Fascinating inside scoop on being a full-time Synth YouTuber

The Lounge General Discussion
#21

Most of these channels have very little information even in their “polished” demo videos as he puts it.

My guess is a lot of these demo/review videos do minimal to actually move product so it’s not too surprising companies aren’t splashing a ton of money their way beyond some hardware they set aside for demo purposes.

Even that is probably going to get scaled back as macroeconomic conditions force more people to avoid luxury purchases like the $500 drum machines he is getting for free in exchange for shilling for their company.

#22

it’s complicated. generally, only employees of an employer can organize a union for a given workplace in the U.S. so creators would have to first get YT/Google to treat them as employees for purposes of their channels’ content. which . . . good luck with that (but if enough high-value creators actually boycotted the platform long enough to inflict genuine economic pain on Google? who knows)

2 Likes
#23

Yikes… these are some really harsh comments in here. Dude seems a bit shook about where he finds himself in life right now. I’ve been there. I might be there again tomorrow. He’s being super honest and vulnerable, basically saying he’s trying to work himself out of a depressed state, and barely anyone can muster up some sympathy for him? He’s a musician who feels like he’s getting further and further away from doing what he loves to do. Seems pretty relatable to me.

52 Likes
#24

Artists have to get involved in business if they want to make a living from their art. But it’s apparent he’s trying to make a living as a product reviewer / critic, not as an artist / musician / producer,

2 Likes
#25

I’ve got sympathy for him. It seems like he wants to cultivate a useful and mutually beneficial relationship between himself, his audience, and companies. Admirable.

I think he’s shit out of luck though. There’ll always be someone willing to do the same thing for free.

7 Likes
#26

As human beings, there would be a need for us to express ourselves in some form or manner. Good on that be it YouTube or otherwise.

Difference here I see is whether it was done out of general good for community at large or for self serving/monetary gains.

#27

I don’t… He sounds whiny, he chose this…
He could have just gotten a real job like most of us and kept doing it if he really loves it enough, and then he would see what hating your job really is like… instead he is complaining that he can’t make a career out of something that is not a career… he tried to leapfrog the truth that nobody cares about paying for music anymore and thought he did for a long time and now reality is hitting him hard right now, but the truth is all these synth fluencers and companies are trying to get the money while they can because they all know this interest in these products won’t last forever… whole he is trying to make a union for something that will probably be over in five years…
He’s made his bed… he can get a real job at any point, no I don’t feel bad for him.
This was inevitable.

8 Likes
#28

This sounds like sour grapes to me

12 Likes
#29

I don’t want any human being to suffer. (Well, maybe Henry Kissinger.)

There is a conversation he needs to have with the companies that send him gear for videos, and there is a conversation he needs to have with himself about his path in life. Neither of these need to be public. He is looking for support and validation from, God help him, YouTube viewers.

He alluded to backchannel convos with others in a similar situation, and those are probably his best source for sympathy, support, and advice moving forward. I hope he finds his way.

26 Likes
#30

Well ya!!! That is my point… most people feel like this, but don’t make videos whining about it and just get through the day… people are actually really suffering all over the world, and he is not being valued for his creative abilities at video production as much as he wants? Cry a river.

4 Likes
#31

If his message was not for the general public, but for music tech companies, then why put it on youtube?

If he wants to be taken seriously as a business. Er then see above. Unprofessional as fuck.

If he’s got problems with depression, go and get help from relevant professionals.

Whining about a failed business plan on youtube acheives nothing.

17 Likes
#32

Yeah people should just shut up and accept the one bowl of porridge. How dare they express dissatisfaction! Get a haircut and get a real job! It’s the only way things will change, stay as quiet as possible about it, sssshhhhhhhhhh.

10 Likes
#33

If he provided anything of real value then he’d be in a better position to negotiate for favourable terms.

Too bad, too sad.

3 Likes
#34

If he stops shilling gear I might start watching his vids again. (Someone tag me if it turns out that way. I’m not going to follow the drama.)

The problem he’s talking about is important to get out in the open. It’s not really sensible to address the brands with this because they know all this shit, that’s exactly why they’re advertising so hard on youtube. They’ve been burning out people just like him for at least as long as he’s been in the game. The people he needs to reach are the ones he ultimately addresses, the other creators, especially the new ones.

1 Like
#35

Attempting to silence critics on a technicality before making the public whinge.

#36

This!

Also, he’s got a point regarding the flood of day-one content. This is a plague and it needs to stop. I’d much rather watch a more in-depth video about a piece of gear that the creator took a lot of time to produce - like RMR used to do - than a formulaic infomercial shat out by someone just to meet a deadline. (Heard Nick Batt complain about this too on ST a couple of times, and it seems like Sonicstate isn’t even getting gear in for those awful hypetrain reviews anymore. That definitely improved the quality of their YT channel.)

I get the feeling RMR got into this under the impression that his job as a sYnThFlUeNcEr would be more like working for Keyboard Magazine in the early nineties. It isn’t, and it definitely wasn’t when he started doing YT. And while that may be his own fault, I definitely feel sympathetic towards him.

I wish him the best and hope his new content strategy (if you can call it that) works out well for him. I’d definitely be interested in more Alex Ball-ish historical documentaries and video essays, so I’ll be looking forward to seeing him winding down the shilling.

5 Likes
#37

It’s undeniable that he provides very real monetary value to companies, and that is exactly where the problem is. Even though he adds value there is no real way to negotiate in this environment.

All in all I think it’s an interesting discussion, although I do have suspicions that this is a ploy to get people to talk about him and this video and capitalize off of the drama it creates.

2 Likes
#38

This video is clearly intended for other Youtubers or wanna-be YT in the synth game. I would say, it’s intended for smaller Youtubers as I assume he is already in touch with the “bigger” ones. What would be the point of charging for your videos when smaller Youtubers would still keep doing it for free. The idea that you must get paid as a synfluencer needs to infuse globally for him to be able to charge too (and charge even more). That might seem like a cynical reasoning but well… this is business after all. It doesn’t mean this will work but I think they are the main targets (and some subscribers might feel like they could subscribe to his patreon to support him better). If it works somehow, this could be beneficial to all the Youtubers in this market so it’s not evil either. I think Bobeat is also trying to do that already (way more subtle though) by creating a pool of Youtubers around/with him.

2 Likes
#39

When set to 24bits, I found out the Octatrack sounds a tad better. Just sayin’…

8 Likes
#40

Yeah, I saw Bob Eats in the comments of this video saying it was “very important” or something. He seemed to be down with this message. I’m glad they all have each other to support one another! Lol