That was easier than I thought. This site went from this:
Needs content but looking much better.
I’ve had about three false starts now on the design for chriswatsonmusic.com (which will all be documented in part three of the Musician Project) and that is has taken some wind out of my sails. I’ll get there though. I know the information and the layout I want, just making it in the style I want and being happy with it is proving to be a little tricky.
The weekend came and went and no music was recorded. It pisses me off slightly but I can deal. There probably won’t be much time in the next few weeks anyway, with three websites in production and and our engagement party next weekend I’m really short on time. In fact I’m just squeezing this post in before I pass out for some much needed sleep.
If I didn’t work 45 hours a weeks I would get so much more done. My album, my web design business, guitar, all that stuff would get done the way I want. But then again, I wouldn’t be able to afford to do all these things I want done. Something’s got to pay the bills until I can do what I want and make money off it (well enough to survive).
I had never heard of these guys before and have no idea how I found them but this album is still on constant rotation. Great production that is so simple it’s genius, great songs, and a huge range of depth in style. Kinda rock, kinda country, kinda folksy. I love it.
Hot Tracks: Fall On Your Knees, Behind Me Now, Keeping Score
Sorry for being so absent. My WordPress installation went completely belly up and if it wasn’t for the fact I have more than half a clue, I reckon it would have stayed that way forever. What went wrong? Well, the site stopped running the PHP scripts that allow me to log in. This meant I could not access the administration panel at all. Why? I have no bloody idea. It just stopped. I had been messing with some plug ins and that is the only thing I can think of. The repair took me a long time but I eventually got there. I had to do a fresh install of WordPress with a new database, then point the new install to the old database, and then install the new WordPress upgrade. I’m still getting things back to the way I want them to work but I am glad I decided to do the upgrade while I was getting it all fixed.
I have one plug-in that I wish I could find somewhere. I would like to put over in my sidebar/widgets the latest post from a selected category. Has anybody seen this done anywhere. I’d like to have a little bit that says what album I’m obsessing over at the moment. If anyone has any idea please leave a comment. I could write it myself but I’m too busy to really care at the moment
It was good to get the web developer brain back in action, even though this is the time I would usually be working on music. The reason for that is that I just got a rather large contract for a site migration from Mambo to Joomla for a industrial skills training company. Their current site had been hacked and had some nasty code inserted into the guts of it that attempted to install malicious BHO’s onto the visitors browser. They need the site done and dusted ASAP so that should be starting next week. The main thing I’m trying to source now is a way to import the existing database content into the new Joomla database so I can save them considerable time in the data entry phase. Even if I can get the data in in a default category / section and then they just edit those details I would be very happy. I’m sure they would be happier.
This time round I want to look at some of the tools and services I’m going to use for this project. There are many options out there, and other tools may suit your exact needs better than the what I will be using here. I’m going to list out the what I have chosen for each component I mentioned in part one and also an alternative that came close in consideration.
Web Site Platform:
Chosen Platform: Joomla!
Runner-Up: WordPress
Joomla! is an open source CMS (Content Management System) that I have been using now for a while. The fact I am very familiar with how it works was a strong factor in my choice, but even for a new comer, it may be the best solution. Joomla!, with its large repository of components and add-on functionality either has all the features out of the box, or features that can be added that will handle all the site features I am after: user management (Fan Club), mailing list management, content management for news and blogging, and additional components for message board and image gallery.
The additional components or modules that will be installed to provide this extra functionality include :-
WordPress is by far a more robust blogging tool, but as the site is a bout more than just blogging I feel that Joomla! is a better choice.
Online Audio Distribution:
Chosen Platform: Broadjam
Other Platforms: iTunes via TuneCore, Paypal direct from site
There is no single solution for this. The more places you can get your music out there for people to buy, the better. But you want to keep it manageable. As far as song downloads go, I believe BroadJam is possible the best choice. With different account type to suit your budget and your requirements, and possibly the best return from each sale to the artist that I have seen, I think they are the hands down best choice.
But what about iTunes? I hate iTunes. There, I said it. But it is a necessary evil. So rather than deal with that evil you can have someone else do it for you. For a small fee TuneCore will handle all the dirty work with iTunes and get your music on there for you.
Another option to consider is to sell your music directly through your site with Paypal or similar payment system. I will most likely be doing this with of my older demo’s that I couldn’t really sell at full price. There are a few PayPal services that can facilitate this, with expiring download links, that I could utilise. As I’m not too sure on this yet I haven’t really looked too much into it, but will do so eventually.
Online Merchandise:
Chosen Platform: Spreadshirt
Runner-Up: CafePress
This one was tough. Spreadshirt may be a little more expensive than CafePress, and they don’t have the range of products of merchandise, having mostly only apparel. But the apparel they have is much better than CafePress’s offerings and offers a higher flexibility in design and printing options. Also, no monthly fee is required to sell multiple designs on the same item. This is the biggest thing it has going for it. I want to sell multiple designs on multiple types of apparel so Spreadshirt wins the contest.
If I decide to offer other items such as stickers etc., I will set up a CafePress store. I’ll start with Spreadshirt and go from there.
