Monday Records is a Sydney-based independent record label based and we've been a part of their digital world since their inception in 2006. We've designed album artwork for several of their artists including Circle (for three of their albums - The Middle, Xmas Omas and Molasses Sandwiches), Atlas B Salvesen and Girl Is The New Boy. We are also responsible for Atlas B Salvesen's website, so when Monday Records' own website needed a redesign, it was only natural that they engage us.
The team is very passionate about what they do and give 100% to all of their artists, going beyond the standard 'label' role to include publishing and management of their roster.
Monday Records' existing site was a couple of years old, and when you're in an industry as dynamic as music you need to be constantly upgrading to stay fresh and current. They wanted the site to reflect their position as a boutique label, highlighting their talented artists above everything else.
The website needed to have a robust and flexible CMS so that the team could update it easily themselves with specific managed permissions. We also needed to incorporate a way for visitors to listen to tracks on each artist page and potentially also on the home page.
There were a couple of upgrades needed on the technical side, and this was the perfect opportunity to implement them. Since the original site was built there have been a few major technological advancements in web development which are now best practices, such as responsiveness and SEO optimisation.
The new site design revolves heavily around the artists, with every feature a consideration of how to give each artist maximum exposure. The first reveal of the site features a dynamic, multi-layered slider that allows for links to artist pages and products as well as a live feed directly from their SoundCloud page. The site is built on Wordpress so that the team can update the slider themselves when they want to rotate who they feature.
Each slide features a different artist with a call to action and an audio link. Beneath this, the 'Latest News' section keeps the visitor up to date with the latest developments from the label and it's artists. We introduced an e-commerce element allowing for the sale of music in both cd and mp3 format, and potentially merchandise in the future.
The final site makes a real statement about Monday Records as a label. It's bold, clean and professional, and most importantly gives their artists the exposure and coverage they deserve.
