Web pages have become almost an essential route for artists to take if they want to be taken seriously. A web page has become a status symbol for those that want to be on a more professional level. On the other hand, however, a web page can be nothing more than a way for people to show others something they are proud of. In my research of band web pages, I have seen both examples and everything in between. I will elaborate on this using the following bands as examples: Lilybandits, Black Water Band, Stepford Five, Ishkabibble, and Dave Matthews Band.
Lilybandits, a local band here in Columbus have a website at www.lilybandits.com. Their website is clean, easily loadable, but rather unprofessional. The site has a hobby motif to it. They did have their own registered domain address though and that makes it easier for people to find them on the web. .
The Black Water Band has a clean website only after you open the first HTML page. Their website is very organized and current. The pages load quickly and the links are active. The overall smoothness of their site is a bit rough though. Certain pages load within the template shown and other pages load in a separate window. Spending just a little bit of time browsing their site will fill your task bar quickly. .
Stepford Five, another local band here in Columbus, has a very hip site. It looks cool, it is very neat and easy to follow, and they also have their own domain. The only bad thing about this site is that in order to hear anything from them, you must register with some sort of company. I did not feel like registering and felt as if this would detract from the most amount of people hearing their music. .
Ishkabibble, a previous favorite here in Columbus, has a website but you would never know it unless you found a link to it like I did through MP3.com's site. They do not have their own domain registered. Since their website is through a provider, every page has annoying advertisements that pop up.