I would say, probably not. A lot depends on what you’re trying to do, what you are trying to accomplish with an online presence. In my case, I want my own space that I can manipulate in any way I choose. But I’m a nobody for the most part. Who cares if I have my own space or not? I mean, if I’m hoping to create some random musician-related content now and then, all I need is a YouTube channel, right? Maybe an Instagram or TikTok account, and I’m good. I would say, yes.
I Don’t Usaully Visit Other People’s Websites
Most of the people I follow on YouTube do have an associated website that they make available in their about sections; however, I can’t say that I visit anyone’s site all that much. I just don’t. And many of them have really worthwhile material available on their personal websites.
Bandcamp, Spotify, etc. …
Most of what ppl are trying to accomplish with an online presence can be done without their own personally maintained space (like this WordPress website). If you’re a musician wanting to make a living off of your original music (kind of rough these days), there’s Bandcamp (love their stance on AI – ‘NO AI’) for selling directly to your fans – Spotify and other places for streaming, etc.
Better Organization With Your Own Website
You can even create and post updates to your fans/followers on all of these social platforms, so who needs an actual website – No one (really). However, what a website DOES do is allow you to organize things (a little) better, make things easier to find for your visitors, etc.
Another Way to be Found
Having a website, if you really get involved with it, could also possibly provide another method of discovery for you, no matter what your “niche” is. Just publishing written material on occasion over time could (possibly) land someone on your site via a Google (or AI) search… Ya never know.
Repurpose Your Material
Granted, writing content for a website AND producing other material elsewhere can really take up your free time. Some focus only on one platform and repurpose (or re-post) that exact same piece of content on their website, just to maintain a website of their own. Better than nothing, in my opinion. That’s more or less what I do with my YouTube videos (the few that I have so far). I’ll embed the video in the WordPress post and try to go into more detail for anyone who could ever be interested.
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And these posts are all written by me – NO AI. Well, that’s not 100% true all of the time. Let me explain… I’ll use AI for things like gathering the technical specifications of a piece of music gear because that’s really just numbers – no personal, creative thought involved. Of course, I need to verify that data, but still, I don’t think that’s overstepping any creative boundaries when it comes to AI, or getting into questionable copyright territory. I will NOT use it to write the regular, normal part of the post – the meat and potatoes of the post. Any opinions stated on this website are mine. Click to read my AI Disclosure Statement.
‘Till Next Time,
Featured Image: Me in the kitchen practicing more album art that I will never use evidentially…
