Exclusive: INDISTR Relaunches — A 360-degree View On The Upgrade

We reviewed INDISTR on their initial launch in January and described INDISTR as, "a way for indie music creators to sell their music to fans." It’s in the same category as Amie Street, they differ on pricing models.

INDISTR is relaunching this afternoon and I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the new features but more importantly provide a 360-degree view on the upgrade from both Founder Benjamin Gott and from the design agency he worked with, Thought & Theory.

New Features

• Considerably enhanced search feature based on tags, popularity, etc. This was much, much needed.
• New rating feature.
• An ‘Other Artist You Might Like’ feature powered by tags and popularity – not genre.
• Easier-to-use checkout process.
• Easier-to-use backend for artists uploading/hosting their music.
• New design and branding

Interview with Founder Benjamin Gott

Allen: Can you share some stats on your first version? (musicians, downloads, etc.)

Benjamin: I’m not a fan of giving out exact numbers quite yet – although we do have a plan to start making our earnings, and thus the artist earnings public in the next 3-4 months. I will give you this very interesting statistic: I don’t have the exact percentage, but 90% of our sales are for complete albums, not individual tracks. That kind of blew my mind as I am quite often a single track purchaser myself. I think the buyer is different, they are considerably more tuned-into the artist they are buying from and love the fact that they are directly supporting the artist.

Allen: What led you to the decision to redesign/upgrade?

Benjamin: About a day before the original launch I was working on new designs! I am a classic over-thinker on things like design, so I am constantly thinking about ways to tweak and enhance. So when the time became available and I found a shop, Thought & Theory, that saw the vision of where we wanted to go with it – we went to work. It’s been really great working with them.

Allen: What goals did you set going into the upgrade?

Benjamin: I got a lot of emails saying the site wasn’t easily searched, the design was a bit stuck in the past, and various other insights/complaints. So we really took those to heart. Searching was one of the huge improvements. We didn’t have a tagging feature before – not a smart move – so we put that in place and it has greatly enhanced the search function as well as a new function we have that suggests other artists you might like based on similar tags and popularity. So search and then a lot of focus on a new design that would last and work as a solid platform to build a brand on. Beyond all that stuff, staying under budget was a huge thing. Thought+Theory were very in-tune with that so it worked out well. As with Mike Perry and Bruce Benson @ NuSoft solutions, our development partners, they really helped keep everything under control.

Allen: Were the goals met?

Benjamin: I think so. We have a lot of other ideas and functions we’d like to add, but I’m really happy with the results from this latest version.

Allen: With all of the talk this year about non-drm music, how will this affect (if at all) Indistr?

Benjamin: We, of course, don’t support DRMed music so it feels good to watch the other players in the market going the same way. The issue that seems to come up more than anything else is music prices eventually falling to nothing. I could write a 4 paragraph answer to this – but my general feeling is this: are people forgetting to put value on the artistic/creative effort? Just because its easier to produce music doesn’t mean its worth less in all cases!

Allen: Have you changed your monetization strategy?

Benjamin: Not at all. One of my favorite things about INDISTR is the ‘engine’ we built for payment to the artist. 75% to the artist instantly when their music is purchased. Very simple. We also eat the majority of paypal fees so they get as close as possible to that 75%. We really pride ourselves on that.

Allen: What’s been your biggest lesson learned since launch?

Benjamin: Have a proper team. I thought a lot of growth would come naturally by word-of-mouth. While it did to a certain degree, you still need to be out there putting in the work. That means hiring a full-time marketing and operations person which we did – Kevin Hockin, super excited to have him on board.

Allen: Now that the new site is here, what’s next?

Benjamin: A strong focus on growing the number of artists we have on the site. That’s really number one priority. And of course, our nature is to start thinking about the next levels of enhancements as well!

Interview with Thought & Theory – Jason Sadler and Dennis Eusebio

Allen: Why did you accept this project?

When we decided to start offering design services, we told ourselves that we would only work with the right people and the right ideas. This is a tough decision to make in the early stages, but we wanted to make sure that we worked with people that understood and respected what we could do for their project. Benjamin was one of those people.

Dennis and I really believed in INDISTR and felt that we could connect well with Benjamin. We all shared the same vision on the project and that helped ensure that this would be right for all people involved.

Allen: What were your thoughts about the previous INDISTR site?

The premise of INDISTR is great. It is the only site that guarantees the artists immediate pay-outs, at the full advertised percentages. The framework that Benjamin laid out for the previous version of the site was definitely solid, but it needed that extra push to keep people coming back. As Benjamin mentioned, search was very limited in the previous version.

One critical element of the previous site was the back-end for both the buyers and the artists. While most people won’t see all of this information, it is very important to create a simple experience for both parties.

Allen: What was your goal in the redesign?

Independent music is very organic and needs help to grow. Our main goal was to setup specific ways to create an experience that kept people involved. It’s easy to slap on a couple generic features that other music sites use, but its another to really think about what an independent music site needs.

An important element to the redesign was creating a unique voice for INDISTR. There are many other music sites, but it was really important to position and plan for INDISTR to provide everything independent artists and supporters would need.

Allen: Do you believe you accomplished your goal?

We believe we laid down a great framework for the future of INDISTR. While we accomplished our initial goals, our long-term goals for the site are still ahead of us and we look forward to continue to bring fresh ideas to the project. We are still waiting for the thank you cards and flowers.

Allen: What would be the one thing you wish you could have done?

We wanted to add a couple more features to the site, but these are coming down the pipes and will only further the growth of the site once implemented.

Allen: What’s coming next for Thought & Theory?

Thought & Theory is currently working with a select handful of clients as well as working on a few of our own projects. We are open to talk to anyone about their projects and look forward to building more great relationships in the future.

I hope you enjoyed reading this 360-degree view of a relaunch. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks to Ben and Thought and Theory for participating!