So in the past 10 or so years, there has been an oversaturation of music on a lot of internet sites like YouTube, Soundcloud, and so on. Whoever started out around 2010 or so started out in a time where there wasn't too much other music around (or at least not as much as today). Nowadays, it's so much, music has become a common good that people don't give much consideration to. Tons of hour long "mixes" on YouTube where people just listen, Spotify streams provide you with non stop new music.

The bitter realisation is that eventually, a newcomer would have to compete. I hate competition and this entire negativity driven spirit behind it. I hate marketing and so on. What are my odds? I'd think, not good.

What are your thoughts to give to someone who would start from scratch, whose tracks would be not good in the beginning and would need to spend some time to learn proper production, and who has no clue about how to go about all of this. Any particular resources you would recommend? There are a lot of books and even video courses aimed at preparing a newcomer for the modern music scene, if you've read or watched any of those and have some recommendations, I'd appreciate it. I'm mostly interested in EDM at the moment which is, as you can imagine, an incredibly contested 'market', and something where a lot of fans will dismiss if the tracks don't meet their established expectations that they get from hundreds and thousands of other great, polished tracks that they can listen to all day long. I also feel that a newcomer is fairly vulnerable against all possible problems that can occur.

 

There is not so much difference to the 90ies or 00s or 10s.
You always had to invest time and money, you had to have talent and eventually, with luck, you earned some bucks now and then with your music. Don't think that everyone who had an akai at home made a living out of his music.
If you make music for yourself, your own wellbeing and happyness you don't have to compete.
I don't get the 'I hate competition'. If you want people to listen to your stuff, then you need to have more interesting tracks than others... you can't say 'now give me your money and listen to my music, I fucking deserve it and by the way, I hate competition'
But it has been like this since the stoneage.

 

You will certainly agree that if someone who had the same talent and the same resources would start uploading his music on YouTube in 2008 will have had a drastically different experience than someone who would start in 2019. Barely any quality stuff around back then, not much to compete with. Nowadays, a newcomer is nothing. That's what I'm talking about. I'm basically late to the party and need some guidance for the current environment.

 

This reads like.... you're admitting defeat before even beginning? this is like that other guy whos quitting... who you making music for? You or some unknown entity (fans?)? All possible problems that could occur?? whaaaaat lol that is everything, everywhere Don't worry about 'the competition' at all; resist the urge to seek out a step-by-step how to on 'writing a hit tune'. How's your pitch? Can you sing well? That post is so wildy self-defeatist its mind boggling... There is no need for that intense amount of scrutiny on a hypothetical situation- believe it or not, making music is FUN and deeply REWARDING on many more levels than recognition or money - I see your last response; brother, you are RIGHT ON TIME , there is no late to the scene in this scenario. Tell us which platform you're on, mac or pc and we can give you some starters

 

Where is the music? Give me the links. I'm in search of them ... and have left no stone unturned.

 

Thank you for responding. I'm not quite defeatist I think, else I would not be here and open this thread. I see the possibilities, I just also see that I might need to do sacrifices that I'm not sure I'm willing to make. I do have some background in music theory, and also ideas. But no experience with actual EDM production or using DAWs. Yes, I know that music can be made for itself, and that it can be fun. It's just that the necessities of life dictate that I also have funds to pay bills and feed myself. I'm on PC, however right now I'm not looking for software (did that in the past few months). I'm more asking for good tutorials or books that lay out a path in order to succeed in nowaday's environment.

@calmdown, I actually have no music on the internet yet... I know, you guys probably wanna hear demos and stuff. I should probably start working on that.

 

You got me wrong bro. Please read it again.

 

If you are looking to launch yourself as talent, there is no difference between now and the 1700s.

The business has always been 10% talent and 90% hustle and a giant helping of plain ole dumb luck to go along with all of it. Don't take that to mean that you don't need talent... You need to be talented to even consider doing this... but there is a lot more dealing, hustling and networking involved... just being talented isn't going to get you anywhere.

The most direct path involves a lot spectacle and live performance and a local base to launch from just as it did for Brahms or Kiss.

 

The difference between rich and poor in the entertainment "biz" is even greater than most other industries. (more than 99% to 1%) You do it because you love it and forget about the things you have no control over. If you have a good product, you try to get it to the places where you think "somebody" may find it. And then continue creating some more. The more stuff you have in more places or to demonstrate, the more likely you are to get somewhere. I have some songs, but my goal is to perform some of them live and make a video of it. Fame and fortune are not anything that interests me...well, maybe some fortune.

 

Oh, now I get it ;) Now I understand. See, that ties in with this:

I am not exactly the best at socializing and networking. Perhaps I'm a bit spoiled by the stories of the first few musicians on the big sites like YouTube and Soundcloud, who just grew for the virtue of being the first people to put out good tracks. I might be naive to think that tracks will just go viral by themselves for being good tracks. But that's not true anymore.
So perhaps I should just read some socializing book lol?

 

I think that's a nice approach. So quality + quantity + time would equal succes in the long term. So that would mean I'd need some other kind of income in the beginning, and that I'd only do music on the side.

 

That's the actual problem. With love and best wishes, quit the internet for a while and do music in every spare minute you have. That's how you get better and stand out. Listen to a lot of different music, too. If you have developed taste, you'll notice things you do sound odd compared to the songs you like. Put them in your DAW, check what the tempo is, take notes. What rhythm is the hihat playing? At what point in the bar do certain sounds come in? What does the kick sound like? This and tons of other questions. Listen to things you like, take notes, copy the idea, fail at doing a recreation but end up with a great sounding song you've made. Repeat until infinity. That's how music has been done since forever.

