# So about your personal websites...



## Rasoul Morteza (Jul 10, 2020)

Hello denizens of Midiland!

I'm in the process of creating my own website using the Wix platform, it will be ready in a few days.

However, I would like to ask you about your own experience in terms of dealing with your personal website. Did you hire someone to do it for you or did you create it yourself? And so far how has it been in terms of maintenance, and any other relevant aspect you might find interesting to share.

I did contact a few people at the beginning but at the end I found that making it myself is going to be a lot more cost effective (for now), especially since I'm not going to put much content there anyways.

Let me know, much appreciated.

Cheers


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## Everratic (Jul 10, 2020)

I don't have a website for my music yet, but as someone who worked as a graphic designer, I have to say that I've seen many composers make questionable typographic choices for their websites.

I recommend watching this video as a start if you're not familiar with typography




If you're using google fonts, this is a great resource to find the right font pair:








Fontpair - Free, beautiful fonts and font pairings curated just for you


Free typography for your next design project (Google Fonts, Fontshare, Fontesk, Font Squirrel, and more)




fontpair.co


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## karelpsota (Jul 11, 2020)

Wix is really good.

I'm know nothing about web design, but the platform is super easy.
Must have taken me 2 days to make my website.




__





Karel Psota | Music & Sound | Los Angeles


Official website of musician Karel Psota. Based in LA. Founder of Dissona Musika, LLC. Sound designer on INSTINCT Trailer Sound Effects with AVA Music Group.




www.karelpsota.com


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## Pablocrespo (Jul 11, 2020)

I did it myself with wordpress and bought a template (I had some code ironed but was just a couple of hours of someone who works with code)

https://www.pablocrespo.com.ar/en


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## Keith Theodosiou (Jul 11, 2020)

Rasoul Morteza said:


> Hello denizens of Midiland!
> 
> I'm in the process of creating my own website using the Wix platform, it will be ready in a few days.
> 
> ...


I had a Wix website for a couple of years with my own .co.uk address. I did it myself as it is easy with Wix and i never had any problems with them. I took it down last year as getting it noticed out there is the bloody hard bit so no views in that time meant a waste of money for me.
If you can get it out there and noticed then great.


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## SergeD (Jul 11, 2020)

There is one thing that you should care about :





__





Is your website responsive??????


You probably know that many accesses to your website are from a cell phone. Perhaps it would be a good idea to test your own site to see how responsive it is. The following video (from 1:30) explains how to perform these tests with Google Chrome. Good luck :)




vi-control.net


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## Polkasound (Jul 11, 2020)

I started building my own websites back in the 1990s; my personal website is actually 24 years old. But I haven't kept up with the technology, so my websites are considerably primitive in form and function compared to modern websites. But they get the job done.

I use tables as creatively as I can to make my sites look decent on desktop computers, but they are not responsive or scalable. Several years ago I created mobile versions of my websites, placed them on sub domains, and implemented a script which sent mobile phone and iPad users there. It was too much to maintain two versions of each site, though, so I gave it up last year.

It's getting hard to find downloadable, stand-alone website coding software that isn't subscription-based, so I'm not sure what my next step is going to be.


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## Wunderhorn (Jul 11, 2020)

Polkasound said:


> It's getting hard to find downloadable, stand-alone website coding software that isn't subscription-based, so I'm not sure what my next step is going to be.



If you are on a Mac, I recommend Blocs. (Basic HTML and CSS skill required, but no idiotic subscription and you can freely choose your hosting as all generated files are yours.)


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## Rasoul Morteza (Jul 11, 2020)

Thank you for all your comments!

@Everratic Excellent video, thanks. I haven't changed the fonts which came with the template, and so far things look coherent to me. Wix however has this issue where page elements are displayed differently (in terms of position) on different resolutions, so I'm going back and forth between 3 different resolutions to make sure things look fine across.

@karelpsota I see, your website looks very fine to me. Although It must have been easier for you as you have a lot of credits to put there, mine is more or less a demo reel.

@Pablocrespo I did check many Wordpress templates, spent hours searching for one. And I did find a few interesting ones but the fact that I had to learn some coding for future maintenance discouraged me, as I've got a lot on my hands recently. But I'm thinking about hiring someone to create a wordpress based website in the future once I can justify the cost.

@Keith Theodosiou I understand, self promotion is hard and time consuming. Although at the same time it will be necessary for me so I have no other choice haha, but good news that setting it up was easy.

@SergeD Thanks for the link, I suspect Wix already does a large part of the work as I don't even have to create different platform designs. But in any case I will be testing the website across different platforms to make sure it isn't sluggish.

@Polkasound Interesting read, I'm also for old school websites compared to modern scroll based pages. You know something like Alan Silvestri's website appeals to me more than the ones where you have everything on one page.

