A Widgets Primer and Useful Ones for Musicians

(Post updated on December 18, 2010)

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This post had some outdated information on it, so I fixed it up and decided to re-post it! I really think the updates I have made to this post have made it much more useful than it was previously. It’s a long one, but worth the read.

In recent years, the internet has been evolving rapidly and many are calling this recent Internet transformation “Web 2.0.” This phrase doesn’t necessarily suggest that we are using a new version of the Internet; it simply reflects the current way that people are designing and utilizing it. From the design aspect, the programming languages HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, PHP, and Adobe Flash are finally being used effectively to create web-based applications that function as well, if not better, than traditional desktop software. Web 2.0 has also allowed for democracy to develop within the Internet world; amateurs are now frequently surpassing web professionals in several aspects!

Two great examples of this are Wikipedia and the concept of wikis in general, and the social networking site, Facebook. A third element of Web 2.0 has to do with better treatment of website visitors. Websites in the late 90’s bombarded users with dozens of annoying advertisements, and most forced visitors to register so they could secretly sell their information for profit. While some sites still continue these practices, many more businesses each day are becoming conscience of this maltreatment of users, and are altering their web-based business practices. Basically, visitors have been given more power to do what they want on the web. For example, when iTunes started offering individual songs for download, as opposed to only whole albums, they captured much of the digital download market. This is living proof that web users love having this kind of control over their online purchases. A Fourth element of the Web 2.0 revolution is the concept of social networking. The insemination of websites like Myspace, Facebook and Twitter, and the concepts of blogging and podcasting have revolutionized the way people interact with each other, on both personal and business levels. Initially, these social networking and blogging sites were inhabited by individuals.

Today, businesses are utilizing the evolving features these social networks and blogs have to offer in order to achieve success. One industry that is doing an excellent job utilizing social networks and blogs is the music industry. Both major-label and independent artists are creating, discovering and utilizing web-based applications in order to create buzz, expand their fan base and reach out to existing fans. One tool in particular, the “web widget,” is an extremely effective application musicians use to make social networking easier, and to achieve their desired success. Musicians are beginning to realize the potential of these web gadgets, but before they jump into this new technology they should first understand what a widget is and which are the most effective in facilitating their careers.

According to Webopedia.com, “when people use the word widget, in a Web 2.0 world, they are referring to piece of self-contained code — a small application actually, that opens up a doorway to a much larger application.” These pieces of code can be embedded into existing websites, and can do a variety of things. Widgets come in all shapes and sizes, and target different user audiences. However, widgets made for musicians to use function a bit differently than typical consumer widgets. These tools usually fall within the following categories:

1. Allow musicians to upload their music for purchase or free download.
2. Link visitors to the other social networking sites the musician may have.
3. Syndicate information (tour dates, contests, news, etc) to all of the musician’s social networking sites – the musician only has to update the information in the widget and embed the widget on each of their websites.
4. Let visitors sign up for mailing lists and enter contests.
5. Display musician’s videos posted at sites like Youtube, Vimeo, etc.

These widgets simplify information access for the visitor, so they don’t have to waste time searching five different websites for upcoming tour dates, or the most recent contest. Some even provide useful backend statistics that musicians can view and track in real-time to determine target demographics, frequency of hits, clicks and views, and much more. For example, ReverbNation and Facebook do an excellent job of collecting and processing all sorts of activity for artist pages; they make it extremely easy to comprehend for the musician. Also, artists must understand the potential clout these widgets have to increase their reach and availability to potential and existing fans. With sites like Twitter, musicians can update their real-time status, giving fans the ability to view and comment on what musicians are doing at that exact moment. And there are Twitter widgets the musician can embed on each of his/her sites to display that status, so people don’t even have to visit their Twitter page if that is all the information they are seeking from the artist.

This quick and easy access to information is making it much simpler for new and existing fans to connect with the musicians they love. If musicians find a way organize this information neatly and effectively on each of their sites, new fans will become easier to recruit and old fans will become easier to retain.

Musicians must also be aware that careful selection and organization of these widgets is just as important as the widgets themselves. If an artist decides to exhaust every option available to them and messily embeds 20 widgets on all 5 of their websites, the chances are that viewers will become quickly fed up with the clutter and leave your pages within a few seconds. This is extremely similar to the concept of dimensions of success for a business.

