Its kinda been crazy...I literally found you after hours of endless searching for how to make dubstep and not good tutorials till I found how to bass... 3? yeah 3 lol about 2 years ago. thanks so much for making these :3 I really do appreciate it, I wouldn't have found my passion if I had not found you.
Hey man, I just wanted to let you know that whenever I'm worried about becoming a producer or an artist, you bring out a video just in time to teach me about this stuff. Thanks for giving some certainty in a future career of uncertainties.
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to explain all this! As a musician just starting out, you've given me so much to think about and how I want to head my career.
You should make a video about keeping motivated. Not only in music but in anything. I hear a lot of producers say that they almost gave up in music and wondered if you bet had any experiences with this?
Tungo Honestly, part of keeping motivated has to do with doing a whole bunch of stuff. This means that if you aren't particularly killing it writing a track, you can take a break and try your hand at another aspect. This way, you can take a break from one thing but you are still ultimately doing something producer-y
Tungo When I get writers block or something while producing, I usually make a mix consisting of the genre I want to make. If I want to make neurofunk but I have a block in my mind, I make a neurofunk mix, if I want to make dubstep but I have a block, I make a dubstep mix! That's just what I do, you might want to try it sometimes and see if it works for you! :)
Tungo Sometimes I just feel like I suck so bad at music even thought I have been learning how to play bass and music theory and production by myself for years, but when I get demotivated and stopping doing music I just realise that my life cycles around music, I need to accept that I have much more to improve and just forge ahead. I try to leave music but music don't leave me.
+Space Mantis Music This is funny because i do the opposite, if im stuck on my music, I listen to tons of different genres, i find that it helps me stay open to new things.
22:48 a Brand I think is the word you're looking for :) Also, thanks for making these videos. I've watched like a few videos that aren't even related to the technical aspect of music production but I find are still just as important. Point is, I came to this channel originally to learn technical things, ended up learning life lessons/ hearing real anecdotes of someone who actually went into electronic music and knows what they're talking about. Keep it up brother!
I respect that you told straight up the how much money you are making! Not that I'm specificly interested in your wealth or anything but no one that I know never has told that straight how much money can you make out of music or youtube.
Seamless thanks for this video brotha! Your are spitting so much wisdom and game. All the knowledge your giving away for free i payed for in purchasing books. Your the man and my new favorite youtuber.
Seamless, I think if you made some sample packs with stuff other than bass, like drums, people would buy those even more. Because I've seen sooo many people struggling to get good drums. Everyone wants that breaktweaker pack. Clean, Punchy drums are a necessity nowadays for EDM. If you made a Drum sample pack, I think more people would get it. I think putting stuff like bass samples is kinda cliche, since you do tutorials for that stuff anyway, so its just 10x more limited. I only ever buy sample packs for the drums & FX. Just a thought anyway.
IanStarGem Yeah, I would only really buy his current sample packs out of pure support, not really for their contents. If he did some foley, drums, vocals, fx, and bass. I would definitely consider getting my hands on that.
Your videos are highly inspirational, and really impacting my motivation to keep going. With SeamlessR and the power of THALL, we will climb DJENT mountain and BASS.
Hi could you do a tutuorial on vocal manipulation / adding vocoals to a track, and if you are feeling generous a follow up on vocal cutting and effects etc :)
I really enjoyed your reflections on this whole subject - insightful and entertaining. I just discovered your channel through this video and am digging what I see. Cheers!
nice vid dude - thx :) ... i think this are exactly the most important issues "becoming" producer should think about, our business model is shifting strong because of technology! highly recommend this video for producer
In videos to come please put some compression or something, you're quiet. I turn the speakers high to listen while messing around with stuff in the room, but when I play a song (and forget to turn 'em down), they explode in my ears :-) Otherwise yes, you're cool, keep it up! You got me subscribed and watching thorrowly.
Thanks for this, really appreciate the insight and being specific about numbers. You make great videos. Even though it is just your head, they are entertaining, informative and succinct.
You have described my life entirely, I swear. Listening to things intricately as a musician, listening to professional music and just thinking my stuff sounded amateur but I knew they had the knowhow i never got to pick up on. Played piano to start out 8 years ago, moved to guitar almost immediately, (in bands and solo) for 7 years now, and I've noticed I don't particularly dislike any genres, but I tend to stay between metal, some hip hop and all sectors of EDM. I never learned music theory but I taught myself to play and picked up ear training (and I guess what I consider to be my own twist on theory from playing guitar and composing original music for years) along the way, covering many bands songs for fun and practice and it shaped the way I use melody and rhythm articulation. I fucking LOVE music and ALL I really want to do is just produce it whether people listen to it or not, hate it or dig it, idc. Teaching people would be fascinating as well if I could find the words to describe my thoughts like you do. Music education should be free for everyone I feel, but then again we have the internet and you can find anything if you know where and how to look. I'd like to have a one on one with someone like yourself just to learn where I am on the spectrum so I can find where I need to improve, and pick up on how different styles of music are pieced together. Came across your videos just today and I've been watching for a few hours now just learning so much in so little time. Thanks for being one of the good people out there ready to help people achieve their goals man. It's fucking awesome. \m/,
SeamlessR on your FL studio tutorial for beginners you did awhile back, you went over making a bassline,chords, etc but no melody. Is it typical for chords to actually be on a different piano roll than the melody. if so, i'm assuming it's a different synth then?
