Musicians need more than social media to manage their careers. A dedicated website gives you professional credibility, complete creative control, and direct fan access. It serves as a hub for your music, tour dates, social links, and a merch/ticket store. However, building a custom music site can be expensive, and many general site builders lack music-specific tools.
Below we review the best free and freemium website builders for musicians, focusing on features like integrated music players, streaming links, merch/ticket sales, and fan engagement tools. Our top recommendation is Loop Fans, a new all-in-one music platform. We also compare Bandzoogle, Wix Music, Bandcamp, Carrd, and Squarespace, listing pros and cons for each from a musician’s standpoint.
Key musician website features to look for:
- Music & Media Integration: Built-in music players (albums, tracks, playlists), audio/video hosting, and tour date management. Easy embedding of Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, etc., is ideal.
- E-commerce & Fan Engagement: Support for selling digital downloads, physical merch, and tickets; fan subscriptions/memberships; email newsletter tools; all with low transaction fees.
Loop Fans – All-in-One Music Site & Fan Platform
Loop Fans is a new platform built specifically for musicians and labels. It combines an easy drag-and-drop site builder with fan engagement and commerce tools. It’s completely free to set up, and includes all core features; the Basic plan charges a small sales commission (~12%) that decreases on higher plans.
Key features:
- Music Website Builder: Music-themed templates let you upload tracks, videos, and images with no coding. Add pages or sections for audio players, photo galleries, tour dates, and more.
- Merch & Ticket Store: Integrated shop to sell digital downloads, vinyl/CDs, merch (t-shirts, posters, etc.), and tickets directly to fans.
- Fan Community Tools: Fans can sign up on your site (capturing their email/contact info). You can send newsletters or exclusive content to your fanbase. Loop Fans supports fan club memberships (patreon-style subscriptions) and even NFTs (blockchain drops) for superfans.
- Link-in-Bio Hub: Your site serves as a central hub linking to your Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, and more. All your social links and music platforms can be aggregated through your Loop Fans page.
- Ease of Use: Designed for artists, it’s user-friendly. Pick a template and drag in elements like “Music Player” or “Photo Gallery”. The learning curve is minimal, so you can launch a polished, mobile-responsive site in minutes.
Pros: Built-for-musicians with all the right tools; and a very low cost (free). Includes music players, store, email lists, direct messaging, and fan subscriptions out of the box. Simple interface tailored for artists.
Cons: New platform (smaller community, evolving feature set). Basic plan commission (~12%) is higher than 0% on some rivals. Templates/designs are guided (less free form customization than Wix or Squarespace).
Bandzoogle – Veteran Music-Focused Builder
Bandzoogle is a veteran music site builder created by musicians. It offers a 30-day free trial, then paid plans (Lite ~$9.95/month) that include hosting and a free custom domain.
Key features:
- Templates & Player: Mobile-ready music templates for bands/DJs. Built-in audio player lets fans stream full songs or previews.
- Store: Integrated shop for digital downloads, CDs/vinyl, merch, and even ticket sales, all commission-free.
- Fan Engagement: Tools for building your audience: email newsletter builder, fan subscription (patron) options, and an EPK (press kit) page template. Gig calendar and blog come standard.
- Analytics & SEO: Built-in analytics tracks visitors, and SEO tools help your site be found by search engines.
Pros: True all-in-one: hosting, domain, music features, and store included. No sales commission maximizes your revenue. Fan subscriptions and mailing list tools provide professional fan-management. Widely used by artists, with responsive support.
Cons: No free plan beyond trial (must subscribe to keep site live). Template customization is more structured (you tweak themes rather than free-drag). Templates are solid but less “artsy” than some competitors; however, this simplifies setup.
Wix Music – Flexible Drag-and-Drop Builder
Wix is a popular website builder with strong support for musicians via its Wix Music app. It has a free plan (Wix ads, Wix subdomain) and paid plans ($16/month for Combo; $27/month for Business/Ecommerce).
Key features:
- Music Player & Sales: Upload tracks or albums with the Wix Music app. Fans can stream, download, or buy tracks directly on your site (Wix takes 0% commission).
- Merch Shop: On a Business plan, add an online store to sell t-shirts, vinyl, posters, tickets, etc. Inventory management and checkout are built-in.
- Design & Templates: 900+ templates, including many for bands and DJs. The drag-and-drop editor offers full control over layout. There’s also an AI site builder (Wix ADI) for quick setup.
- Apps & Extras: Wix App Market has plugins for events (Bandsintown, ticketing), social feeds, and more. Built-in blog and event calendar help engage fans.
- SEO & Analytics: Includes strong SEO tools and visitor analytics to help fans find your site.
Pros: Massive template library and flexibility. 0% commission on music sales.
