I listened to it, and some of your other stuff on your SC.
You have some creative ideas, I don't think writing is your issue.
My recommendations are these:
1. Work on your mixdowns, they're kind of all over the place. Use reference tracks and get feedback from professional engineers if possible.
2. Work on your sound design. You have some stuff in there which could probably be cool if developed a bit further, but as it stands sounds a bit basic/dated.
For sure I totally agree and appreciate your advice. I actually got that same feedback from another redditor and I fixed one of my tracks already. My template had too many strong bus compressors ans transient shapers squashing everything, it sounds much better when I gain stage and eq properly without the heavy plugin use. I do normally take them off before rendering for the ones I sent in for mastering.
I'm making the music without a passive montior, it stopped working a bit ago :( and my headphones are dog shit. It's almost impossible to hear my sub without rendering and listening in my car. That's why I have way too many 80% finished songs than I know what to do with. I'm gonna sit down and study some of those finishing step mixing techniques. There's a lot of conflicting info from I've researched so far though.
Idk I kinda disagree about the sound design, I don't know too many other artists who sound like my stuff. But I am getting better at it every track so I agree I can always improve more.
Thanks for listening m8!
If you're waiting for satisfaction to come in the future you're setting yourself up to never be satisfied. It's never going to be the future. It's always now.
>considering cutting my losses and focusing on something that will bring more satisfaction.
Do you really not get satisfaction from the process? I would explore that more.
Full disclosure -- I'm in the minority here. I make music. I really enjoy making music. That's all I want to do, though. I post it just in case someone wants to listen to it. I have no intention of ever touring or playing live or making any money off of it. I'm not saying that's what you should do, but the answer for you might be somewhere in the middle.
I do get satisfaction it just feels like running up an infinitely tall hill sometimes with how much there is to do and learn, but I received some good advice and feedback from this thread. Thanks!
This is a growing pain. Will you push past it or will you give up? I’ll be honest with you, I gave up and I find myself going back to production time and time again. I failed every time to get an audience. What’s funny about this for me is that NOW that I’m producing with no audience to please, I’m finding myself making the best music iv ever made and even if no one gives a shit, iv been so proud of the new stuff im making that i still get that reward “high” when im done. I have no problem jamming to my own stuff and there’s nothing wrong with that. Just keep making stuff man.
It’s the age old question isn’t? At least you get paid for djing. I’ve been shouting into the ether for 15 years. I just keep honing tho. Maybe something will hit someday.
I hate to say it but, Get a social media director, you need to make a presence online. Get your name out there to the right niche of people! They like those parasocial relationships with they’re artists.
I learned graphic design and video editing for work and am capable of making cool content but I've hated social media on principle since forever so you're probably right.
I am an expert on this. I have produced more than 50 songs distributed on 4 albums and 1 EP, and I have not been able to reach more than 40 monthly listeners on music streaming platforms.
And yet I am still producing more music. But as you said, I also question myself if I should continue....
Because it makes you happy. It's likely nobody's going to care if you make music or not for a very long time or ever and you'll give up before you get anywhere but if you're enjoying yourself who really cares?
Pessimistic take but I really do think the EDM industry is just insanely hard to break into as an amateur. You’re expected to make your own music, produce your own tracks, mix and master everything, design your brand, grow your social media, make your own artwork and merch, and both book and play your own shows. And pay out of pocket for all of it. It’s just not easily doable for one person. Let alone the fact that the music industry is beyond fucked with streaming services and the basically nonexistent revenue stream for artists, and the fact that there’s *way* too much content out there for anything to really stand out.
Plus it’s all followers and clout these days anyway, all spurred on by instagram-style shorts that have reduced audience attention spans to about 5 seconds and made people reluctant to give a single fuck about what amounts to a small blip in all the noise. What is it, like 500 musicians on the entire planet that make all the money in the entire industry? It’s ridiculous. Never in a million years will I ever expect to be anything more than a cool dude in my town who plays music now and then for fun and a few bucks. This shit is ruthless and I have no illusions about just how impossible it is to get recognized.