The business must not try to excel in all 7 dimensions (cost, quality, speed to market, flexibility, customer support, predictability and safety and environment), but should focus on a combination of 2-3 dimensions that give them a competitive advantage. It is impossible for a business, as well as a musician (which can be considered a business in and of itself) to competitively distinguish themselves on all 7 criteria. This means that musicians should decide which widgets (dimensions of success) are most important to them, select their options carefully, and organize and utilize them effectively in order to make themselves stand out from their competition (other artists in their genre). Through my experience with my own band and several internships I have worked for, I have come across dozens of these nifty tools.

I have personally gone through this process of widget selection without the prior knowledge this document provides, so I’ve had the advantage of learning from my mistakes. My extensive journey through the world of widgets has helped me recognize some of the most effective tools available to musicians.

The list below (in no particular order) describes some of the best widgets out there for musicians:

Official.fm

This awesome DIY company provides free embeddable music widgets for musicians that can be posted anywhere on the web. They look really sleek, and you can even create and embed entire playlists of music. You can also enable free downloading for whichever songs you prefer, and they can be downloaded directly from the widget.

Bandcamp

In recent days, Bandcamp has become my absolute favorite choice for a fully-fledged online store. This service provides all the necessary tools to create and manage an online store for your music and merchandise. And that’s not even the best part. They offer all of this FOR FREE. FREE! Its insane. UPDATE: Bandcamp now operates on a revenue sharing model.

They have excellent embeddable music player widgets, allow you to customize your store’s colors and design, collect fan e-mails, and you can even integrate your Bandcamp store into your existing website by using an image map.

Also, instead of picking fixed prices for you music and merchandise, you can create “minimum prices” that encourage further donations from loyal fans that may feel inclined to throw a few extra bucks your way.

ReverbNation’s Fan Collector Widget

I have used this before for my band with great results. It is an excellent widget that collects the e-mail addresses of fans in exchange for a free mp3 download. These e-mails are automatically added to ReverbNation’s e-mail newsletter system, and all you have to do is simply place the embed code on your website, Myspace, Facebook, etc. and its instantly working. The widget is simple to embed, neatly designed and easily customizable.

YouTube Embeds

The extremely popular video sharing website YouTube allows anyone to embed any video onto any website in the form of a widget. You can customize the size so it doesn’t screw up your website layout, which is a very important feature when it comes to organization. You can embed single videos, playlists, and even entire channels.

Artistdata’s Shows Widget

This widget is extremely useful in helping musicians manage and share their tour schedules among various websites. You can upload all of your show dates into the “Shows” section of your account, customize the colors of your widget, grab the embed code, and paste it into all of your websites. This way, you only have to upload new shows in one location, which can be a huge time saver. You can even sync your Artistdata account with your MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter accounts so updates are automatically sent out when you have upcoming shows, and when you add new shows.

ReverbNation’s Press Widget

Instead of having to upload all press clippings, reviews, blog blurbs and other musician buzz to several different websites, the Press Widget is a one-stop solution, much like ReverbNation’s Show Schedule. All you have to do is upload all of your press into this Flash-based widget and throw it up on each of your websites. Simple as pie.

Fanbridge’s E-mail List Signup Forms

FanBridge is a really cool e-mail list/newsletter management system geared towards musicians. My favorite features of the service are the Flash and HTML-based signup forms, and the ability to automatically send new subscribers a free mp3 download. This will make your fans feel appreciated and get them more interested in checking out your tunes.

To conclude, widgets are a powerful tool for musicians in the 21st century. Because of the decline of physical CD sales in the music industry, artists must find creative and innovative ways to promote and sell their music online by using the technology Web 2.0 has to offer. Widgets make the exchange of information between the artist and the fan much more personal, efficient, and effective. These pieces of self-contained code act as gateways and filters for fans to help them find the artist information they are seeking. Web 2.0 is a doorway for musical success – if you are an artist and have yet to utilize the different elements of the new “web as a platform,” you are missing out on a considerable amount of potential fans, and potential profit. Get started today!

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References -
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• Ariel Publicity – http://www.arielpublicity.com/sound_advice/web-2-mastery.html
• Graham, Paul – http://www.paulgraham.com/web20.html
• Kurb Promotion – http://kurbpromotion.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/new-music-promotion-sites-and-widgets-bonus-level-power-up-3/
• MP3 Preview – http://mp3preview.blogspot.com/2007/12/best-tune-widget-for-musicians-artists.html
  
• ReverbNation – http://www.reverbnation.com
  
• Webopedia – http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2007/widgets.asp
• YouTube – http://www.youtube.com
  
• Venture Beat – http://venturebeat.com/2008/03/12/widgets-are-great-for-musicians-and-not-so-bad-for-businesses-either/