Cons: Free plan shows ads and uses a long URL. To sell and use a custom domain you must upgrade. The enormous design freedom can be overwhelming for beginners. Advanced e-commerce and removing ads require higher-tier plans.
Bandcamp – Free Music & Merch Platform
Bandcamp is a music marketplace (not a full website builder). It’s free to use; Bandcamp only takes a cut of sales (15% on digital tracks, 10% on physical merch).
Key features:
- Music & Merch Sales: Upload albums or tracks with a built-in streaming player. Fans can stream your songs and purchase digital downloads or physical items (CDs, vinyl, shirts). Supports “name-your-price” sales and discount codes.
- Fan Interaction: Fans can follow your profile. You can email all followers when you release something new – effectively a built-in newsletter to your Bandcamp audience.
- Customization: You get a profile page with your banner, logo, and color scheme. (Bandcamp’s layout is fixed across artists.) Bandcamp Pro ($10/mo) lets you use a custom domain; otherwise your page is yourname.bandcamp.com.
Pros: Zero upfront cost and easy setup. Trusted by music fans, with built-in discovery. Great for direct-to-fan sales – you keep most of the sale price.
Cons: Not a multipage site – it’s just your music store/profile. No built-in tour or blog pages. Design is the same as other Bandcamp pages. Many artists use Bandcamp as their music storefront alongside a separate promotional website.
Carrd – Simple One-Page Sites
Carrd is a minimalist builder for single-page sites. The free plan allows up to 3 sites (on a carrd.co subdomain). A Pro subscription (from $19/year) removes ads, adds custom domains, and unlocks advanced features.
Key features:
- One-Page Layout: Hundreds of templates for landing pages, portfolios, or link pages. The interface uses blocks/containers to place text, images, and embeds.
- Embed Media: Supports embedding audio (SoundCloud, Spotify, etc.), video (YouTube/Vimeo), and custom HTML/JavaScript (Pro) for forms or scripts.
- Payments: No built-in store, but you can embed Stripe/PayPal/Gumroad buttons for selling downloads or taking donations.
- Simplicity: Quick to build; ideal for a “link-in-bio” or splash page. The free plan is generous for simple needs.
Pros: Very affordable (free or low-cost). Fast setup for a single-page site. Responsive templates and a clean aesthetic. No large company ads (free plan shows only a small Carrd footer).
Cons: Only one page – you can’t have multiple pages or sections beyond the single scroll. Limited design freedom (block-based rather than free-drag). Lacks native e-commerce and email list tools. Not suitable if you need more content like blogs or event pages.
Squarespace – Stylish Multipurpose Builder
Squarespace offers premium design and built-in commerce. After a 14-day trial, plans start at about $16/month (Personal) or $27/month (Commerce, which waives transaction fees) when billed annually.
Key features:
- Design Templates: 180+ polished, mobile-responsive themes. Excellent for artists who want a visually striking site.
- Audio & Media: Native audio blocks allow MP3 uploads, and you can embed Spotify or SoundCloud players.
- Events: Built-in event pages for tour dates. You can integrate ticket links or RSVPs.
- E-commerce: On Commerce plans, sell digital downloads, merch, and tickets with inventory management and secure checkout. Business plans charge 3% transaction fees; Commerce plans have none.
- Blog & Marketing: Robust blogging tools and a built-in email campaign/newsletter feature. Social media feeds and SEO settings are integrated.
Pros: High-end, professional design; unlimited pages (up to 1,000 theoretically). Reliable all-in-one platform with hosting, commerce, and marketing tools. Good customer support and mobile app.
Cons: No free plan (beyond trial). Higher cost for full features. The editor can feel clunky (no autosave/undo and multi-click edits). Flat navigation (single submenu only) can limit very complex sites. Fewer third-party app integrations (focused mainly on commerce and accounting).
Conclusion
Loop Fans stands out as an all-in-one solution — its music-tailored feature set (streaming, store, fan club tools) and free set up cost make it ideal for independent artists. Bandzoogle is unbeatable for dedicated music features and 0% fees if you’re willing to pay a subscription. Wix Music provides maximum design freedom and a free tier, good for creative control. Bandcamp excels as a free music storefront. Carrd is perfect for a simple splash or link page. Squarespace offers the most polished designs and integrated commerce, at a higher cost.
Recent trends focus on deepening artist–fan connections. In 2024, for example, Bandzoogle added QR-code music sharing to help artists promote tracks, and Loop Fans now emphasizes fan subscriptions and NFT releases to reward supporters. When choosing a website builder, consider what matters most for your band (cost vs. features vs. design). Any of the above platforms can form the foundation of a professional music site. By matching your needs to the right builder, you can create a site that looks great, engages fans, and supports your music career.
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