A rich vein, in all directions

This supershort ccTLD is another .FM domain that hits precisely the right note. .FM is a funky yet flexible domain extension that has seen increased adoption in recent years. Among astute players in a whole host of areas, some of them more connected to the music industry than others.

The .FM Domain Extension

The setup of this domain is itself a microcosm of the .FM extension overall, being a smartpower blend of fun and flexible but also targeted. Or, rather, targetable, allowing your brand to choose the direction you like while still benefiting from the ‘suitably geared’ feeling that comes with such a flexible base tool to work with.

That’s the beauty of tight, well-executed domains like this. Where both side of the dot not only work well together but achieve a level of complementariness (yes, it’s a word!) that gives rise to something further.

Prompting a brand that jumps off the page. With a certain jive or attractive mystique about it. A domain that is more than the some of its constiuent domain parts. That manages to birth a brand that is anchored only by its domain in a technical sense.

The Appeal of Tap.fm

For in flowing brands like Tap.fm, while the domain needs to be there in order for the brand to exist. Once it is there and does indeed allow it to exist, this is instantaneously no longer the focus of the matter, the brand has already rolled into its own realm. And completed several further rolls onward, each begun, enacted, and completed in reference to itself, the manfestation of the brand, not the domain.

Through this process, Tap.fm has seen something new brought into the world. A brand has sparked into life and a domain has played the roll that all great domains play — facilitating this emergence in an ‘proactively passive’ way. Doing its job of proficiently opening the gate, then swiftly getting out of the way, so that the Tap.fm the brand can roar on through.

The Chickenegg

This domain-brand process is a chicken and egg thing, of course. And, because of the unique ‘base layer’ role that domains play in the world, is hard to accurately render. Or even express in a comparative sense.

You could compare it to the need for a house to be built on a sturdy foundation, but the domain name is far more visible in this analogy. While admittedly playing that same role as this kind of base, this analogy does not quite capture the dynamic precisely.

Plus the domain situation involves further complexity on this, due to the intangible nature of its existence. It should play a firm, anchoring role, but its makeup is far from concret. And its trade very much in foundational concepts that will float, shift and warp as the eye of the brander (and the beholder) and sees fit.

Extras: Logos. .FM Extension Profile Pack.

Touchwords:Neat. Accessible. Flowing.

The Invisible Man

The domain name is a bit more like the Invisible Man, you can see what he looks like and get what he’s all about because of the coat he wears. The coat is his brand and further gives rise to brand equity, but it can’t exist without the underlying entity.

Yet, if you were to remove his coat, the underlying entity wouldn’t tell you much about the brand, other than it is the root of a tree that never grew, yet potentially still could. You could throw flour on him and say that’s what the underlying entity is, or soot and say that’s what he is, but when it comes down to it, the thing that makes the Invisible Man or the brand interesting is what it presents to and makes its way through the world as.

Tap.fm is just a three-letter word, a dot, and two alphabetically non-sequential letters. From which all manner of vividity (could/may/would) flows forth.

.FM Domain Info

We’ve done some high-content-value deep dives on altenative domain extensions, .FM domains in particular, and Tap’s current .FM domain running mate on the popX rotation, the luscious Love.fm, the streetsmart Smooth.fm, and the oh so Easy.fm.

So, we’ll keep wrap up this review here. Tap.fm is also such a neat, boundless domain that analysis of the technical attributes that compose it eventually hit a wall. As one can either see the deeper power of this domain and the glowing ease with which it accomplishes its task, and its resultant value as a branding tool, or they cannot.

You can discuss technicals until the cows come home. But once they do, the main thing you need to know is whether you’ve the setup necessary to tap their udders.