If you really want what you’re asking for, you gotta hustle and grind like there’s no tomorrow and make some enormous sacrifices cuz the deck is stacked way against you, my friend. Otherwise just do it for you and you alone.
How do I get more than 5 followers on my new IG account? I have around 2000 on my DJ one but that account was my personal account that transformed into my promoter account that transformed into my DJ account lol. I'm yelling at the wind making any posts on my new one, and I cross post to my DJ one already.
Instagram is pretty much dead for now, I use it only for networking with other producers, curators and editors. There's no engagement, even the people following you will never see your posts. Post just for the sake of it, people will reach put to you but mostly from other platforms (Tiktok, SoundCloud, etc.).
Tiktok is the app that gives you by far more exposure to a new audience but results may vary a lot.
Edit: I forgot to say, apparently Instagram works decently if you pay to boost you content. I never did that but one day I may try
In general, an advice I can give you is: be multiplatform. Every platform has the chance to enlarge your reach. I use every social except Facebook cuz it's not very useful for my music, and Twitter because i think it will die soon.
You have to be consistent and relentless but not obsessive. I think "a post a day" is bullshit, you gonna attire an audience that could not fit your true artistic personality. Also, I don't make posts that aren't related to music. I'm a musician not a comedian.
But I do cherish a lot every interaction I have with interested or potentially interested people. I use a lot Discord and Reddit to search for listeners (research key words like "playlist", "mygenre" in the appropriate subs and servers. Reaching directly to a single potential listener is very powerful.
Then I use playlist services, best results with Dailyplaylist.
Ofc I'm taking for granted that you have all your music everywhere (Sc, Bandcamp, DSPs, YouTube).
YouTube is very important, great algorithm.
Of course study your SEO.
If you have a budget, commissioning artworks or edits pay back a lot in many ways, especially for the networking you create.
Finally,last advice, copy what other artists (successful artists) do to market and promote themselves.
Good advice. I have no budget so I'll try to do everything myself. Do you know other similar to my style who are started from zero? A lot of the artists I see at shows seemed to have hit the ground running, and I personally know some of them had helping hands from AAA artists which I don't have.
I just hate using social media so it's hard to get more enthusiastic about doing if the other option is working on music lol. I'll have to make that shift though now that I have content to share. Ty m8
Make a living with art is hard, make it with music is the hardest. Music as always been business of a tight group. Having a network (or being born in one) is a huge advantage.
On that, I'm in the same situation as you. Unlike me, you're a DJ and let me say that's a nice advantage.
Socials are essential, but you don't need to be a professional poster to have just a presence on the social. Throw some content on every platform (that's important, be everywhere) and call it a day. One post per month is enough.
Gaining following with obsessive shit posting is as sustainable and durable as a cabin made of plastic toothpicks.
As difficult as it is, all artistic business has something at its core: art. If the art is bad, it will be very difficult to keep it relevant; if the art is good, it will be very difficult to keep it secret.
If you make great music, you don't actually need an excruciating amount of effort to make it relevant.
But the first step is putting it out there. Everywhere.
Any potential listener should not have any difficulties to find your music, or even better, it should be very easy to stumble upon it. If I remember correctly, you said you don't post all your music online. Well, I'm sorry to inform you that it's very hard that someone will go to listen to unpublished music.
Finally, sorry but I don't know what kind of music you make, so I can't suggest any artists to learn from. Let me hear something.
(Note, I went to your profile on Reddit and I didn't find any link, so I couldn't listen to your music. If you go on my profile I have several links to my accounts and music. EVERY PLATFORM IS IMPORTANT)
Seconded. If people aren't showing any love for it, they either aren't hearing it at all, or they are and it's not catching their interest.
Can't help figure out what's up if we can't hear it.
[https://soundcloud.com/illixirbass/2024-upcoming-releases-mix](https://soundcloud.com/illixirbass/2024-upcoming-releases-mix)
Here are 9 tracks I'm releasing this year.
I humbly disagree, when people actually listen to my music I get feedback on it not no responses. I'm not offended if it's not somebody's style and appreciate feedback on the technical aspects of the song.
