Very interesting observation, dude...! I definitely feel that coming through our local music scene, it had a huge impact on the music I was exposed to and began to play. Might sound silly but I'd never heard a 12 bar Blues before coming to the local jams when I was fifteen/sixteen. I'd say exactly the same about playing around Bristol, as it's a very cultured city. I'd certainly never heard of Afrobeat before playing around Bristol. I also wonder whether music academia has played a huge part in students' taste and exposure to certain albums, especially when it comes to Jazz degrees/university courses. Everyone starts playing the same standards (whether it be Miles Davis or songs by Herbie Hancock or Freddie Hubbard etc). That being said, when you and I first met, I was a huge a fan of American pop/punk, alternative rock, which I think also came from discovering through skateboarding and BMX videos and video games. I definitely think that platforms like Tik Tok are having a huge impact on music but to what extent, I'm still unsure...
I think you make a great point about the people you play with having an impact on your playing. This is why I really like jam nights etc, but not the stuff you actually play, the personal connections you make. It would be a shame to lose that and for all of our influences to come from an algorithm. I met Steve Popejoy, years ago and he has suggested music through the years that I would never have found by myself. It's had a huge effect, as one new discovery lead to another. The thing you mention about music education is possibly true (you know I've never been educated, ha!), but I think it's the job of teachers to expose students to new artists, so that they discover their own thing. It's all about exposing stuff to kids...wait...that came out wrong... I can't comment about Tik Tok, I'm not cool enough to use that platform! I feel it's really for the kids, maybe that's why it's so popular?!
These "Pub Points" (Pub Pints?) discussions are great. I think the answer to the question is yes, indirectly. Social Media gives us access to every style and creative under the sun pretty easily, if you are looking for it. I still think record companies are going for the "long tail" of revenue in anything similar to what has already been successful - I more or less confirmed this behavior with a VP of A&R I had a discussion with last year. I also think they use successful artists to test mixing genre's to see what people are willing to listen to. If that fan base balks, then that probably won't work in a broader audience. If it is successful, push it some more. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Record companies still pretty much run the show, except now, the artists have to build their following before they can get a recording contract. All risk is pushed out to the artist as much as possible. Its a devilish business that shows no mercy.
Ha! I like that name! It's a pity the views are so low on them, I thought it was a nice concept. The 1st one did super well and then the viewing figures fell off a cliff. That's interesting. Would make sense to test the water with your most successful artists. They'd already have the reach and a following big enough to take the hit if it doesn't wash with the audience. Yes, I'm not a writter at all, never tried to do it. I just like playing. I think it would be a super hard road to go down now. The idea that you basically have to be famous BEFORE you get signed. At which point I have to ask, what are you really gaining? You already have the reach of most smaller labels, so why not just push things yourself? You're also getting to the stage where people build these enormous followings without ever having gone out and gigged. At which point they're famous, but a novice live performer. That's got to be pretty daunting for them. Fair play to the ones who just go out and do it perfectly from the start. To the question at hand, I do think as I said in the video, there's just very little to be made from music, so you have to be super conservative as a label or a promoter about what you take on. That's never a great recipe for invention, however if you're of a mindset to go and find it, we have it at our fingertips on the platforms we love to hate. Thanks for the comment, Ben.
I get what you are saying. For instance I use Spotify song Radio to explore music I've not heard before but the algorithm plays music similar to the song you have chosen. Which is fine and has its uses. But I have to force myself to look for songs or artists that are out of that comfort zone and manually search for other genres etc. UA-cam has the same idea but you don't realise it. Play a song you like and other songs it suggests will be similar. You really do need to put a bit of time in and explore without the background algorithms trying to influence your choices.
I knew it was you, don't worry! I thought the name was great! I've said this before I think, but if you let the algorithm run in autoplay, it'll direct you to more and more basic and populist stuff. Try it in incognito mode. Load up UA-cam in incognito mode so that it has no history of previous choices. Put in the most left field/avante garde low view music you can think of, then walk away and let autoplay run. Come back in 30 minutes and see what you're watching! It'll go from Holdsworth > John McLaughlin > Mongoose vs Snake > Ships Caught In Terrible Storms > You Won't Believe What This Woman With The Big Tits Does > Ed Sheeran. Just a continual dumbing down. Obviously this is tricky to fix, as it wants you to stay on the platform as long as possible. It does mean that unless you're very determined to be different you'll likely end up watching the same stuff as everyone else by default.
There are creative people out there but their careers are stifled by media pushing their chosen ones. I have no idea about the top ten, but I did suffer some of it on a Rick Beato video once, and it was utter dross. I like Bandcamp, and that is the only place I would buy music now. It has a wide variety of genres and tons of artists. Those artists also get a decent wedge for their music.
You know I've never checked out Bandcamp. I'm not keen on checking out new things like that. In part I just don't want another platform to have to either sign up to, or trawl through, or upload to. I'll have a look though, sounds like it might have something going for it. Yes, there are loads of very talented players and writers, and creatives ones at that. They're all there for us to find, it's a shame that a great number of people don't actively search, but then where/how would they start? I checked out the guy you mentioned in your last comment. I didn't recognise the name, but of course it was Greg's Guitars! I remember that channel, he's been going years.
