A website is a musician’s storefront, which if done right can help them stand out in the crowded marketplace that is today’s music industry. Web designer Ross Barber-Smith has dedicated his life to helping musicians shine as brightly as possible through his firm Electric Kiwi. For almost 10 years now he has worked with a range of clients from up-and-coming independent artists to established artists who have appeared in film and television, as well as with management companies representing American Idol winners and artists with Billboard #1 hits.
From designing websites to creating artwork for album covers, Ross has worked with independent artists from all over the world and his marketing strategies have been featured on top websites including Cyber PR Music, Hypebot, TuneCore and The Six Minute Music Business Podcast. He also co-hosts his own video podcast, Bridge the Atlantic, with singer/songwriter Marcio Novelli. The podcast, which interviews musicians and creative entrepreneurs, spent several weeks on the “New and Noteworthy” chart after debuting on iTunes.
The Crafty Musician Blog is proud to feature Ross Barber-Smith in this month’s edition of Industry Spotlight…
So your business, Electric Kiwi, specializes in designing websites for the music industry, with an emphasis on musicians. What inspired you to focus on this particular area? Are you a musician yourself?
Music has always been something I’ve loved, and for many years I did think I wanted to be a professional musician. At the same time I’ve always loved web design too! I went on to study Popular Music Performance at a university, and while I loved the experience, it helped me realize that performing wasn’t the path I wanted to take. I knew that I still wanted to be involved in the music industry somehow though, so it made sense to combine my other love (web design) with music, which is what led me to specialise in design for musicians.
That’s really cool that you found a way to use your talents and strengths to still be a part of the music industry. How important do you think it is for a musician to have a professional looking website?
I think it’s incredibly important, particularly if you’re wanting to catch the eye of people within the music industry. A site that looks professional, conveys who you are as an artist, and acts as a hub for all that you do goes a long way. Of course, as a web designer I am going to say that, but it’s a sentiment that I’ve heard confirmed by numerous publicists, managers, and record labels!
So what are some ways that a well designed website can help an artist’s career?
First and foremost, you’re setting a great first impression to whoever is visiting your site. From an industry perspective, it shows that you’re invested and dedicated – which instantly helps. From a fan perspective – it makes it much easier for them to learn more about you, find out how they can connect on social media,and where they can catch your next show. Also, I’ve had many artists that I’ve worked with tell me how they’ve noticed a positive impact on the gigs they’ve booked and opportunities they’ve been offered as a result of having a polished web presence.
By the way, Electric Kiwi is an interesting name. Is there a story to that?
I wish there was an interesting story to accompany it, but there really isn’t! Basically… when I was 16, I really wanted my own domain name because I wanted to create a personal blog (this was back in the days before MySpace or Facebook). I knew I didn’t want it to be my name as I wanted it to be something that stood out a little more. I just looked around the room trying to pair words together, and Electric Kiwi ended up being the result. And it’s stuck with me ever since!
What does Electric Kiwi have to offer over other design houses that don’t necessarily specialize in musician sites?
Because we specialise in musician and music-related sites, we’ve built a great network of artists, managers, producers, publicists etc. that allow us to make introductions and recommendations that maybe your more general agency are less likely to do. We’ve also gained knowledge and experience of other aspects of the music industry too, which enable us to make some more informed decisions and recommendations for our clients, outside of simply designing and building their website.
Wow, that’s great! Since you’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now, what are some trends that you’ve seen over the years when it comes to artist websites?
Oh wow, 10 years makes me feel old! Haha. Certainly in the last few years, streaming has become a trend (if a contentious one!) across the industry, so I would say there’s definitely been a bigger requirement for including streaming services within an artist website. And social media has played a big role too, so social media integration is a big one. To speak maybe a little more generally though, I think the biggest overall trend is a rise in simplicity – with people having such short attention spans, it’s so important to make sure you’re presenting the most important content right away, without making people “work” for it. So I think that’s something that’s definitely led musician website design in recent years.
And by ‘most important content,’ you’re referring to media, i.e. music and videos, correct? It seems like you’d want to allow visitors to get that stuff in as few clicks as possible…
Yes, when I say “most important content” I’m referring to whatever you want the viewer to experience or interact with first. I would say for many, that’s going to be a video or an audio player – something that allows them to experience the music. But for others, it may be information about your upcoming shows, or a mailing list opt-in. Whatever the main goal is, make sure you make that the thing that is easiest to find!
If you had to narrow it down, what would you say are the top 5 key elements musicians need to have on their website?
This does vary from artist to artist, but generally speaking, I think the most important elements are:
- A design that represents your music in a visual way. Communicate who YOU are as an artist instantly, so people visiting your site already have an idea of what kind of artist you are.
- Make sure it’s easy for them to find whatever it is you want them to find, so if your current focus is your latest album for example, make sure that’s the first thing they are drawn to.