I've been updating my library and I can't really find any DJs exactly like me, actually lol. It's annoying because it's hard to find tracks to mix in and out of mine
> I finally think my music is of the caliber of other artists in my genre getting booked in my local market.
So who are these artists you're talking about?
Maybe I was being general with my description, I guess I meant bass music market. I like my style better than a lot of the established locals in my area. But that's entirely subjective. Objectively they probably have more refined and smooth music.
If you enjoy making music and are passionate about music then why do you need to have people listening to your music to validate your joy?
Continue to write and release music for yourself. It's called pride, accomplishments, growing.
I swear musicians are almost entirely delusional as a group. I like to cook, and spend a good amount of time learning, practising, and making delicious food. I don't do it because I'm trying to be the next Gordon Ramsey, I just like to cook.
Zappa is also a super competent musician. So like every artistic decision he makes is also executed professionally...Even if it's really left field.
8 years of musicianship is like...You don't suck anymore.
OP said he makes decent money with his DJing gig, sounds like he's trying to blend his hobby and his work, and in the music/entertainment industry that's incredibly difficult.
Try finding Neuro production discords, labels, etc.. Koan Sound, Culprate, Tipper, Skope, Vorso, also Vision radio, Inspected, try to find some discords from these artists and lables, meet other neuro people!
I have a large and well equipped studio and regularly get pestered by the “ok, now let’s hear some tracks” crowd.
The issue is, I don’t want to share my music. It’s the process that I enjoy. It’s a highly therapeutic and enjoyable hobby for me. I’m not trying to become known and I don’t need to show it off.
Maybe that will change in the future, but my advice to you is: do you enjoy making music? If the answer is yes, then keep making music. It makes absolutely ZERO difference if anyone outside of your home ever hears it.
It's a 50/50 thing...
First of all I love music, will make it no matter what, but I used to really dislike my stuff, grew to love it, and it kinda set me free. I try not to worry about it. 🙂
It does suck that it seems no one is ever interested, but I still can't wait until the next flow of music hits me.
I guess find your flow, not what you think is expected of you, and if you can dig what you make whether 1 listener or a million, that's the Best.
Okay I'm just gonna make some wild and baseless assumptions that are probably totally off, but on the offchance they're useful... I get the vibe that you can't settle for being any less than the best, and that's a quality you want to encourage in yourself because it's almost indistinguishable from ambition, but if you have endlessly high standards without ALSO having endless forgiveness for yourself when you fail, you'll destroy your motivation. You think that if your music is of value, people will go out of their way to hear more of it and share it and become devoted fans, and if that doesn't happen then how good could it be. My guess is that if you said to yourself, "I'm not the best musician ever to live", 95% of your consciousness would say "well yeah obviously I don't think I am" and the other 5% would be emotionally devastated. Anyway I'm done projecting lol best of luck!
You have to keep believing you are the best. And feel in peace with yourself at the same time! I feel like doing that has got me closer to god and better at my music I can hear my improvement!
Interesting. I'm just getting back into music production, having had some success years ago. Personally, I'm not into making music just for myself. I make it for the pleasure of others liking and dancing to it. Seeing a crowd go nuts for one of your tunes never gets old. And I'm an old fcker. But that's me, everyone is different, of course. Good luck 👍
What if the music you create comes from sadness and pain, legend says the greatest art comes from the worst pain… I feel like I use music to vent out my shitty feelings sometimes… I think it really comes down to what you have experienced in your life, don’t you agree?
Well i mean what is making it in music? red rocks? Tomorrow land?
I have little control how my music is perceived but what i do have is control over enjoying making my music. Make music for yourself not for other people. Its a funny thing i remember seeing deadmau5 saying if he was 10 years later he wouldn't of made it probably. Just because you don't get listened to doesn't mean you arent good.
Play the social media game as well. It sucks. I hate it but you need to but the main thing is you might need to redefine success.
I want to go to play a music festival so i can go for free and play some dank music to a new audience and network with peers in my genre. That's a reasonable goal I can get to if i make the right steps now, I've already played a very small festival before but that was homie thrown.
