Music producer website design
5 steps to building an online presence as a music producer
Introduction
My first business was in music production. I started during COVID when I realized that traveling with bands and doing live gigs for money wasn’t going to be a thing for a while. Only problem was that no one knew me as a music producer, especially locally. The question of “how do I get the word out” rattled in my head for a while until it hit me that I didn’t exist online! This was a big problem, considering the entire world was moving online (by the way, it kind of stayed that way, in many ways).
So, through many mistakes and much mentorship, I built a website for my business that actually began to convert clients. If you’re looking to do the same, I’ve distilled my process into 5 key steps that will help you make a great website for your music production business.
Step 1: Define Your Service Niche
If you happened upon my site back in 2020, the value proposition read something like this:
“Music production, studio session work, and live session work for all genres”
My reasoning was that I needed to get my business off the ground, so I shouldn’t exclude anyone. The problem? I tried to appeal to everyone, and so I appealed to no one. People don’t want to work with a producer who does it all (come to find out) and I just feasibly could not do it all (come to find out).
So why does this matter in terms of your website? Well for starters, defining your niche not only defines your service but also influences the design and feel of your website. For example, a website focusing on classical music production might opt for a more elegant, minimalist design, while a metal producer might want a design that’s more edgy. At that, someone landing on your site needs to know immediately that they either are or aren’t your target customer. It’ll save you a ton of headache, trust me.
Source: 456recordings.com
2. Define Your Target Audience
Speaking of target customers, understanding who your services are for—whether local bands, remote solo artists, or other music professionals—also shapes how you structure your website. If your primary clients are bands, for example, you might include some photos of you interacting in your studio with the band. This tells the story that your studio is a place of collaboration and great memories to be made.
If you’re 100% remote and that’s how you do your work, you’ve got the particular challenge of convincing strangers from states away that you can and should be trusted. In this case, you’ll need to showcase content that helps them to trust you, such as screen grabs of Zoom sessions with clients or perhaps heavy testimonials.
3. Choose Your Web Platform
Choosing the right platform to build your site on is extremely important, as you really don’t want to have to move DNS and content around (it’s hard to do and you can mess things up very easily). These days, there are many platform options, but I’d only recommend a couple.
- Squarespace → Easy to set up, very user friendly, decent functionality
- WordPress → Easy-ish to set up, takes some getting used to, infinitely more capable for long-term online business dealings
Cards on the table, just build on WordPress using Elementor. It is affordable, has tons of support, very customizable, has plenty of templates, and is one of the long-standing companies in the web game.
4. Follow the "Three C's": Clarity, Content, and CTA
Clarity – When someone finds your website, it should be obvious what you do. In your hero section, there should be some statement like “We mix indie pop” or “Music production for metal bands.” Be direct, be precise.
Content – When someone finds your website, they should find value on the front end. If you don’t have a blog, now is the time to start one. Or perhaps a podcast. With that, remember that there is a difference between the things you care about and the things your customer cares about. Don’t write blogs about things that producers care about. Write blogs about how to book more shows, plan EP releases, market your music–things your client cares about. Be the resource they need, gain their trust, and then you’ll perhaps earn a chance to sell to them.
CTA – When someone finds your website, it should be obvious what you want them to do. Give them every opportunity to take an action to contact you/buy your product. Your hero section should have a CTA, your explainer should have a CTA, your blog post should end with a CTA. If you think you’re overdoing it, you probably aren’t.
5. Hire Some Help
As a music producer, your primary focus is making great music with clients. So, if this all sounds overwhelming to you, I don’t blame you at all! That’s why I hired a marketing consultant when I was producing music full time. It started pricy, but soon his help began to pay for itself and I didn’t have to stay studied up on marketing tactics, but rather music-making tactics.
So, with all of that said, maybe you’re in a place where you need a website for your music business. If you follow these steps, you’ll be miles ahead of where I started and where most producers start. When you reach a point of needing help, you can reach out to our team here any time and we’d be happy to help!