jestyr
jestyr
Follow

Music on the Internet - How Not to Screw It Up

Posted about 5 years ago
(Oh look, I'm rambling about Depeche Mode again.)Despite having been around for 25 years, Depeche Mode are at the forefront of technological applications for the music biz - which is not to say that they're projecting their music straight into your brain, but at least they've got the right idea.- Almost all of the live shows from their last tour are available for purchase as downloads or on physical media, both music and videos- They have a large "website":http://www.depechemode.com without all the Flash-animation junk of your typical band site; instead, it's stuffed full of actual content.- You can stream or download all of their "music videos":http://archives.depechemode.com/video/music_videos/index.html - if the video has appeared on a commercial DVD release you can download a 30 second clip; otherwise, you can download the whole thing.- You can download all the promotional material (electronic press kits) that go along with each major release: promo videos, interviews, etc etc.It's depressing to see so many major names in music with overblown, useless websites - 95% of them are examples of How Not To Design A Website; they fail every major usability test, they have massive bandwidth overhead for minimal content, and they're almost always largely a waste of time. At least _someone_ is getting it right.
0

Comments (5)

  1. Brett Schieber
    Brett Schieber says Depeche Mode are gods. They are the Beatles of electronic music and are far more influential than most give them credit for. And I agree, their website is equally well done.
    Permalink posted 11/27/2006
  2. Anonymous says Ha... when I first got myspace, some long long time ago, the first band... yes, the first band that I listened to on myspace was... Depeche Mode.
    Permalink posted 11/27/2006
  3. mktackabery
    mktackabery says I feel kind of guilty that I haven't been keeping up with DM for a while. I guess I gave up on them. I used to adore them. I still think Music for the Masses was one of the most ground-breaking electro-pop albums ever, and I still love it. Martin Gore seemed to be such a genius with all his whiz-bang gadgets. They managed to bring all the angst of pop into that very cold electronic space. I thought they were really the first to successfully maintain that vibe over several albums and not subside into one-hit-wonderdom after "People Are People." God, remember the Thompson Twins? But I liked them too. Now you know all my secrets. However, somewhere after Violator I got a bit lost. I used to have that cd box set of all their 12''s from back in the day, is that still out? I had a very sad summer in 94 when I was completely broke and had to live off my music collection - I sold all of my vinyl, cassettes and cds; every single thing had to go. DM was some of the last I parted with, before I finally got a job, thanks be. . . I will have to go check out their website later, not now though, I must get back to work. MOG is taking over my life! jestyr, stop posting for a few hours would ya? Thanks, Michelle
    Permalink posted 11/27/2006
  4. Brett Schieber
    Brett Schieber says I agree. Martin Gore is an amazing songwriter. I especially love "Some Great Reward", "Black Celebration", "Music for the Masses", "Violator", and "Ultra". I think all of those are masterpieces. Sorry to hear that you had to sell all of your cool old music!
    Permalink posted 11/27/2006
  5. Violet Grey
    Violet Grey says I have found in my quest to find a graphic design job that FLASH is the new hot ticket buzzword term for a lot of marketing companies. The problem with a lot of bands is that they are really not that involved with the creation of the elements that surround them in terms of marketing and advertising, and the advertising companies are hooked on mainlining the hot marketing trend is. Yes, FLASH sites are mostly useless wastes of time that are almost impossible to navigate and who's constant, "blinking and flashing and beeping. They're blinking and..." are more annoying then inviting. But this is what they want; everything has to move or make a sound so it draws peoples attention. Yeah, maybe the first time. After that, you just really don't want to deal with it anymore.
    Permalink posted 11/27/2006

Comment on this Post

Login using email and password below.

Forgot Password?

OR login using Facebook Connect

Connect

Don't have an account?
Join MOG. It's Free!

 

© 2006-2012 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved