a day. SDRocks is a strong, comprehensive source for information on the San Diego music scene.

The Pit is a fairly new site out of San Diego that covers alternative music, culture, sports and lifestyles. Under the realm of music coverage fall album reviews, concert reviews, and band features. The Pit also creates home pages for bands and businesses, and provides free highlights of "local" bands from around the country. In addition, music samples are available, with Real Audio coming soon.

The Earfood Music Magazine was born out of a Web site for Foundation Skateboards. They call themselves "the cheesiest music site 'round these parts," but the site is actually pretty cool. Earfood covers bands, music news, and gossip. This site is a well-designed page and definitely worth checking out.

So, there's a lot of stuff out there for you music lovers. The sites mentioned here are only a small sampling. Start with these to get an idea of what a good music site is, then find some others, using the most common search engines such as Yahoo, InfoSeek or WebCrawler. Whether you contact the above sites regarding getting your band covered, or start your own, don't miss out on the incredible marketing opportunity of the Net.