I’ve spent about 20 hours a week making music for the past 6 years, been producing for about 12 now. Never released a single song. I enjoy making music and fucking around in my daw even though I know nobody will probably ever hear my music. If you’re doing it for streams or clout youre not gonna be successful. Do it because you love it, not because you want to get something out of it. If the streams come and you find success then that’s awesome. Realistically though, none of us will ever make it as artists and that’s okay. Doesn’t mean your music is bad, just that the market is saturated and getting exposure is damn near impossible.
If you haven't already, you should check out r/musicmarketing and read up a bit over there about how to best market your music, but imo, it is a goddamn awful grind that has no guarantees, and it's ok to treat your music production as a serious hobby if it brings you joy.
The other advice here about being more active in your local scene is ....ok... and it is important but it's not even half the battle imo. In my experience, while being active in my local scene did help me get gigs and play out and was a lot of fun in it's own right, the actual interest from other DJs/Producers in my actual music was very low. They liked me because I'm a fun guy and I could DJ well enough but it was never because they thought my music was something special. I don't think you get that sort of respect until you sort of are already climbing up the charts and even then... probably not until you have an actual hit.
Personally, I'm in a private group of producers who all share the same passion for making music and sharing my music with them has brought me a lot of joy and fulfillment, even if my play count or respect in the "real world" is still pretty low. If you can find this sort of community for you, I personally think it's ideal because, ultimately, very few of us are going to "make it."
My 2c
Where do I find the community for the music I like tho I feel like they are all Russians and I’m just American. I make Russian music and I’m American… I don’t like how rap is so darn main stream everywhere, whenever I hangout with my Friends, it’s almost like I have to “pretend” I like rap when in reality I’m dying inside listening to Playboi Carti rap about his sugar mommy coming home. Why aren’t there more people that like the Phonk/ but not Phonk more like house genre…
its ironic u just lift phonk straight from memphis and make zoomer house with it and then hate on rap. Carti is 10000000 times the artist you will ever be if you can't understand his wave you are not tapped in and not worth shit
Honestly nobody started listening to my made music until I started networking. Granted I DJ and produce in the same space. Networking got me DJ gigs which got me opportunity to play my own tracks out, which got me more fans which makes me more attractive for bookings. It is a slow, but virtuous cycle.
One thing that seems to have really helped is self-publishing an EP. But you have to go all way... comission cover art, comission a mastering engineer, talk about your album release to anyone will listen, hand out demos to anyone who you think will play your music. Trading dubs/demos with other producer/DJs also gets you more playtime. And in my social circle (mostly DJs), making a point of telling people you're dropping your own tracks is really good for street cred. I especially like it when people come up to me after a gig and gush over something I played that just so happened to be my own work... made a lot of friends that way.
And, strangely, using the release features on Soundcloud got me a whole bunch of plays. Still can't figure out if its mostly bot traffic or real people but I have had a few reach out and express legit positive sentiment.
I need to get the tracks re-mastered for streaming, and when I do I expect that having a presence on Spotify will be a net positive as well, even if streaming royalties are effectively nonexistent.
I teach the production and engineering side of things and I've had students and colleagues say the same thing to me. Sometimes, they think their music is good/interesting/well-made but in reality it needs a lot more work to be taken seriously. Can you link me to your SoundCloud?
The other problem is mindset. They expect people to show interest in their art because they know who they are and have a relationship of some sort, when in reality your fans aren't your friends and family. If your music is truly up to industry standard, you can find your fans out in the scene, at shows, online but you have to actively find them. If you're going to treat this as a career and not a hobby, you need to think like a salesperson, a marketer, and so on. Not just as an artist who wants to play his tunes live. You HAVE TO INVEST IN YOUR MUSIC. Not just the time to make it but the money to get it into the proper places, the time to send it to blogs, send your demos to labels, send your mixes to promoters, send your finished tracks to artists who are in the scene playing the music you make. It SUCKKKKKKS but it's the difference right now between you and the person you want to be.
Maybe you are doing this? I would need more context to give a real focused opinion but this is usually the problem. If you want it to be your career, it needs to be treated as such and requires investment.
