Band online setup package - Website/Myspace/Gig Flyers

dbs_sailor

*ahem* this thread has been approved by miju

If you're a new band or an existing band without good online representation, take note:

Do you want a complete, fully set up website that's easy to manage and update, but that also has a striking apperance?

Do you want to change your quiet, boring Myspace into something incredible that get's you and your music noticed?

Do you feel like you're wasting money by photocopying hundreds of amateur looking flyers for your gigs?

Look no further! heh. Really. Excuse the absolutely lame plugging, but if you're still reading, check out what's on offer at www.nefas.info.

I've been gigging around Dublin now for about 2 years, and I've noticed the main weaknesses groups around Ireland (besides the sound :P) are a poor website, a bland myspace, and amateur gig flyers. The best way to get taken seriously by labels and others is to give off the impression that you're professionals. The key to getting your music heard by more people is generating more traffic. To do this, you simply need to catch people's eye. Check this out:

http://www.myspace.com/okgo

This is a standard Myspace Music layout. It looks ok. It has the content you need - gig calender and music. But will you remember it? Probably not. What about completely altering the layout so it looks like this:

http://www.myspace.com/testalloverthetest
(if you're not viewing at 1024x768 click samplepic1.jpg in the attachments)

With this deal you have total freedom to design an amazing Myspace layout that people will not forget!

Next up are flyers. You can tell a group is small based on their flyers. A windows paint job won't suffice if you're "after the big time". Check this:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d61/dyslucsic/DyslucsicposterJPG2.jpg

(sorry to pick on whoever made that)

vs. this:

http://www.nefas.info/dorans3.jpg

Now if you look carefully, you'll see it's a small gig (only Eamon Doran's). It's 2 colours so it photocopying beautifully (it really did when we played this gig last year.) It's sharp and it catches the eye. It has all the relevant info. And best of all, [I like to think] it looks professional.

I'll leave it at that, and if you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I really do think it's an excellent package for bands today. If you think the price is steep, first split it 3/4/5 ways, and next ring a professional and ask him for a quote on a website/myspace/10 flyers with up to 30 hours of actionscript/php programming and see what he says.

questions/comments/feedback/complaints/anything else - conanm@gmail.com or please comment this thread and keep it alive.

Thanks a lot,
Conan
www.nefas.info
www.myspace.com/conanplays

frobisher

How much do these services cost?

Savman

Personally I think too many acts get caught up in big flashy websites with little or no underlying content. It's nice when done right but mostly it reeks of "hey look at our cool site, btw we've absolutely nothing to say and no gigs to promote"

Anybody with a functioning brain cell can design a flyer, it's not exactly brain surgery. Also your "Premium" package costs €500, is that incl. or excl. VAT seeing as your so hell bent on doing things professionally?

IMO 500 quid would be better spent on other resources, ie proper advertising, but to each his own I spose.

Dord

hmm... that stuff looks great! i'll keep you in mind for the future.

eoin5

Why so much black and white on the site, and why the random layout/unreadable buttons/looks broken on widescreen. I know its quite a change from the average myspace site but it still looks quite amateur-ish imo. How many band websites have you done before?

dbs_sailor

Frobisher, the most I charge is 500.

Joe Robot, cheers, thanks for the comment.

eoin5, the nefas site is black and white because it's a quick/easy scheme. I'll change it when I need to I think. If you're referring to the myspace site, check your resolution. I said in my post it's only properly viewable in 1024x768. Otherwise click the screenshot, or wait till I have an ironed version for all resolutions. Also don't forget, it's just a sample. :P

Savman wrote:

Personally I think too many acts get caught up in big flashy websites with little or no underlying content. It's nice when done right but mostly it reeks of "hey look at our cool site, btw we've absolutely nothing to say and no gigs to promote"

Anybody with a functioning brain cell can design a flyer, it's not exactly brain surgery. Also your "Premium" package costs €500, is that incl. or excl. VAT seeing as your so hell bent on doing things professionally?

IMO 500 quid would be better spent on other resources, ie proper advertising, but to each his own I spose.

Heh, I take it you won't be signing up then Savman?

I couldn't agree with you more, though. In the "Content vs. Flashyness w/ substance" battle there's only ever going to be one clear winner. But remember that we're living in an age where a band can get famous for running on treadmills and putting it on youtube. :P There's a lot to be said for something that captures the eye of a viewer.