I want to add to the "make money from everything you do" thing: for those of you who are good with graphic design (like myself): do your own artwork, so that way you may save money that you would have spent having someone else do artwork for you, and make that a service that you yourself can provide to people (that may seem a little conflicting, but keep in mind not everyone is good with visual arts, and those people are probably willing to pay someone to do artwork for them). You can then take that a step further by making tutorials for Photoshop and whatnot, uploading them here on UA-cam, and getting ad revenue from monetization.
I started FL Studio a couple of months ago and learned it almost without any tutorials. I regret it a bit because I guess that if I had watched your videos I would be where I am now in 1/10 og the time 😅 good channel bro!
Hey Seamless, thanks a lot for your videos. This video is a couple years old so I don't know how closely you monitor comments, but I want to ask you about specialization vs. variation. It seems your point is to cast a wide net and try to monetize as many activities as possible. Do you feel like from personal experience that you're able to focus on your projects adequately with so many projects going on? For me the idea of YouTubing + sound design + teaching + making my own beats+ a 9 to 5 is a pretty daunting to-do list!
Hi Seamless! Awesome video. Something you didn't mention about making money from music was the PRS for Music. From talking to people about this subject, they always mention about making money from royalties on the PRS. I don't get it, how much revenue can the PRS make you? Can you please explain this for me. Thanks :D
Thanks for this man, I think my past comments might've provoked this video in some way but I've come to realize alot of what you've covered in this vid; I'm thankful for the other opportunities I have in my life thanks to my diverse talents and me being butthurt over my music is something that's just unnecessary -- I have to look at where my music has gone thus far and appreciate those ventures, all-in-all I'm happy where I am now and I'm glad you addressed this in-depth!
Hey seamless! Love your videos dude! I have a question. I pretty much finished a song I mad called "Mirage". Unfortunately, I can't sing for my life. How do I sell my tracks to a singer? Or find someone to sing to it? My soundcloud is Erick Madrazo
Have you ever considered applying to a massive thing like shambhala? Would something like that increase your popularity and or income by a large amount?
I'm working my way to make UA-cam my backbone ^_^ I make Tutorials Mainly on Rap Artist development, and such. But yeah it is pretty harsh making money as a music profession at first. Like you said, it all comes down to putting yourself out there with presence, and consistency, and in time, the money grows.
Can you talk about getting Dj gig and how much you would get for what time you would play Iv looked it up on UA-cam and google and not to much help on that and good video keep em coming
This is one thing i have almost no experience with. The gigs I've done are not super regular things. There isn't a lot of edm action where i live so I don't get too much chance to observe
Thank You for teaching me about my future. I am 17 and want to be a producer with the occasional gig. I have 22K subs and 3 mil views from launchpad videos. Haven't made a penny yet because of copyrights. Made my channel 12 months ago....Still working it out, but this really helped me, thank you, SeamlessR
Except for Bandcamp, Beatport and a small number of other sites to buy music, everything can only be bought through Credit or Visa. iTunes which is the biggest platform for buying music only has these payment options and that's is probably part of the reason some or many people torrent the music. Basically every teenager or anyone who doesn't have Credit or Visa has to go buy a gift card to buy music off iTunes. I find this is hugely inconvenient and while the other options are available I would personally much rather buy an album through Paypal than go through the tedious process of getting a gift card or putting money on a Credit card or Visa. Less and less of the music I own would be torrented if not for this huge inconvenience in even being able to spend money on it.
After making a sample pack how do you get to release it? Im kinda stuck in there. Also, I make youtube video tutorials and I got kinda stuck at 1k subs, any advice?
Rpinto1311 It's actually really easy to release a sample pack. Simply email the distributor(s) website saying that you are interested in selling your sound pack and give them a preview. Also make sure your product is set up like the other products they sell. Not every distributor will take it, but be selective, email 5 and you'll be sure to get at least 1.