Cheers


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## Kent (Jul 12, 2020)

Rasoul Morteza said:


> something like Alan Silvestri's website appeals to me more than the ones where you have everything on one page


Just throwing this out there apropos of nothing, but a professional/business website *should* focus on what your intended audience wants to see, not what you want to see.

Alan Silvestri doesn’t get gigs because of his website! He gets them because he is Alan Silvestri.

@Polkasound ’s core audience is, shall we say, older people, and they likely don’t care if he has a site, or what it looks like if he does. Netscape Navigator? Sure!

But whom are you trying to communicate with? Decide that first, and then build your site around that core audience.

(My own website still falls somewhat short in this regard, so I am speaking as much to myself as to this point...)

::edit::

Forgot to mention, the whole thing nowadays is the concept of “responsive design.” In other words, with few exceptions, you cannot ignore how your site presents on tablet and mobile devices—indeed, as most people (in most cases) are more likely to access your site on a mobile device, it’s almost a better idea to design for mobile first and then make a desktop version later.

...and what works well on mobile? A continuous scroll.


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## Al Maurice (Jul 12, 2020)

As some one who has designed websites professionally for many years, today it's more about getting a following on social media sites and linking back from there to your website. Also Search Engine Optimisation is very important, but just putting your website up and expecting Google to find it, then it's not very likely.

Google traditionally relied on how many cross-links there were to your site, but this has changed with the new AI world we have now. More people now view the web on mobile phones and tablets, the desktop/laptop share is shrinking fast, so I concur with the point above.

The other area worth investigating now is how accessible is your site, in other words is someone using a screen reader capable of using your site with few inhibitions.


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## JohnG (Jul 12, 2020)

great advice from @kmaster

Be conscious of what your images and even typeface are conveying. It doesn't have to be 'crazy' and it doesn't have to look corporate either -- it has to be YOU.

[edit -- link: www.johngrahammusic.com ]

I like to read so there are lots of books in the background, pictures and objects that have some significance to me -- a chess board, for instance; instruments; manuscript paper. I do use technology but I write for real orchestra most of the time, so that has to somehow show up.

Black and white or colour? Definitely the former. I like old movies and have watched hundreds of them; I like history and read about it all the time; I like documentaries at least as much as 'story' movies and, anyway, I've been on a historical series for well over a year, and black & white reflects that to me somehow.

Put another way, if you ride a motorcycle, maybe put that in somehow. If you like beauty, make sure you have beautiful images. If you are all about electronica or distorted guitar, your images should reflect that.


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## Kent (Jul 12, 2020)

(Speaking of continuous scroll @Mike Greene is there a way to enable that for mobile on this forum? Navigating a thread is kind of frustrating.)


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## telecode101 (Jul 12, 2020)

..


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## Rory (Jul 12, 2020)

Five years ago I had a pretty low opinion of prebuilt websites from Wix, Squarespace, etc. In 2020, websites are so secondary that prebuilt is probably the way to go unless one knows a fair amount about coding or has the funds to hire someone who does.

The world has moved on to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. The right platform(s) depends on subject and intended audience.


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## JohnG (Jul 12, 2020)

telecode101 said:


> I persoanlly think personal web sites are very pointless investment of time. it might be better to just focus on social media sites and a tool that sends out updates regularly. if you look at music creation, it's basicially project based short term work for hire work. you need to be constantly plugging away and selling the service. a few of my graphic designer friends utilize social mostly. the accounts are a constant stream of images and posts of new stuff and it gets updated every hour every day -- the contact info is clearly visible on all posts.



You might be right ("waste of time").

I don't know if I can agree, however, that we ought to adopt the same approach that would be good for a graphic designer. For one thing, we don't make images that you can take in at a glance, which is ideal for social media. Our images? How many shots of "composer conducting" or "composer playing a keyboard" do people really want to see?

*Why Do Composers Need Websites?*

I accept that social media has superseded the personal website in popularity and frequency, but I think what we do with our websites is not routine advertising and marketing, like the kind of thing you described above. Instead, our websites present _who we are_ -- to answer questions like, "what sort of person is this?" "Can I work with him/her?" "Does this look like the kind of person who can understand the vibe of my movie?"

Besides, people want to know your credits -- what you've done that is close to the scale / budget / aesthetics that they are working on. If you've never done a studio picture or a major TV show, it's tough. One fabulous demo on social media, however awesome, is probably not going to overcome a lack of experience, because it's easy to get overwhelmed writing 80 minutes of music and getting it orchestrated, recorded, and mixed -- on time.

