OK, after running this joint for 10 years, first out of a basement, then out of a garage, and finally in its own purpose built building, I've pretty much decided that I need to have a web presence (though I really don't know why...). And now that I've made that momentous decision, I don't know what the next step should be.

Part of the reason I've hesitated for so long is that my main accounts (that is, the ones who pay the bills every month) don't care about it. Another reason is that I haven't really thought much about a name for the studio. My company is Digital Media Associates, Inc. but that sucks as a studio name. Especially since I treat the joint as an analog studio that happens to store and play back the audio on hard drives or digital tape machines. (Pro Tools Mix or Tascam DTRS machines, respectively).

Anyway, I think I've come up with a studio name that fits one aspect of the way I work (I'm still pissed at Jules - I would love to have called my place "The Library" because of the walls of books, but he's already got it...) and has a domain name available. So what do I next?

How do I find the appropriate web hosting site? Should I have a local company do it, or at a large company like Earthlink so that I have a local number for dial-up access in most cities? Or should I find an international site, to avoid any potential conflicts with US laws? (No, I don't plan on doing that, but they're making some very strange laws in the US these days...)

I don't really want to design a website myself (having neither the time nor any appreciable talent for that sort of thing), so how much does that sort of thing cost?

It may be that all I'll want to do, at least for a while, is route my e-mail through the server. But that leads to the question of what should I have on a web site? Studio pictures, I imagine, but what about things like the reviews and articles I've done for various magazines? Would anyone care about that sort of thing? Of course, there's a fine line between clever and stupid, just like there's a fine line between making what has been essentially a private use facility sound like Avater just developed major competition and making the room seem like it has just barely outgrown the bedroom...

All I really know is that I have no intention of using the phrase 'State Of The Art" anywhere on the site, much less when talking about the Pro Tools rig...

Anyboy have any siggestions?

Meg Lee Chin did my site & set up gearslutz for me. See her own site here http://www.megleechin.com

I imagine what you need is a site you could direct folks to:

save time by imparting tips from parking to back line available to ????
check your credits
See your gear
How to find you (perhaps pasword protected)
Act as a desirable 'vanity window' for the acts you have already recorded?
Perhaps a viewable studio diary? (just thinking aloud here)
Simply because NOT having a website these days is weird!
Personal profile raising.

What a web designer traditionaly needs from you is....

Content and LOTS of it - photos & audio & text

Some ideas to go on (perhaps cribed other sites you like the look of)

They are not traditionaly in charge of text content, you have to create that, but then you write for music mags so....

Hope that helps some...

Seriously,

Check out Gir/illa Interactive. She has done sites for me as well as many bands, and other businesses. She's inexpensive and does great work!

She does design as well as hosting. If nothing else, I know she'd be happy just to offer possible suggestions to your general questions.

Her site is www.girillainteractive.net

Stuff she has done for me:
http://www.heylowsoundsystem.net/dam...mmitheads.html
http://www.heylowsoundsystem.net


Hope this helps,

heylow

Hosting? Try the web hosting forum at http://www.webhostingtalk.com/ Lot of "best host" threads there. Ventures Online gets my vote. Great people to deal with. Never had any problems.

Website? I do graphic work on the side, and I have a good deal of experience with straight htm/javascript, and basic flash. I'd be happy to contribute what I can, no charge. PM me if you're interested.

Cheers,
dingo

As my name suggests, I am currently a student at MTSU in Murfreesboro. I have been lurking in this forum for the past month and this thread convinced me to register.

I am a recording industry major at MTSU. However I have done lots of web design in the past. While school is not in session, I do design work for the state of Illinois (where I am originally from). I work in HTML and Flash on a regular basis, as well as high tech media (webcams, streaming etc). In addition to working for the state, I have taken on several contracts in web design.

I fully agree with everything that Jules said, Content is King! For a standard HTML site I charge between $1000 and $1500. For a flash site you can expect to pay $3000...but keep in mind a flash site will also have a HTML site attached to it for people with low bandwith. Also keep in mind that a flash site will take at least 150 hours to fully design.

As for hosting, I typically use Cityscape communications which is based out of Springfield IL. The folks at Cityscape charge $400 a year to host your site. In addition there is a $100 fee to register your domain name for the first two years. There is an additional fee for an email box, but it is certainly less than you would pay for AOL.

This is by no means a promotion for myself. I thought I would explain my past experience, along with what I would typically charge for this type of project. If you would like any more info, feel free two track me down on this forum or email me.