***** adsrsounds.com (they have a "want to sell your sounds?" link at the bottom of their page), producerloops, synthmob, loopmasters, sounds to sample, beatport sounds, xenossoundworks, freshlysqueezedsamples, zenhiser, resonance-sound, blackoctopus-sound, to name a few. Looking around, you should be able to find one that matches your style and marketing plan. ADSR is one of the best out there imo. I recommend not signing exclusivity rights to your work, since that allows you to put it in more places, sell it yourself on your own website, doing your own promotions, etc. but it's completely up to you how you want to approach it. lastly, if you can build emails/subscribers/followers, you can really begin to grow your business instead of relying on drive-by sales (what I call people browsing the distributor sites.) You'll have your own audience instead of competing for the distributor's audience.
How should I approach custom song requests? I have a client that wants a handful of original instrumental dance tracks (3-4 min each) for exclusive use in their educational videos and their in-person workshops. The client referenced $19 stock audio from AudioJungle, but knows custom music costs more. But I have never done music for anyone else but me. Any tips?
the realistic way i see youtube and your type of career, its a growing position, but as said about youtube dying. its lesser about youtube dying and more other people getting tired of trends and hobbies and eventually edm will die out and become lesser of a growth for tutorials and more for just finished products. an easy relation to this is the tape recorder. it was sold to play tapes for personal use. cds came along. tapes became somewhat redundant, and even the lless common uses like loopers for guitarists and djs turned to cds and loop pedals. now we have computers. eventually everything will just be built into one. but more portable and/or useful. as for growing old, thats more for twitch streaming and just the face behind the voice, people will look to you as more knowledgeable but less of an everyday thing. comparison i can give is any actor thats been in the business for more than 20 years. on the positives you make the best type of youtube videos, things people dont watch once. time and time again i go back to the basics just to relearn. in conclusion would be, grind hard now. because eventually, davedays syndrome kicks in, and its almost no point doing youtube as a career anymore.
Bandcamp seem to be a really good deal right now since people pay very easily to download high quality versions of songs and can hear them for free before even paying
Charlie Everton Those are super hard fields to break into. The two ways I can think to do so would be to find some fledgling indie dev team and offer to make music for them. This is so that you can have your name credited as having done music for a game which is something most established dev teams require on a resume. The other way is to have contacts. Know people who work on teams or do music for teams and have them recommend you.
SeamlessR Hi could you do a tutorial on vocal manipulation / adding vocoals to a track, and if you are feeling generous a follow up on vocal cutting and effects etc :)
how did you deal with emotions you felt when you were starting if they were negative and what made you keep doing your thing regardless of feeling like your 300 spartans vs the persian empire (which is how many feel about making money of music in general and all the :( faces on forum posts when talking about it)? Confidence i feel is a big role in keeping your engines going and keeping a strong skin because if you barely get any feedback and one person says hey man your song sucks that must really hurt. I myself have only got good feedback or thats it's ok ,but very few which brings down some hope i should have in a way like i'm going in a circle back to the same place.
I agree with pretty much every point in this vid, except that I've now hit a point in my career where I have to turn down "things" (even huge opportunities) that aren't my "one thing". This is mostly because of time (or the lack thereof) and a little bit about money... So, *at some point* it's likely that a producer will have to start making a conscious decision to only do the one or two things that are making them the most money or matter to them the most (or hopefully both). This is actually much harder to do, in my opinion... once you start getting offers constantly, it can be really upsetting to turn down things you want to do. Anyways, AT FIRST, definitely do every single opportunity that is presented to you! This is how you will find your niche and develop a reputation/experience that will lead to your one or two things you do for the rest of your life. Just my 2 cents and personal experience, of course.
Platforms are good in the aspect of getting better outreach because of people already using them, but having built several businesses up to $200 a month and then being shut down because the platform crashes or some other reason I can't control makes me favor making my own platform that I own, giving me more control. In other words, while I may use platforms like UA-cam, sample distributing websites, blog networks, forums, bandcamp, etc., my main focus is on building my own Email list. If all of the platforms I use go down, no problem! I can simply email my list and get them on board with the next platform. Another huge benefit is that upon making a release and emailing my list, I can make massive 1st week sales which make the release a top seller, which gains more eyes and a bigger email list for next release. Make an email list or your own website. When the platform you use goes down, you don't want to be devastated.
Terroristiananas It's not really about the cut. It's about what kind of "expenses" that they'll recoup from your cut. Any kind of promo or art or whatever else they pay for comes out of your cut in some way. And then also consider that if you wanted to make the same amount of money that you'll make with that cut, that you'd have to sell twice as many copies than you would on your own. Labels also have to give a cut to whatever platform people buy the thing from, like iTunes. That %50 cut you get is AFTER the distro cut. So on a $7 EP you're looking at $2.45 per sale for you. Of which you won't see until after expenses are recouped. This is all normal though, and fair. A label isn't trying to shaft you when they give you these kinds of numbers. Where they might shaft you though is where they try and convince you that they are actually worth those numbers. Can they move more copies than you can? Specifically, can they sell about three times as many copies as you could on your own which is what you'd need to do with them in order to make what you could on your own. Can they reach more people, promo you better than you can? If the answer to those questions is "no" or "I don't know" then probably don't go with whatever label that is. Certainly don't sign exclusive with them. Well, I know what I'm making my next video about ;p
SeamlessR Well, seems like a pretty good deal then as they specifically said that I'd be getting 50% of sales without any reductions. The deal also includes mastering, cover art, promo stuff and so on.