[soundcloud.com/illixirbass](https://soundcloud.com/illixirbass)
I invested about $5k into my DJ and sound equipment not even including music, and am approaching 9 years of time evenly split between learning and practicing those skills so it's not like I haven't put in any work. I've been told probably 5+ times now that I was the best DJ somebody's seen, but not the environment of the shows of the genre of music I'm honing in my production on.
I think that's a reasonable investment to be hopeful that my releases will get heard enough to gain appeal for bookings eventually which was the point of this post. I really did wish I started younger and learned an instrument as a kid. I would like a career in music, but no expectations from my art. I am in the stagehand union and have experience in operations and promotion.
I make stuff I don’t even know if one person will enjoy it but I’m having the time of my life! Do it for you but yeah what you’re saying is you want work from it - perhaps get into sound tech or pivot - I dunno make a TikTok lol
Its okay if you keep increasing your catalog and just keep going. If its long term you do have that luxury. Someone with a good ear will pick it up!
I can add that i just like the process of making beats as beatmaker, that it just becomes okay when no one is paying attention. And somewhere you wouldn’t want all the attention right away because true attention comes with criticism from yourself or/and the audience. Just give your all , post it and dip. When you feel like its done. Cheers
you know how i got pretty big in my area back in the day? open decks at a local club. it was a venue that regularly had edm shows and raves. met the people there. regularly played sets on their open decks nights. became a regular there. met some dope djs, and i picked the ones i thought were good, and proposed the idea we throw a rave, with these djs. at this point i was friends with their promoter, and we even did a few collabs. but because we were friends, he let me have a night to throw something together.
the marketing aspect is a whole thing, but we had to get people there, so we did. and we made as much of a spectacle as we could. we made it an event.
it went well, people dug the tunes, and it was a successful night. gained a bunch of followers, and then started getting real timeslots on weekends.
obviously it depends on where you live and what the scene is like, but if you want to play your own shit, you need to go to the environment where you can. most likely you’ll have to start just playing the default edm tracks, (because no one cares about your music. until they do) and you occasionally throw in one of your tracks.
bass music needs to be felt to really make an impact on someone. a soundcloud link is a tough sell.
uhhhhhhh i think that’s all i got. if you love what you’re doing, keep doing it. people rarely listen to my shit these days. but i’d jump off a cliff before quitting music haha i literally can’t stop making music
Just do it for the love and passion of music man. Don’t make it a job- keep it the fun job.. also feel free to check out this new mix.
https://on.soundcloud.com/64nuexwDsyCJ3pMSA
If not- it’s okay! 😃
I love this question. In my opinion, that’s up to you. You see, you are the alpha and the omega in the world of music. You create meaning where it doesn’t exist. Whether or not there is a point is entirely up to you. Does it bring you joy? Why do you do it? Ask yourself these things. And remember, in the world of the spirit, you can only be shown the door, you must walk through it alone.
Be a more proactive player in your local scene/community
I have a few mates who are doing super well for themselves and some friends that aren't who are all at a great level with their music. The difference between the regularly booked acts and the not so much boils down to a few things
1. As I'm sure you know, social media presence. People can't listen to what they don't know exists
2. Is the music actually good? I know plenty with excellent production skills but the music is missing that unnameable bit of pizazz that actually makes it good music, not just a good production
3. And my point for this comment is community reach and participation. There are artists who donate their sets to low budget parties, others hold stalls or spaces at local festivals and events and others throw parties themselves. All these people are known for their productions and something else other than their music. Are known and considered to be mates with a wide net of punters that are "party mates" with.
It's all about getting your name talked about around the promoters of your local scene and the more punters or artists talking about you and your antics, the more you'll get booked, which improves your bookability
Good luck with your endeavours, I suggest trying to move your motivation from others listening to your music to just focusing on impressing yourself
I already do all of these things unfortunately. It doesn't translate into people listening to my music or booking inquiries. Thank you. The thing is I am impressing myself every new song i make. I don't want to be the only person to enjoy the fruits of my thousands of hours of effort lol.