Very interesting observation, dude...! I definitely feel that coming through our local music scene, it had a huge impact on the music I was exposed to and began to play. Might sound silly but I'd never heard a 12 bar Blues before coming to the local jams when I was fifteen/sixteen. I'd say exactly the same about playing around Bristol, as it's a very cultured city. I'd certainly never heard of Afrobeat before playing around Bristol.
I also wonder whether music academia has played a huge part in students' taste and exposure to certain albums, especially when it comes to Jazz degrees/university courses. Everyone starts playing the same standards (whether it be Miles Davis or songs by Herbie Hancock or Freddie Hubbard etc).
That being said, when you and I first met, I was a huge a fan of American pop/punk, alternative rock, which I think also came from discovering through skateboarding and BMX videos and video games. I definitely think that platforms like Tik Tok are having a huge impact on music but to what extent, I'm still unsure...
I think you make a great point about the people you play with having an impact on your playing. This is why I really like jam nights etc, but not the stuff you actually play, the personal connections you make. It would be a shame to lose that and for all of our influences to come from an algorithm.
I met Steve Popejoy, years ago and he has suggested music through the years that I would never have found by myself. It's had a huge effect, as one new discovery lead to another.
The thing you mention about music education is possibly true (you know I've never been educated, ha!), but I think it's the job of teachers to expose students to new artists, so that they discover their own thing. It's all about exposing stuff to kids...wait...that came out wrong...
I can't comment about Tik Tok, I'm not cool enough to use that platform! I feel it's really for the kids, maybe that's why it's so popular?!
These "Pub Points" (Pub Pints?) discussions are great. I think the answer to the question is yes, indirectly. Social Media gives us access to every style and creative under the sun pretty easily, if you are looking for it. I still think record companies are going for the "long tail" of revenue in anything similar to what has already been successful - I more or less confirmed this behavior with a VP of A&R I had a discussion with last year. I also think they use successful artists to test mixing genre's to see what people are willing to listen to. If that fan base balks, then that probably won't work in a broader audience. If it is successful, push it some more. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Record companies still pretty much run the show, except now, the artists have to build their following before they can get a recording contract. All risk is pushed out to the artist as much as possible. Its a devilish business that shows no mercy.
Ha! I like that name! It's a pity the views are so low on them, I thought it was a nice concept. The 1st one did super well and then the viewing figures fell off a cliff.
That's interesting. Would make sense to test the water with your most successful artists. They'd already have the reach and a following big enough to take the hit if it doesn't wash with the audience.
Yes, I'm not a writter at all, never tried to do it. I just like playing. I think it would be a super hard road to go down now. The idea that you basically have to be famous BEFORE you get signed. At which point I have to ask, what are you really gaining? You already have the reach of most smaller labels, so why not just push things yourself?
You're also getting to the stage where people build these enormous followings without ever having gone out and gigged. At which point they're famous, but a novice live performer. That's got to be pretty daunting for them. Fair play to the ones who just go out and do it perfectly from the start.
To the question at hand, I do think as I said in the video, there's just very little to be made from music, so you have to be super conservative as a label or a promoter about what you take on. That's never a great recipe for invention, however if you're of a mindset to go and find it, we have it at our fingertips on the platforms we love to hate.
Thanks for the comment, Ben.
I get what you are saying. For instance I use Spotify song Radio to explore music I've not heard before but the algorithm plays music similar to the song you have chosen. Which is fine and has its uses. But I have to force myself to look for songs or artists that are out of that comfort zone and manually search for other genres etc. UA-cam has the same idea but you don't realise it. Play a song you like and other songs it suggests will be similar. You really do need to put a bit of time in and explore without the background algorithms trying to influence your choices.
BTW if you didn't realise I'm Ben McC's dad. No idea how I ended up with this user name lol but there we go.
I knew it was you, don't worry! I thought the name was great!
I've said this before I think, but if you let the algorithm run in autoplay, it'll direct you to more and more basic and populist stuff. Try it in incognito mode. Load up UA-cam in incognito mode so that it has no history of previous choices. Put in the most left field/avante garde low view music you can think of, then walk away and let autoplay run. Come back in 30 minutes and see what you're watching!
It'll go from Holdsworth > John McLaughlin > Mongoose vs Snake > Ships Caught In Terrible Storms > You Won't Believe What This Woman With The Big Tits Does > Ed Sheeran. Just a continual dumbing down.
Obviously this is tricky to fix, as it wants you to stay on the platform as long as possible. It does mean that unless you're very determined to be different you'll likely end up watching the same stuff as everyone else by default.
@@BenFletcherGuitar Sounds like a plan I'll give that a try.
There are creative people out there but their careers are stifled by media pushing their chosen ones. I have no idea about the top ten, but I did suffer some of it on a Rick Beato video once, and it was utter dross. I like Bandcamp, and that is the only place I would buy music now. It has a wide variety of genres and tons of artists. Those artists also get a decent wedge for their music.
You know I've never checked out Bandcamp. I'm not keen on checking out new things like that. In part I just don't want another platform to have to either sign up to, or trawl through, or upload to. I'll have a look though, sounds like it might have something going for it.
Yes, there are loads of very talented players and writers, and creatives ones at that. They're all there for us to find, it's a shame that a great number of people don't actively search, but then where/how would they start?
I checked out the guy you mentioned in your last comment. I didn't recognise the name, but of course it was Greg's Guitars! I remember that channel, he's been going years.