Artist Websites and Homepage
What is the point of websites and homepages?
To promote the artist, to give information about them to the general public, to market their new music/music video, to sell merchandise that people can buy to further build up hype around the artist, to show concert dates, to create a star image, or to create an ideology/message.
What does an artist's homepage need to have and why?
An 'About' page with general information about the band, links to where you can listen to or download/buy their music, their music videos, links to all their social media (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc), pictures of the artist, possibly contact details like email address.
All of these features help to promote the artist, encourage people to buy their music/merch, and create a star image. Websites can be used to create an ideology for the artist, and can hint at the genre of their music, i.e. rock band = lots of dark colours.
For this blog post, I will compare the websites of two artists of different genres; Frank Ocean and Khruangbin.
Frank Ocean, https://blonded.co
1. The target audience is teenagers and young adults who enjoy listening to contemporary R&B/hip-hop/pop. His music/music videos are quite experimental and artistic, and the website is very stylised and mysterious - it is mainly composed of photographs which you can click on and be taken to a site to download his music.
2. The website does not adhere to many website conventions. There is more of a focus on style rather than practicality. The main feature of the website are the photos, and by clicking on the photos, the viewer is taken to the iTunes store where they can purchase the artist's latest music. There are no links to his social media, no concert dates, no About page, no merchandise, etc. However one convention that is followed here is that one of his music videos is promoted, by playing at the top of the page. The many photos of the artist but the lack of information adheres to one of the paradoxes of Dyer's 'Star Theory' - the artist must be simultaneously absent and present - meaning that Ocean appears present and obtainable to his fans but is still able to maintain mystery and intrigue - ultimately, he remains unobtainable.
3. I believe the overall ideology of the page is to be yourself, not care what others think, and to be original.
4. This website has created a star image because it is clear that Frank Ocean is already a star, because if he was an unknown artist then he would not be able to have such a mysterious and artistically (rather than commercially) inclined website which does not include many details about the artist. Frank Ocean is famous for maintaining a mysterious persona, never doing any press appearances, and he is able to do this because his image and his music is already established and renowned within the public. By maintaining mystery around his person, he creates even more intrigue and interest.
Khruangbin, http://www.khruangbin.com
1. Their target audience is very wide ranging, as their music is influenced by various countries and cultures, thus is not specifically targeted to one type of person. The genre of their music is soul/funk. Targeted to all ages, but probably enjoyed more by teenagers/young adults.
2. The website has most of the conventions of a typical artist's webpage. There are...
To promote the artist, to give information about them to the general public, to market their new music/music video, to sell merchandise that people can buy to further build up hype around the artist, to show concert dates, to create a star image, or to create an ideology/message.
What does an artist's homepage need to have and why?
An 'About' page with general information about the band, links to where you can listen to or download/buy their music, their music videos, links to all their social media (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc), pictures of the artist, possibly contact details like email address.
All of these features help to promote the artist, encourage people to buy their music/merch, and create a star image. Websites can be used to create an ideology for the artist, and can hint at the genre of their music, i.e. rock band = lots of dark colours.
For this blog post, I will compare the websites of two artists of different genres; Frank Ocean and Khruangbin.
Frank Ocean, https://blonded.co1. The target audience is teenagers and young adults who enjoy listening to contemporary R&B/hip-hop/pop. His music/music videos are quite experimental and artistic, and the website is very stylised and mysterious - it is mainly composed of photographs which you can click on and be taken to a site to download his music.
2. The website does not adhere to many website conventions. There is more of a focus on style rather than practicality. The main feature of the website are the photos, and by clicking on the photos, the viewer is taken to the iTunes store where they can purchase the artist's latest music. There are no links to his social media, no concert dates, no About page, no merchandise, etc. However one convention that is followed here is that one of his music videos is promoted, by playing at the top of the page. The many photos of the artist but the lack of information adheres to one of the paradoxes of Dyer's 'Star Theory' - the artist must be simultaneously absent and present - meaning that Ocean appears present and obtainable to his fans but is still able to maintain mystery and intrigue - ultimately, he remains unobtainable.
3. I believe the overall ideology of the page is to be yourself, not care what others think, and to be original.
4. This website has created a star image because it is clear that Frank Ocean is already a star, because if he was an unknown artist then he would not be able to have such a mysterious and artistically (rather than commercially) inclined website which does not include many details about the artist. Frank Ocean is famous for maintaining a mysterious persona, never doing any press appearances, and he is able to do this because his image and his music is already established and renowned within the public. By maintaining mystery around his person, he creates even more intrigue and interest.
Khruangbin, http://www.khruangbin.com
1. Their target audience is very wide ranging, as their music is influenced by various countries and cultures, thus is not specifically targeted to one type of person. The genre of their music is soul/funk. Targeted to all ages, but probably enjoyed more by teenagers/young adults.2. The website has most of the conventions of a typical artist's webpage. There are...
- Lists of all of their concert/festival dates
- Links to buy their albums/LPs
- Photos and videos of the band
- Links to all of the band's social medias.
- General information about the band on their 'About' page
- Pictures of artwork that appears on their album cover.
3. The simplistic, white layout of the website make me think that the ideology it is trying to convey is one of happiness and a simple, carefree life. A lot of the artwork on the website is colourful, bright and conveys happy feelings.
4. For me, to an extent the website does create a star image because it has dates of their concerts and numerous festivals that they are performing at, which shows that they are popular and there is a demand for their music.
Is there anything similar between the two websites?
Both include links to buy the artist's music.
What differences are there between the two?
Khruangbin's website is more information based and simplistic, whereas Ocean's website makes more use of photographs and videos to market the artist.
Which is more successful in your opinion?
In my opinion, Khruangbin's website is more successful because it is clearer and easier to navigate, and whilst Frank Ocean's site is quite enigmatic and stylised, I believe that Khruangbin's website is more successful in marketing the artist and getting information about them across. However in terms of getting a message/ideology across, its heavily stylised nature makes Frank Ocean's website more successful in that area.
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