This is the full version of the interview conducted by Caroline Wright for her column called Ki`ihele. The edited version appeared in the December issue of Island Server.
A Star In Cyberspace
By Caroline Wright
THE STAR: Justin Kawika Young, whose latest release is "Y2J" (with Jon
Yamasato), will sing on the soundtrack of "An Uninvited Guest". Visit his site at
www.justinsmusic.com.
THE DESIGNER: Edward Sugimoto works as an online editor for Oceanic cable; in his spare time, he develops intriguing Web sites like those found at
www.e-hawaii.com/ed/.
Designer's Star
It's always interesting to discover how stars select the members of their teams. An energetic and fully committed support staff can do much to further the career of a musician. In Justin Kawika Young's case, he didn't have to do much to find his Web designer, Edward Sugimoto.
"Actually, Ed selected me," laughs Young. "He came to me and asked if I'd be interested in developing a site. I had been thinking about it, and had a few friends who offered but never came through." Young has come to greatly admire Sugimoto. "He continues to amaze me. He came to me as a fan and now I'm a fan of his work."
"As soon as I heard Justin's voice on the first album (No Better Time Than Now) I knew there was something there," remembers Sugimoto, who works as an online editor for Oceanic Cable when he's not developing his own independent Web concepts. "I noticed how young he was, and saw that he was writing his own ballads. I knew he was a success story waiting to happen. So, when I saw his email address included in the album's sleeve, I shot off a message to him to see how he felt about my idea. He was all for it - and the rest is history."
Welcome To The Web
"Justin gave me a lot of creative freedom when it came to planning and developing the site," recalls Sugimoto. "Also, as a fan of Justin and his music, it was easy for me to take an interest in this project and make it my own. Spending time with Justin in the recording studio, on the phone and via email gave me a good idea of what makes this talented individual tick. I think I portrayed that fairly well on his site."
The birth of Young's Web presence coincided with the release of his first CD two years ago. The site has now grown to over 100 pages.
Tools of the Trade
With over five years' experience developing Web presences, Sugimoto avoided faddish tricks when he designed
www.justinsmusic.com. "I am very aware of the trends and limitations of the Web and took these into consideration," he comments. But he's found one new feature that he likes a lot, and is using it to enhance Young's site. "The increased awareness and acceptance of MP3 technology has enabled me to encode samples from his albums with relatively small file sizes and better sound quality then I was able to do in the past," he says. "Every album has audio samples from selected songs as well as lyrics." Sugimoto is also using MP3 technology to transcribe an interview conducted with Young in October.
Sugimoto uses FrontPage and Photoshop to develop and maintain Justin's site. "Sometimes, I need to fine-tune the code that FrontPage spits out, so I get in the hard core HTML, but for the most part, it works fine. I also utilize audio editing programs and MP3 rippers and encoders/decoders. Those are a lot of fun!"
The greatest challenge for Sugimoto was balancing the difference between file size minimization and audio quality. "One is always compromised over the other. I live and work in the world of broadband, so file size concerns are not in my immediate conscience. I knew, however, that Justin's site would have to be developed for people all across the board - those with 28.8K modems, high speed, cable Internet access, differences in browsers and OSs - so any type of advanced scripting language was probably on the back burner for now."
Function & Form
The site contains a number of well-executed features standard for an artist's site
- a schedule of upcoming appearances, a biography, and some very clever and attractive eye candy. There are several unusual and intriguing features, as well. Young's fans can
e-mail
picture postcards of their favorite singer to each other. Designer Sugimoto developed the postcard function for his excellent site at
www.e-hawaii.com. Eleven different Justin cards are available. "My friends have e-mailed them to me as a joke!" admits Young sheepishly.
Other interesting functions include a Fan
Forum bulletin board which visitors can use to communicate with each other, and – almost hidden in the menu bar on the right frame - a very comprehensive
Request
page, with links to local, statewide, national, worldwide, and Internet radio station. With a single click, fans can demand airplay for Justin's music.
Reaching Out
Justin Young talks about his site almost as a physical entity. "It acts as a kind of intermediary, a safe go-between. It's important to keep in touch with your fans. This way you can interact while maintaining your privacy. It's really nice to get their feedback in
e-mails and on the
guest
book," he says. "The one-on-one contact helps you keep the fans you have and really make a connection that makes you more than a picture and a song and an image."
Young's site also features his own personal
journal. Does he actually perform his own journal updates? "Actually, I've hired someone who follows me around and writes down everything I do. He's good; I've nicknamed him Shadow," jokes the singer. "Yeah, I write my own journal, not as often as I should, though, as Ed will tell you."
There is a cyclical nature to the messages he receives from fans. "They come in waves, usually corresponding to the release of an album and sometimes I'm so busy it's hard to keep up with them all. I've been getting better at it though. I do read them all and thoroughly appreciate them," he says.
For his part, Sugimoto is pleased that the site has made Justin more accessible to his fans. "I'm most proud of the amount of interactivity, interest and attention I was able to bring to Justin - as not only a talented artist, but a down to earth, approachable guy," he comments.
Wish List
When he ponders the future of his Web presence, Young dreams big. He would love to have two separate sites: "One for the "Justin" of Hawai`i and another to promote my efforts on the Mainland. The styles and images I'm trying to portray are totally different." He's waiting for a bit to fully develop the Justin dichotomy, however. "Hopefully, at that point we'll have a huge budget and we can make Ed rich in the process," he laughs.
Young's designer has a few ideas that he hopes to implement in the not-so-distant future. "I really would like to get a powerful and robust chat program started," says Sugimoto. "It seems like an ideal place for Justin's fans to gather and discuss the latest news. Justin can even pop in from time to time as well. Perhaps a little more fan interactivity is in order too - ‘My Justin Story', ‘Fan Images', etc." He continues, "Flash is something that I'd like to start adding soon, but I haven't really found the right place to apply it yet.
In The Public Eye
"The site is a great promotional tool," observes Young. "It allows my music to reach a vast amount of people that would normally never be exposed to it. It's been helpful in getting the word out about new releases." Adds Sugimoto, "Fans often get information that can be found exclusively on his Web site, or weeks before it is public."
The Webmaster says that the site has attracted more fans for the singer. "Page views remain consistent and increase dramatically every month. On the opening (front) page alone, we got close to 2,000 views last month."
Many performers have discovered that Web sites greatly eliminate the need for paper flyers and newsletters – and costly postage. "When people ask when and where I'm gigging, I just direct them to the site," says Young. "It's so much easier that way."
Certainly, Sugimoto is aware of the potential for marketing on a global level with the Web presence. "If I tell recording artists or business contacts I meet of this young, talented singer/songwriter from Hawaii, getting all the information they need about him is just one click away."
The function of the site in the overall marketing strategy continues to evolve. I asked Young about his
Fan
Forum's role in his publicity. "Well, it's kind of cool to see what people are talking about, what they like, don't like," he said. "But there's no real mastermind marketing plan at work here. We're not quite that smart yet."
But it's just a matter of time.
Caroline Wright is a freelance writer who lived in Kailua, Hawai`i before relocating to rural South Carolina. Visit her virtual portfolio at
www.wrightforyou.com.
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