As for the flyers, again you're spot on. But surely you've seen some of the poor flyers around Ireland? You must certainly be aware that a few random band names lined up on a sheet isn't going to be as memorable as a completely unqiue, artistic eye-grabber. You remember the name as well as the picture when you see that, don't you? That's the "rocket science bit", hehe.

Premium is 500 including vat. And be careful about the "professionality" thing. I realise I brought that up, but it's "professional" web-design at amateur prices. A colleague of mine charges 400 euro for a standard 5 page spread. For an extra 100 there's an amazing difference.... But I guess it'd be impossible to sell that on you. :P

Cheers for the comments, though.

Savman

conanm wrote:

I realise I brought that up, but it's "professional" web-design at amateur prices.

See I just don't believe such a thing exists, not just in web design but any aspect of life. In most cases you generally don't get anything professional for amateur prices, unless someone's doing you a favour.

Regarding flyers, I think they're a total waste of time anyway regardless how they are designed. I can't remember any flyer I've ever been given let alone how snazzy it looked. But this is where a lot of bands fall down, they fail to take into consideration the thoughts of Joe Bloggs on the street. If everyone took you up on your "deal" - then in theory wouldn't a flashy website then become the done thing, theoretically cancelling out the whole point of standing out in the crowd? I mean, it's not unique if everyone has it.

I'm sure you're a competent guy, I just dont think bands should fool themselves into thinking a website is the be all and the end all. Your advertisement suggests websites and myspaces are an answer to a lot of bands problems, in many cases it just highlights them further. Sometimes having no website will at least save you the embarrassment of having an empty gigs page or a site that hasn't been updated since the stone age. In those cases, which sadly are the majority, the site does more harm than good.

mokonji

okay, "savman" if thats your real name. :cool: who do you think you are coming onto someone's board and start moaning about totally random stuff. if your not interested in his offer, then i suggest you stop wasting his time and go get yourself a life. noone likes a busy body. keep your pointless comments to yourself because i can tell that there is nothing worse than a petty person trying to sabotage someones advertisement. Keep those comments to yourself and go find yourself a girlfriend or a boyfriend (whatever your into). there should be rules on this site that keep people like you from spreading your anti-social b****x.

chat soon "savman", if you have got the cajones.

dbs_sailor

Savman wrote:

See I just don't believe such a thing exists, not just in web design but any aspect of life. In most cases you generally don't get anything professional for amateur prices, unless someone's doing you a favour.

You could be right. It's hard to fully explain what the deal here is through a thread. That's why I'm hoping people will get in touch and we can discuss these things in person. Let's be honest - I'm not a professional. I have years of experience under my belt, but I don't have my degree - yet.

Flyers are flyers. We need to move on from that I think. As for the flash website theory... I really don't see that happening.

I'm sure you're a competent guy, I just dont think bands should fool themselves into thinking a website is the be all and the end all. Your advertisement suggests websites and myspaces are an answer to a lot of bands problems, in many cases it just highlights them further. Sometimes having no website will at least save you the embarrassment of having an empty gigs page or a site that hasn't been updated since the stone age. In those cases, which sadly are the majority, the site does more harm than good.

Ok I take your point, and to be honest, I wasn't even aware that my ad was implying that. You're dead right but I think we can both agree that if you don't meet the criteria (good band, good sound, big gig list, want attention) then you're not going to pay me money. I'd be interested in talking with you in PM about this, but I don't think there's any need for this chat here. :P

I think it's fairly obvious that this is geared at groups getting off the ground that are fairly active. And as for implying that the online presskit stuff is the be all and end all -

Kids - Sort your music, sort your gig calender, sort you image and before getting onto me.

Satisfied??

Savman

mokonji wrote:

okay, "savman" if thats your real name. :cool: who do you think you are coming onto someone's board and start moaning about totally random stuff. if your not interested in his offer, then i suggest you stop wasting his time and go get yourself a life. noone likes a busy body. keep your pointless comments to yourself because i can tell that there is nothing worse than a petty person trying to sabotage someones advertisement. Keep those comments to yourself and go find yourself a girlfriend or a boyfriend (whatever your into). there should be rules on this site that keep people like you from spreading your anti-social b****x.

chat soon "savman", if you have got the cajones.

Eh....riiiiiight. Mammy sez not to argue with idiots....;)

eoin5

You have a good idea but I think you should do some band websites for free to get up a good body of work to reference when you begin to charge in the future. I've a degree in software engineering and I worked in Intel for a year doing website development, site admin and flash and I wouldnt dream of charging anyone straight off without doing a few freebies.

A test site thats only for one resolution setting with no layout or structure to speak of, unreadable buttons and only a promise of better to come is not going to net you your fortune just yet.