Terroristiananas Well, make sure you get all of that in writing. As well, make sure to read whatever contract they give you thoroughly to ensure that's what it's actually saying. That certainly does sound like a good deal. It also sounds like it's from a super small time or super new label willing to do free work to get artists on their roster. Look into other artists who are on that label and see how they're doing, and how the label promo'd them. Ensure that they're doing it better than you could on your own. Because that's still half of what could be yours on your own banking on the idea that they do. But hey, it's also totally possible that they're on the up and up and this is a good plan :) just gotta cover your bases.
I feel like distribution without a record label is way harder than you make it seem, I think that's where the record labels have leverage. record labels have thousands of ppl who listen to the music they promote whereas an up and coming artist probably has 1000 or less
250,000 views a month and only getting 400? That's like $1.50 CPM. Everywhere I look they say the average CPM for YT is like $3-4. Why is yours so low?
$3-$4 was accurate around 2012-2013 I believe. It's gone down for everyone, but gaming channels and tech/gadget review channels can still pull $3-4 pretty easily.
but i dont want to make media the fuck out of my stuff, :( isnt there any other way ? Cant i be against digitalism and facebook nowdays ? or could i ever meet more people like me to build an other platform lets say? who knows ...
I assume that while you are building up this fan-base, and all those different things you are doing, you get a par-time job like McDonalds or something I DON'T KNOW. You still have to support yourself somehow during that faze, right? Correct me if I'm wrong but that's how I see it :P
A video about making money is making Seamless Money. Well Played.
+Mitchell Payne "Making *Me* Money As A Producer"
Its kinda been crazy...I literally found you after hours of endless searching for how to make dubstep and not good tutorials till I found how to bass... 3? yeah 3 lol about 2 years ago. thanks so much for making these :3 I really do appreciate it, I wouldn't have found my passion if I had not found you.
Lol "How to make dubstep"
Highly Irritated everyone starts somewhere homie
I know, but I thinks its funny though. I taught myself everything, I didn't look anything up.
Everything said is so true, it's really all about having multiple things running parallel and scaling up, finding that balance.
I love how transparent you are in this man thank you.
Hey man, I just wanted to let you know that whenever I'm worried about becoming a producer or an artist, you bring out a video just in time to teach me about this stuff. Thanks for giving some certainty in a future career of uncertainties.
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to explain all this! As a musician just starting out, you've given me so much to think about and how I want to head my career.
You should make a video about keeping motivated. Not only in music but in anything. I hear a lot of producers say that they almost gave up in music and wondered if you bet had any experiences with this?
Tungo Honestly, part of keeping motivated has to do with doing a whole bunch of stuff. This means that if you aren't particularly killing it writing a track, you can take a break and try your hand at another aspect. This way, you can take a break from one thing but you are still ultimately doing something producer-y
If you want to learn how to be motivated read The war of Art
Its a great book that gives the mindset of a creative person
Tungo When I get writers block or something while producing, I usually make a mix consisting of the genre I want to make. If I want to make neurofunk but I have a block in my mind, I make a neurofunk mix, if I want to make dubstep but I have a block, I make a dubstep mix! That's just what I do, you might want to try it sometimes and see if it works for you! :)
Tungo Sometimes I just feel like I suck so bad at music even thought I have been learning how to play bass and music theory and production by myself for years, but when I get demotivated and stopping doing music I just realise that my life cycles around music, I need to accept that I have much more to improve and just forge ahead. I try to leave music but music don't leave me.
+Space Mantis Music This is funny because i do the opposite, if im stuck on my music, I listen to tons of different genres, i find that it helps me stay open to new things.
Ghost producing: wearing a sheet over your head while in the studio
pretty accurate
+Ninjastripy Record yourself saying "Woooooo!"
+Ninjastripy kkk
Nah bro Ghost Producing is the proccess of giving birth to super natural spirits.
22:48 a Brand I think is the word you're looking for :) Also, thanks for making these videos. I've watched like a few videos that aren't even related to the technical aspect of music production but I find are still just as important. Point is, I came to this channel originally to learn technical things, ended up learning life lessons/ hearing real anecdotes of someone who actually went into electronic music and knows what they're talking about. Keep it up brother!
