PET PEEVE!!! BUSY MYSPACE PAGES!!!

[Casey H]

I HATE BUSY MYSPACE PAGES!! Some are totally unreadable with the text hidden by fancy backgrounds. On some I can't even find the link to become a friend or send a message.Many are unreadable without scrolling through pictures everywhere, animation all over the place, text hidden by pictures and graphics, etc.OK, I got my pet peeve off my chest. 'nuff said Casey

[slimcharm]

Hey are you talking about Jessica?Its funny if you are because she did have a pretty simple myspace at first and a music excutive person said it was too conservative! So NOW she does what she likes..the goal is to appeal to fans and friends and the response she gets to it is amazing! People love it!!! and she does it herself with some help from a friend with the banners. She is a pop artist and her myspace is fun and cute and shows her personality.But she also has a much more conservative website..www.jessicamellott.com and a simple clear EPK..www.sonicbids.com/jessicamellott where industry people can go if they want..But most people love her myspace!Course you may not have been talking about her myspace at all.Leewww.jessicamellott.comwww.myspace.com/jessicamellott

[Casey H]

Hi SlimI was talking about Jessica's page but edited my post. I was all wet on that one as far as Jessica's page is concerned. I was reacting to the many, many pages I visited, some artist and some general, whereby I couldn't read anything because of the backgrounds. Once or twice I wanted to contact somebody and couldn't find their contact link.Jessica's page and received recognition and praise from all over. So, ignore the off the cuff remarks of this ol' fart on a bad day.... Casey

[slimcharm]

Hey I wish you hadn't edited your post! I loved what you said about Jessica's talent and the record deal part!!! Put it back!Everyone has an opinion about Myspace. Jessica feels her page really represents her and she loves it!And she was selected to be a featured artist in a book about Myspace because of how successful her Myspace profile and page has been! So we feel she is doing something right! But everyone has an opinion and that is cool too.Leewww.jessicamellott.comwww.myspace.com/jessicamellott

[Casey H]

OK, thru the miracle of cached pages from google, here is my original post:Quote:A while back there were some articles, including I think one by Jimi, about artist websites. The same guidelines apply to myspace artist pages as regular websites. You want someone to go there and QUICKLY AND EASILY play your music, read your bio, and be able to contact you. I HATE BUSY MYSPACE PAGES!! If your page is just for fun with your friends, that's one thing. But if you are an artist, make it suit it's purpose!I do some music placement work and frequently go to artist myspace pages, some of which are the artist's main page. I HATE BUSY MYSPACE PAGES!! Some are totally unreadable with the text hidden by fancy backgrounds. On some I can't even find the link to become a friend or send a message.If you send an industry person to your page and they can't read your page for sh*t, they will move on to the next one.I won't mention names but there is a young female artist some of us know who is one of the most incredibly talented young ladies to come along in a long time. She is record label material all the way! But her myspace page is more like a teen friend page and pretty much unreadable without scrolling through pictures everywhere, animation all over the place, text hidden by pictures and graphics, etc.One of the great features of myspace artist pages is they make it so easy to get to you information and your songs on a simple single page. I often send people to my page because I know they will have the least obstacles to hearing 4 of my tunes.Fancy myspace editors DO NOT make your page better.OK, I got my pet peeve off my chest. 'nuff said CaseyJessica and Slimcharm: Yes, I think Jessica is label material all the way! She is an incredibly talented, determined, and hard working young lady. Jess, You Rock!! and your Mom ain't so bad either... As I mentioned above, I was all wet jumping all over this myspace page design. It's not my thing (I like the boring pages like my own) but for someone in Jessica's age group and target audience it is right. And Jessica has received tons of praise and recognition for this site.That all being said, it still is true that artist websites, especially the non-myspace type, should be simple such that a visitor can here the songs quickly with a minimum of effort, see the bio, and get the contact info easily. My caseysongs site is weak in that area. I link to my broadjam site to allow visitors to play my music. That adds clicks and time. I did this out of laziness- it was easier to change song on broadjam. However, with some dangerous HTML knowledge, I hope to fix that soon. Right now, I often invite people to my myspace page because they can immediately play 4 songs. I wish myspace would allow more songs!So, I invite you all to stop by www.myspace.com/jessicamellott ... And also, please use this thread to point to artist websites you think are good examples and those that need improvement. Casey

[hummingbird]

Hey Jessica's page is great & I'm sure there are good things in store for her. She's talented and marketable, and I think both Lee & Jessica have the right attitudes. I wish Jess all the best.Hey Casey, I also agree re too-busy-myspace pages... I get friend requests and it takes 10 minutes to load the page and then I can't find the icons to send a message or leave a comment. Frustrating!Since you asked.... I have three pages, I don't know if you want to take a look and tell me what I could do better, or if they work pretty good as is....www.vikkiflawith.com (pls sign my guestbook!)www.myspace.com/vikkiflawithwww.theshys ... ummin'bird

[andreh]

Quote:Since you asked.... I have three pages, I don't know if you want to take a look and tell me what I could do better, or if they work pretty good as is....www.vikkiflawith.com (pls sign my guestbook!)www.myspace.com/vikkiflawithwww.theshys ... ummin'bird Hey Vikki-I think your main site is very nice; super easy to navigate, and very pleasing to look at. Your clean but soft & artistic look should be a model to others.Andre

[hummingbird]

"Your clean but soft & artistic look should be a model to others."Sweet! Thanks for taking a look!

[Casey H]

While on this topic, I thought I'd poll my friends (and enemies) here:My www.caseysongs.com has not been updated in a very long time.I am considering 2 options:Updated the current site a bit, just to make it easier to get to songs and lyrics. I can link directly to broadjam's player for each song and probably the lyrics too.Do a new site with Broadjam for $200 a year. I already pay $50 a year for my MoB membership anyway, so it adds only $150. However, I am paying nearly nothing right now for hosting Caseysongs, due to a favor I got...What you all think? Casey

[hummingbird]

Hey Casey, I visited your site, and I think it looks really clean. I like the page set up, the text is easy-to-read & well-written. It's easy to navigate too. The downside is, I think, that one has to link to your Broadjam site to hear your music... which takes people away from your site, so if they want to sign your guestbook after hearing a song there's no link to take them back there - in fact, it's a little confusing because your broadjam site includes a bio, photos and contact info that look different from the original site. In terms of design, your music pages look different than your site. Your guestbook also looks different than the rest of your site. There's a lack of continuity in using 3 different services, and, while you still look and feel and sound professional, I think it affects the image you present.So I would consider the Broadjam option, especially since you already have your music there.cheersHummin'birdPS - I really dig your sound on 'What a World'