The internet is a rapidly-changing place and since our most recent updates to the design of AllMusic were in 2013, we’ve needed to make some upgrades to the layout and functionality of the site. We hope that they are seen as improvements (but let’s face it, we’ve been through multiple times over the decades and nobody likes change).
The primary change you’ll see is that the ways to navigate within pages has changed (or rather changed back, in some ways). Now you can jump to the artist’s discography, credits, awards or other information by using the links that are pinned to the side of the screen. By having the links to open more information always readily available, our hope is that you can get to the sections you’re looking for in a more efficient manner.
Additionally, the information for an artist or an album can all be displayed on one long page (as opposed to jumping through multiple pages). Hopefully this feels a little bit “Web 1.0” but in a positive way.
The new layout uses slightly larger font and spacing for improved readability, and to help users on mobile devices click links and buttons more cleanly. The page is wider to allow us to place ads in a less obtrusive way and to avoid overlapping page content wherever possible. Ads are nobody’s favorite topic but they are a requirement to keep the site up and running. The additional site width also allows for more information to be displayed and sorted, so things like average user ratings can appear in more places.
Some additional cool features include:
A stand-alone page for an archive of daily Staff Picks.
Celebrating famous musicians’ birthdays on the homepage:
An easier way to get to our annual Year In Review features (right at the top of each page).
More visual tools in our type-ahead search box to find what you’re looking for more easily.
Highlighting albums released on this day on the homepage:
A more robust and visual user profile area (with more additional features to come).
We’ve done rigorous testing and QA on multiple browsers and devices, but bugs always pop up in situations like this.
If you see something broken or just not working, please let us know in the comments below or via our support page.
