Phil Wickham
As a web designer, I spend most of my days in front of my computer. That gives me plenty of time to listen to all of my music…I generally just play my “All Music” playlist on shuffle. Sometimes I’ll listen to an album at a time, for variety. Every once in a while I’ll log into my Yahoo account to listen to something new. Today, I’ve been listening to the website belonging to Phil Wickham.
While it’s becoming more common, very few artists will allow you to listen to a full album on their website. Some are worried that you’ll rip their music onto your hard drive with a streamripper program and never buy their disc. Others simply don’t have the technology at their disposal to create a Flash player to stream their music. In my opinion, those who offer more on their websites will likely sell more discs, gain larger concert audiences, and create greater buzz than those who appear stingy.
I’m glad that Phil decided to let me listen to a few songs. He’s saved me the trouble of standing in the bookstore, wondering whether I should risk his album or buy something I know I’ll like. Instead, I know what to expect…and I like what I hear, so I’ll probably end up owning one or more of Phil’s musical treats.
If you’re an artist with a website, I’d like to know what you want to do about offering free or streamed music. If you need some help getting started, I’ll offer a song or two for download. I’m even willing to stream some songs from CCM Links, if you’d like that too. Just contact me and we’ll talk.