Wow, what a few weeks. So busy and no time for anything. At least I got my new web site design solution business up and running with a snazzy new website (and if that sentence looked weird, I was dropping keywords for you net SEO savvy people). So after some delay I’m back with some guitar stuff.

As mentioned in a past post about learning my favourite guitar songs, I’ve hit a snag and had a rething. One song I cannot find a tab for, the other is in an open tuning and I would rather stick with standard for now, and the other is possibly a bit ahead of myself. So I’m changing the tracks. I’m still using the same guitarists.

Slash : was Paradise City, now Sweet Child O’ Mine.
I love Paradise City, but this is such a memorable solo, I really just want to learn it.

Gary Moore : was midnight Blues, now Still Got The Blues
Again, an obvious choice, but for the same reasons as above

Rich Robinson : was Sting Me, now Hard To Handle
I can already play Hard To Handle, but I usually ad lib the solo with some references to the original. It’s time I learned the way the solo should be played.

So there is the new list. I got my trusty GuitarPro fired up and ready to go. Now the fun begins. I’ve just got some new audio software so as I progress I’ll record the improvements.

That was easier than I thought. This site went from this:

to this pretty quickly.

Needs content but looking much better.

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 :-

• Community Builder - user management
• Gallery2 - image gallery
• Fireboard - message board

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.

---

Now that I know what I’m going to be using, it’s time to work on the site design. This will be an interesting process as I have several ideas that I keep going back and forth between. It will be cool to see what eventually sticks.

One of the services I would like to provide is affordable websites for musician that encompass digital distribution of materials. Being a musician myself, and a musician who is finally coming up with recordable ideas again, I figured I would have a first run at this service with myself as the guinea pig. So over the next few weeks I’m going to document my research and efforts in setting up the ultimate site for a musician/band. Hopefully this will be a great resource for other people wanting to make a band/musician website and you can learn from my inevitable mistakes.

Getting Started

First things first. Before the site can even begin we need to know what features it is going to have. I could jump in and start building a nice design but if the pieces don’t fit then you just make more work for yourself. Here are the features I think are the bare minimum that any musician site should have.

News/Blog: This is obvious. A news/blog section that tell of current events, releases etc. This is one of the most important aspects of the site and needs to be updated constantly. Blogging is a great way to keep in touch with your fans and let them know what you think.

About/Bio: A good bio is essential. It is usually one of the first stops for people visiting the site to get a better idea of what the artist is about. I personally like the mini-interview style bio with quotes from the artist interspersed with the rest of the content.

Calender: Now I don’t think just a gig calendar as such. Put other events on there as well, such as new releases, promotional events, other artists you know or are involved with.

Free Downloads: People always want something. So give it to them. Don’t want to give away your music for nothing. Well you need to change your thinking a little here. Give away one or two tracks from your album, and stream the rest (more on this elsewhere). But don’t forget other things like desktop wallpapers, MySpace banners etc. These things are just as important.

Audio Store:This is possible the most important. This is so important I will give this an post all of it’s own. But in brief you need somewhere for people to actually buy your music. Wether directly through your site, or from the online places such as iTunes, Broadjam etc, there needs to be a purchase portal. For the purposes of my site, I will be using an online sales system via another site, some direct downloads from my site of older “not really retail quality demo’s” at a cheap price using PayPal, and getting my music on the big boys like iTunes/Rhapsody etc. with the aid of additional service providers.

Merch Store: Keep it simple to begin with. Stickers, posters make great merch. From there once you build up some fan numbers go for more items like shirts, caps, hoodies, whatever.

Fan Club (for lack of a better name): As you build fans, you need a away to stay in touch with them. Have a membership section they can join for additional benefits, such as special downloads, free tickets to gigs, and anything else you can think of. Have a discussion forum so they can talk with each other and also with you. The number one objective of

Image Gallery: People want to know what you look like. A gallery is a great idea for posting pictures of your latest gig, of you hard at work in the studio, or playing with your pets in your down time. Add a twist though. Get your fans to post pictures as well. There photos of you with gigs, or pictures of themselves digging your music. Make a contest out of it for members only - see above - and give stuff away.

Links: Links to other bands, links to your fan’s personal sites, links to your MySpace site, your music store and any other site that you may have had some affiliation or passing reference to. Does that pub you played at last week have a website? Link it.

Now for my personal site I’m going to add a little extra. If you are a “performance” musician, as in play live or have the ability too, be it a singer songwriter or a live DJ/mixer, then this could be the best thing that you do. Think about doing a semi-regular podcast. This is one way of getting people back to your site and also a way of getting more exposure. My take is that every few weeks, do an acoustic performance of a new song I’m working on, maybe share a new finished or near finished track, do a few covers of songs I like and invite in friends to jam with. I know that if I found more sites for artists that had this sort of contest I’d be listening to podcasts all the time.

Well that is a start. Now that these main ideas are down and documented, it’s time to see what services and and technology is required to make this happen. That will be the subject of the next instalment.