The document summarizes common codes and conventions found on alternative indie artists' websites, including consistent color themes tied to their music, prominent display of the artist's name, easy navigation menus, exclusive images of the artist and albums, embedded music videos, links to streaming and social media, opportunities to sign up for updates and preorder albums, and listings of tour dates. These elements help establish identity, attract target audiences, strengthen fan connections, and encourage listeners to engage with the artist's music and content.

1. Codes and conventions of
'alternative indie' artists' websites
By Molly McGee 12C

2. Colours
• All of the websites that I researched kept a consistent colour theme linking to that of their
newest/upcoming album or single, which helps to establish a strong sense of identity and reflects
their music so that the target audience are attracted. The colours are typically of light tones, but
in certain cases black was used to adhere to the aesthetic.
Taylor maintains a lavender colour scheme, linking to
her single 'Lavender Haze' from Midnights and
connoting a sense of lighthearted pop music that can
be expected
boygenius use a plain black background to
contrast the colour of the font and appear
aesthetically pleasing, however it may also
imply the sort of sad lyrics we may expect to
hear on 'the record'

3. Layout
• The name of the artist is immediately presented at the top of the website, written in the font of the
album
• Also at the top, there are often buttons or a dropdown menu for easy navigation. This allows the
viewer to interact with platforms such as the artists' social media or with their online store,
strengthening the fan-artist connection. Other platforms include links to their other music, their
tour dates, their music videos and an option to subscribe for updates
• All websites can be seen by scrolling vertically down the page, making everything clear and
presentable for viewer
Both boygenius and beabadoobee
conform to the convention of featuring
their names in the album font
Inhaler's website features a drop down
menu for easy navigation around their
website

4. Image choice
• Images used are often exclusive/behind the scenes to make the viewer feel a close connection with
the artist
• More often than not, the largest photos were of the album and its different formats to consolidate
the idea of streaming their music to the viewer
• Images of the artist are often used as the background to the website so that they can constantly be
associated with their work by the viewer
The background of SZA's website is
not only a photo of her, but is also
the photo used for her album cover,
reinforcing the idea of association
Wallows' background is a behind-the-scenes photo of
them, suggesting that their website is somewhere
exclusive for their fans to visit

5. Audio-visual aspects
• Most websites feature embedded music videos for each single off of their album to give viewers a
quick and direct link to try out listening to their music
• By embedding the videos on the homepage, it keeps the website visually interesting and helps the
viewer to understand the aesthetic of the artist more and what they're like
Harry Styles embeds each music video from his
most recent album, alternating sides each time to
maintain visual interest
Taylor Swift's website has a slideshow of the music
videos from her newest album so that they are all
equally visible and accessible

6. Interactivity
• Links to streaming platforms and social networks are hyperlinked to their logos, which are often
seen immediately at the top to encourage the viewers to become interested in the artist
• All websites that I researched had tour/store buttons which encourages you as a viewer to spend
money on the artist, some even give you direct link to preorder their upcoming album to save time
looking through online store
• Pop-ups aid with interactivity, either through asking the viewer to sign up to a mailing list, or
something more personal like Wallows' Playlist Curator. This makes the fan feel personally seen
and appreciated by the artist and gives them the opportunity to keep up with them. If it does not
appear as a pop up, newsletter sign-ups are usually found at the bottom, so they do not detract from
the focus of the website
• As well as generic newsletter updates, some offer more personal updates like beabadoobee, whose
website features an option to follow her directly to keep track of when she will be touring in your
area. This creates a more personal fan-artist connection
• On entering some websites, like Inhaler and SZA, there is an animated album graphic which allows
the website to feel less stagnant and encourage the viewer to continue looking

7. Other codes and conventions
• All websites have a list of tour dates hyperlinked to outlets where tickets are available for purchase.
This gives every viewer an equal opportunity to access tickets to see the artist live. Sometimes an
image including the merchandise available at the tour is also included.
Here, Taylor Swift has incorporated a banner of
the merchandise available at her tour so that
even fans who aren't attending can purchase it
boygenius are an example of how tour dates are
typically presented on an artists' website, in a
chronological list with a link to ticket outlets