Thanks,

Andrew Schmidt
[email protected]

or, you could contact Alphajerk right here on these boards...... he did the World Studio Group site, and I hear is really good.. plus he is in the same other line of work...

Sorry, kind of late to this one.

Lots of good suggestions here.

First, you have to decide what you would like the site to do for you and your business, clients, ect.
Informative and entertaining are two word that come to mind.

In the long run a website is basically a long form advertisement, so images, articles, musings, current news, gearslut confessions, are all good for interest grabbing.

I don't feel that any website will drive business to your door on its own, but it can help validate your rooms existience to the curious and uninitiated, as well as serve as an extensive online brochure.

You wanted suggestions for a name....

Since 'The Library' is taken by fearless leader...
How about "The Parlor"?
It has an old school feel to it and some class.
You could spell it Parlour for a continental vibe...
But I like Parlor, as it conjures up Old West, Gunsmoke, Miss Kitty's Parlor sort of imagery, at least to me.

Wasn't it in the the Parlor where many great piano players/composers developed in the days of the brothel?
A romantic image.

enough of this free ascociation ramble...

Good Luck!

dave, feel free to give me a call about this. i can go over the I/O with you so you can figure out if you need a web presence or not. from what you are stating in your original post, if the clients dont care and you dont know why, im not fully sure that you need to spend [what could add up] to a good amount of money. fortunately there ARE options that arent much money but will at least give you an URL to send new potential clients to.



barrett
828.670.9317

I like it, but there's already a room in Nashville called "The Parlor" - either Sound Stage or Emerald owns it. They'd probably be a little pissed if I tried to use it...

Old school house

One room school house

Kaboose

Reading room

Book em Danno (good if you lived on Hawaii)

Little studio on the prarie

The Den

...my last studio was The Ranch..not in use anymore...before it was The Farm....now its The Clubhouse....not related to mickey and friends...simply cause we are surrounded by a golf course...literally...surrounded...
The Bookworm??

The Last Page ?

The Table Of Contents?

The Index Studio and Emporium ??

Elvis' Last Stand ?...or would that be the loo??

too much bluegrass tooodayyy

Here are a few names that fell out of my head. I'll clean up the mess later.

"Picky, Picky"
"Boom Bap"
"Live Recording"
"Reading Room"
"Shhh! Recording"
"Ande Juana"
"Take One"
"Huh, What?"
"Lip Reader"
"Round Sound"
"No Website"
"Up Front & Personal"

I agree with alphajerk on this one. If your clients don't care that you don't have a website, then why bother with the expense. The only reason is to attract new bussiness. I've found that in the recording industry any new clients that you might get are based on your rep...not your URL. Take all of the factors into consideration, and then decide what is best for your bussiness.

Re website, - this was in my in box this morning....

-------------------------------------

Hi Julian, it's been a while, you probably don't remember us. (edited/private), the band you watched play at The Dublin Castle, way back in May. This reply is not late due to idelness or anything, we've just had to put a few things on hold the past few months. Well, I did as you suggested, I checked out you background on your website. I was amazed at the variety in your career, not to mention impressed. At the time you talked about maybe getting a copy of our demo. If you're still interested just send a quick email with a forwarding address back to this email address. Incidently, we now have a new website with a few new songs and pictures etc. It can be found at (edited/private).com. At the moment we are working on about five or six new songs, hoping to record in the later part of this year. Thanks for your time,

Simon. (edited/private)

-----------------------------------

I find a website REAL usefull. I am glad that band got back in touch, they have potential.

Right - I need a better class of clients, and since this is part and parcel of developing a business identity (one step on the way to finding a better class of clients), I figure that I should go ahead and do it.

No doubt, but keep in mind that for at least three quarters of the rooms in town (and 90% of the rooms inthe US), the 'recording industry' doesn't pay the bills. Custom records, demos, corporate work, jingles, etc., are what keeps most studios in business. I have no problem with that - I'd rather have steady work than high profile work any day. And those guys are interested is seeing what the studio has to offer.

Yeah, that's the hard part - taking all of the factors into consideration...

Well, I've decided on a name - the studio will be called Java Jive. It fits on several levels, not the least of which is that I'm working on my third pot of coffee of the day, and it's not lunch time yet. It also has a bit of an old fashioned air about it - not only because most folks don't call coffee 'java' anymore, and because of the old song that starts:

I like coffee, I like tea
I like the java jive and it likes me...

