Why don't artists take risks anymore?
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- Опубліковано 29 січ 2024
- Are artists being actively discouraged from pushing their own artistic boundaries today? Are more daring artists just being buried by the algorithm? What can we do about it?
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Oh look, a free guide containing some of the compositional concepts that have helped me finish more music: bit.ly/FREEcompositionguide
Very good video because as an up-and-coming independent artist, I make music with different genres and different different sounds so for me as an independent artist I love to take a risk I don’t wanna be comfortable with what works sometimes you have to take rest you have to explore different sounds of an avenues or even change your style the way you pronounce her in words and songs
Another problem is that there are no more A&R people at record labels. In fact, these days, record labels don't really even exist as such. They are simply marketing agencies that specialize in music. They won't get you studio time, you won't write music or mix and master it with them, sometimes they don't even book you gigs or expect you to even play gigs. They expect the artist to have a fully finished song or record: written, recorded, mixed and mastered on their own time with their own money. Then the label will sign your song or album if it fully conforms to what they want. This means that people who already have lots of money and time will be successful in this industry while someone who is extremely talented but cannot afford to record, mix and master will fail. Someone who is half-assed but can get their songs mastered will have the advantage because A&R people don't exist. No one is looking to help that talented musician. Being a successful musician is like winning the lottery. We have a nonsense culture of American Idol, America's Got Talent, Eurovision, hustle and grind, be obnoxious, be extroverted and loud, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, etc. This "winner-takes-all-and-everyone-else-loses" mentality.
A&R people used to go out and look for new talent and sounds to develop and foster, these people had taste and intuitive knowledge of what constituted "good" music. They would work with the artist for their entire lives. It was a very special sort of job that simply doesn't exist anymore. Today we look back and call them evil gatekeepers. Perhaps there is sometimes a good reason to have gatekeepers - as long as they are honest and good at what they do. More signal, less noise.
Today, playlist curators and record labels (read: marketers) just sit back on their laurels and expect the artists to do all the work and come to them instead of going out and looking for artists. They can't be bothered to actually do their job. All they want is as much money as possible with as little effort as possible and the most successful music producers have the same mentality.
There is a new archetype within humanity that just appeared last century known as "The Business Man." It never existed before. We have lots and lots of businessmen today who are really good at business, but none of them see themselves that way. They think they are musicians, or spiritual teachers, or photographers, or some other type of artist when their actual talent is business. They are mediocre artists and spiritual teachers at best, and instead of going out looking for real artists and spiritual teachers to support and help foster utilizing their talent of being the business man who deals with the money side of things and gets the artist/teacher the recognition and work they deserve and that the world needs, they all fancy themselves the great artists and teachers. It's an age of narcissism and when a narcissist is good at business but has the delusion that they are wise spiritual teachers or talented artists, real artists and spiritual teachers cannot hope to compete against such people in the world of money and marketing. A business man's real job is to help others achieve success so that everyone can make money (because money is their goal; money is their success.) But the business man today doesn't only want money, they want fame and ego gratification as well. The creative and spiritual fields are filled to the brim with businessmen who don't belong there.
legendary comment!
Wow. Well said. I'm a visual artist w plenty of talent but little business acumen.
Nailed it.
there's a Frank Zappa interview where he says something like the 60s business fat cats knew they didnt know their audience so they'd throw money at whatever hoping it sticks, and a lot of experimental and unique music came out of that, but the newer execs are more concerned with being hip or whatever. and that interview is from the mid 80s I think - it's just gotten so much worse.
I am pushing the envelope. I opted out of the commoditization of it all.
Currently putting into place the work to be found by future academics that want to make a name for themselves.
Yes! This is the way. As a Gen Xer I just want to hug you because this is what our generation was born out of - authenticity. It was like our North Star. A love for the art itself, a respect for it, is kept alive by people like you. Our generation had its own system of gatekeepers and obedient artists too, and those rebels who found their own way to success. Seems to be the same cycle in new forms each generation. Good for you, hanging onto your own truth instead of just being a follower.
Helpful and Transparent as always. I was talking with a 20 something filmmaker recently and he wants it all: art, fame, women etc. I told em, you really need to specify and sets some goals you can quantify. I haven't watched the video you featured at the top but the artist is the current blueprint. It's not wrong; it just is. BUT do we all want to be the same kind of artist? I appreciate how much you've carved your own lane. We all measure art and successful artists; different ways
The long term successful mainstream artists are those that could constantly reinvent themselves and push the boundaries.
