llc?
- Thread starter Wesbeats
- Start date
the real talk tho is...
- streaming devalued music
until streaming royalties can match what radio play royalties were, it's going to be shit
- accessibility devalued music
now everyone can make, release music. (This is great in one aspect), and should have raised levels, but in actual effect, it's just devalued music both in value and quality.
There's now too much music out there that;
- 1: people don't value it
- 2: if streaming could match radio royalties, the shares would be split too thin from all the bogus music, fake plays etc
- 3: people are now exposed to soo much poor quality (both musically and technically) that they cannot discern what's 'good' and 'bad', they like pretty much whatever just happens to play or some poorly produced, poorly performed, distorted music playing in the background of a tiktok video
people will literally listen to bad rap with out of key autotune and out of key 808s mixed really badly. just because it has autotune, 808s and is 'music'.
That's what you're dealing with right now.
Like i said, music needs more quality control.
- streaming devalued music
until streaming royalties can match what radio play royalties were, it's going to be shit
- accessibility devalued music
now everyone can make, release music. (This is great in one aspect), and should have raised levels, but in actual effect, it's just devalued music both in value and quality.
There's now too much music out there that;
- 1: people don't value it
- 2: if streaming could match radio royalties, the shares would be split too thin from all the bogus music, fake plays etc
- 3: people are now exposed to soo much poor quality (both musically and technically) that they cannot discern what's 'good' and 'bad', they like pretty much whatever just happens to play or some poorly produced, poorly performed, distorted music playing in the background of a tiktok video
people will literally listen to bad rap with out of key autotune and out of key 808s mixed really badly. just because it has autotune, 808s and is 'music'.
That's what you're dealing with right now.
Like i said, music needs more quality control.
this is the thing though.
people selling beats for say $5, even if you made, produced, mixed, mastered that song in an hour. You're basically working for $5 an hour, and that's assuming you'll sell 1 beat every hour.
Let's say you sell one bat for $200. That's really not that special.
You'd need to be literally churning out an insaaane amount of beats, like a factory, and still hope you're selling consistently, just to make minimum wage. And you'd literally be rushing out beats, or rinsing a generic formula to make easy quick type beats;
if you're someone making music for the right reason, this will be soul destroying.
if you're someone making music for the wrong reason (yo make beats for quick munnies) you're just thick, as that's a horrible business idea.
Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Agreed on all 3 points. I saw this years ago when CDs first came out and people were saying things like "Oh I really like track #4" instead of the name, whereas years earlier it was "Yo I really like that track called Lick My Balls, it's dope". Once we started going by the number of the track, it's been weird since then.
It's true though, the average listener doesn't give a shit about the quality because it's all hype. When Kanye came out with whatever album it was a few years ago, everyone loved it even though it was electronic garbage mixed with hype, they listened anyway. It's like when mixtapes back in the day had a DJ that actually blended one song into the next (yours truly) but then some dickheads like Clue and S&S came along and just yelled over a song while they smashed the next song into the current one and no one cared because they just wanted to hear that "cool" song rather than a really nice mix.
Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
I wish beatmakers would realize this. Yes, you could sell a beat at $5 and maybe sell it 1000 times, which is $5000, but the odds of that happening are way less than me getting laid by the pornstar of my dreams.
If you sell a beat exclusively at $5000, that's great, but what are the odds someone online is going to just throw that money at you? Almost none.
This is why all these Youtube videos and social media posts telling people how to make money selling beats is bullshit. It's not realistic. If you look at some of the articles I've written on the subject, I don't say "Do ABC and XYZ will happen". Instead I break it down realistically and I don't give concrete examples since there are none.
ah man, i used to hate it when i'd cop a mixtape and one of the tracks was straight fireee but, most of is is distorted to fuck and over lot of the bars you got the fucking dj shouts.
but still, some of those gritty distorted tracks had a vibe. i do miss that NY mixtape scene
OGBama
Big Clit Energy
Music @Iron Keys needs more quality control and less sonic doppelgängers/aural doppleganging.
Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
DJ FADE ON THE MIX C'MON NOW KICK IT!!!!!!!!!!!
ah man, i used to hate it when i'd cop a mixtape and one of the tracks was straight fireee but, most of is is distorted to fuck and over lot of the bars you got the fucking dj shouts.
but still, some of those gritty distorted tracks had a vibe. i do miss that NY mixtape scene
Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Over the years I've seen a lot of funnel pages where they try to get you to sign up to their newsletter and slowly sell you their courses. It's a good technique but not for beat making. Not at all. It's a very different niche. I respect the hustle but I don't see beat making as something you necessarily learn from a course. Yes, you can learn the basics, which is something I've written about countless times but after that it's all about experimenting and creating your own sound.