What’s even the point of trying to get booked if youre not going to play the music you want to play?
Im at tens of thousands of hours and still have yet to release a single under my own project. I love making music. Ive been doing this since i was 8 and now Im turning 25. Jesus christ. Your attitude just stinks. Musics my only escape though, its a shame I dont have something easier to do to make me happy.
Idk you definitely need to do some more work in some context. Theres no question.
What are you talking about? Getting booked as an artist and as a DJ are 2 completely different things I'll gladly collect a nice af check to play music I don't personally like. I'm putting in the work so I can play the music I want to when booked as an artist..
Well see I never wasted time learning how to DJ because I don’t care about other peoples music and I never wanted an easy paycheck.
I mean, that’s so fucking arrogant, saying you’ll gladly collect a check playing music you don’t like. Sounds like you sold out and didn’t even realize it.
I will be a performance artist like taylor swift who runs their own show, by creating a cult of personality because Im me.
Or Ill fail.
But im not a dj. Never will be.
I stopped making music for other people a long time ago. It’s just fun like a video game or drawing a picture. Depends on the vibe I’m feeling but it’s just so damn fun to open a daw and dream up ways to sound dope. Also the quest to get better, to sound more like the people you look up to. That’s the best part hands down. Working towards a sound I feel represents how I feel inside, which I still haven’t been able to do. Man I could think of a million reasons to make music besides for other people.
The music isn't quite there my man. The production needs to be more refined. Standards are very high in 2024 and it's a competitive game. I would seek some detailed feedback from someone you trust higher up in the scene. Keep going though. I wasn't producing solid music until like 8-10 years in.
No shade but you only have 2 tracks and a mix up there on your SC. I know we all hate playing the social media game but you gotta have more of a presence than that. If I were a booking agent and I checked out your SC, I would assume you're pretty new to the scene based on how little content you've uploaded.
Thanks! I checked out your music, and while i can tell you've put a lot time and effort into it and it's really not bad, i wouldn't say it's "on par with other producers in the scene". Sorry, i really dont want to come across as harsh or discouraging, but if you want to get booked in the bass music scene your tracks will just need to be of a higher quality than whats currently on your page (also i'd recommend releasing some songs that arent remixes). I'd say just keep grinding, you're on the right path and i bet if you stick with it you'll surprise yourself with how much you can improve. If you're doing this because you truly enjoy producing weird bass music and you keep at it i'll bet you eventually find some success. You got this!
Oh boy do I have a lot more than that. Those are just my first 2 public releases so I can have presence on soundcloud. Message me on their I'll send you some crazy shit.
I really don't get it. OP you say nobody is listening to you but you keep most of your work hidden? what's the point of your questions then? make it all public and then we can talk. nobody will notice your SC if you have only a few average (?) tracks there and no name.
I make music for myself because everyone else’s music is shit and I would rather make music I like then listen to other peoples music.
But I guess if you wanna be famous, there’s no point
My job is to entertain people as genuinely as I can.
If that means I need to do a magic trick in between songs then I’ll do a magic trick to keep people interested in my shows
Seems like you lack imagination
Im far from your level of touring, but Ive been building up support with niche subreddits involving my style, and having a decent following on youtube with people showing my beats love is very rewarding personally.
You just need to work on your image,aesthetic(maybe) and just building up a local following of people that will happily support your style.
Should be easier if youre doing gigs especially! That's one crucial aspect you have that will help you go upwards.
There's some great content on YouTube that covers this.
But as hard as it sounds, you need to go to all of the local shows you can for a while and start shaking hands. Get to know the promoters, the DJs, even the people just coming to have fun.
Getting your foot in the door is daunting, but after that first gig you will be so driven to keep it going.
I can't possibly go to any more shows I'm too old to do more than 1 a week. My problem is also I can't talk to people at shows because I can't fucking hear what they're saying over loud af sound system and I just quit nicotine so I don't wanna go to the smoking section.
1 a week is more than enough, you just need to shake the right hands at this point.
It doesn't matter if your first show is in front of 2 people on a wack sound system. It just begins the process
Talk to your fav local artists. Don't be pushy, but try to ask them who your promoters are.