Heck you could say the same with the likes of pro wrestlers 😄
💯
Thanks, Jameson. I am very close to being semi-retired, after well over 40 years of work as a chemical engineer.
During those years, I have also been a church pianist, then church keyboardist/worship leader, and wanna-be synth guru.
After being 'in the box' for many years (after owning and then selling a Yamaha DX7 to get my first 88-key MIDI controller), I am just today receiving a Waldorf Iridium keyboard by courier.
Looking forward to having the time to devote to expressing my 'voice', without the need to make any $$ from it. This video has been very liberating. Thanks again for the inspiration.
Thanks so much!
People need to break free from the idea of... "What I like is what is familiar to me."
Honestly, this doubly applies to music artists too. I learned a lot from some musical dissections of what I thought were insipid pop and brain dead mumble rap songs.
@@PaulSpades Agreed, it applies to everyone in all facets of life even outside of art. This is why I began with "people" as a general statement.
Any honest musician/producer/composer has pondered these questions and it's good to see people talking about these real struggles that most people don't want to have to talk about. IMHO I think most people who make music would find more contentment making music as a hobby, rather than pursuing it as a business, at least that's what I've discovered.
This trend has been a thing for a century. When records were new, sales were suddenly king. But we didn’t have real time metrics at the time, so of course there was lag which permitted more experimentation. Then radio hits, AM shortly followed by FM and then FM stereo. During this time weekly charting becomes much more… reactive. And now we have streaming platforms. Streaming is “now” and “trending now” and there is little tolerance for taking chances and messing up.
You know all this. But if your thesis is “take chances” then I agree. Let’s save music from the mouth of the beast, take chances, make mistakes, and stay creative.
For the sake of music itself.
Yes, I agree, the masses (including the majority of artists) will follow the trends and, unfortunately, the dollar. It's truly only the 1-2% that have the means or the passion to steer the proverbial ship of art.
Feels like the modern producer's equivalent of being in a covers band playing weddings and corporate gigs to pay the bills
a crucial topic that needs to be discussed at large in circles of artist/producers. we cant forget why we started doing this in the first place!
Absolutely!
15 years ago I was faced with the choice to try being a professional musician or keeping it as a personal endeavour. I decided to keep it free from the necessity to make money and went the dayjob route, but always with music in mind (chose to work part time, then full tile but as a civil servant to get a nice number of paid leave etc. so I can push my art projects the way I want them to be fullfilling.
and I'd never go back :)
your passion or art doesnt need to make money to be real, and in music we can do with dayjobs, so we should take advantage of that !
@@alecdurbaville6355 right for me at least :) I currently play in 2 bands I really enjoy and make other stuff also :)
Thank You for saying this and pointing in a much more honest direction. We now live in an era of nauseating sameness, and compressed experience, thanks to the dictatorship of the algorithm. Every coffeeshop looks the same across the globe, because instagram....Our mental world has shrunk and flattened instead of exploding, a broken promise of the internet. We need to go back and keep the hard work, introspection and ethics of the analog art making process.
Anthony Fantano is like our default A&R... we need more critics, tastemakers and other human curators to do what A&Rs used to
Testify brother! Creation is sometimes breaking the rules, IMHO. How do we become unique expressions if we follow the leader? Certainly there are influences but it is our job to break through a boundary now and then. Your words are inspiration itself. Good stuff.
All those formulaic playlist musicians are about to get replaced by AI anyway.
To "furniture music", or not to "furniture music", that is the question.
Try it. See how you feel about it, do it under a different name if you want to. Progressing in quality of execution sometimes leads to better results than reinventing the wheel. Don't enjoy it? Quit, do something else, maybe come back when you need a break from your main, passionate, music things.
If you enjoy making furniture music, do it! But if you don't like it, try something different.
Amazing. I admit I'm sometimes tempted by the promise of writing to algorithm / playlist, so thank you for this great reminder. Also, my son went to music high school, and what he learned was that he did not want to rely on music for his living, which is good self discovery.
Hey Jameson! I agree but not totally. You can perfecly do both while focusing only on composition by making a few playlist friendly tracks (let's call them marketing pieces) and pure artistic albums that nobody will listen to (which is fine). Also when making a track that could be added to a playlist you can still maintain a high artistic value even if the artistic purity is compromised. That said your way of living the composition without the stress of paying the bills is indeed valid, but maybe not for everyone.