*We Have to "Get It"*

My reasoning is premised on the position of the composer to a film or TV show, which I see as more consequential to the project than any single graphic designer. If they hire the wrong graphic designer they can probably figure it out really fast and / or supplement with more people. That is not as true with composers. There's often not enough time to start over because the first results might take a week that you can never get back. Besides, how many projects have multiple credited composers? I can think of one major one ("Last of the Mohicans"). There are others, no doubt (ok, maybe it's actually a pretty big number), but they are not common; there is just one Alan Silvestri.

There is no way for the director or producer to look over the composer's shoulder and 'direct' everything he does; there's far too much to do and not nearly enough time for that. I just finished a nine-minute long piece for a battle / climactic emotional scene. How many notes? 10,000 ? Probably more? If they had to bug-hunt every transition, every section with a new rhythmic idea, it would drown everyone in revisions and rework. It would be frustrating and we'd never finish in time.

I think @charlieclouser described the composer's relationship to the process as one in which he (the composer) just has to "get it." I agree. If your first three cues are way off, most of the time I think you're packing your bags, absent an easy clarification.

*Communication About Music -- Pretty Challenging*

And, regarding communication in general between composer and director, there aren't too many "easy clarifications." It's very hard to talk about music. Even among musicians misunderstandings and different meanings of terms arise instantly. If someone uses the term, "epic," what does that really mean? It might make someone want to gag, someone else gets excited, someone else thinks "cliché," some other person think of "The Avengers" with positive connotations. Like the box office...

So I think the website remains important, for someone who's never worked with you, to understand not just "a sample of your work" but actually to try to get an idea of whether your aesthetics might work with them, whether you can handle the pressure of time and blending in a live orchestra -- and whether you as a person might fit in.


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## Rory (Jul 12, 2020)

JohnG said:


> So I think the website remains important, for someone who's never worked with you, to understand not just "a sample of your work" but actually to try to get an idea of whether your aesthetics might work with them, whether you can handle the pressure of time and blending in a live orchestra -- and whether you as a person might fit in.



Yes. I have a friend who is a young theatre set designer who is starting to have significant success both in New York and elsewhere in the country. He's on Instagram every few days. It's a way to communicate both with his social circle and with people who hire set designers. However, he also has a website that showcases his work. It's there for people who want to get behind the Instagram posts and see what he's capable of. The website is static, not interactive, and it is updated only occasionally (he certainly isn't writing blog posts), but I think that the site is an important part of his marketing.


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 12, 2020)

Rasoul Morteza said:


> Hello denizens of Midiland!
> 
> I'm in the process of creating my own website using the Wix platform, it will be ready in a few days.
> 
> ...


I built mine myself, but over the decades I’ve learned that a composer doesn’t need much of a website if they need one at all. Either one page with email contact or you could do home, bio, credits, contact and somewhere can include your audio reel. If you composed to picture you could include video reel which includes your music. But I don’t think a website means much for a composer as it never got me work and if I did not have a website I don’t think it would matter at all.


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## Rasoul Morteza (Jul 12, 2020)

Thank you for the feedbacks everyone, much appreciated.

@kmaster You reminded me to pay extra attention to the mobile layout of my site. Wix offers two separate outputs (desktop vs mobile) where you can edit each one individually without impacting the other. As to Alan Silvestri, the point I was trying to make is that I simply prefer that web design style over the modern scroll format which I know is definitely more suited towards mobile platforms. The template I'm working with is kind of a hybrid between the two, mostly scroll based however. A reason for my preference is my appreciation of skeuomorphism compared to the flat UI design incorporated in most scroll based templates.

@Al Maurice Interesting point concerning accessibility. I'll have to look into it, I assume Wix already takes care of that but I may be wrong.

@telecode101 I understand your point. Although the reason for my little website would be to have a neat space where anyone is able to capture an accurate image of my musical universe let's say. More like a presentation, I understand that project directors don't search for composers the same way they search local restaurants haha

@JohnG Thank you for the insight, interesting read. Currently I'm using some mostly black and white background images because I simply love visual art, even though I don't practice it. So far in terms of typography and the one image of myself it's quite welcoming and doesn't have that corporate feel to it (at least I believe so). In any case I started off of a music web template they already had so I guess they figured out most of these stuff. I don't have a pretty looking working environment as you do though haha, just a salt lamp and a golden french horn ornament to showcase.

@Rory I'm also slowly building my instagram page, and I already have a Linkedin page. Honestly out of them all I found Linkedin to be the most useful where I actually interacted with professionals in my domain. I don't like Facebook, I wonder if people find it worth the time to also build a FB page? I was just trying to suffice to a YT channel, Instagram, Linkedin and Soundcloud.

@NoOneKnowsAnything I understand, in any case what I'm working on is super simple like what you described. Only the necessary stuff, something like John's website.

Cheers


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## JohnG (Jul 12, 2020)

Rasoul Morteza said:


> a salt lamp and a golden french horn ornament



With that, ^^ you're on your way to being a working professional.


