Rodgers and Co.

New website! http://www.rodgersandcomusic.com !

A New Project: Rodgers and Co.

Over the weekend I made it official. By official I mean I paid for, and created my new website for my new project, Rodgers and Co. Now a lot of people say they have a new "project" or maybe they're going "solo" or whatever, but it's not for real unless they take the time and the money to create a website to which all their other social networking sites link back to. I have now done that. I am official.

 

On a more serious note, Rodgers and Co. is my new project. You can check it out by visiting www.rodgersandcomusic.com . I've got some demos posted up under the "Music" tab and you can see me on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and Reverbnation by going to the "Contact" page and clicking on the respectable links.

 

The reason I made such a big deal about creating your own website is because it's...A BIG DEAL. MySpace is great but what if tomorrow your account is deleted and you lose all your "friends" in the process. You've got no statistics for your music as to how many plays, etc. it's gotten and most importantly you lose your data. Data=Dollars. You need that data. Reverbnation is great in itself but it's only properly utilized if used throughout the web as widgets and things like that.

 

It's called the "Funnel Effect". You want all your social networking sites to funnel back to your official webpage. How do you think you get great SEO(Search Engine Optimization)? You're page get's to the top of the rankings on google by linking back to it from other popular sites ie. your MySpace page or Facebook profile. The more you link back the more your page will show up. Also, the more you link back to your site the more you make it a destination for your fans. Sure, they can listen to a new song or two on your MySpace page but they can get exclusive downloads via your official site. They can even purchase ticket packages directly from your website and you'll have complete control over the delivery of each product.

 

It's complete freedom!

 

Most importantly, you have your data. Because you're clever you're already using Reverbnation to compile your mailing list. Google Analytics is a free tool provided by, you guessed it, Google that allows you to keep track of your sites traffic. This is key when trying to get gigs into new markets. You can see what parts of the country, or world, are visiting your site and you can use your mailing list to help break into new markets.

 

You: "Hi Mr. Booking Agent, I'd like to get a gig down in your area"

Mr. Booking Agent: "Cool, how many people do you have on your mailing list down here?"

You: "Uhh...well I do have 100 friends on MySpace that say they are from your area"

Mr. Booking Agent: "Would they come out and see you?"

You: "Maybe"

Mr. Booking Agent: "Listen man, I dig what you're trying to do but I need something concrete. I need to know that there are 100 kids that will come out if that's whats going to come out. Most importantly though, so do you. You should know that stuff. How many plays you have, how many mailing list members you have by region, how many visits you get to your site and from what parts of the country. If I'm going to go out on a limb and book you here, I need some DATA that lets me know it isn't a risky move. A 100 capacity club isn't that big, but it's HUGE when it's empty and no one wants that."

You: "Yeah I here that. Maybe next time then"

 

So you just learned a lot from the agent, but unfortunately you made yourself look a little like an ass in the process. Be prepared! Get serious and get a website. Then take all your traffic from every other site you have and filter it back to YOUR PAGE. Because it's YOUR CAREER.

 

Ovah and Out