I love this and wholeheartedly agree with you. The biggest take home message from this video is the point about creative portfolio diversification.
That's a very nice video with a great summery! My then girlfriend now wife asked me a few years ago, why I make my music (dark, dubby, atmospheric techno) and not more mainstream-friendly EDM, if I'm capable to do so. My responce was "I don't have to". I have a day job, that I like and enough free time to make the music, I want to listen to. There's nothing for me to change...
Great quote from your music teacher; I work as an art and design teacher for exactly the same reason, it gives me the freedom to produce work I really want to produce.
That is not to suggest that I don't like teaching; I actually think that teaching also makes you a better artist.
I work full time as a data scientist and social scientist. I love my career, and it enables me to make music that is just about what I want to make. I've been signed to a label, and done a lot of gigs, but I feel so much happier now that I am producing solely for the love of producing.... Like you said, and I echo the sentiment 100%... I don't want to be a product.
Very well said, JNJ. I never understood this demand from musicians to "do what I want" and also expect other people to pay them for it. If you want their money, you have to do what THEY want. This is how it always worked. That's why it's called a job, where you provide a service or a product - just like you said.
Your channel is oddly therapeutic. I really appreciated this one. Making piece with what isn't in your control, but still exerting force and effort in the areas that directly reward you is one of those lessons society doesn't want to teach you. I like your teacher's advice. That's kind of where I've been at for awhile.
Side note, your project that has vocals? I really like that stuff too. Keep doing what you do, whatever it is that's interesting you in the moment, and do so without self censorship.
Well done, my son!
As a production music composer, this is the neverending balance. Great video, indeed. And as someone who listens to those Spotify playlists all night while sleeping, I hope a few of my streams sent some coppers your way!
Well said!
I love this video - thanks for speaking the truth. As Aussie punk band the Saints said/wrote in 1978, Know Your Product. The machine that is the music industry has always existed - it just has a new face now.
what a great video! thanks for that 🎹
Digging your thoughtful videos. Such a refreshing thing to get real ideas on YT instead of just geartube.
People get in touch with you because of YOU - being the cranky, sad nerd (that really cares about music) is as important as the kind of music you do. This is what caught my eye, not your early videos about the importance of a musical education and a profound knowledge of theory.
This video serves as a great reminder to find your own style and OWN it. Cheers!
I was really digging What Dreams May Come today. It was my first time listening to your music, and there were moments where it really grabbed my full attention and captivated me. Pretty awesome stuff!
Thank you!
Back in the 1980s when I did my undergrad in composition, I insisted on adding a minor in audio engineering. At most schools, this wouldn't be possible. But this was MTSU, which also has one of the first music industry programs. So I definitely see the point...now, especially...behind composers doing the same. And there's a lot of precedents for that, starting with Sergei Prokofiev and his "Alexander Nevskii" film score. But in the present day, it's several orders of magnitude more important because the tech and techniques are now intertwined like never before. On the one hand, it's a pretty tangly maze. But on the other, even if it takes longer to complete your undergrad in composition, understanding the tech and incorporating the techniques into your own compositional techniques is a necessity.
These days, composition has become a nearly-empirical exercise. It's possible to do things with music that were literally impossible just a couple of decades ago. Stem separation on completed tracks, for example...pretty much impossible until very recent developments in acoustics and AI-assisted programming.
But the one thing that remains unspoken, sadly, is the principle of the "long tail". I first saw this term back in the early 2000s, in an explanation of why some works/artists blow up but get forgotten by next year, while other works might sit around and seem like a waste of shelf space...save that they sell relatively steadily over a LONG period of time. This is why "The Velvet Underground and Nico" is such an important record despite it not chatting or selling worth a damn on its release in the mid-60s. Brian Eno pointed out that while their label lost money on it, "everyone who bought a copy went out and started a band". And that continues to this very day!