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## classified_the_x (Jul 12, 2020)

sincerely, just go Wordpress. Wix has a ton of limitations that will somehow bottleneck you in the future... go for a basic Wordpress setup, there are free ones out there. then look at a provider like Cloudways, Vultr or similar, website will be faster and no future headaches


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## Polkasound (Jul 12, 2020)

kmaster said:


> @Polkasound ’s core audience is, shall we say, older people, and they likely don’t care if he has a site, or what it looks like if he does.



You're right about the older audience, but there's more to it than that. The older people care about how the site looks to the extent that it needs to be easy to read and easy to navigate. But I also have to make my website attractive for venues that want to hire my band, as well people of all ages who want to learn more about my non-polka music. For this reason, I really need to update the tools I use to design my site.

Since I work in entertainment, what I _really_ ought to be doing is using social media like everyone else, but I'm one of those rare people who reads the privacy policies and just can't agree to them.


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## jononotbono (Jul 12, 2020)

I created my website using Wix. Decided one day I was gonna make it myself and took a few days to figure it out. I'm definitely glad I have a website. I got my job in NY through it. Actually, I got the job essentially through a YouTube video I made but my contact details are on my website so it's important to have one. I would say I don't get much work through my website but it's one of these things. When you are talking with someone, it's nice to have an online home that you can point people to.

Here's a link if you wanna check it out. I need to update it actually. Thanks for the reminder. Wix is great...

www.jononotbono.com


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## GNP (Jul 12, 2020)

One of the great joys about having your own website, is that it feels alot more "exclusive" and personal than looking at social media, without all the annoying ads. Web design still offers alot more than just social media platforms. But I think that's more like dinosaur thinking like mine.


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## Rasoul Morteza (Jul 12, 2020)

@GNP I don't think that's dinosaur thinking and I fully agree!

@jononotbono Great read, and your website looks good, keep it up!


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## Kent (Jul 12, 2020)

Polkasound said:


> You're right about the older audience, but there's more to it than that. The older people care about how the site looks to the extent that it needs to be easy to read and easy to navigate. But I also have to make my website attractive for venues that want to hire my band, as well people of all ages who want to learn more about my non-polka music. For this reason, I really need to update the tools I use to design my site.
> 
> Since I work in entertainment, what I _really_ ought to be doing is using social media like everyone else, but I'm one of those rare people who reads the privacy policies and just can't agree to them.


Yeah, I was simplifying things. Sorry if I simplified too far!


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 12, 2020)

IMHO, it's very important to have a website, even by today's standards. I'd say at least 90% of my work over the years has come from a result of having an official website. The only bites I get from social media are low budget film directors, or people just wanting music on a shoestring budget. I highly recommend Wix; I was on Godaddy for many years, but their website builder has gotten worse for artists (eliminated their music player, etc), and you’re forced to use SoundCloud. And if you watch the sales, you can get 50% off a yearly hosting plan with Wix. I recently paid around $120 for a year....including a domain name. Just make your site easy to navigate, easy to read, yet cool and sleek.


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 12, 2020)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> IMHO, it's very important to have a website, even by today's standards. I'd say at least 90% of my work over the years has come from a result of having an official website. The only bites I get from social media are low budget film directors, or people just wanting music on a shoestring budget. I highly recommend Wix; I was on Godaddy for many years, but their website builder has gotten worse for artists (eliminated their music player, etc), and you’re forced to use SoundCloud. And if you watch the sales, you can get 50% off a yearly hosting plan with Wix. I recently paid around $120 for a year....including a domain name. Just make your site easy to navigate, easy to read, yet cool and sleek.


0% of my work comes from having a website, so IMHO a composer website is meaningless.


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## JohnG (Jul 12, 2020)

@jononotbono I'm not sure your website has enough personality. You should shuck off those inhibitions -- let go!


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 12, 2020)

NoOneKnowsAnything said:


> 0% of my work comes from having a website, so IMHO a composer website is meaningless.



Fair enough, just sharing my experience. Just out of curiosity, where do you showcase your music portfolio for prospective clients?


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> Fair enough, just sharing my experience. Just out of curiosity, where do you showcase your music portfolio for prospective clients?


Wasn’t trying to say your site does not matter as clearly your website is helping you 🍾 I do think about taking my site down since it just doesn’t bring me any work so why have it.


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## JohnG (Jul 13, 2020)

NoOneKnowsAnything said:


> Wasn’t trying to say your site does not matter as clearly your website is helping you 🍾 I do think about taking my site down since it just doesn’t bring me any work so why have it.



I think having a website matters to potential jobs -- quite a bit, actually. It gives them a chance to scrutinize your work (and, to some extent, you) before taking the next step. If you want to keep moving to "the next level," I think a website can give some reassurance that you know what you are doing, that you can handle pressure, and the range of sophistication (or lack thereof) you can exhibit.