I respect that you told straight up the how much money you are making! Not that I'm specificly interested in your wealth or anything but no one that I know never has told that straight how much money can you make out of music or youtube.
Seamless thanks for this video brotha! Your are spitting so much wisdom and game. All the knowledge your giving away for free i payed for in purchasing books. Your the man and my new favorite youtuber.
LOVE! these types of informative videos, please do more of these on basically any musical topics :)
Seamless, I think if you made some sample packs with stuff other than bass, like drums, people would buy those even more. Because I've seen sooo many people struggling to get good drums. Everyone wants that breaktweaker pack. Clean, Punchy drums are a necessity nowadays for EDM. If you made a Drum sample pack, I think more people would get it. I think putting stuff like bass samples is kinda cliche, since you do tutorials for that stuff anyway, so its just 10x more limited. I only ever buy sample packs for the drums & FX. Just a thought anyway.
IanStarGem Yeah, I would only really buy his current sample packs out of pure support, not really for their contents. If he did some foley, drums, vocals, fx, and bass. I would definitely consider getting my hands on that.
Your videos are highly inspirational, and really impacting my motivation to keep going. With SeamlessR and the power of THALL, we will climb DJENT mountain and BASS.
it's 3am in the morning.i wanted to go to sleep but i will stay and watch this video. : )
R3B0P yeah, it's always good to hear advices from him.
Starviuz 8am here...oops
Starviuz Go to sleep and watch the video when you feel most comfortable to watch it. Put the video on your Watch Later.
Hi could you do a tutuorial on vocal manipulation / adding vocoals to a track, and if you are feeling generous a follow up on vocal cutting and effects etc :)
I really enjoyed your reflections on this whole subject - insightful and entertaining. I just discovered your channel through this video and am digging what I see. Cheers!
nice vid dude - thx :)
... i think this are exactly the most important issues "becoming" producer should think about, our business model is shifting strong because of technology! highly recommend this video for producer
THANKS FOR SHARING UR KNOWLEDGE BRO, WATCHED A FEW FL12 TUTORIALS VERY HELPFUL, WILL SUB!
Really love these type of videos , they're really useful, keep them up :)
What you were talking about at the end reminded me to block adblock on the youtube domain.
In videos to come please put some compression or something, you're quiet. I turn the speakers high to listen while messing around with stuff in the room, but when I play a song (and forget to turn 'em down), they explode in my ears :-)
Otherwise yes, you're cool, keep it up! You got me subscribed and watching thorrowly.
Thanks for this, really appreciate the insight and being specific about numbers. You make great videos. Even though it is just your head, they are entertaining, informative and succinct.
You have described my life entirely, I swear. Listening to things intricately as a musician, listening to professional music and just thinking my stuff sounded amateur but I knew they had the knowhow i never got to pick up on. Played piano to start out 8 years ago, moved to guitar almost immediately, (in bands and solo) for 7 years now, and I've noticed I don't particularly dislike any genres, but I tend to stay between metal, some hip hop and all sectors of EDM. I never learned music theory but I taught myself to play and picked up ear training (and I guess what I consider to be my own twist on theory from playing guitar and composing original music for years) along the way, covering many bands songs for fun and practice and it shaped the way I use melody and rhythm articulation. I fucking LOVE music and ALL I really want to do is just produce it whether people listen to it or not, hate it or dig it, idc. Teaching people would be fascinating as well if I could find the words to describe my thoughts like you do. Music education should be free for everyone I feel, but then again we have the internet and you can find anything if you know where and how to look. I'd like to have a one on one with someone like yourself just to learn where I am on the spectrum so I can find where I need to improve, and pick up on how different styles of music are pieced together. Came across your videos just today and I've been watching for a few hours now just learning so much in so little time. Thanks for being one of the good people out there ready to help people achieve their goals man. It's fucking awesome.
\m/,
thanks seamless, i really appreciate you sharing this information with us along with everything else you've told us
great talk always loving the videos bro!
SeamlessR on your FL studio tutorial for beginners you did awhile back, you went over making a bassline,chords, etc but no melody. Is it typical for chords to actually be on a different piano roll than the melody. if so, i'm assuming it's a different synth then?
I want to add to the "make money from everything you do" thing: for those of you who are good with graphic design (like myself): do your own artwork, so that way you may save money that you would have spent having someone else do artwork for you, and make that a service that you yourself can provide to people (that may seem a little conflicting, but keep in mind not everyone is good with visual arts, and those people are probably willing to pay someone to do artwork for them). You can then take that a step further by making tutorials for Photoshop and whatnot, uploading them here on UA-cam, and getting ad revenue from monetization.