Also, it's useful to catch up on legal aspects such as copyright or entertainment law...as these ALSO are very much a day-to-day thing in music. "Fair Use", for example, is what propels the Vaporwave scene's continuing activity, because of the working rationale of that musical style. But if you don't understand some basic Copyright-Fu, that could end badly due to the reliance on sampling (and accordingly, the Marxist principle of "Property is Theft") if you don't know how to navigate that. So, sure...one can learn to write four-part fugues until your brain bleeds, but if you want to use some...say, Imagine Dragons melody as the fugue subject for subversive reasons, you'd better know what to do when their lawyers send you a subpoena. And no, they're not going to be impressed by your amazing 'stretto' section, so you can't rely on Stupid Composer Tricks to save your ass when they come knocking.
One VERY important publication that tech-savvy or UN-tech-savvy composers need a subscription to is the utterly amazing and FREE!!!!! mag "TapeOp". Just go to their site...and you'll notice literal metric tons of info that's just as germaine to composition as it is to music production. And they get that point, too! I'll say it again because, yep, it IS that important: GET A SUBSCRIPTION TO TAPEOP!!! No lie!
There's still people working on music that can and will blow your mind, even in 2024. But the present situation in getting your music OUT to people also affects your ability to find the quality work. This usually seems daunting. But the fact is that seeking out the good shit requires rooting through loads of...well, not so good shit. When we still had huge brick and mortar stores, this was how you did it, and these days it's not all that different from scouring sites like Bandcamp or SoundCloud. Same process, different tech. But during that process THESE days, you also pick up on something akin to breadcrumb trails. Hmm...this guy's into this and this and...hmm, I don't know THIS. So you look into that, find quality music, find another breadcrumb trail, lather, rinse, repeat. And you discover cool stuff that way, which was a far more difficult task pre-Internet.
But if you want to push out the non-risky stuff, that's enabled by the Internet, too. Hop on Pandora, form several dozen artist "stations", then kick your client into "shuffle" so that Pandora's algorithmic voodoo also pops up artists that fit AND which fit your tastes. Again, not easily doable prior to the Internet.
The best solution to ALL of this, though, was in a key piece of advice from my own undergrad comp prof:
"The first task of a composer is to listen to everything you possibly can...because you have no idea where the next great musical concept is going to come from."
And I and others I've imparted this idea to have found that, invariably, it's 100% spot-on. F'rinstance, dub. I discovered the whole world of dub back c. 1979, courtesy of The Clash's collabs with Mikey Dread. Followed from there, and uncovered true masters such as King Tubby, Prince Jammy, Scientist, Lee Perry, et al. Then this came back around when I tried implementing some of those dub techniques for New Music purposes a couple of years later. Worthwhile? You bet!
Instead of curating sameness, it's far better, more fluid, and more interesting to curate emptiness. In a Buddhist sense, the "emptiness" indicates things which you might fill in myriads of nifty ways. And all concepts and ideas have their own ways of how to best fill them. In short, let the work dictate what IT wants, then just follow along to keep things from getting out of hand.
But risk? Every single note you create contains risk. Risk is an inescapable part of artistic creation. Hell, even effin' MUZAK could be risky; go listen to Nick Perito's weirdnesses on Muzak's "Stimulus Progression 5" and you'll see what I mean!
Hell, even Palestrina took risks. Back during the Counter-reformation in the 1500s, the Pope tasked him with coming up with "simpler" liturgical music. This meant NO popular song tropes, no "harmony by accident" due to purely horizontal compositional techniques, etc. And given that the "bad end" here meant that you could wind up as a New Horizon in Yule Log Tech, he was in a real bind as a composer.
...and yet, he still submitted a work to the Vatican that used...yeah, you know the jam..."L'homme Armeé" as a trope. Because he knew that, despite the very real risks involved, you can't simply jettison EVERYTHING with the purpose of creating something wholly new. Music just can't be bent out of shape like that, as it needs its past to reach its future.
Such a confusing career, composition. But if you like a good puzzle, you LOVE doing it. Are we deciphering something hidden in the human soul? Mmmmmaybe. Or maybe not. You shouldn't know...or care. Just let the music flow as IT wants; in the end, you're only the guy pushing around the noises on behalf of the music.
Thanks for this video. It certainly opens more doors. I am also an organist and in my day job I am a Pipefitter and HVAC tech. Music has always been my passion. I find that these days playing not only in Church, but in a band and also solo, music is more rewarding because of not bearing the burden of it being a primary source of support. In the 80’s it was harder work and sometimes a struggle trying to make it as a musician. Not it is more fun and rewarding.
You don't make art for other people, you make it for yourself!
