Band Website

The internet is one of the largest ways to communicate with an audience in the modern world. The target audience I established, for the Gothic/Metal band Evanescence was predominantly teenagers, however I saw that the genre span through all ages. Due to social networking sites such as: Facebook, myspace and twitter, as well as chat sites, blogs and video generators like Youtube and Vimeo, teenagers are constantly encouraged to use the internet. This allows for bands to advertise and publicise through the internet to communicate with its audience.

To make my website I first had to research other examples of websites to gain an understanding of the kinds of things expected.



Some of the different sections included: Events, News, History and Multimedia. I aimed to incorporate these aspects into my website, to make the website appeal to the target audience. The colours and images in the websites are appropriate to the genre and style of the band, so with the Gothic genre, conventionally dark colours and images would be expected.

In the website I created for Evanescence, I made the themes link with the genre. For instance, I stuck to dark colours for the background to be in keeping with the dark tone of the music. The blue colour I used also relates very strongly to the cover of the Evanescence album 'Fallen', from which the song I have chosen was taken from. Some of the text I specifically put in red, not only to stand out but also to represent the romantic theme within the genre and also symbolising blood representing the common themes of death and anger. The slogan I put at the top reads 'We rock because we don't care'. I created this to express the bands individualistic nature, and the rebellious attitude they hold which is different to other bands. Where as some artists or bands aim to show their audience love and kindness to draw them in, Evanescence would oppose this approach and present an uncaring, 'bad ass' attitude which attracts the target audience. It is also written as if it was a quote by lead vocalist Amy Lee, again presenting a certain look that she is very individualistic and almost aggressive, relating back to the tone of the music.

Most band/artist website pages give the opportunity to 'sign-up' or 'subscribe' to an online magazine almost. Usually this generates income for the band, as the customers pay to receive exclusive extra features such as the latest band news, new tracks, interviews etc. I incorporated this aspect. By having a 'Join up now' system, it would appeal to the audiences and more devote fans who want to access exclusive information on the band and receive their latest updates. This is a very important aspect expected in a website for fan clubs and subscribers, so without this the band/artist would be denying its audiences the chance for more in-depth interaction and possibly condense its audience range.

There are often competitions on the websites to generate a wider audience. In my website the competitions post is appropriately sponsored by the energy drink Relentless. This was to appeal to the target audience of teenagers, which is the same as the drink. The Gothic style typography also links appropriately with the band and gives it a popular reputation in the eyes of youth and teenagers.
By including some free information or history about the band, draws the audience in, giving them an insight to the style, genre and image of the band. I included a history section of the website to show the bands status in the last ten years and how the band has progressed and excelled in the eyes of the modern day audience.
Band Merchandise is usually quite common among band websites. When ever you go to see a band live, the merchandise table makes lots of money. So by having a similar system online allows a wider choice of items from clothing to accessories without the waiting in queues. I also put on my post that members and subscribers would gain discounts and special deals when purchasing merchandise. This would again encourage the fans and target audience to sign up online, gaining more support for the band.
By showing a link with a popular UK ticket office such as 'Ticket Master' the website encourages fans and subscribers to partake in live music concerts and by showing the bands association with the ticket office, it would encourage people to uses that ticket office. This kind of advertising would gain an income for the website and the band.

In the website I have put many images of the band and the more the enticing female lead Amy Lee. I also put a video link to the music video 'Call Me When Your Sober' on youtube. This was to give the audience a taste of the music, and also an idea of the bands style and genre. Usually band websites make the assumption that viewers will most likely be already familiar with the music, however this approach is unhelpful for people with little knowledge of the band. It is also unlikely that people will subscribe to a website without knowing what it is exactly they are subscribing to.

http://anmer22.weebly.com/ Copy and paste this into the search bar to view the web page.