…well…just asking…nothing but a little reminder… 
7 Likes
I stopped a little short of halfway through. Before I go into the problems with the video, here is something good about it:
- yes, we are overwhelmed with choice when it comes to YouTube videos. It’s easy to get sucked into slick content intended to sell, sell, sell. It is good say “enough is enough, go make your art. Use a birthday party kazoo if that is what your budget will allow”
Now some criticism
- Low key angry vibes. Negativity without a sense of humor (compare with Bad Gear, which might not be to your liking but is usually funny). Feels a bit condescending, but that may just be the overdone enunciation which is more likely for clarity. But it’s not what I need to hear at 6 AM.
- I get it, there is a lot of content out there, much of which is of low quality or simply intended to sell. But there is a ton of good stuff too, and the sell videos can be useful if you are a discerning viewer
- I see myself as a guy who plays with sound and is sometimes mistaken for a musician or artist. One way to play with sound is to ditch the guitar or piano and learn the studio as an instrument. This has been a big influence on my approach, and so I value “producer” videos that explain how the tools are used. I don’t have any UAD DSP boxes, nor do I want them. I’ve got Ableton and most of the Valhalla plugs and a few AudioDamage plugs. Good stuff at affordable prices. Between those plugs and Ableton and Logic, I have access to a sophisticated virtual studio. I spent years playing in the box, and that has informed the hardware I bought then and continue to buy now.
- My first goal is to have fun. Second goal is to blow off some steam / negative energy from work or the rest of life when I’m in my home studio. If that means studying and pretending to be a producer, then so be it. If it means getting an 88-key and taking Bach lessons then I guess that’s cool too.
- The amount of content we have available on YouTube, combined with forums like this one and it’s awesome threads is a gift. You do need to develop the skills to navigate YouTube, but those are skills worth developing and will serve you well far beyond music and art.
Finally, to the OP: thanks for posting this. It may not be my cup of tea, certainly not so early in the morning, but the message is valid and may be profound for some people.
Keep playing, keep learning, keep making art.
24 Likes
…don’t care about the video…i just like that good old message…
peep…boing…bumm…tschakka lakka…
and i’m nothing but a recording and performing artist…a singer songwriter that uses a studio instead of an accoustic guitar…
just became a producer to have something to sing to…
but what he says…all that different sonic jobs for too many good reasons…
even if ur getting really good in most of them…if u’d team up with others and share those different missions on different persons, u’ll always end up with better results…
all this selfpromoting wonderland of the 21st century sux…
3 Likes
His first mistake is in assuming everyone wants to make music. That’s the last thing I want to do. I’m in this game for the promotional videos.
15 Likes
i think this guy is mad at other content creators more than “wants to give advice”
3 Likes
…no advice…just a reminder…
and hey, he’s not even moneytarizing anything…so, leave him alone…it’s not about him…
it’s about us…and our focus…and about…it’s never been that good…and never been that bad at the same time…sweet dreams are made of…WHAT AGAIN…?
get the balance right ?..sure…it’s all about the right balance…but have a look around…
all out of balance these days…
love songs ain’t sellin’this year…but peace and protest punchlines for the 21st century, while harldy needed, ain’t sellin’ either…
and no…it’s not about selling…it’s about being relateable…i guess…but what do i know…
still…not enough…that much is granted…
2 Likes
Ughhh I saw this on my recommended and really didn’t want to watch but now I might be getting dragged in
Hilarious video. One single point (a musician doesn’t also have to be a producer) turned into a six-minute rant which ends with ”do buy me a cup of coffee if you found this video helpful”.
Interestingly, this Youtuber seems to approach many topics (which is actually just different sides of the same topic) from a sort of pessimistic angle. Even the titles show this: ”tough lesson”, ”stop competing”, ”the struggle of promotion”, ”lacking all motivation in the studio”, ”feeling defeated in the studio”…
Uplifting, eh? I for one just feel compelled to press that play (and subscribe) button.
Someone tell these producers you don’t also have to be a Youtuber.
13 Likes
It’s not totally horrible, but it is a perfect example of someone who assumes everyone else must have the same motivations as himself. He has already decided what your goals are in making music or producing music, and also has completely devalued others work because they are salesmen.
Salesmanship is more than an important vocation, at its highest levels it can be considered a form of art like any endeavour when someone is truly skilled at it.
I get tremendous value from a well produced, informative sales video. I can see the product in action, I can judge it’s features and usefulness, I can remain neutral to any hype and make my own decisions.
The problem with the guy in this video is that he assumes I can’t do any of that. That I’m some lemming who will blindly jump off of a cliff because of a sales pitch. He thinks you and I and everyone else is lost and incapable of self determination. And he believed he had to make his video to save me from my own ignorance.
The answer to his ‘problem’ isn’t fewer sales videos on YouTube, if he wants more music creation and creativity he needs to work on providing the videos to foster such an outcome. If he had produced a video being the change he wants to see, rather than simply pointing out the obvious, I imagine I would enjoy that video very much.
8 Likes
Thanks for writing and saving me 5 mins haha.
Honestly, if you want creativity get off of youtube imo.
Seems his negative stance is constructed in a way that will elicit more views, you may not have watched if it wasn’t framed out of pessimism. That’s inherent to social media algorithms because it’s inherent to human nature to pursue negative news.
Too many “independent” salespeople these days imo….
7 Likes
There is no wrong. Thats the fundamental problem. Everybody is right.
2 Likes
Also, there’s a metric crapload of excellent music posted to Youtube. I’ve subscribed to dozens of amazing artists who primarily - or only - post music that I found through this place, reddit, local discords, etc. Those channels don’t get as much attention because most of them are focused on the music first, and “good/ appealing. algorithm-friendly” videos/ marketing trendy new stuff is pretty far down the list of priorities, which is fine.
2 Likes
Is this a case of Plato’s cave? With YouTube being the wall.
I don’t engage enough with stuff outside of YouTube …
Honestly I think that is the real takeaway, not let’s try to force YouTube to be what this guy says it should be.
2 Likes
Thumbnail wanker.
14 Likes
I left here pleased that I had not watched this video and went to instagram where I saw a perfectly healthy youtube influencer whine about how exhausting hooking up all his synthesizers is.
I can’t win!
9 Likes
Groan
1 Like
Good advise….
How do you know he’s perfectly healthy?
Get caught by curiosity and watched it. Seems like I live on another planet than this guy… But glad to see people scuplting hot air with such devotion.
2 Likes
Post some links, I search endlessly for such stuff and find almost nothing.