- Cover of Stone Temple Pilots
Let me start off by saying that I enjoy the Stone Temple Pilots music, and I’m not slamming them in anyway what-so-ever. Having said that, I have some serious doubts about their website.
Have you seen it? If not, let me tell you that it is pretty slick. When you get to the media page it loads up with the interior of an old muscle car with CDs on the seat that you can insert into the player on the dash. They get huge points for the coolness factor, but guess what – there’s no music to be found anywhere (upon first glance).
Here I am, a fan who wants to hear some new Stone Temple Pilots music – where better to go than the band’s website right?
WRONG.
I couldn’t find the music I was looking for, and as cool as the site looks – I was gone inside 30 seconds. I didn’t bother signing up to their mailing list because it was just pushing presales for concert tickets, cool – but not what I was after.
I ended up on the STP Myspace page instead. While I only lasted on their site for about 30 seconds, I stayed on the Myspace page for probably an hour listening to music.
I would have gladly given STP my email address if I could have accessed their music for free – heck, even streaming files like they have on Myspace would have made me happy. This is a lost opportunity for STP to build their fan base.
I’m sure STP isn’t hurting for a fan base right now, but this is a prime lesson for indie bands out there – give away something for free. Unlike STP – visitors to your site are probably gone forever if they don’t find what they’re looking for on the first try. If you can get them on email there’s a chance that you can get to know them and perhaps sell them something down the road.
STP could have saved a few bucks on the slickness of their website and added a form to subscribe to listen to free music. I fully believe that the design of your website is secondary to it’s function, and it’s function is to give your visitors what they’re looking for. Give them what they want and get an email in exchange and you’re off to the races!
Anyway, I’m not going to beat this to death. I like the band, I like the music but the website is lacking. Learn by their example and don’t fall into the trap of having a cool but impotent website! Not only will you save money on the design, you’ll actually start building up a fan base if you give them what they want (what a concept).
So what do you think? Am I being too harsh here or am I right on the money with my take on STP’s website? Leave your comment below and let me know.