It's like wine preferences. Most people tend to gravitate towards wines that are familiar, comforting, and align with their established taste preferences, often opting for blends that offer a consistent and predictable flavor profile. This inclination towards the familiar extends into the realm of music, where the majority of listeners prefer tunes that resonate with their existing musical tastes, follow recognizable patterns, and evoke a sense of comfort.
Despite these dynamics, there exists a segment of artists and producers who embrace experimentation and push musical boundaries, akin to vintners who craft unique, unconventional wines. These creators cater to niche audiences that seek out novel and distinctive auditory experiences. While these artists may not achieve the same level of mainstream popularity or financial success as their more conventional counterparts, they play a crucial role in enriching the musical landscape and offering alternatives to the predominant sounds.
Just want you to know that I listen to your stuff almost every day. As a musician Im intentional about how I curate my listening experience. I encourage you to keep taking risks. Push your edge, make mistakes or miracles - whatever's real. I'll go with you because I'm more interested in authenticity than predictable, tepid, torpor. When you get weird and it works, folks will copy you. There's nothing new under the sun, so go instead to Saturn.
Great video as usual and I’m one of those people who I write music for myself and if you like it cool.
Thank you for this video.
Great video dude! This is why one has gotta have multiple projects and avenues to follow in music. It's way too easy to get depressed doing only one thing and choosing either to make money and conform, or explore genuine creativity and starve LOL.
Absolutely man! You're crushing it in all areas and it's awesome to see :)
@@JamesonNathanJones back at you dude! One of these days I’ve gotta learn some ambient tips from you. The kind of music you make I absolutely love listening to and trying to make!
Wonderful perspective. I had a similar experience, in a bit different way.
I happened to make certain kind of music at one time, and it just happened to be recognized by a sizable gaming community which relied on using other people's music for levels. Mine got very popular and almost overused, and got me millions and millions of listens.
Those tracks are old now, and I don't really do that kind of music anymore as it's not what I am as passionate about. I have more new things I want to make and learn, but I get only a fraction of the listens for those works.
I still live off of those tracks really well somehow, but I don't think it'll sustain itself forever.
So I got into making music for games. That alone within a year seems to have given me just about the same amount of money as I did from all the streaming revenue for that year. And I am doing small stuff, still.
It's a nice plan B that allows me to still do what I want with my own music. I used to be so afraid of losing that revenue from the audience, so I started getting an anxious relationship with my style.
Now, just who knows - maybe the cultural conditions happen to align similarly in the future where this explosion may happen again for the music I want to make. That's how I got it the first time - why couldn't it happen again, perhaps? I just need to give it time.
And if not, I still am making income from other side gigs to keep production going.
Making music feels great now.
This is why I encourage artists to avoid formal schooling if they can. A couple courses here and there is fine. But I think those that take it up as a hobby and move on from there tend to have more success than those who have had schooling and learn only the “right” way of producing music.
Thanks. I needed this video.
Amazing video. Thanks for sharing this Jameson.
Love your videos man!!!
Stay true, stay strong.
More power to you brother! Huge respect!👍🙏
Great video. Thank you.
Always been like this, when a musician makes music and hopes to be famous, they give up the art. A true artist and musician follows their heart, mind, body, energy and soul and creates art for what pleases them, they will write and perform music that gives them pleasure. After that, after allowing the world to hear, whatever happens is not part of the artist plans.
We actually have much less of the fame today, on UA-cam alone I have heard artists with 300 subscribers continue to make the music they love. Contributions every week and year after year to a world of listeners that number maybe 50. Who knows how many will be listening 200 years from now. It is not the numbers, it is keeping the truth of music close to us. Sometimes God is the only one who hears me, that audience is everything to me. If it pleases God, as the harp of David must have, then that one listener is enough. I am rehearsing on this earth for concerts in Heaven.
Great video. Thank you for taking the time to make such a good content! ❤️
Love this video. Thank you for saying important things that artists need to hear and consider in our times!
Thank you 🙏
Hi, thanks for sharing, very insightful and inspiring indeed !
This guys videos are so incredibly well done and inspiring. Bravo. Bravo.
You said it yourself you made revenue from what you wanted to make at that time many won't make any so enjoy that moment and continue on your musical journey .
Another great video. Years ago, I saw where all these algorithms were going and decided not to participate. I have several albums out but none of them fall into any playlist for these reasons you mentioned... I do my own thing. I do not count on the pennies from streaming to earn a living.