I have that too. I used to draw alot when I was younger and that comes im handy lol. Saved me alot of money
I have that too. I used to draw alot when I was younger and that comes im handy lol. Saved me alot of money
I started FL Studio a couple of months ago and learned it almost without any tutorials. I regret it a bit because I guess that if I had watched your videos I would be where I am now in 1/10 og the time 😅 good channel bro!
This was really helpful, thanks a lot SeamlessR!
I LOVE these types of videos aswell as your tutorials!! XD extremely informative and honest information :)
Put this guy on half the speed on the video, It's hilarious!!
Oh my god xD
I can't believe I humored this......lol christ
Geez, I can't work anymore ahaha. Then I switched it to 1.5 speed.. LOL
So funny
when seamless is drunk :D:D:D:D
u r the best producer, best teacher. u r aweasome
20:36 Product Placement
Good job on the video, thank you =)
have you been up to date with massive at all? or learned anything new with it?
Hey Seamless, thanks a lot for your videos. This video is a couple years old so I don't know how closely you monitor comments, but I want to ask you about specialization vs. variation. It seems your point is to cast a wide net and try to monetize as many activities as possible. Do you feel like from personal experience that you're able to focus on your projects adequately with so many projects going on? For me the idea of YouTubing + sound design + teaching + making my own beats+ a 9 to 5 is a pretty daunting to-do list!
Hi Seamless! Awesome video. Something you didn't mention about making money from music was the PRS for Music. From talking to people about this subject, they always mention about making money from royalties on the PRS. I don't get it, how much revenue can the PRS make you? Can you please explain this for me. Thanks :D
Thanks, this helped me very much. (building a career with music right now)
Thanks for this man, I think my past comments might've provoked this video in some way but I've come to realize alot of what you've covered in this vid; I'm thankful for the other opportunities I have in my life thanks to my diverse talents and me being butthurt over my music is something that's just unnecessary -- I have to look at where my music has gone thus far and appreciate those ventures, all-in-all I'm happy where I am now and I'm glad you addressed this in-depth!
***** Nice music
20:42 that is definitely vodka
Jay Anderson Polish natural spring vodka
Jay Anderson lack of Patreon support after tutorials became their own thing has forced Seamless to drink
This was an amazing talk man, thanks!
Hey seamless! Love your videos dude!
I have a question. I pretty much finished a song I mad called "Mirage". Unfortunately, I can't sing for my life. How do I sell my tracks to a singer? Or find someone to sing to it?
My soundcloud is Erick Madrazo
I think it comes down to how you market yourself and or just be good at making music but mostly it seems like good marketing
Have you ever considered applying to a massive thing like shambhala? Would something like that increase your popularity and or income by a large amount?
Thank you Senpai. I needed this
I'm working my way to make UA-cam my backbone ^_^
I make Tutorials Mainly on Rap Artist development, and such.
But yeah it is pretty harsh making money as a music profession at first. Like you said, it all comes down to putting yourself out there with presence, and consistency, and in time, the money grows.
Can you talk about getting Dj gig and how much you would get for what time you would play Iv looked it up on UA-cam and google and not to much help on that and good video keep em coming
This is one thing i have almost no experience with. The gigs I've done are not super regular things. There isn't a lot of edm action where i live so I don't get too much chance to observe
Please post some footage of your gigs
thanks seamless.. your videos have been a valuable resource for me!
Its 2:37 am..no time for sleep here haha. Great advice as usual. Absorbing it up so thanks man!
Nice video Seamless!
What's your opinion on artist-aggregators?
Thank You for teaching me about my future. I am 17 and want to be a producer with the occasional gig. I have 22K subs and 3 mil views from launchpad videos. Haven't made a penny yet because of copyrights. Made my channel 12 months ago....Still working it out, but this really helped me, thank you, SeamlessR
Except for Bandcamp, Beatport and a small number of other sites to buy music, everything can only be bought through Credit or Visa. iTunes which is the biggest platform for buying music only has these payment options and that's is probably part of the reason some or many people torrent the music. Basically every teenager or anyone who doesn't have Credit or Visa has to go buy a gift card to buy music off iTunes. I find this is hugely inconvenient and while the other options are available I would personally much rather buy an album through Paypal than go through the tedious process of getting a gift card or putting money on a Credit card or Visa. Less and less of the music I own would be torrented if not for this huge inconvenience in even being able to spend money on it.
After making a sample pack how do you get to release it? Im kinda stuck in there. Also, I make youtube video tutorials and I got kinda stuck at 1k subs, any advice?
Rpinto1311 It's actually really easy to release a sample pack. Simply email the distributor(s) website saying that you are interested in selling your sound pack and give them a preview. Also make sure your product is set up like the other products they sell. Not every distributor will take it, but be selective, email 5 and you'll be sure to get at least 1.
