Unknown bands’ own websites might as well be on the dark side of the moon, for all the traffic they generate from people who aren’t already familiar with the artists.

Unlike any other kind of retail space we’ve known, web pages aren’t adjacent to one another, in the way that shops or marketplace stalls are, or even in the same section of town, like big-box retailers.  Nobody ever just happens to be “in the neighborhood,” notices them, and steps inside for a closer look.  Either you go directly to a web site, or you’re effectively light years away.

How could anybody go precisely to a web page they don’t even know exists—because they’ve also never heard of the musician whose work it showcases?