ALOT of fellow producers of mine think that it is better to be known for one style/genre or like-minded styles/genres. I.E., if you are a EDM producer than it is not in your best interest to produce rock or country music as well as it may confuse your fan base or lead people into thinking you have no style/are not really good at anything so you try to do everything. I personally think this is bullshit and produce anything I can get my ears on. But if you look at ALL of the big timers in the industry,(past, present, and future)everyone made a certain type of music and stuck with it throughout their carrier's entirety. Why is this? Why don't metal bands release jazz band music, or EDM producers compose a symphony or two? Why do rappers only rap on hiphop beats. Why do pop singers only sing pop music/like-minded pop oriented music. The old excuse of not having the proper instruments is no longer relevant with all of the tech we have now-a-days. I sure as hell don't think it is because a particular artist may not simply like any other genre but the one they are best known for. As a matter of fact, most artist started out in other genres and later find themselves in the one they become famous for. I.E. some kids start out in highschool band and then turn out to play punk rock or started out in multiple garage bands and then turned out to make edm etc...Are musicians so afraid of loosing their fan base that they just stick to what they think works best? Yea of course there has been a few moments in musical history where some rapper jumped on a rock beat, a pop singer does opera, or vice versa. But why does this not happen more. One would think, I would think it would with all of the talent we have floating around at any given time.

What say you?

 

Yeah, I agree that it would be cool to see artists and producers being more artistic and trying out more ways to express themselves.
But if somebody is in it for the fame + money I understand that they create one simple, clear thing that they stick to so they can hook and hold on to as many ppl as possible. A lot of ppl don't like change, and there's a constant flood of artists competing for the attention, now more than ever.

When I was growin up I was mainly into electronic stuff like Kraftwerk, Numan, Depeche. But my older brother and many of my friends were into rock and metal so I've always listened to a lot of that also. And when I started in a band our main goal was to use all our various influences and create sth original that wasn't fixed on any specific genre.
Needless to say we never got any record deal

 

jack of all trades or master of one. And if you're not in it for the money, then what are you in it for? love of music? if you really love music, you want more time for it and time is money so if you stay dinking around multiple genres while giving your entire day to a day job, then you're doing it wrong.

 

I dabble in multiple genres but prefer mainly one as i enjoy making it the most. But that doesnt mean you cant do anything else. A good engineer/producer can do many 'styles' or genres.

 

Yup *yes*

Eventually I got lucky and was able to work professionally with music for a while. And even though it was in a different way than I had planned, it was a great experience and I made a pretty decent living out of it.
But when I look back, I was never as happy as when I was poor and made music with the band just for the pure joy of creating something that was our own and sharing that with others through gigs in small venues. That kind of joy doesn't come with a price tag.

I'm not knocking anybody who's in it for the money. Like Xsze said, it's a personal choice. Go your own way.

But there's a helluva lot more value to be found in music and art besides using it to try and make a buck.

 

Hi guys,

I think the main problem is for making shows / concerts. The people that like your music will want to watch you live and they will come to your show, usually for one style only. I had many international shows, as DJ/ Producer that made the mistake to make every song sound different. Conclusion: BAD IDEA! I was stressed everytime about what should I play in front of them, because it's very confusing to everybody playing so many different approaches of the Dance music. That's why I've been forced to take a 2 years break just to try to release a new sound and keep producing that for a longer time or at least to be close to that. Sadly, the crowd out there define what producer should create.

Still, you can release under multiple nicknames, even if that way, would be more energy spent, but we do a lot for the love of music!

 

I'm the same as you, in the spam of 2 months, I produced a Trance track, a hip-hop beat, and an orchestral track. But f*ck it, music is music :D. I think keeping to one type of music is kind of small minded. I think most known musicians started as music geeks and messed around with a lot of genres but you have to keep in mind that they got signed by a label, and there are strings attached, one of which being "keep making that sound". The proof is that very established artisits who already have a ton of money tend to do more diverse projects and do whatever they want because they're not bound by labels's constraints.
And also, yeah the fanbase is an important factor as well. I like Kings of Leon; if they came out with a deep house album, I'm not sure I'd listen to it, you see what I'm saying ? ^^ I think you basically have to stick to one genre once your music gets past your bedroom studio.