All this is helpful thanks I appreciate all the feedback. I wish it would go back to way it used to and come up with artists that way. I don’t know if that’s still a thing. I’m sure there are still ppl that come up with there beat maker together . Just gonna keep my head down and focus on getting better and meeting the right ppl.
Hi Illiens!
Long time no see I guess. My post will be too long too read and verbose as most of my messages here at Ill but maybe it will be helpful to someone. Treat it as two non-important cents from me regarding this topic.
It applies to every industry. For example I would never buy a regular T-shirt from Balenciaga with just a writing "Balenciaga" on it for let's say $5000 because it's completely mental thing to me. And it's not about the budget. It's about the nonsense of buying a regular T-shirt for $5000. Yet, there will be people who would proudly wear this type of clothes and will buy them eagerly. Because of the brand.
It's the power of the brand. If "Memento Beats" released electronic garbage as you put it then no one would give a damn about it. It's because my brand is microscopic or even non-existent compared to Kanye's. But if I was in Kanye's position then I would be able to sell crap too. It would be possible for every person or company out there. You would be able to do it because of the level your brand would represent.
Now coming back to @Wesbeats question.
First of all, as a producer you shouldn't be focusing on the question related to founding your company. As a producer you should focus on the question "How do I make my brand powerful?" or "How do I create a brand?". I've been working at a startup company for a few months now and I've had a chance to learn a thing or two about branding by observing their marketing moves and stuff. The advice below are also a reflection on my journey with Memento Beats which was unsuccessful, though I learned quite a lot of stuff from it about how to promote oneself and how to approach music in general.
When it comes to being a producer it's about building your personal brand and it's slightly different than building a company's brand.
1. Your personal brand (your producer brand) should be cohesive with you.
What I mean by this is for example when it comes to music, if you're good at making let's say synthwave, don't try to jump into trap just because it's popular. It's a very dangerous thing that I learned the hard way. It may seem like a good marketing move at first. Everybody's making trap and type beats so why shouldn't I do it too? But by doing this you risk getting lost in the avalanche of new wannabe producers who think that by making trap they will become famous, rich etc. You're one of many people who do the same thing just because it's popular at the moment. It's like a gold rush. It's especially dangerous if you already started creating your synthwave brand and suddenly you start releasing trap under it because you want to be noticed by the mainstream. By doing this you lose integrity of your brand and lose your synthwave audience. It's good to experiment but not all experiments can be published under the same brand.
2. All parts of your brand should be integral with each other.
I'm referring to colors you use in your graphics, the design of them, the way you write your posts about let's say new releases on your social media, the mix of your tracks, their sound, your photos on your website. Everything needs to be well-thought and calculated. And again cohesive with you as a person.
3. You should put yourself out there.
Personal brand requires putting your face and yourself out there. I learned that people who for example record themselves while making music or record tutorials and stuff like that get far more views than those who don't do it (including myself). People like communicating with each other. We also like watching other people and listening to them. We're social creatures whether you like it or not so you should let people know you. Of course at the same time you risk becoming a "talking head" but trust me it's better if you reveal yourself than when you don't do it. Also it's easier to attract more attention to a single person than to a company. And I can prove this by screenshots below:
Bill Gates personal twitter account has 60.8M followers and his company's twitter account "only" 11.8M. You see where I'm getting? And when we're talking about putting yourself out there...
4. Network
And I'm not talking about bombarding people with your messages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (although unfortunately, this is also important) but also about meeting other people in person. Get involved in your local scene somehow. Go on the shows, meet another artists and not only ones that make similar music to yours. Enroll yourself on a music course. Participate in some choir rehearsals or learn how to play some instruments and go to jam sessions. First of all, it will help you learn a new skill that may be transferrable to your production but most importantly, it will help you meet other people who might know other people.
Personally, I know a lot of guys who have metal bands for example and I have very good relations with them and they helped me a lot in some cases. They helped me find cheaper studios, or cheaper instruments and stuff. Be kind to people, don't be arrogant and put your ego in your pocket. Be helpful to them. It's important because one of their friends or they themselves can know a guy, who knows a guy who knows another who does something that may help you promote your brand. You never know. It's a long process and also difficult one because it's hard to meet reliable people in the music industry. Most of them are wannabe stars and they think they're special when in fact they're not (and I'm speaking about my former self here). But it's very important to know people in person rather than online.
5. Prepare a big budget
And I mean a really big budget. Not only for vsts, hardware etc but for marketing. You have to put a lot of money into this so that people are aware of your existence. Actually, that's the very first step of creating any brand. Making people aware that someone like @Wesbeats exists and he makes dope quality music. And when we're speaking about the quality...
6. Know your target group.
Who are you talking to? Who are the people who listen to your music? Why are they listen to it? What do they like the most about it? You have to know all of these things to make stuff that is better prepared and targeted specifically to some group. It will create engagement and that's the most important thing you're responsible for when shaping your personal brand.
