I have been asked why Simplie Indie created two websites and what the purposes of each are. I thought I would take a few minutes today to answer that question for everyone.

The simple answer is that each site serves a very distinct purpose. The purpose of www.simplieindie.com is to connect the artist with their fan. That’s it. It’s where the fans go. The purpose of www.simplieindie.net is to provide tools and services independent artists need to succeed. That’s the site to submit your book, CD, and other merchandise to be sold at the Simplie Indie retail & online stores; to purchase services that we offer and to network with other independent artists and related industry professionals.

Because the purpose of each site is different, it is very important to us to keep the sites separate. I know that other sites that serve the independent artist community do not operate in this way. From a development and company point of view it is far easier putting everything in one place – one domain, one shopping cart, one merchant account. We at Simplie Indie just have a different philosophy about how to best serve our clients and customers. As a musician, I don’t want to purchase a custom cover design and your latest novel or CD in the same shopping cart transaction. What message is being sent? I find it confusing when companies have services and products in the same shopping cart transaction. To whom is the company marketing? The author or musician? or the fan? I view it as that company is trying to market the artist to purchase its services as well as the products of the other artists that that company serves. To me they are not focused on helping the author or musician to connect with his/her fan.

I believe that an online store’s main reason to exist is to connect an author or musician with his/her fan. The shopping experience for the fan should be easy and fun. I believe that www.simplieindie.com provides the best opportunity for a fan to connect with their favorite artist. A fan can read all about their favorite author or musician and watch any posted video on that artist’s dedicated Artist Page. An author or musician is able to sell books, CDs and all their merchandise on Simplie Indie. This allows fans to purchase all of their favorite artist’s product in one shopping cart transaction instead of having to go to different sites for different products.

Finally, independent authors and musicians have so much to do that they shouldn’t be burdened with or have to worry about collecting money or shipping their product to their fans. Simplie Indie takes that responsibility. With those responsibilities transferred to Simplie Indie, authors and musicians are then free to focus on creating more music and writing more books for us, the fan to enjoy.