 

When i was at the beginning of everything, i was so patient and determinated to be a music producer that i took all the genres in consideration, not only one. I was so poor that i had only a pair of headphones and a computer, but i paid so much attention to every music genre (maybe not the folk or tradition regional music) that i spent hours after hours like a hypnotised man like i would've killed somebody who would disturb me. I didn't even thought about making just one genre or serving a manager/label's ass.
I was just desperate to be able to make music and nothing else. Now after just 3 years, i work for a label too, i work as a producer but also as a sound engineer and belive me, i do different genres of music like progressive house, pop-rock, electro-pop, trap, R&B, even rock-alternative, and believe me, i really get paid for all of these genres without serving anyone's rules. I do it mainly because i love to push myself and to accept every production related challange and i also made a living from it. I do the progressive house for a label and the rest of genres mentioned above for the independent artists.
I always schedule my agenda and manage to split up serving every artist who work with me.. and i'm just one guy.
But maybe you think how is this possible... Well... Along the road i sacrificed alot of things, i.e. i don't have a familly, i live single, no serious girlfriend, no often hanging out with friends, no comunication with my real brothers or parents(because they didn't supported me, letting me struggle on my own without even asking me if i'm doing well, so i keep it this way now because i usually don't keep people who tries to bring me down instead of fighting next to me )

P.S.: If i want to fuck something, the premium escorts bitches are cheap here

 

It's fantastic to be able to earn a living from music... but anyone who's started in music production just to try and get rich is a fool in my book.

There are much easier routes/ career choices if making wonga is the only motivator.

 

Two categories of music. Good and bad. And I posit that 90% of all "art" and entertainment is crap, no matter the medium or genre. Duke Ellington said "If it sounds good, it is good". No fences for me please. I like mainly funky rock and jazz, but as a musician in my part of the world, I have paid more bills playing country for others. And as a drummer/percussionist, I lift a lot of ideas from drum programming and electronica. Do what your heart tells you to, and music makes you a lot happier.

 

Completely disagree... If you stick to a strick set of rules in a genre created by other people are you really creating your own art? It's like bands who get signed half way through a genre's half life and it's been done before. No new genre's would emerge either.

I could care less about genre and I write whatever I feel even if a single song has aspects of 20 different musical types. Becuase in itself that is a style and that is me.

Sure if you really think your gonna make money doing same thing thousands of other's do I guess thats your thing then but you're never going to innovate anything and you're definitely not bringing yourself to the table.

So Personally I can't agree with a single statement made of your argument.

Also to answer many of your questions

A: Most popular artists only have a certain % to do with the music put out under their name
B: In popular music that is put out by big companies it's about making money using known formula's
C: Most rappers only rap on hiphop because they have nothing to do with the instrumental itself.
D: Most bands/groups are just that groups. The ones that stay the same fade out also. And are usually heavily criticized for not evolving.
E: It's alot of music snobery. It's like metalheads who refuse to accept anything that isn't in their narrow definition of metal. same thing goes for several genre's of electronic music
F: Some of the most famous artists even known didn't stick to a script and created their own vision which is why they have the dedicated fan base they do. If you do what ever one else does you're easily replacable.

 

Why don't metal bands release jazz band music, or EDM producers compose a symphony or two? Why do rappers only rap on hiphop beats. Why do pop singers only sing pop music/like-minded pop oriented music.

- Liquid Tension Experiment project

- Strobe by Deadmau5

- Walk this way (run dmc / aerosmith), most RATM carrier

- Michael Jackson

it take some balls to walk outside the line. All of these were huge acts. Sometimes it works.
It takes a while to master such stuffs.
The examples I stated are here to stay, they make a mark in recorded music history, and all were huge success. And they all work on mixing different style.
Mainstream acts, they make it, for a while, but easy come, easy go. They're fast forgotten.