For one-off or adverts or something, sure we can get hired off a 'cool track.' But if you're being considered for a series or a little bigger budget movie, they are making a big commitment to you and they need comfort that you can handle it -- you won't disappear or get drunk and fail to deliver. 

I mean, I'm sure you wouldn't, but they don't know that!

They risk a lot when they hire someone new unless somehow they don't have a very short deadline. Which never happens. Posting a website can allay some natural concerns that they might have.

Even James Newton Howard has a website and he's a musical genius who's scored major films for decades.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 13, 2020)

NoOneKnowsAnything said:


> Wasn’t trying to say your site does not matter as clearly your website is helping you 🍾 I do think about taking my site down since it just doesn’t bring me any work so why have it.



But like I asked....where do you showcase your music, reel, credits, etc? I’m just curious how you operate and generate business without a website.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 13, 2020)

JohnG said:


> They risk a lot when they hire someone new unless somehow they don't have a very short deadline. Which never happens. Posting a website can allay some natural concerns that they might have.



There’s some truth to this, as I have been told (by professionals) that if a composer doesn’t have an official website, they are scratched from the list. I think it just adds an extra layer of credibility.


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## Brasart (Jul 13, 2020)

I made my website using Wix too, although Squarespace is really looking alluring to me, I don't have the patience to redo everything (yet).
Not a big fan of Wix's support, my experiences have all been painfully slow and sometimes pretty dumb; in one case my Wix contact kept changing at every follow-up mail, which meant I had to re-explain again 5 or 6 times in a row!

I also think websites are an absolute must to get jobs, at least in games and animation.
You'll always look less professional - and so, less appealing - when sending a soundcloud reel (ugh), a youtube one or whatever else similar to those next to someone sending in their website.

It's not so much wishful thinking about someone miraculously finding your website through the internet, but more about the best way you can present your craft/reel and look employable.

Also it's less useful to me when doing ads, podcast & general audio stuff I send my website as a side-note but usually will send a wetransfer/drive .zip containing a compilation of relevant past works.


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## synthesizerwriter (Jul 13, 2020)

But if it was a virtual salt lamp and a golden French horn plug-in...


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> But like I asked....where do you showcase your music, reel, credits, etc? I’m just curious how you operate and generate business without a website.


Either Dropbox or a private SoundCloud page. Credits are on IMDbPro or I will email a resume or bio. I have only gotten work with people I know or developed relationships with. I’ve never gotten work thru the web. I’d be surprised if any composer got hired by a major Hollywood studio for a major film or tv project because of their website.


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## JohnG (Jul 13, 2020)

NoOneKnowsAnything said:


> I’d be surprised if any composer got hired by a major Hollywood studio for a major film or tv project because of their website.



Nobody is saying that "a major Hollywood studio" is going to hire you _because_ of a website. What I (and others) are arguing is different -- that a website is part of the process of scrutinizing composers for any project that has a decent budget. I don't know you so maybe you already know all this?

And by 'decent,' you have to include just about anything!

People really care when they've put together a creative project -- either they care creatively or financially or, usually, both. If there's enough money so that any of us would be excited to do it, they will get 10,000 submissions a week if they let it drop that they're looking for a composer. Even _free_ projects will garner 10,000 submissions if they let it out.

*How Many Can Torpedo You?*

To get a gig that offers enough money for an orchestra, the number of people who have to sign off is sometimes staggering. It's not just the director; it can be 30 people, any one of whom has the power or influence to block you, even if each one of those individuals can't approve you unilaterally.

Even if the initial contact is a referral from "people I know," you still have to thread through innumerable gateways to get interviewed, much less hired. It's amazing who gets input on the music, just amazing. I once had to rewrite a cue because the editor's girlfriend said "I don't know" when asked her opinion of a cue. She wasn't even in the movie business, but she had just popped in to meet the editor for lunch, and was strikingly beautiful, so the producer wanted to talk to her.

The website offers not only the decision-makers but all their team a chance to see what they think. I'm sure you know how many people work on just a short student film, let alone a TV show or movie, no matter what the budget.

When it comes to music, everybody has an opinion.


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## synthesizerwriter (Jul 13, 2020)

I suspect that this all boils down to 'visibility'. If someone wants to find out about you for due diligence, curiosity, provenance, research, or any other opinion-forming process, then they will look you up on whatever medium is available to them. To mis-quote: _If you aren't visible, do you exist?_


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 13, 2020)

NoOneKnowsAnything said:


> Either Dropbox or a private SoundCloud page. Credits are on IMDbPro or I will email a resume or bio. I have only gotten work with people I know or developed relationships with. I’ve never gotten work thru the web. I’d be surprised if any composer got hired by a major Hollywood studio for a major film or tv project because of their website.