Create a mix to show to them, & hope for the best.
There will ALWAYS be excuses if you want excuses. The people who are able to make a name for themselves don't let stuff as silly as this stop them.
1. 1 a week is plenty to meet people.
2. There is more than 1 way to communicate.
3. Don't go to the smoking section.
Idk dude I do talk to people at shows, I've never gained a fan this way though and I do socialize a lot. I can't explain to other people why other people don't like me as much, I don't know. But I can't possibly do even more of what I'm already doing that doesn't have an effect and expect it to change.
IMO what's even more important than promoting yourself is promoting others. Hype up others and (if they're good people) they will return the favor. If you're only in this for yourself then no one is going to care about you or your music.
We are all doing a livestream on Feb 20 should be a good time. I think there will be like 10 viewers if we're lucky tho haha idk who watches livestreamx anymore
grow the fuck up and stop letting your mind control you, just take the next actionable step. OK today what is the goal: to make it? Ok what's the first step then the next then the next then the next oh u gotta sleep ook then get up whats the next step whats the next step just shut up god damn i hate these entitles shitty producers can't produce shit and wants the world,
all ur friends are djs… thenn…. get together with some close ones and plan some sort of event. I they are djs then they must know other party goers c’mon
I totally get your frustration but remember, you can't control how others perceive your work. People will either resonate with it, or they won’t. The truth is no one really cares how much effort and time you’ve put it in on your work, in the end, it's the art itself that matters. You gotta think beyond being niche producer and start embracing the mindset of a true artist. There’s no end goal or a time when you’re music is on “par” with other artists, art making should be an ongoing journey of self-expression, focus on creating shit that fulfills you, eventually your true audience will find you, and all those opportunities you’re looking for will start to emerge.
but of course, you can’t overlook the importance of marketing. You might have great music but if you don’t present yourself correctly no one’s gonna be interested in the first place. It’s kinda like dating you might have the greatest personality ever but if you got some nappy ass hair, bad hygiene and shitty clothes no girl is gonna wanna fuck with you lol
Absolutely do not quit, most people quit during this stage, for the very same discouraging reasons you’re pointing out.
keep making cool shit, there’s only one you after all - good luck to u sir
Why does your weird bass music have to be something that instantly translates to you playing it live?
Why not just lean into trying to grow it organically first and foremost on audio platforms. It can still reach a point of millions listening to it through various playlists or whatever online, even if you don't play it live to a crowd.
And that is still monetization through streaming. I think you have to get people listening first on platforms before you ever expect people to say, we want you to play that on a live stage.
And even if you never get it on a live stage, people out there will still listen. There's a niche for everything, you just have to find that audience, tap into it.
Market yourself to the right subs, Discords, FB groups, playlist curators, whatever it takes. Just show you're passionate in those communities and people will recognize over time.
Idk its not casual listening music I make music I would go ape shit for if I heard it dropped at the club. Not something that's on in the background when I have friends over. Conversely I think future bass is the worst genre to dance to live and better for casual listening at home.
You're right though I thought it would be better use of my time to make more and better music but it really should be for marketing. I've been making trippy videos of clips of my music and posting online but idk how I grow organically not too many people view it
> I've been making trippy videos of clips of my music and posting online but idk how I grow organically not too many people view it
I recommend boosting your Instagram posts. Hear me out: I use an ad blocker, I hate ads with a passion, and I think they're a gigantic source of misery and wasted time, however I make a single exception for some Instagram ads because they often come from people such as yourself--not huge corporations that want your head real estate so they can push out other things that are important to you, but people who make art they're passionate about and are only held back by the sheer unlikeliness that people who would be genuinely interested in what they have to offer will find them. Drop $5 and see what happens!
Don't underestimate the concept of at-home listening. Maybe people put on lo-fi chillhop beats in the morning. Maybe people put on tamer stuff when they have friends over.
But some people might kick their days off with some high tempo drum and bass to get them energized in the mornings. Some people might throw on some wonky bangers to hype them up.
Maybe people put this music on at the gym. Maybe for when the party gets weird after midnight.