And the 'old fashioned air' is a good thing - I built the room to accomodate full band tracking sessions - I've had 9 piece bands in the room (without using the iso booths), and that's the sort of work I enjoy doing most.

Feel free to tell me that it's a stupid name, or that it's a great name. In either case, it's a done deal, and I'm going to have another cuppa joe...

If it is a done deal, then....

(with enthusiasm) Thats a great name!

Just Remember that Java is a pretty well known internet scripting language and might cause some confusion.

For a advert clientel, try a name they can relate to:

Turnaround Sound
Deadline Daredevils
Sound 4 Sale
The Spot
Bumpers and Doughnuts and Spots (Oh My!)
Ready Yesterday
On Time
Pay Me Now
Royalty Free
Batteries Included
Good, Fast, Cheap (Pick 2)

....hey dave...look at your last post...

"another cuppa joe"



brilliant

And already taken, dammit. by a coffee shop of all things. (I wanted a domain name as well.) But maybe I'll keep it around as a production company name or publishing company.

Thanks! It's the correct answer. I've learned to ask, when people play me their latest project, if I'm hearing the final mix. If so, then it's great!

That's right, isn't it? Well, if the logo I'm discussing with Lyle Caldwell works out, the phrase 'a recording studio' will be part of the logo. That should be obvious to all but the hard core tech heads...

Ooh - lots of good ideas there! Actually I told a client the other week the last one, and told him that he had apparently picked fast and cheap. He didn't argue...

Precisely, we are on the same page of the studio etiquette manual. *wink*

This link was posted on the high end forum, but since it relates to this thread, I moved my reply here.

This is a cool looking facility, and terrible web site (to me at least). It reads as though it was written by a sleazy used car dealer. I would have thought that advertising for facilities like that need to be understated...

I dont know!, strikes me a bit like, if Bridgit Bardot has a **** website wouldnt you still visit it?

I agree totaly, tacky but oh my god what a place (I bet they have no gear of their own there in reality)

that is the product of amateur "design" [i use that word loosely].... and probably lack of a proper budget to do it right.

ever go visit API's website? his ****ing horrible. i even contacted them once to "fix" it. definately doesnt equal their products in taste.

from the text in the site:

Ditka, Jordan, All sorts of guys names Mike.. oh, wait, you meant Mics...

bad typo for a studio..

I agree with Jules, looks like rental city..

still cool tho

Yeah, it's pretty bad... But Jules' observation that everything is an added cost (Oh - you want lights? That's an extra $100 per day. Now will you be needing toilets? What about air conditioning?) is fairly well hidden, and they probably wanted that...

not really. good design there are no hidden costs. the costs are derived from functionality of the site. what do you want it to do? track visitors? host a BB? sell stuff? stream stuff? and on and on. design on the other hand is in the vision of the person creating the site. obviously these places had some hack put their sites together... i guess they want to put much into the site. good design does cost more money [because if youre good, you can charge more] its kinda like doing audio... its not like the reverbs are extra, and sure you can get a recording done cheap but it doesnt mean its going to be very good.

Oh, no - I was talking about the studio having all of those added costs - not the web site design. I've already made it plain that I don't know a damn thing about web site design, but I have a long relationship with language. Here's the paragraph that caught my eye
Begin quote:
WE HAVE IT ALL! Vintage Neve control board w full automation, fully equipped racks, Studer A-800 MK III 2, Apogees (AD-8000s), big Pro Tools rigs, Myteck Private Qs, best vintage mikes, Neuman M-50 & U-67, AKG C12 & C24, Closed circut TV, Massive PA systems for Drum sounds you can't believe, etc.etc. You pay for only the latest "state of the art" equipment you will need and use, at the very lowest prices. This is due to our unique alliance and association with one of the largest electronic and recording equipment suppliers in the business. Everyone says "You can't get a studio equipped like this, with great living accomodations, incredible acoustics at anywhere near this price, let alone the wonderful vibe at Morning View Studios".

End quote


I love the last line, because, two sentences earlier they say that "You pay for only the latest "state of the art" equipment you will need and use, at the very lowest prices". So the last sentence of the paragraph says, "Everyone says you can't get that 'at anywhere near this price', and they're right - you have to pay extra...

I couldn't find any referrence to the names of the proprieters, did you?

I like to know with whom I am dealing with.

(although no one knows who I really am here so that is a bit hipocritical of me)

my bad dave... there are a lot of "hidden" costs in websites [but not the design part] which is what threw me.

alright loudist, i never wondered who you actually were until that last post dammit./