I'm not looking to get hired by a major Hollywood studio, I just want to maintain my longterm relationships in the business, and meet potential new clients along the way. Myself and colleagues have found our websites invaluable in that regard. If your scenario works, then that is great, and that's what counts. Regarding Soundcloud though, it's a dying platform. I know firsthand that many directors won't even check out my Soundcloud page anymore, they specifically request streaming links from my website.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 13, 2020)

synthesizerwriter said:


> I suspect that this all boils down to 'visibility'. If someone wants to find out about you for due diligence, curiosity, provenance, research, or any other opinion-forming process, then they will look you up on whatever medium is available to them. To mis-quote: _If you aren't visible, do you exist?_



This! I have been contacted (via my website) many times from just from a Google search.


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## synthesizerwriter (Jul 13, 2020)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> Regarding Soundcloud though, it's a dying platform.


My impression is that SoundCloud has taken a long time to get where it is now. That reverb tail is very long... and with startups sometimes they are just about to segue to a different song...


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## Pablocrespo (Jul 13, 2020)

Just my .50cents, one of my biggest projects (which led my to go to Budapest to record an orchestra) came from a director finding my website in Google and sending in a mail, I replied and didn´t think it would go anywhere and boom.

Anything can happen, what do you got to loose? 

Don´t listen to nay sayers, go for it if you think it will be useful...I think it´s better to have one (even a very simple one) to have some potential client looking for you and not finding anything. 

When a potential client approaches me, I always go an look for their website, if there isn´t any, I tend to be more suspicious.


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

JohnG said:


> Nobody is saying that "a major Hollywood studio" is going to hire you _because_ of a website. What I (and others) are arguing is different -- that a website is part of the process of scrutinizing composers for any project that has a decent budget. I don't know you so maybe you already know all this?
> 
> And by 'decent,' you have to include just about anything!
> 
> ...


I don’t disagree with you in a general sense, John, but in the end I don’t think it matters at all if Mike Post, Carter Burwell, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, John Williams and others had a website. Their credits, agents and managers do all the selling they need. I didn’t have a website in the 1990s so when I got hired the website clearly was irrelevant. 

I know things have changed since then and I think it’s fine to have a small site, John, as I do, but I never once heard anyone ever mention my site when I got a gig or even ask me for a link to my site. Is it possible people are looking at my site unbeknownst to me, sure? But in my career (as I can only speak of my experience) it feels like it means nothing. Does it play a bigger importance in another composer’s career, it very well could. But someone can see my IMDbPro and LinkedIn pages if they want to read about me then listen to my music on SoundCloud. 

Does a composer really need more than that to get the gig? I don’t think so IMHO, but does it play some smaller role in getting a gig in 2020, perhaps. I still think if I took down my site it would not change anything, and I actually would like to get rid of my presence on the web completely at some point. My personal belief is the less you give them the more they want you. So I’ve learned in life for example when one writes an email to say as little as possible. The longer the email the more desperate they will think you are.


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> I'm not looking to get hired by a major Hollywood studio, I just want to maintain my longterm relationships in the business, and meet potential new clients along the way. Myself and colleagues have found our websites invaluable in that regard. If your scenario works, then that is great, and that's what counts. Regarding Soundcloud though, it's a dying platform. I know firsthand that many directors won't even check out my Soundcloud page anymore, they specifically request streaming links from my website.


I hear ya, Jeremy. If it is working for you that’s good. I’ve never been asked for my website link or to stream my music from my site. Wish you all the best.


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## JohnG (Jul 13, 2020)

A lot of thoughtful experience there ^^, thanks @NoOneKnowsAnything

Probably would be interesting to have a broader discussion about getting hired for those who are _not_ JNH, HZ, JW etc. It was actually somewhat surprising to me to discover how many very established composers bother having a website.

My agent gets me almost all my work anyway, but I'm aware that the process behind the scenes involves so many people. Maybe the website helps? Maybe its absence would do harm? Maybe it hurts, affording someone who can shoot me down a chance to attack because they don't like the site or something on it? Maybe they're advocating for a spouse (or an ex-spouse -- that happened to me once; how's the guy going to pay child support without a job)? Who knows.

I seem to get hired (or not) for totally arbitrary reasons, which have much more to do with "being able to work together" (via a referral, as you mentioned), by contrast with some musically or artistically robust meeting of the minds. Every once in a while it's because they really like something I wrote. Which I would consider "not arbitrary."