I feel bad for other content creators who spend most of their time creating videos doing exactly the opposite of being creative... they are all about creating content for algorithms that will get their stuff on some playlist where they can make a few pennies every few weeks. Its truly sad where the internet and AI is taking us but the vast majority doesn`t care, thats why I refuse to play the game. I create my own music and if you like it, great but honestly, I do it for my own amusement. Hopefully someone who listens will appreciate what I`m doing but if not, at least I`m working on my art on my own terms.
I just want to say, I really like your stuff! Both the music as these insights. I recently got a piano actually (my instrument is the guitar), and I am looking forward to recording it. Your videos are really inspiring and I really enjoy trying out the different concepts that you are talking about. Being that I make techno (or something like that), it is not always applicable but I really feel that my "composition" game has improved drastically by just thinking differently.
Take care and have a great week man :)
Hi Jameson! Great video. Love your take. 🙌🎵🎶🎵play on man! You’re an awesome teacher!
Jameson I love your witty thumbnails and your videos consistently deliver more food for thought than the thumbnail pitches. Your newsletter only demonstrates that you’re actually a philosopher, which is a good thing because philosophy means something like “favourite knowledge.” After your wide survey you share your favourite knowledge and that helps me remain sane while I make what I think I need to make, whether I share it or not. There’s a bunch I don’t share. You argue that I maybe should share that and that’s your offered food for my thought. You’re like Neil Armstrong explaining what it was like to literally run around in the moon. Oh sorry here come all the moon mission disprovers. My bad.
Hey Jameson, thanks for your teaching style and being honest with us and yourself. It is being humble about music that is important, to me anyway. Thanks again.
Confirming what i already knew in my heart. The very sole reason I became an engineer instead of a musician was this very reason. I didn’t want to dilute my passion for music by making it my main source of incoming. It has always kind of felt like I would have tainted it if I did.
Thank you for your advice! The idea of music as product has always been upsetting to me. Your videos are very informative and encouraging.
I’ve never felt the need to ask that question, maybe because my music-seeking techniques have never involved passively waiting to see what the algorithms will serve me, combined with the fact that I have big ears and enjoy a wide range of genres that don’t necessarily fall into mainstream tastes. I also buy my music instead of streaming it, which helps ensure that the artists I enjoy can continue to make a living from their rut without having to chase the algorithms’ approval.
I‘ve just discovered you and I really like your talks! 🙏
Thank you, and welcome!
Great point good sir
Great video! I resonate with this so deeply. This is, as Dave pointed out above, the never ending balance. I have been fairly successful in the sync world but have wrestled with these same struggles you mentioned very heavily and it caused me to pull way back on my sync efforts. It’s hard to find the right balance. However now that I’m finding other income streams with my same skills and craft, in addition to new ones, I’m finding the financial pressure and burden to be lifted from my own music which gives me so much peace and freedom to have fun again and play.. to make music I actually feel called to make
oh bro, this was wonderful. So relatable and so at the core of what it's really all about.
I find myself mysteriously aligned and motivated with your comments.
Great video and realistic, honest message. Your intellect, musical approach, and talent as a player and instrument enthusiasts is in a different league than most if not all content creators out there.
Thought you should know..
peace
The only answer is to be stunning and unique.
I actually recogise your piece from the playlist. Me and my partner, soon to be wife, listened to that playlist when she was in hospital having just had our baby. The playlist was really right for the moment and i will always remember some of those tracks very fondly, including yours. But the next time i listened to it, i realised how similar each track sounded, to the point i actually was questioning whether anyone had made the music at all, and maybe its just AI generated! I'm glad this isn't the case! And thank you for your beautiful piece of music!
+
"Love you forever, or as long as you are a member" lol
I hit like on this video before the 50 sec mark, and by the end I wish I could have liked it 100 more times. Great video!
This is all so true, I studied "autonomous art", but it wasn't until I made a career switch and worked full-time that I truely felt autonomous in making art. It's still a bit taboo to drop your career in arts and "downgrade" it to a passion, but like your composition teacher told you, I didn't want to make shxt haha.
Doing music without a soul is so bad, it's really not worth it, i would never compromise my art for money. My integrity is worth a lot more than any sum of money...
Thank you.
Nice! ❤
The difficulty you describe is as old as music itself. If you're in a cave whittling a flute from a bone or Mozart in Salzburg, if you're re not giving the customer what they want they're going to shut you up.
