Feedback Complete.
RapBeats.net provides beats and instrumentals for independent artists.
Target Audience: Artists
Website URL: https://www.RapBeats.net
No. of Feedback Providers Requested: 1
Feedback sought:
1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see?
2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing?
3) Are you encouraged to license a beat? Can you tell us why (or why not)?
4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service. Compare the two companies. Which on do you prefer? Why?
5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
1. The first thing I noticed about the home page was the stark, contrasting black and white. I would’ve liked to see a dash of color here or there to attract the eyes to the things you want to highlight.
The second thing I noticed was a problem with the navbar text. There’s a coding error that causes the “License Agreement” tab to overlap another tab. This issue disappears when I roll over “License Agreement” but otherwise reappears. (I’m using Firefox 12 and Windows 7, by the way.)
The third thing I noticed was that you display a row of what at first looks like music industry endorsements. But then when I read the fine print (so fine I almost couldn’t read it, in fact), I realized that these weren’t companies that endorse you. They’re companies that “our clients like.” That seemed sort of misleading.
As I continued to scroll down the page, the next thing I noticed was that the layout doesn’t sell your product very well. Currently, you open with the “endorsements” (which really aren’t endorsements) and brief instructions for purchase. Then you display some sample beats, and finally you make your sales pitch. To sell more effectively, you may want to rearrange the layout so that it looks something like this:
A. Head and Logo
B. Image, Slideshow, and/or Video and Intro Text (3-5 main selling points)
C. Sample Beats
You’ll want to try to keep all of that above the fold as much as possible. Below the fold, you can flesh out your sales pitch, or you can leave that for another page. I would move the purchase instructions to your FAQ and eliminate the record label logos unless those labels really do endorse your site.
On a second pass through the home page, your embedded player started playing automatically. You should be aware that it did NOT play automatically when I first landed on the page.
2. I decided to look for a beat. It was easy enough to find your genre categories under the “Genre” tab in the navbar. I chose “Club” for starters. There were only two tracks to choose from, which makes sense since your site is new, but once you have more tracks available, I wonder how I’ll be able to search them. I listened to the first track with your embedded player and had no trouble with that. Clicking “Read More” took me to a purchase page, as expected. The second track on the page didn’t appear to be embedded, so I couldn’t listen to it.
I guess I’d say it was confusing that the second track wasn’t embedded on the page. Also, I wasn’t sure exactly what the license you’re offering would and wouldn’t allow me to do until I checked out the FAQ. It would’ve been nice to see a boldfaced list of legal uses on your homepage, something like:
Our tracks can be used for:
–Demos
–DJed Events
–Film or Video Soundtracks
–Etc.
3. I’m not a rap/hip-hop artist or producer, so I wouldn’t need to license a beat. However, I can say that after listening to several of your tracks, they sound smooth and professional, and the licensing fee seems reasonable (although I might think otherwise if I was in the industry and knew I could get a better rate elsewhere). There are only a few things that would put me off, and they can be easily fixed.
The first is that there are a number of grammatical errors throughout the site. For instance, you refer to the cost of a track as 25$. The correct placement for an American dollar sign is before the amount: $25. There are lots of little errors like this, and when I see them, I wonder if your operation is reputable. However, you can hire a proofreader to fix this very easily.
Second, your “Producers” tab only leads to a selection of tracks. There are no bios for your producers. Again, this makes me wonder if your company is reputable. Solution: Add professional bios for your producers.
Third, the list of company logos on your home page turns me off since they’re presented in such a way that they seem like endorsements at first glance. When I realized they weren’t endorsements, it made me question why you’d try to mislead your visitors. Solution: Eliminate this list.
Fourth, the layout of the home page doesn’t seem all that professional. Again, this makes me feel like I can’t necessarily trust your business. Solution: Rearrange the layout as suggested above.
4. I searched on “buy rap tracks,” and it returned at least three sites similar to yours. I chose Beats4tracks.com. If you take a look at this site, you can see they grab attention with a colorful logo and scrolling producer images. Then they present their sample beats, and finally they make their sales pitch. Personally, I think they list too many sample beats, and their sales pitch is a little long, but overall, their home page is an improvement on what you have now. It’s both more attractive and better organized. The only thing not to like about it is a ridiculously long sidebar on the right.
You’ll also notice that Beats4tracks.com is much more interactive than Rapbeats.net. Producers at Beats4tracks.com have profiles and blogs, and tracks can be reviewed and ranked. This really helps to engage both the producers who create beats and the artists who might want to license them.
All things considered, I like Beats4tracks.com better at this point because the site is more fully developed and more engaging.
5. I think your tracks sound great. The issue here is how to turn your web site into an effective marketing tool for them. So here’s what I would suggest:
–Add some color to your site. Black and white is too stark.
–Rearrange the layout of your home page and shorten it as suggested above. Make sure to add some images (e.g., producers or artists in the studio, performers on a stage, people dancing in a club).
–Make sure your producers have bios so people know who they are.
–Clean up the grammatical errors in the copy.
–Make the site more interactive if possible. Look to sites like Beats4tracks.com for ideas in this regard.
–On my second pass through the home page, I noticed that you’re really selling to two different markets: producers who want to sell beats and artists who want to buy them. It would be easy for producers to miss your call to action because it’s so far down the page. I would add a “Sell Beats” tab to your navbar so producers can immediately see that you’re looking for their work. To reinforce this, you might also want to include “Sell your own beats” as one of your main selling points above the fold.
That’s about it. Good luck!