Stacey and Bob write about free web sites for bands:
> Hey all you struggling band types without HTML skill, here's a little
heads up. > There is a website at http://www.fyou.com and the guy who
coordinates it is Gabe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Basically he's interested
in putting up pages free of charge for independent bands, with audio
clips...and for some bands, having something on the web for free can be a
very good thing.
>I would also like to recommend the "surf.to" site for band with websites
>but unable to afford a "personalized" domain name.
While I commend Gabe for the initiative, looking at his site you gotta
figure any site that has a header that says f*ck you is gonna get filtered
by a lot of folks. Many other problems exists for this type of site as it's
not a dedicated music site, it doesn't get your name in the URL (I know Rob
addresses that) and it's not going to turn up in many search engines. I
have tried a few. Why, because it takes either a lot of time or an
investment in a mass reg program like we use at RealCountry.net which
registers each URL with 400+ search engines.
A search on the top 5 search engines turns up no references to the
bystanders. The point I am trying to make is this. It cost $70 to register
your own domain name and the cost to register that domain with the top
search engines is either time or web hosting with a company that understands
promotion. In addition, chances are the web hosting company is going to
offer many features not available on the free sites, features that would
benefit most acts tremendously when properly used. As a marketing
specialist I try and keep an open mind about the freebie sites but unless
you've got major time on your hands, most folks will never see your site.
For a little less than $500.00 ($35 mo. X 12 + &70 for the URL) you can have
a kick ass web site for a full year, registered to every search engine
that's worth a damn and then some. If you don't want to spend the $70 bucks
you still get a URL with your name in it like
www.DaleWaston.RealCountry.net That's 1 gig or less for my band and I
imagine most others. We understand the struggling artist situation and have
waived our $350.00 set up fee 'cause too many people said it wasn't doable.
Now there's not really any excuse. Sorry if this seems self serving but the
fact is I've invested thousands in putting TwangCast on the net and I
believe in the music we all love and want to see the artists prosper, but
anything less than a full bore marketing approach ain't gonna cut it, and at
$35 a month I ain't getting rich off of www.RealCountry.net Whether it's
with us or a host of your choosing, you need to do it right.
Mike Hays
NOW ONLINE, www.TwangCast.com TM RealCountry netcast 24 X 7
Please Visit Then let us know what you think!
Mike Hays www.MikeHays.RealCountry.net
For the best country artist web hosting, www.RealCountry.net
