I've redesigned enough musician and artist websites to notice the same problems appearing over and over. It doesn't matter if it's an indie folk duo or a world-touring electronic act — the UX mistakes are remarkably consistent. Beautiful photography, rich audio, a distinct visual identity — and then a site that actively drives away the people it's trying to reach.
Here are the five patterns I fix on every music project I take on.
1. No Clear Call-to-Action Above the Fold
The most common mistake: a full-screen photo or video loop with a name and nothing else. Stunning? Yes. Useful? No. Visitors who land on a music site typically have one of three intentions: they want to listen, they want to book the artist, or they want to find out about upcoming shows. Your hero section should make at least one of those actions immediately obvious.
The fix is simple. A single, clear CTA button — 'Listen Now', 'Book for Your Event', or 'See Tour Dates' — placed visibly above the fold. You can still have the beautiful full-screen visual; just make sure there's a clear next step on top of it.
2. Autoplay Audio or Video
Nothing makes a user close a tab faster than unexpected sound. Autoplay audio is one of the most user-hostile design choices you can make, and yet it persists on artist sites because the artists understandably want people to hear their music immediately. Browsers block most autoplay audio now, but autoplaying video (with or without sound) still makes pages feel aggressive and uncontrolled.
The fix: use a prominent, inviting play button. Let the user opt in. If you make the player look good and position it well, most visitors will click it — without feeling ambushed.
3. Buried Contact Information
Booking agents, event promoters, journalists, and sync licensing managers all visit artist sites. These are high-value contacts who often make decisions quickly. If they can't find contact information within 10 seconds, they move on. I've seen artist sites where the contact email is buried three scrolls down in the footer, in light grey text on a white background.
The fix: have a dedicated Contact or Booking page linked from the main navigation. On that page, make the email address or booking form the first thing visible. If you work with a manager or agent, list their contact details too.
4. Poor Mobile Experience
More than 60% of music discovery happens on mobile. People find artists through Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, and YouTube — and when they want to know more, they tap the link in the bio. If that landing experience is a desktop-designed site crammed into a small screen, you've lost them.
The fix: design mobile-first, or at least audit your site on multiple devices before launching. Pay special attention to navigation (hamburger menus that are hard to tap), text size, and embedded media players that break on mobile.
5. Missing Social Proof
Press quotes, tour history, notable collaborators, streaming milestones, and festival appearances are all forms of social proof that legitimize an artist in the eyes of bookers and new fans alike. Too many artist sites skip this entirely, jumping straight from bio to music player.
The fix: add a press section with 2–3 short pull quotes from credible sources. List notable past shows or tours. If you have streaming numbers worth mentioning, mention them. Social proof doesn't have to be boastful — it just needs to exist.
The Bottom Line
A musician's website is a business tool as much as it is an artistic statement. The best artist sites I've worked on balance both: they're visually distinctive and emotionally resonant, but they also make it effortlessly easy for the right people to take the right action. Fix these five things, and your site will do more work for you than you expect.