How to Build a Music Hosting Website
Music-hosting websites provide creative solutions for music lovers who want to build a community of like-minded people. They also provide bands with a ready solution for attracting a fan base, so they can distribute their music online. Although operating a music-hosting website requires that you familiarize yourself with the technical aspects of running a website, the process does not involve too many difficulties. You can probably even get your website up and running in a single day.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Music-hosting script
- FTP program (File Zilla)
- Server user name
- Server password
Instructions
-
-
1
Register a unique website name. For instance, your band name might work well. If you can't think of a name, websites like Band Name Maker.com allow you to enter a random word, and their software suggests names that sound like music bands. Their suggestions usually consist of free-association-type names probably available for your domain name.
-
2
Select a music-hosting or media-sharing script. Unless you have the computer programming skills to develop your own YouTube site, you will need this script. Music-sharing scripts such Media Max or Seyret or PHP Motion manage your music or media files. They provide an attractive layout for users to look at. They also offer users the ability to download, rate, comment on and link to files. You can customize scripts to match your logo or website colors. Seyret works if you have a content-managing system like Joomla.
-
-
3
Select a Web host with lots of storage space and bandwidth. For instance, an average music file ranges from 4 to 6 megabytes (mb). Music videos range from 40 to 60 mb. An average music website might host several hundred songs and several hundred music videos. You will need a Web host that provides 100 to 500 gb storage and 1 terabyte or unlimited bandwidth. Powweb or StartLogic offer unlimited storage and bandwidth for less than $10 per month.
-
4
Select a Web host with 99-percent or higher connectivity. Unlimited bandwidth and storage don't matter if your Web host constantly crashes. Look for Web hosts such as Powweb that offer load-balanced servers. Load-balanced servers provide multiple Internet pathways to your website. If one pathway crashes or gets clogged by traffic, load-balanced servers route your users via another pathway.
-
5
Customize your music-hosting script. You will need to open the config.sys or config.php file using a text editor. You will have to follow the instructions in your user manual, but most files simply require that you input the name of your site, http://www.my_site_name.com. Other line edits include inputing your database user name and password, so the script can set up all the files. You must go into your administration panel to create a MySQL database. Once you create the database and assign a password necessary to access the database, edit the config.sys or config.php file to include the database name (mysite_dbname) and password (password).
-
6
Upload all your files to your server. You need to transfer all your files to your server so your website operates. To do this, open a file transfer protocol (FTP) program. Enter your site name, your server user name, and your password into the site-connection settings. Click connect. Once you connect to your server, select all the music-script files and click "Upload."
-
7
Test your site. For instance, you need to become familiar with your music-hosting or media-sharing script. Test the upload and download functions. Test the playability. Test the links, and decide if you like like the way the site operates. Finally, decide if you like the look of your script. If you selected a music-hosting script that allows a free trial period, you can upload another script if something doesn't operate quite the way you prefer.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit music image by Markus Götze from Fotolia.com