The media have always thought that:
They understand what the listener wants
They have some control over what the listener wants.
That's how they sell their services to musicians, promoters, agents and listeners alike.
This is proved by countless examples of artists who are rejected by components of the music industry because they don't conform to expectations.
This is disproved on countless occasions when something breaks through that impregnable wall fabricated by selective inclusion.
As you describe, the way to go is with what pleases you and when somebody likes it you are rewarded.
I think your piano works are very special. Your work got swamped. Ultimately, well crafted work such as yours has a life. This belief becomes very difficult to sustain when work that demonstrated a paucity of ideas and inspiration 40 years ago is still banging out of the speakers in the shopping mall or on your builder's radio. It comforts people.
Lots of people have picked up on Olafur Arnolds ideas. Success generates imitation.
The vogue for Satie in the early 80's helped stimulate interest in Federico Mompou because of popular recordings and because Gnosienne and Gymnopedie got overplayed. Farewell to Stromness, perhaps off the back of the above, made Sir Peter Maxwell Davies more money than his 10 symphonies, 10 Naxos quartettes (well worth a listen btw) and 10 Strathclyde concerti.
Likewise, John Taverner's breakthrough work, "The protecting veil" came well into a long established but sideline career. The attention this inspired triggered the success of the Symphony of sorrowful songs by Goriecki and brought amongst others Aarvo Pärt to the notice of an international audience, in the process birthing the so called " Holy minimalism" genre. If you go looking for inspiration like the plight of civilians in war torn Sarajevo such as prompted Stephen Isserlis, Cellist and John Taverner, you might attract attention with your emotive neo romantic melodies but a BBC proms commission was a big help.
One of the reasons Eno is so often beaten up is the erroneous assumption that his so called ambient work, which eventually acquired historical importance, was created to be ignored. It taps into the same subliminal channels as builder's radio and my Dad leaving the TV on for company. It's not listening but it's not actively ignoring. Whether by accident or design, "Music for airports" can focus the mind and carefully avoids distracting clamour which disrupts concentration.
The trucks outside your studio were potentially more disruptive of your concentration than of your recording, though unwelcome none the less.
I love the quote from your teacher. They nailed it.
This is a great video and a great story..
Great channel btw. It's nice to listen to someone who is thinking.
I'm a huge fan of Olafur Arnalds work... nothing quite like driving along the south coast of Iceland while listening to Island Songs. This is a great video too. I'm always really interested to hear what musicians have done through their life. Take Vince Clarke, who had huge pop hits with Erasure but has always experiemented and done new things. The best songwriter I personally know makes a living teaching guitar.
An excellent video! My situation is somewhat different but also similar. I had a strong career in the early 90s making electronic music but my label always questioned why each thing I did sounded different. I never wanted a formula, I simply wanted to explore music and make discoveries for myself. so nothing is any different these days and as you write you say there is even less of a reason to do it as the rewards are in general minuscule. The sad thing is more and more people are falling for it and music has certainly become more formulaic.
I certainly agree, as an ‘oldie’ producer, engineer & writer through four decades. Not saying that “everything was better back then”, but creatively and economically *very* different.
This conformity is also true in academia and higher education. It’s ‘career driven’, whereas research funding some decades ago was often public rather than privately corporate.
Inefficient…? Sure it was. A conundrum that the gains from modernistic ‘efficiency’ ends up in the nominal economy, not the real one.
That’s why too many ordinary people lose their sense of meaning or relation towards “the economy” across so many vocational sectors, across the OECD.
It’s not a ‘government’ thing - it’s rather a common trend in a globalised economy, allowed by all our leaders - political or (non-democratic) corporate ones. 👍
Age old, continuously true, adage - he who pays the piper names the tune.
Being beholden to a playlist curator means you have to make music to their criteria. You are making someone else's creation. If that is what you want to do, that's not a problem, like the video says - great!
Just realize that this is what is happening. There can be rewarding work in knowing you're working to someone else's vision. But it is not the same thing as exploring your own.
It's not just the pressure to conform, there's the pressure for each release to "perform" better than the previous. But that's not the way things go - all careers have ups and downs so if one's latest effort doesn't go viral, it's not really a big deal.