7. Be sure that the stuff you put online is of very good quality
I'm talking about graphics you use for your beats, photos of yourself and your music. Don't rush things and before you upload something be sure that you have like 5-10 beats in your pocket for your future releases that you will post for example during next weeks. Create a space for yourself so that you will not feel the tension that you HAVE to create something because it's time to upload a new beat to your website, YouTube channel, Beatstars etc. I experienced it myself. In 2020 I was posting two beats every week on my YouTube channel. You might think that two beats per week in terms of rap/trap may not be a lot, but trust me it was if I also had to link it with my personal life and job. It was very exhausting thing and it kinda led me to a burnout. So be sure to avoid this type of stuff. Have something up your sleeve.
8. Be patient and be aware about the reality of the music industry.
As I mentioned earlier, don't rush things. Plan things ahead, improve quality not only of your music but also you as a person. Expand your knowledge about branding. If you're the producer you have to be kinda a jack of all trades and know many things. Be also aware that the rich superstars people look up to are only 0.01% of the whole music industry. Most people who are really knowledgeable and skilled when it comes to music are either not known or just lead a normal life. I know people who are virtuosos when it comes to the technique and knowledge they have about their instruments. Some of them are guitarists, some of them are violonists and some are pianists. They are INCREDIBLE. And I mean it. Not good. They're excellent. Yet, they teach at music schools or universities when they make average or small amount of money. Sometimes they're hired to play some basic music at bands who are well known in my country. And that's it. If you make music for money, you're probably in the wrong place. I realised it two years ago and this is why I treat it as a hobby and something I do when I have purely free time. I don't have the will anymore to keep "grinding" as hard work in music does not always pay off. It's not only applicable to music but to every other industry out there. To succeed you also, if not mainly, need a stroke of luck.
Success as a phenomena is caused by many factors. Hard work is only one of them. Location where you live makes a huge difference as to whether you'll be successful or not. For example if Steve Jobs were born in Poland as Stefan Praca (it's the direct translation of his name to Polish), there would be no Apple. Or maybe there would be Apple but someone else would have created it or it would have been less known and prestigious. So be reasonable and approach it lightly. Treat music as a hobby or passion because by doing this you don't feel the pressure.
I wish you all the best in your future journey and I hope that some part of my post will be helpful to you.
Peace.
Long time no see I guess.
My post will be too long too read and verbose as most of my messages here at Ill but maybe it will be helpful to someone. Treat it as two non-important cents from me regarding this topic.Yeah, but it wasn't because they didn't see or hear it was garbage (although this may have also happened). It was because KANYE made it and released it. At some level of popularity this kind of things are "approvable" by the audience and/or followers. It's about the power of the brand. Same thing would happen with Ozzy Osbourne, Miles Davis etc. They could literally record their farts and trust me there will be people who would buy it.
It applies to every industry. For example I would never buy a regular T-shirt from Balenciaga with just a writing "Balenciaga" on it for let's say $5000 because it's completely mental thing to me. And it's not about the budget. It's about the nonsense of buying a regular T-shirt for $5000. Yet, there will be people who would proudly wear this type of clothes and will buy them eagerly. Because of the brand.
It's the power of the brand. If "Memento Beats" released electronic garbage as you put it then no one would give a damn about it. It's because my brand is microscopic or even non-existent compared to Kanye's. But if I was in Kanye's position then I would be able to sell crap too. It would be possible for every person or company out there. You would be able to do it because of the level your brand would represent.
Now coming back to @Wesbeats question.
First of all, as a producer you shouldn't be focusing on the question related to founding your company. As a producer you should focus on the question "How do I make my brand powerful?" or "How do I create a brand?". I've been working at a startup company for a few months now and I've had a chance to learn a thing or two about branding by observing their marketing moves and stuff. The advice below are also a reflection on my journey with Memento Beats which was unsuccessful, though I learned quite a lot of stuff from it about how to promote oneself and how to approach music in general.
When it comes to being a producer it's about building your personal brand and it's slightly different than building a company's brand.
1. Your personal brand (your producer brand) should be cohesive with you.
What I mean by this is for example when it comes to music, if you're good at making let's say synthwave, don't try to jump into trap just because it's popular. It's a very dangerous thing that I learned the hard way. It may seem like a good marketing move at first. Everybody's making trap and type beats so why shouldn't I do it too? But by doing this you risk getting lost in the avalanche of new wannabe producers who think that by making trap they will become famous, rich etc. You're one of many people who do the same thing just because it's popular at the moment. It's like a gold rush. It's especially dangerous if you already started creating your synthwave brand and suddenly you start releasing trap under it because you want to be noticed by the mainstream. By doing this you lose integrity of your brand and lose your synthwave audience. It's good to experiment but not all experiments can be published under the same brand.
