R+P Post 11: Artist websites that have inspired and influenced my ideas

Artist websites provide a platform for marketing as well as exposure. It is a place where all the newest information regarding the artist and their music will be published as well as a place to buy merchandise and music from the artist. 

The artists whose websites have been inspired by are James Arthur, Jason Derulo and John Legend. Below are screenshots of each artists home page.

Home Pages for each website

Key features all of the websites had were:

• Promo photos acting as backgrounds
• News button - where newest releases, articles about the artist, publicity events are posted
• Music button - takes to a page where you can buy or stream all available music recordings
• Videos button - where you can watch the most recent music video releases
• Tour/Live - information about concerts and world tours
• Store - where all the merchandise can be bought. Takes the viewer to another website where all the merch is available (usually clothing, music, posters, accessories).
• Social Media links (typically Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, Snapchat, YouTube)

In terms of the layout of the website, most of them has the buttons running along the top of the page. I like this layout as it is easy to navigate as well as being clearly presented. Additionally all of the fonts used are simple, making the website easy to read.

Button layout on Jason Derulo's website

For Jason Derulo's and James Arthur's websites you scroll down to access each section. Each section has a different cover photo behind the text and content. I really liked how this was done because there was synergy between all photos used creating a stronger brand image. For example Jason Derulo's photos were all black and white whilst James Arthur's had a similar grading for most of his photos as well as similar composition (with him on either the left or right third of the frame).

Jason Derulo's cover photo for the News section

James Arthur's cover photo for the Shop section

What I liked about John Legend's website was its simplicity. There was a single, elegant, black and white cover photo. All of the buttons were in the top right hand corner with his name in the top left corner. The same font is used throughout the website. Each button bring a page up in front of the home page. It is slightly translucent so the photo can be seen faintly in the background. I think that this is really effective as there isn't a lot going on yet it is still very stylised.

John Legend's Tour page

From looking at these websites I have definitely been inspired by their layout and styling. There are elements of each website I really like and hope to include these in our website to make it as professional and effective as possible.