- A mailing list subscription – it’s so important to be collecting e-mail addresses as we have no idea how long people are going to use various social platforms for.
- A contact page, or at least an easy way for people to get in touch. A lot of people miss opportunities because there’s no easy way for people (moreso industry people) to get in contact.
- And now in 2019, it’s definitely important to make sure your website is mobile friendly!
+10 Things Any Artist Most Certainly Needs on Their Website
So it seems like lots of different types of important people can end up visiting a musician’s website, including fans, press members, industry professionals, booking reps/talent buyers, etc. How do you suggest a musician go about organizing their website to address all of these different audiences?
Absolutely. This really just comes down to making sure everything is organised and easy to find. Make sure that your site menu is labelled in an obvious way – so people know what they can expect to find there. Think about what you would want to find if you were in the role of various people visiting the site, and that should help guide you as to the content to include – and hopefully to organise it, too.
That makes a lot of sense. And then once you have a great website, you want people to be able to find it who don’t already know about you. Do you offer any SEO optimization services or consulting in addition to website design?
SEO is almost a full time job in itself, so it’s not a service that I offer – however, I do implement some basic SEO as part of the initial set up, and offer a few tips on improving it moving forward. Some general advice here – make sure each page has a different title, your site is mobile friendly and utilizes SSL, as these are all things that Google (and other search engines) are looking at! I’d suggest also keeping an eye on SEO blogs to keep on top of things, as ranking factors do change frequently.
Do you think it’s worth it for a musician to hire an SEO specialist to help bring more traffic to their site?
This is a tough question to answer – it certainly wouldn’t hurt, but for most artists, I would argue that time and money would be better spent building an audience on social media, rather than search rankings. I think for music businesses, or artists who rely on getting a lot of local bookings, then SEO could really help. I think before doing any of that though, it’s important that your website really represents you as accurately as possible, and can really hook people in, before spending any time/money on directing traffic there.
If a musician is looking to hire someone to design their website, what are some questions they should ask a potential web designer?
Before reaching out to a designer, I’d definitely suggest you check out their past work and read some testimonials or reviews. But if you’re getting into a conversation with them, a few things that I would suggest asking would be:
- How much will it cost, and what does that include?
- Will I be able to update the website myself? Will there be a tutorial and/or user-guide offered?
- How much input will I have in the design?
- Is there post-launch support? Will that be charged at an hourly rate?
Yeah, those are all great questions. What cost range should a musician expect to pay for a professional website?
This is always a tough one to answer as pricing can vary so much between different freelancers and agencies. Personally, I quote each project individually depending on the design and features the artist is looking for as I think that’s the fairest way to do it. I’ve seen some people charge a couple of hundred dollars for a website, and I’ve seen others charge tens of thousands. I would say that most artists should expect to spend something in the $500 – $1500 range, depending on what they are looking for.
Okay, that seems fair. What would you say are some of the biggest mistakes musicians tend to make with their websites?
Going overboard with widgets is one of the biggest mistakes I see. And it’s such an easy mistake to make. You really want to grow your social followings, so I can understand why you’d want to have various feeds and widgets there – but often it just overwhelms, rather than helps.
The other big mistake I see is where a website just looks like a template or doesn’t convey any personality at all. I find that especially with a lot of pre-purchased themes and self building platforms. I do think those services have their place, but often the results are a little too generic and don’t do justice to the artist.
Yeah, I wanted to ask you what you thought about plug and play website platforms like Squarespace and Wix. Do you think they can work as a DIY solution for artists?
While I don’t personally use these platforms, I do think that as a DIY solution they can be great for artists who want to set something up themselves. As with anything, the results will vary depending on your skill level and how much time you can invest.
What tips do you have for musicians who want to build their own website themselves?
Try and keep it simple – don’t overwhelm people with too much, especially on the homepage. Less is more!
And if an artist wanted to work with you at Electric Kiwi, what could they expect?
I feel like the testimonials on my website can answer this question better than I can, but I would say that you can expect to work with a designer who is passionate about music and wants to help showcase your brand online as accurately and beautifully as possible. I like to work pretty collaboratively, and I like to think that it’s a pretty fun and friction-free process!
I’m always looking out for opportunities for the artists I work with too, whether that’s collaboration opportunities or connections that might help to further their career.
Wow, that’s great! So if an artist wants to hire you to design their website, how would they go about doing that?
If you’d like to discuss a project, I’d love to hear from you! The best way would be to get in touch via my website https://electrickiwi.co.uk and we can take things from there!
Perfect! Well thank you so much for your time Ross, and also thank you for looking out for us musicians through your web designing. We wish you and Electric Kiwi the best!
Thank you – appreciate the invitation, and hope I’ve given your readers a few things to think about, and some advice they can use to help improve their online presence!
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