Okay, with all our comments on what NPGMC should be doing, I thought it would be interesting to ask everyone if there are artists' fan sites out there that you think are doing it right and "getting it" in terms of knowing what their fan base wants and delivering it.

BONUS QUESTION: Based on how you've seen other sites do it right, how could those positive experiences transfer to how NPGMC runs things? And how would you suggest NPGMC 'make it theirs' instead of just parroting something that some other official fan site has done?

To be honest I can't think of ANY sites that I'm that impressed with. They all have got some good points but none of them keep me coming back with excitement.

I don't mind the NPGMC, but more content would be good to compliment it's good looks.

I quite like http://www.sanandapromotion.com but that might just be because I'm a fan.

Sorry - that didn't answer the question much did it?

They Might Be Giants seem to pump out more music than anyone knows what to with - so they just give it away. I'm not very familiar with their stuff (although Flood is an all-time favorite album of mine), but their website is www.tmbg.com - I signed up on their mailing list recently and I've been getting e-mails every few weeks with links to free mp3 downloads - random stuff, some of which is better than others, and they're not archived (as far as I know), but it's all free! They also have albums to download or purchase on CD, as well as exclusives (some are downloads only, but some are also CDs). Just fun stuff. They don't take themselves too seriously, but they know that their fans like their music, and they respect that.

i used to sing the praises of bowienet, and in a way i still kinda do, but i think they really need to bring the price of membership down unless they plan on giving members a whole lot more for their money. still, it's nice that bowie himself pops up from time to time, keeping a journal and answering questions and trolling around in the forums every now and then. the moderators there do a great job of keeping people interested and coming back - lots of contests, lots of news updates. you can tell the people who run the site love bowie, and love bowie's fans.

the residents have a cute, lo-fi little official site. it's more like a blog than anything - not a whole lot to explore, but it seems to be updated regularly, and it's just info on new releases and reissues. no frills. i can dig that.

saint etienne have a wonderful fan club that hasn't always necessarily been an online effort, but it is now. the band writes updates themselves, and they send out free fans-only CDs for the holidays every year. price of membership? free.

beck's web site is nice. easily navigated, updated often, lots of fun stuff to dig through, and every now and then beck has a little blog that he updates on the site. good online merch shop.

oh - and the band eels have a great web site, too: www.eelstheband.com