***** adsrsounds.com (they have a "want to sell your sounds?" link at the bottom of their page), producerloops, synthmob, loopmasters, sounds to sample, beatport sounds, xenossoundworks, freshlysqueezedsamples, zenhiser, resonance-sound, blackoctopus-sound, to name a few. Looking around, you should be able to find one that matches your style and marketing plan. ADSR is one of the best out there imo.
I recommend not signing exclusivity rights to your work, since that allows you to put it in more places, sell it yourself on your own website, doing your own promotions, etc. but it's completely up to you how you want to approach it.
lastly, if you can build emails/subscribers/followers, you can really begin to grow your business instead of relying on drive-by sales (what I call people browsing the distributor sites.) You'll have your own audience instead of competing for the distributor's audience.
Nice! Thanks for the help CaptainIronhelm
look up a nigga named imaqtpie hes says hes ur long lost brother. u 2 might wanna get into contact
How should I approach custom song requests? I have a client that wants a handful of original instrumental dance tracks (3-4 min each) for exclusive use in their educational videos and their in-person workshops. The client referenced $19 stock audio from AudioJungle, but knows custom music costs more. But I have never done music for anyone else but me. Any tips?
Jeff Finley ask for a lot, custom music should be a few hundo a song.
"Media the fuck out of your stuff!" - SeamlessR 2015
2:34 - This part made me officially give up on any form of musical career.
Time to hit the books & focus on a career in Health!
the realistic way i see youtube and your type of career, its a growing position, but as said about youtube dying. its lesser about youtube dying and more other people getting tired of trends and hobbies and eventually edm will die out and become lesser of a growth for tutorials and more for just finished products.
an easy relation to this is the tape recorder. it was sold to play tapes for personal use. cds came along. tapes became somewhat redundant, and even the lless common uses like loopers for guitarists and djs turned to cds and loop pedals. now we have computers. eventually everything will just be built into one. but more portable and/or useful.
as for growing old, thats more for twitch streaming and just the face behind the voice, people will look to you as more knowledgeable but less of an everyday thing. comparison i can give is any actor thats been in the business for more than 20 years.
on the positives you make the best type of youtube videos, things people dont watch once. time and time again i go back to the basics just to relearn.
in conclusion would be, grind hard now. because eventually, davedays syndrome kicks in, and its almost no point doing youtube as a career anymore.
Bandcamp seem to be a really good deal right now since people pay very easily to download high quality versions of songs and can hear them for free before even paying
Seamless is a Legend!
what about pursuing a career in video game music production or film/commercial music?
Charlie Everton Those are super hard fields to break into. The two ways I can think to do so would be to find some fledgling indie dev team and offer to make music for them. This is so that you can have your name credited as having done music for a game which is something most established dev teams require on a resume.
The other way is to have contacts. Know people who work on teams or do music for teams and have them recommend you.
SeamlessR Hi could you do a tutorial on vocal manipulation / adding vocoals to a track, and if you are feeling generous a follow up on vocal cutting and effects etc :)
how did you deal with emotions you felt when you were starting if they were negative and what made you keep doing your thing regardless of feeling like your 300 spartans vs the persian empire (which is how many feel about making money of music in general and all the :( faces on forum posts when talking about it)? Confidence i feel is a big role in keeping your engines going and keeping a strong skin because if you barely get any feedback and one person says hey man your song sucks that must really hurt. I myself have only got good feedback or thats it's ok ,but very few which brings down some hope i should have in a way like i'm going in a circle back to the same place.
more like 1 spartan against 8 billion persian empires
How many hours a week are you working to make said money in your estimation?
I agree with pretty much every point in this vid, except that I've now hit a point in my career where I have to turn down "things" (even huge opportunities) that aren't my "one thing". This is mostly because of time (or the lack thereof) and a little bit about money...
So, *at some point* it's likely that a producer will have to start making a conscious decision to only do the one or two things that are making them the most money or matter to them the most (or hopefully both). This is actually much harder to do, in my opinion... once you start getting offers constantly, it can be really upsetting to turn down things you want to do.
Anyways, AT FIRST, definitely do every single opportunity that is presented to you! This is how you will find your niche and develop a reputation/experience that will lead to your one or two things you do for the rest of your life.
Just my 2 cents and personal experience, of course.
Bless you
seamless so transparent love it @20:00 ish
Was the video game guy you talked to TheRadBrad?
i have been producing some tunes for 5th year now and still dont know how to open account for little pocket money to come in :D
dude you deserve much more attention
down to earth explaination. 😊
+seamlessr $1200 for a two hour live set , flights and accommodation paid for and 2 or 3 of those a week seems like enough to live on to me.
+Chris Dealny Try getting 2-3 gigs a week tho, and all for $1000+.