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## Brasart (Jul 13, 2020)

NoOneKnowsAnything said:


> I don’t disagree with you in a general sense, John, but in the end I don’t think it matters at all if Mike Post, Carter Burwell, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, John Williams and others had a website. Their credits, agents and managers do all the selling they need. I didn’t have a website in the 1990s so when I got hired the website clearly was irrelevant.
> 
> I know things have changed since then and I think it’s fine to have a small site, John, as I do, but I never once heard anyone ever mention my site when I got a gig or even ask me for a link to my site. Is it possible people are looking at my site unbeknownst to me, sure? But in my career (as I can only speak of my experience) it feels like it means nothing. Does it play a bigger importance in another composer’s career, it very well could. But someone can see my IMDbPro and LinkedIn pages if they want to read about me then listen to my music on SoundCloud.
> 
> Does a composer really need more than that to get the gig? I don’t think so IMHO, but does it play some smaller role in getting a gig in 2020, perhaps. I still think if I took down my site it would not change anything, and I actually would like to get rid of my presence on the web completely at some point. My personal belief is the less you give them the more they want you. So I’ve learned in life for example when one writes an email to say as little as possible. The longer the email the more desperate they will think you are.



But of course it doesn't matter if the top 0,01% have a website or not, in any creative field, but that's not who we are so it's not an argument at all.

To be honest, in my field, sending a soundcloud link means you're not getting the job because the person reviewing it won't be even clicking to see it — same goes for a direct youtube link.

When you're competing against other composers - and we're almost always are - you need to look and sound the most competent you can, so how you display your work is almost as important as what your work is, if not more!
Having a (good) website shows you're serious, ready, professional. It centralizes all the information about you in one place and gives a display of who you are, and how reliable you look like.

When recruiters/directors/whoever are going through your work, they don't have all day long; they have *5min*, *maybe 10*, before they leave and go to the next website. You can't expect them to have to look over to THREE or FOUR different sites _(imbd, soundcloud, youtube, linkedin...), _they have nor the will or the patience to do so.

Also, in my field still, having a website that works doesn't mean it gets you jobs directly, it means you get to the pitching part; having none means you don't get past the first selection. I've almost never had to send a resume -- the website is the resume.


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

synthesizerwriter said:


> I suspect that this all boils down to 'visibility'. If someone wants to find out about you for due diligence, curiosity, provenance, research, or any other opinion-forming process, then they will look you up on whatever medium is available to them. To mis-quote: _If you aren't visible, do you exist?_


I just love the word “provenance” 🍾


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

JohnG said:


> A lot of thoughtful experience there ^^, thanks @NoOneKnowsAnything
> 
> Probably would be interesting to have a broader discussion about getting hired for those who are _not_ JNH, HZ, JW etc. It was actually somewhat surprising to me to discover how many very established composers bother having a website.
> 
> ...


I think for a composer who is starting out or middle of their career it can’t hurt to have a site. I built my website with hopes of it bringing me work, that has never happened, for me. But I think everyone’s perspective is absolutely valid here in this discussion.


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

Brasart said:


> But of course it doesn't matter if the top 0,01% have a website or not, in any creative field, but that's not who we are so it's not an argument at all.
> 
> To be honest, in my field, sending a soundcloud link means you're not getting the job because the person reviewing it won't be even clicking to see it — same goes for a direct youtube link.
> 
> ...


My guess is regarding what you said, if it’s a major film or tv project what a composer needs much more than a website is a top agent or manager if you really want to be considered.


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## Daryl (Jul 13, 2020)

Where a Website, even if not public, is handy is when someone wants a targeted showreel. Then it's easy to send a link to a back page with a specifically crafted reel.

As far as a Website, it has been useful when people need to get in touch with me, and they don't have my email address. However, my company Websites have been more use in this regard than the personal one.


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## ClaudioT (Jul 13, 2020)

Pablocrespo said:


> I did it myself with wordpress and bought a template (I had some code ironed but was just a couple of hours of someone who works with code)
> 
> https://www.pablocrespo.com.ar/en



Hi, Pablo. Very nice website!
May I ask you what theme have you used?
I’m working on my website too. I bought the X theme, but I find it to have too many options and customizations. I’d like something simpler.

Claudio


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

Brasart said:


> But of course it doesn't matter if the top 0,01% have a website or not, in any creative field, but that's not who we are so it's not an argument at all.
> 
> To be honest, in my field, sending a soundcloud link means you're not getting the job because the person reviewing it won't be even clicking to see it — same goes for a direct youtube link.
> 
> ...


Everyone’s experience is valid for them, it may or may not work for other people. Having a website won’t probably hurt your career but I just don’t think it will be the reason someone gets hired for a major project.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 13, 2020)

NoOneKnowsAnything said:


> Everyone’s experience is valid for them, it may or may not work for other people. Having a website won’t probably hurt your career but I just don’t think it will be the reason someone gets hired for a major project.



For what it’s worth, my best gig was a direct result of a director checking out my website. I have been working nationally with this client for ten years now.


