There's a ton going on at Section 101 that we are super excited about! Part of our excitement is a result of the of the amazing artists we're working with - BUSH, My Glorious Mess, Duran Duran, Diane Birch, Yoga Gives, Rube Goldberg Estate, etc. It's always really exciting to be a part of the launch of a new website, and for us, it never gets dull. You may have noticed we posted news that we launched a beautiful new website for the fantastically talented Rachael Yamagata at www.rachaelyamagata.com. Which brings me to our very next Blog topic - Creative.

There's so much that goes in to launching as an artist (any type of artist, really) - and something that's vitally important, but sometimes overlooked, is Website Creative. In other words, the visual representation of who you are.

If you're an avid Section 101 Blog reader, you may remember my SXSW Post from last April. I had just come back from Austin, where my fellow panelists and I had provided a list of suggested "DO's and DON'Ts" for launching your own site. I re-printed them in my blog, and one of the DO's was to take risks, a statement I still fully stand by. Trying something new lets you know what does and doesn't resonate with your fans. For example, instead of investing in the ‘studio-with-drape-backdrop-and-professional-photographer-that-cost-an-arm-and-a-leg,' you may want to take some risks with your creative that feels authentic and real. This is what Rachael did. She shot her album cover herself by taking a photo of herself with her iPhone because it best represented how she was feeling about the album at the present moment. It was a genuine and uncalculated move, and one that paid off; Mashable did a story on the creation of Rachael's album cover: http://on.mash.to/qXStFI.

So you have your album cover - great! What about the look for your site? Yup, the Creative on your website can be different than your album cover, and it's definitely something to consider. Your cover represents the collection of music you're presenting at that very moment, but does it represent your entire career? Using Rachael as an ongoing example, she has had a lot of success as a singer/songwriter, with many of her songs being used on TV and in films. The photo she took on her iPhone is perfect for her latest album, Chesapeake, but it doesn't represent her entire career, so the Creative on her website is different. Many artists, such as CAKE, Junip and the Rolling Stones, have a look that they stick with. THAT becomes representative of who they are. But for others, a cover is a place in time, and you need to think about whether that will represent you historically when people visit your website.

You, as an Artist,  have many things to consider when building your brand, and your Creative is just one important piece of a very big puzzle. We encourage our artists not to make assumptions, and to make sure what people see can translate from print (CD cover) to the web. Having a broader focus may better represent you to the big, broad world.