It was funny seeing lofi beats show up in the beginning of the video. So my lo fi thing isn't fully original at this moment.😂
Oh, look, Jameson has an opinion upon playlistification that fits mine. I don't make music for a living. I always think music is art, and the main purpose of art is not paying the bills. The main purpose of my music is enjoying the musical journey and the process of creation whilst giving my emotions into music inside out. If somebody likes my music, then fine. But I don't have to be on a playlist train to go somewhere.
Hi Jameson, what a lovely video. Thanks for sharing. Not sure if you'll read this. I have the same path as yourself. Classically trained Pianist, starting seriously making music in 2017... Also using electronics. Of course, we all have made our felt-piano pieces. Some of them still doing well. Currently, the non-conform music I create is doing really well on Amazon Music. And that's earning well. I've started an Ambient label, even though it never reaches editorials. It is well supported by Spotify Radio... So even when you create music not ideal for playlists, it can still rack up a lot of streams and become timeless. Would be cool to connect sometime. Warmest, Vincent
Yep, within the first min you nailed it.
Agree 200%!
I've just finished an album which I'm really proud of. It combines several of my favourite genres in what is (to me at least) a really original way. I've had some great critical feedback. The trouble is that the music industry and music marketing today is *built* around genre playlists, so getting anything that doesn't fit a genre into peoples' ears is incredibly difficult. My favourite piece of feedback was along the lines of "this piece is amazing, it sounds like nothing I've ever heard and I love it. But I can't playlist it because the kick drum doesn't sound like all the others on my list"
Depends on your goals, and your strategy. Playlists are just the new radio. Some of the best music I’ve ever found was an obscure genre on UA-cam that had millions of views and they sell tapes and vinyls, and they aren’t even on playlists or labels. Vaporwave is a perfect example of this. There are more obscure communities on here that do this as well such as ethnic instrumental or very niche electronic music. The key is still branding however at the end of the day. We can’t find you if your album art is not something we will click on, so at least to a small degree you have to understand the algorithm, but you are not a slave to it, as much as you ride it like a surfer rises on a wave.
😅Oh, no! I'm sixty, i'm just starting to make music, and my references are Frank Zappa, The Residents and early Kraftwerk… 😄According to Spotify's algorhythms, i'm not on my way to fill up stadiums… yet! Guess i'll just enjoy the ride, then! 😎🔥✨
Maybe spend a couple of solid weeks churning out a ton of the algorithm-friendly stuff that comes easily to you, release it under a pseudonym, enjoy the cashflow, then get back to doing what you love. :)
I'd love to hear your ideas about the pros and cons of performing, perhaps even composing, sacred music that is not the artist's personal belief system.
I’m still out here taking risks. For me, the coolest thing about creating is the act of creation itself. I don’t expect my music to ever be on the radio so i dont care how well it’s mixed/mastered. I think it’s important to realize that the act of creation is in itself an extremely valid activity. Still trying to find that perfect snare drum sound though 😅
One more thing - I watch way more of these kinds of motivational or process or educational videos than I do of gear videos these days. Something about too much gear video watching sucks the life out of me anymore.
i take risks, but bcs of that i dont fit into playlists 🤷♂️ ppl dont listen to songs, they listen to playlists and if they hear a song they like on a playlist they put it on their private playlist. If they really like it they might check out your other stuff to see if there is any more playlist candidates.
The internet is a market place for the independent.
What's the BEST song you've heard in the past year? I mean a truly great piece of art
My opinion is subject to change, but I find nothing wrong with "playlisting". Somewhere along the line, we have to make a living. For the majority of us, that living is not earned through what we love. It's earned through the mundane, through the popular. So give the masses what they want. Delight the background of a dentist's office and make what you can. Then, at the end of the day, reveling in the comfort of having all your bills paid through your day job and playlisting, create the art only you will love.
Back in the day, if your music was later “homogenized” into Muzak it was considered a success. Now, Muzak is ubiquitous. With artificial intelligence “music” is accessible to the masses. When music is free via pirating it becomes valueless. 🎶 “Art for art’s sake, money for God’s sake”. Context is key for financial rewards, success, safety and security of a paycheck. It’s great until it isn’t, is a constant struggle especially emotionally, therefore control what you can, and forget the rest
ahhh i love this
id love to have a whiskey and make a track
its crazy how life goes
ghrecords
Well, I went and purchased your "peaceful Piano" album, hehe
Haha much appreciated!