Do you buy the refx nexus plugin or is it free?
you can get it for free tho
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us, Seamless. If I'll make it one day, I'll make a insane neuro track in your honor! :D
Platforms are good in the aspect of getting better outreach because of people already using them, but having built several businesses up to $200 a month and then being shut down because the platform crashes or some other reason I can't control makes me favor making my own platform that I own, giving me more control.
In other words, while I may use platforms like UA-cam, sample distributing websites, blog networks, forums, bandcamp, etc., my main focus is on building my own Email list. If all of the platforms I use go down, no problem! I can simply email my list and get them on board with the next platform. Another huge benefit is that upon making a release and emailing my list, I can make massive 1st week sales which make the release a top seller, which gains more eyes and a bigger email list for next release.
Make an email list or your own website. When the platform you use goes down, you don't want to be devastated.
Very down to earth
A label contacted me wanting to release an EP from me. Is 50% cut good? I've never made any money with my music so I have no idea.
Terroristiananas It's not really about the cut. It's about what kind of "expenses" that they'll recoup from your cut. Any kind of promo or art or whatever else they pay for comes out of your cut in some way.
And then also consider that if you wanted to make the same amount of money that you'll make with that cut, that you'd have to sell twice as many copies than you would on your own.
Labels also have to give a cut to whatever platform people buy the thing from, like iTunes. That %50 cut you get is AFTER the distro cut. So on a $7 EP you're looking at $2.45 per sale for you. Of which you won't see until after expenses are recouped.
This is all normal though, and fair. A label isn't trying to shaft you when they give you these kinds of numbers. Where they might shaft you though is where they try and convince you that they are actually worth those numbers.
Can they move more copies than you can? Specifically, can they sell about three times as many copies as you could on your own which is what you'd need to do with them in order to make what you could on your own.
Can they reach more people, promo you better than you can?
If the answer to those questions is "no" or "I don't know" then probably don't go with whatever label that is. Certainly don't sign exclusive with them.
Well, I know what I'm making my next video about ;p
SeamlessR Well, seems like a pretty good deal then as they specifically said that I'd be getting 50% of sales without any reductions. The deal also includes mastering, cover art, promo stuff and so on.
Terroristiananas Well, make sure you get all of that in writing. As well, make sure to read whatever contract they give you thoroughly to ensure that's what it's actually saying.
That certainly does sound like a good deal. It also sounds like it's from a super small time or super new label willing to do free work to get artists on their roster.
Look into other artists who are on that label and see how they're doing, and how the label promo'd them. Ensure that they're doing it better than you could on your own.
Because that's still half of what could be yours on your own banking on the idea that they do.
But hey, it's also totally possible that they're on the up and up and this is a good plan :) just gotta cover your bases.
SeamlessR *basses
how did that go? 3 years later...
bless ya'
8:37 dafac he said?
What songs you do?
I really like this "Wisdom with Seamless" series :P
and a big Thank You Seamless, for being a kind, decent, honest human being!
Thanks... it's working... Good Job...!
I feel like distribution without a record label is way harder than you make it seem, I think that's where the record labels have leverage. record labels have thousands of ppl who listen to the music they promote whereas an up and coming artist probably has 1000 or less
I'm just happy making music and listening to music I like. would you do all this for free?
250,000 views a month and only getting 400? That's like $1.50 CPM. Everywhere I look they say the average CPM for YT is like $3-4. Why is yours so low?
$3-$4 was accurate around 2012-2013 I believe. It's gone down for everyone, but gaming channels and tech/gadget review channels can still pull $3-4 pretty easily.
*...Hi! Im seamles.*
Thank you :)
It does not surprise me that Recording A Modulator is your most viewed video at all
Just 3 years???
but i dont want to make media the fuck out of my stuff, :( isnt there any other way ?
Cant i be against digitalism and facebook nowdays ? or could i ever meet more people like me to build an other platform lets say? who knows ...
I assume that while you are building up this fan-base, and all those different things you are doing, you get a par-time job like McDonalds or something I DON'T KNOW. You still have to support yourself somehow during that faze, right? Correct me if I'm wrong but that's how I see it :P
Interesting..
btw, dont count on utube, everybody s installing ad block
+Hundred Ah, but if you establish a loyal fanbase-even if it's small-you can throw up a Patreon and watch dat dough roll in.
Can you talk slow or make the subtitles right ? :D
Oh, by the way, DISABLE ADBLOCK ON UA-cam, PEOPLE.
The Glass Piñata Incident It's 30 seconds of your life, but to who you're watching, it is their life.
The Glass Piñata Incident That's some deep shit lol
You know the world is screwed when Seamlessr has more knowledge about business than successful entrepeneurs...
I gotta say, in your talk videos, the volume is a bit silent... Maybe turn up your voice a bit? Is it even normalized?
Saw your stuff through BassGorilla. You bad(as in good) :)
nice vid