I've always thought of e-mail as the equivalent of direct mail in the physical world. Web sites, on the other hand, are similar to print ads in newspapers and magazines. Companies spend millions of dollars to run ads and then sit with their fingers crossed and hope that enough people notice their ads and act on them. Marketing people discovered long ago that it was a smart idea to gather the names and addresses of people who expressed an interest in a particular product or service. Armed with those names and addresses, companies could send promotional messages directly to peoples' homes, instead of waiting for them to respond to ads.
Direct mail puts the marketer in control of the promotional exchange.
It's the different between watching a football game from the sidelines and being the quarterback. Your e-mail newsletter will not only put you in control of which messages are in front of your fans, it will also let you use the power of repetition. Raving fans are rarely enthusiastic right off the bat. The more that subscribers read focused messages about who you are and what musical benefits you provide, the more deeply ingrained your identity becomes. People who subscribe to your newsletter usually find out about you through a mention on another Web site, in another newsletter, or based on a recommendation from a friend.