I'm only harping on about this because I hate to see bands waste their money needlessly, theres enough pitfalls for bands as it is. Trust evidence, not promises etc...

MagicMarker

personally, i don't like the myspace page or the flyer.

dbs_sailor

eoin5 wrote:

You have a good idea but I think you should do some band websites for free to get up a good body of work to reference when you begin to charge in the future. I've a degree in software engineering and I worked in Intel for a year doing website development, site admin and flash and I wouldnt dream of charging anyone straight off without doing a few freebies.

A test site thats only for one resolution setting with no layout or structure to speak of, unreadable buttons and only a promise of better to come is not going to net you your fortune just yet.

I'm only harping on about this because I hate to see bands waste their money needlessly, theres enough pitfalls for bands as it is. Trust evidence, not promises etc...

cheers for the advice man. i've been at this a decent while. problem is the stuff i'm coming up with lately is my best work and i'd only be interested in showing that. i've really only slapped together the stuff and i'm gauging the prospects off the feedback.

i'll make it my business to show off some more stuff. and as for the bands comments, the reason i've got my heart set on this as a summer project is because of my experience as a musician. being in the community of bands who inhabit the same practice rooms, came from ballyfermot college etc. and watching them get poor value for money off people straight out of college with a piece of paper but no real clue as to how to give a site a good musical, quirky vibe.

thanks again for the comments, lads.

Gordon

I much prefer the other myspace page and the other flyer to be honest.

The myspace page doesn't have a sample image as the image currently on it spreads over the whole page.

dbs_sailor

hey gordon. cheers for the revival :P

yeah yeah. i've spent a good while reworking my site, building up the portfolio and working with myspace.

i'll try to get something more up to date up asap.

greenandwhite

conanm wrote:

The best way to get taken seriously by labels and others is to give off the impression that you're professionals. The key to getting your music heard by more people is generating more traffic. To do this, you simply need to catch people's eye.

what a load of bolloxs, the only way to get taken seriously by labels is to have some good ****ing songs, if a builder shows up on a site with great new shiny tools but hasnt a clue what he's doing he will be found out soon enough and ****ed out (this is a metaphor for any stupid ***** out there) your post is insulting to anyone who is in a real band and puts a lot of effort into there set up.

Gordon

Oops, didn't realise I bumped this, sorry.

dbs_sailor

greenandwhite wrote:

what a load of bolloxs, the only way to get taken seriously by labels is to have some good ****ing songs, if a builder shows up on a site with great new shiny tools but hasnt a clue what he's doing he will be found out soon enough and ****ed out (this is a metaphor for any stupid ***** out there) your post is insulting to anyone who is in a real band and puts a lot of effort into there set up.

alright that's ****ing it. i've been polite to everyone who's posted in this thread moaning about my advice or moaning about the example **** that i put up. i couldn't give a **** if it get's locked.

i think you're quite wrong about the songs getting you in good. i'm sorry, but in 2007 where music is a product, i've been informed that- wait i'm not even going on a "music as a product" rant, i really couldn't be arsed.

point is this (and i'm nearly mother****ing sure it's been made by now): ASSUMING YOU ALREADY HAVE GOOD SONGS AND A STABLE, TALENTED GROUP (reread this again and again until you understand it), IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO COMPLIMENT THAT WITH A PROFESSIONAL/EYECATCHING ONLINE PRESENCE.

read my other ****ing post instead of quoting the first one.

i've said again and again on and off this thread, if you're a joke band, a good site can't help you. so kindly **** off with this "your post is insulting" ****e. i am in a real band. read that again. I... am in a real bad. do you understand? i'm not in the business of insulting myself. if anything i'd be in an excellent position to tell possible customers whether or not the idea is suitable for them.

now before the lock, let it be known that this is geared at:

- good bands that have a nice setup, are happy with their music and are interested in spreading their music
- bands who don't have someone readily available to them who can help them with technical stuff
- bands who aren't interested in paying professionals a grand, then registering a domain name, paying for hosting, etc etc, but who are interested in paying 3 figures for the entire package.


now, excuse me if i'm exploiting fellow musicians by saying that you get taken seriously if you're represented well. and all mods who consider banning the hell out of me for this diatribe, please bear in mind that i've been very patient, and people have been on my case about this very OLD topic for some time now, i corrected my original post with a reply... last time i'll say it:

good music is a prerequisite

do we all understand?

good. and if this thread is still up by the end of the week, i'll link my new portfolio. thank you. thank you.