2. All parts of your brand should be integral with each other.
I'm referring to colors you use in your graphics, the design of them, the way you write your posts about let's say new releases on your social media, the mix of your tracks, their sound, your photos on your website. Everything needs to be well-thought and calculated. And again cohesive with you as a person.
3. You should put yourself out there.
Personal brand requires putting your face and yourself out there. I learned that people who for example record themselves while making music or record tutorials and stuff like that get far more views than those who don't do it (including myself). People like communicating with each other. We also like watching other people and listening to them. We're social creatures whether you like it or not so you should let people know you.
Of course at the same time you risk becoming a "talking head" but trust me it's better if you reveal yourself than when you don't do it. Also it's easier to attract more attention to a single person than to a company. And I can prove this by screenshots below:Bill Gates personal twitter account has 60.8M followers and his company's twitter account "only" 11.8M. You see where I'm getting? And when we're talking about putting yourself out there...
4. Network
And I'm not talking about bombarding people with your messages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (although unfortunately, this is also important) but also about meeting other people in person. Get involved in your local scene somehow. Go on the shows, meet another artists and not only ones that make similar music to yours. Enroll yourself on a music course. Participate in some choir rehearsals or learn how to play some instruments and go to jam sessions.
First of all, it will help you learn a new skill that may be transferrable to your production but most importantly, it will help you meet other people who might know other people.Personally, I know a lot of guys who have metal bands for example and I have very good relations with them and they helped me a lot in some cases. They helped me find cheaper studios, or cheaper instruments and stuff. Be kind to people, don't be arrogant and put your ego in your pocket. Be helpful to them. It's important because one of their friends or they themselves can know a guy, who knows a guy who knows another who does something that may help you promote your brand. You never know. It's a long process and also difficult one because it's hard to meet reliable people in the music industry. Most of them are wannabe stars and they think they're special when in fact they're not (and I'm speaking about my former self here
). But it's very important to know people in person rather than online.5. Prepare a big budget
And I mean a really big budget. Not only for vsts, hardware etc but for marketing. You have to put a lot of money into this so that people are aware of your existence. Actually, that's the very first step of creating any brand. Making people aware that someone like @Wesbeats exists and he makes dope quality music. And when we're speaking about the quality...
6. Know your target group.
Who are you talking to? Who are the people who listen to your music? Why are they listen to it? What do they like the most about it? You have to know all of these things to make stuff that is better prepared and targeted specifically to some group. It will create engagement and that's the most important thing you're responsible for when shaping your personal brand.
7. Be sure that the stuff you put online is of very good quality
I'm talking about graphics you use for your beats, photos of yourself and your music. Don't rush things and before you upload something be sure that you have like 5-10 beats in your pocket for your future releases that you will post for example during next weeks. Create a space for yourself so that you will not feel the tension that you HAVE to create something because it's time to upload a new beat to your website, YouTube channel, Beatstars etc. I experienced it myself. In 2020 I was posting two beats every week on my YouTube channel. You might think that two beats per week in terms of rap/trap may not be a lot, but trust me it was if I also had to link it with my personal life and job. It was very exhausting thing and it kinda led me to a burnout. So be sure to avoid this type of stuff. Have something up your sleeve.
8. Be patient and be aware about the reality of the music industry.
As I mentioned earlier, don't rush things. Plan things ahead, improve quality not only of your music but also you as a person. Expand your knowledge about branding. If you're the producer you have to be kinda a jack of all trades and know many things. Be also aware that the rich superstars people look up to are only 0.01% of the whole music industry. Most people who are really knowledgeable and skilled when it comes to music are either not known or just lead a normal life. I know people who are virtuosos when it comes to the technique and knowledge they have about their instruments. Some of them are guitarists, some of them are violonists and some are pianists. They are INCREDIBLE. And I mean it. Not good. They're excellent. Yet, they teach at music schools or universities when they make average or small amount of money. Sometimes they're hired to play some basic music at bands who are well known in my country. And that's it. If you make music for money, you're probably in the wrong place. I realised it two years ago and this is why I treat it as a hobby and something I do when I have purely free time. I don't have the will anymore to keep "grinding" as hard work in music does not always pay off. It's not only applicable to music but to every other industry out there. To succeed you also, if not mainly, need a stroke of luck.
Success as a phenomena is caused by many factors. Hard work is only one of them. Location where you live makes a huge difference as to whether you'll be successful or not. For example if Steve Jobs were born in Poland as Stefan Praca (it's the direct translation of his name to Polish), there would be no Apple. Or maybe there would be Apple but someone else would have created it or it would have been less known and prestigious. So be reasonable and approach it lightly. Treat music as a hobby or passion because by doing this you don't feel the pressure.
I wish you all the best in your future journey and I hope that some part of my post will be helpful to you.
Peace.
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