Before a promoter books you, an A&R plays your demo or a journalist writes about you, they search your name. What they find in the first ten seconds decides whether they take you seriously, and whether they book you. A website on your own domain is the one result you fully control: your music, your shows, your press kit and a way to book you, in one place that looks like you.

A website gets you more bookings

Promoters, bookers and venues check you before they book you. They want to know four things: do you play out, how do you present yourself, what do you sound like live, and how do they reach you. If your site answers all four on one page, the check ends in a request. If it doesn't, they move on to the next name on their list, and you never hear about it.

A site that books shows has:

• Upcoming shows. Dates on the page prove you're active and that other promoters already trust you with a night.
• A press kit. A bio, photos they can put on a flyer, and highlights. A promoter who can build the event page from your site without emailing you is a promoter who books faster.
• Clear contact. One booking address, visible without scrolling through three menus.
• A booking request form. It asks for what you need to answer: the date, the venue and the offer. The request lands with you complete, instead of as a vague "are you free sometime?".

On Aden, your Book page is that form. It's linked from your site's menu and footer, and you can make Book the one button in your header. Each request asks for the promoter's details, the date, the venue and the fee offer, reaches you straight away on web and in the app, and shows whether the sender confirmed their email. Accept one and it becomes a show in your calendar. The booking form is included on Pro and above.

It works the same for a DJ chasing club nights, a band chasing venues and festivals, and a producer chasing sessions and remixes.

You own it

Social platforms are rented space. They change their algorithms, their terms and their features whenever they want, and your reach changes with them. An account can be suspended, hacked or simply stop showing your posts to the people who follow you.

A link in bio helps, but look at what it is: a list of links to other people's sites. Every button sends your visitor away to Spotify, Instagram or a ticket shop, and you keep none of them.

Your website stays where you put it. The domain is yours, the address on your flyer still works in five years, and you decide what people see first.

It's the first thing labels and press check

When someone in the industry gets your email, they look you up before they answer. An A&R wants to know who you are and what you've released. Press wants a bio and photos they can use.

A clean site with current information tells them you run your career like a professional. A dead page, an old tour, or nothing at all tells them the opposite, however good the music is. If you're pitching labels, read How to pitch your music to A&Rs too: your site is the page they open right after your email.

Search engines and AI assistants read it

When someone types your name into a search engine, or asks an AI assistant who you are, the answer comes from what is published about you. Your own site is the source you write. Without one, the top result might be a different artist with your name, a three-year-old article, or a profile you no longer use.

A site with your name, your bio, your releases and your shows gives search engines and answer engines a clear page to point to. Your name should lead to you.

You see where fans come from

On a social platform, you see what the platform chooses to show you. On your own site, you can add your own tracking: a Meta pixel, Google Analytics or a TikTok pixel, so you know which post, ad or flyer brought people in, and you can reach them again with your next release.

Link clicks tell you what people actually do: how many tapped through to a streaming service, opened a ticket link or went to your booking page.

Every show sells tickets

Each show on your site should carry its own ticket link, so a fan who finds you on a Tuesday buys a ticket for Saturday in two taps. A promoter checking your page sees that you sell your own dates. Past shows drop off, so the page never advertises a gig that already happened.

What a professional artist site must have

Use this as a checklist:

1. A short bio. Two or three sentences: who you are, what you sound like, where you're based. Keep a longer version in the press kit.
2. A recent photo. One good, current, high-resolution photo up top. Old or blurry photos read as an inactive project.
3. Your latest release, playable. Visitors should hear you without leaving the page, with links to every streaming service.
4. Upcoming shows with tickets. Date, venue, city and a ticket link for each one.
5. Contact and booking. A booking request form or a clear booking address, and who handles press or management if that's someone else.
6. A press kit with your riders. Bio, photos people can download, logos, highlights such as notable shows, releases and press, and your technical and hospitality riders and stage plot, so a promoter can plan the show without asking. In Aden, a file in your Documents goes on your press kit with Show on press kit.
7. Your socials. Links to the profiles you actually use, not every platform you ever signed up for.
8. Your own domain. yourname.com reads as a career. A free subdomain reads as a placeholder.

Common mistakes

• Out of date. A "new single" that came out two years ago, or a tour that ended last spring. This is the most common one, and the one people notice first.
• No music on the page. Visitors came to hear you. Making them click away to listen loses many of them.
• Hard to book. No booking address, or a contact form that goes nowhere. If a promoter can't reach you in one click, they book someone else.
• Built for a laptop only. Most people will open your site on a phone. Check it on one.
• Too much. Every photo you've ever taken, five paragraphs of bio, autoplay video. Show the one thing that matters most and let people find the rest.
• Only a link in bio. It's a good front door for social media, but it isn't a home. Compare the options in The best link in bio for musicians.

Get one in minutes

The reason most artists' sites go stale is that they're a second place to update. Every release, every show, every new photo means logging in somewhere else.

On Aden, your website is built from your music. Go to Websites and paste your Linktree, your link in bio or your current site. Aden reads it and shows your site in every template, with your releases, shows and links already in place. Pick one, sign up, and it's yours.

From then on, it updates itself: a new release, a new show or a new post in Aden shows up on your site without editing it. You can connect your own domain, add your own pixels, keep your shows linked to their tickets, and turn on your Book page so promoters can send requests.

If you'd rather start with a link page, Aden's link in bio imports your existing one the same way. For a wider look at the free options, read Free website for musicians.

FAQ

Do I need a website if I already have Instagram and Spotify?

Yes. Those are profiles on someone else's platform, and each shows one part of you. A website brings your music, shows, press kit and contact together on a page you own, and it's what industry people expect to find when they look you up.

Is a link in bio enough?

It's a good start for social media, but it's a list of links to other sites. A promoter or label wants to hear your music, see your dates and find your press kit on one page. A website does that, and a link in bio can point to it.

What should I put on my artist website?

A short bio, a recent photo, your latest release playable on the page, upcoming shows with ticket links, booking and contact details, a press kit, links to your socials, and your own domain.

How do I get more bookings as a DJ?

Make it easy to say yes. Put your upcoming and past gigs, a recent mix, press photos and a booking request form on your own site, and link it everywhere promoters find you: your socials, your email signature, your mixes. A promoter who finds everything in one visit books faster than one who has to ask.

Do producers and bands need a website too?

Yes. Labels and clients look at a producer's credits and releases. Venues and festivals look at a band's shows, live photos and how to book them. Your site is where they find them.

How often should I update my website?

Every time something changes: a new release, a new show, a new photo. On Aden that happens by itself, because the site reads from the releases and shows you already keep there.

Can I use my own domain?

Yes. Every Aden website has an address on aden.space, and you can connect your own domain to it.