Also, regarding the change... the problem is people spend way too little time with other people, and they spend way too much time being nasty on the internet. The way to get true fans, great musician friends and good vibes is to play the music. So do everything you can to go out and meet people.

 

You will 100% need to make 'sacrifices'. How about just attempting a single track, using only the (quite powerful) tools offered in whatever daw you've chosen. Feel it out, see if the composing process agrees with you. The sheer amount of choices available can seem overwhemling but you seem to have a 'sound' you're going for.. put aside ONE or TWO records that are in the vein of what you're thinking of. Then do some critical listening on them; what sound is making the bass? what sound is playing the melody or pads? Listen VERY CLOSELY to these records you pick, force yourself to identify what you hear (in whatever terms you have available). Don't fret over drums, this initial exercise would be for you just to see what needs to happen in order to go from thought to expression- Your looking for a long-term plan for success is ... practical and organized... however seeing as you haven't yet written a single song, might be a bit... premature

 

Hello @waverider

^
Don't see this as a competition game ,but instead as a Celebration of your music/creativity

^
It is all good ,trust in Yourself & in Life :

^
Your odds are good ,smile,be thankful for what you know & already got around music & never give up ! :

^^^^
i hope all the above info helps You & best wishes !

 

The awesomeness of the business is that now as an artist we have all the control of our content. Affordable high end equipment combined with loads of knowledge and marketing platforms allows only the talented to flourish instead of just those with large amounts of money!! I am not rich by any means but have managed to support 2 kids and own a house from this business...Just takes a little sweat and self confidence!

 

I could be totally wrong...but I think things have changed considerably over the last 20 years with the music industry. A small label has to be able to sell enough to put the money back into the label. You could do that 20 years ago but not now. People are just not buying records anymore, at least many aren't. Touring / live performance can make a bit of money for some but I'm not sure how long that will last. I'm a huge music fan and *rarely* go see an artist live. Not counting live performance / dj'ing, I don't see how anyone could make much by selling their records. Best thing to do, is find something else you enjoy doing that'll make some type of living for you, and do your music in your free time. Sorry, I know I'm sounding negative. LOL

 

God you're overthinking this way too much.

Just get behind a daw and start the lessons. I hope you don't underestimate the investment you have to make.
You said "it might take some time to learn" and that "some" is quite underwhelming. Count at least half a decade to know what you're doing somehow, maybe, don't focus on 2019 because you're not going to be in the game until quite a few years. Even with hustle and social circles you need to have some skills to peak anyone's interest.

I swear to you i've never heard of anyone who is amazing at production after a couple years. I think half a decade is the minimum to pass a couple plateaux, every year you're gonna think you know your shit until you fall on your butt when you realize you had no idea "this" and "that" "AND THIS" had to be taken into account.

Before thinking about fame and money i urge you to know what you're in for because no amount of luck and contacts are gonna push you if you ain't capable of churning solid productions, especially for edm.

I agree with what people said but that 99 to 1 percent difference also (to me mostly) comes from pushing forward and not giving up when things get hard or when you hit a said plateau or things aren't going your way still.
In music, in art, in anything, not giving up, constant focus on honing your skills and countless hours of work is what sets most successful people from the rest of the herd. I think it takes pinch of insanity, the sort of foly that makes you run the extra mile without any guarantee, the sort of madness that makes you work harder and longer than most... because oh yes most people do give up too soon or don't even bother trying.
There are other factors as people mentioned but it's even rarer to "fall" into fame without a large amount of perseverance and practice.

Good luck and keep at it, the rest will come later.

 

Last edited: Mar 2, 2019

Thank you for the posts, that's helpful stuff here.
Ok, so I am not worried about the music side of things. I believe that I have at least the basic "talent" to create music, and I also have the ideas. I'm just worried - over I overthink, as you suppose - about the possibilities. What makes me write this is that I see so many talented people on the internet who put out great content and don't gain any kind of traction. There's so much good stuff, and a majority of listeners flock around the music of a few people. I guess, seeing talented people invest so much time into their music and not becoming successful, that is making me anxious. In a just world, talent and work would be rewarded. But in reality, it's luck, competition, connections, etc..

Nextgensound, yes, what you say is the possibilities. If you say that you could support yourself and a family with it - I assume you spent some time learning and doing business strategies, is that right? So you went beyond just making music, but you must certainly also have been doing self promotion, networking, and all that stuff?

nineflyz, that's a catch 22. The more time I spend working a day job, the less time I have on getting better at music. I'm thinking about going all in on it.

Boosire, that's very true. I have no illusions about this, either, and I don't mind spending half a decade, or more, learning a DAW and all the techniques. It's just - knowing that this possibility exists, that I become really good, produce great stuff, and end up not being successful despite that - it's something that's bothering me. When I spend ten years becoming a lawyer and invest the work, I know that I can get a secure job. In this field however, it is entirely possible to pour your heart into it for ten years and get nowhere. That sucks.

 

The main thing is to stop expecting the world to be fair to you.

It's not fair. Now bend it over and make it suck your dick.

 

Why even think like that? Haven't you heard enough tales of how the whole thing perverts and destroys people? The entire notion is seriously problematic. You want to become a tin of beans? Fine. Make beans. Not an easy job, btw.

Why does it take the recognition of other people to validate one's worth? And what would that entail, anyway? Numbers, sales, money?

When, say, a hummingbird learns to fly so perfectly, what does it do it for? For recognition? I don't fucking think so.

Look, nobody likely gives a shit about your music.

"Look out all you hippies, you ain't as sharp as me, you ain't about to trip on the sexuality, turn it up"

 

Last edited: Mar 3, 2019