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> For what it’s worth, my best gig was a direct result of a director checking out my website. I have been working nationally with this client for ten years now.


Right on, Jeremy 🍾🍀


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 13, 2020)

Rasoul Morteza said:


> Thank you for the feedbacks everyone, much appreciated.
> 
> @kmaster You reminded me to pay extra attention to the mobile layout of my site. Wix offers two separate outputs (desktop vs mobile) where you can edit each one individually without impacting the other. As to Alan Silvestri, the point I was trying to make is that I simply prefer that web design style over the modern scroll format which I know is definitely more suited towards mobile platforms. The template I'm working with is kind of a hybrid between the two, mostly scroll based however. A reason for my preference is my appreciation of skeuomorphism compared to the flat UI design incorporated in most scroll based templates.
> 
> ...


It feels misleadingly good once you have a website. Then as time passes, does this site really bring you business? Is it really part of the equation on why you get hired? For me the answer seems to be no. Others may have more luck in this regard.


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## Pablocrespo (Jul 13, 2020)

ClaudioT said:


> Hi, Pablo. Very nice website!
> May I ask you what theme have you used?
> I’m working on my website too. I bought the X theme, but I find it to have too many options and customizations. I’d like something simpler.
> 
> Claudio


Hi Claudio, it´s Plox pro, it has a lot of customization options and elementor lets you change almost anything










Phlox Pro - Elementor MultiPurpose WordPress Theme


Best Elementor theme on the market Phlox Pro, Elementor Ultimate Multipurpose WordPress theme for all type of websites! Phlox is the best Elementor multipurpo...




themeforest.net





glad you liked it!


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## mikeh-375 (Jul 14, 2020)

Having just re-vamped my sites look I can recommend using Rapid Weaver to build a site. It's so easy to use and many plug-ins are available.
btw, I hope the OP doesn't mind an off-axis question...I make mp4's with a score on them but am having real trouble getting the resolution right. As a result, the scores are not clear, anybody got any tips on what I can use. At present I just use iMovie on a mac and import pdf's of scores to edit to the track ...thanks


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## Akarin (Jul 14, 2020)

I think that the goal is to make it easy for someone to contact you and see who you are quickly. I just made a one-pager that I use as a hub:

- contact
- one paragraph intro
- few cues examples
- 2 video examples 
- links to SC, YT, FB, ...
...nothing else.

I pondered for a long time if I should display my rate and finally opted not to.









Composer for Media | Nicolas Schuele


Custom music to accompany your film, game, trailer or commercial media.




nicolas-schuele.com


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## classified_the_x (Jul 15, 2020)

Brasart said:


> But of course it doesn't matter if the top 0,01% have a website or not, in any creative field, but that's not who we are so it's not an argument at all.
> 
> To be honest, in my field, sending a soundcloud link means you're not getting the job because the person reviewing it won't be even clicking to see it — same goes for a direct youtube link.
> 
> ...



I think you're right, I've been having no listens on my Soundcloud links. Luckily I'm doing a website too... one question though, when you send music links from your own website, you send links to individual songs or to a page with all the songs? Before I set it up


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## Brasart (Jul 15, 2020)

classified_the_x said:


> I think you're right, I've been having no listens on my Soundcloud links. Luckily I'm doing a website too... one question though, when you send music links from your own website, you send links to individual songs or to a page with all the songs? Before I set it up



It depends on what you think is best; personally I use HOME/SHOWREELS/PORTFOLIO, "Portfolio" being a single page that includes all the music I want to be displayed, "Showreels" being a page with video showreels.
I think having only one page of playable music is best for ease-of-use, but if you think having separate pages is best for you then go for it!
And also when linking to your site you can simply say _"here is my portfolio, but I think tracks from "x" projects would fit your needs the most"._


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## classified_the_x (Jul 15, 2020)

Brasart said:


> It depends on what you think is best; personally I use HOME/SHOWREELS/PORTFOLIO, "Portfolio" being a single page that includes all the music I want to be displayed, "Showreels" being a page with video showreels.
> I think having only one page of playable music is best for ease-of-use, but if you think having separate pages is best for you then go for it!
> And also when linking to your site you can simply say _"here is my portfolio, but I think tracks from "x" projects would fit your needs the most"._



thank you for the guidelines... I might find a player that provides individual links to tracks but your suggestions are good. 

I had a good response when I had to remove some duplicate tracks off Soundcloud so I guess the site is still pretty active and functioning but IMO the brand is a bit worn out maybe due to bad mixes and low quality songs and ppl's memories from it so I think some music professionals might be skipping it nowadays.


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## Navid Lancaster (Jul 15, 2020)

Had my website for a few years and it was going well ....... then the server crashed. Bummer. Luckily I backup my website every time I make an adjustment to it so I'm rebuilding at the moment.


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