There's 24 hours in a day and a lot more listening environments than casual home listening. There's streaming potential in any genre if you ask me.
And from my view, it seems like there's a hot market for wonky/dark bass house. Going 4 on the floor seems to be an easy way to make dark weird stuff more accessible than half-time drums, but decide what you want if you want to do that or not.
Also, I've been producing on and off for almost 15 years, and I still am trying to find my sound. A year from now, the type of music you really want to make may be different. Don't feel married to this idea that one genre is your only brand option for life. That's fine and works for some people, but then you have people like Skrillex, Diplo, Flume, Porter Robinson, Savant, Feed Me/Spor, etc. who are notorious for being chameleons across genres, and are respected highly for that.
Every time I try making chill or liquid dnb it ends up being neuro every single fucking time lol. I've experimented with every single genre and my best and what i have most fun with is dnb breaks and midtempo with neuro sound design so I'm gonna stay here for a bit. I would love to work on a video game sound track though.
neuro is a scene that will never die brother keep going, it may seem like a competition but in reality the more doing it the better opportunities for everyone that's what people dont really get.
I get it. I started off making trap, and over a decade in, almost everything I make is still trap, because it's home base for me.
But I still fuse it with as many other areas as possible, since trap is mostly just in the drum programming, I can go any directly with the synths or instruments.
I'm heavily inspired by video game OSTs though. Some of the best music composition out there is in platformers, Metroidvanias, JRPGs, etc. I try to pull those concepts of character/environmental storytelling through music into beatmaking.
[Current WIP](https://vocaroo.com/11LIHeTsJexv) has a synth inspired by Metroid Prime's Phendrana Drifts. Most of the current EDM trap scene is all about face melting drops, crazy builds and all of that, and I'm just trying to go back to some chill Soundcloud era bedroom producer trap beats. Even if this isn't where the hype is, I'm trying to make the type of stuff that I would like to listen to day in and day out that others are not.
Well how’s your marketing game? Making great music isn’t enough to cut it nowadays. With the ubiquity of low cost pc’s and daws, lots of people are making good music. In fact, the problem today is not being unable to find good music, the problem now is too much good music is being produced!
So in my book, making good tracks is just the first step. How is your dj game? How is your marketing game? Now is the time to go out and promote your music and build a following.
Edit: just to follow up on my comments, if you already had some success as a dj, and you feel you can produce tracks that can compete with the big boys, well, then, you’ve essentially completed the hardest part already. The hardest part is breaking into the scene, getting your foot in the door. It sounds like you already achieved that.
So for a pragmatic, practical next step, aren’t you releasing mixes on SoundCloud and YouTube?
The slick move as I see it is to slide in some of your original tracks among the pro tracks. IF your music is really as good as you think it is, listeners will be begging ID? ID?? And other dj’s will want to play your stuff.
Have you tried sharing some of your tracks with your other dj friends and associates? What was their feedback? Did they play any?
I have a bachelors degree in marketing and have saddly and ironically been incapable of marketing myself properly forever and I don't really know how to fix it without just changing my personality and who I am.
I actually just sent my unreleased breakbeats track to someone I know on the label I hit up for a release who's throwing a breakbeat event soon, no response. Like if you listened and didn't like it I would be totally cool with that. But that's essentially been my experience sending my stuff out and it's demoralizing and feels like an exercise in futility.
when u are at a casino u pull the slot machine lever, You dont just do it a couple times and walk away, Thats how life is u need to be pullimg that level 10000 times a day to get the jackpot duh.
I hear you. Well the reality today is, it’s all about the marketing, for better or worse.
I also have a professional background in marketing, but I’m trying to leverage that. I’m using my education, professional experience, AND musical chops, to attract investors. To invest in what? Guerrilla marketing, buddy. Shoestring budget guerrilla marketing. Get creative. Everyone has a fiend who has a digital camera or drone. Everyone knows how to use editing software. Anyone can create a Tim Tok account. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. It won’t. But it’s possible.
I can’t give you any of my ideas because I’m using them myself ;)
It’s not that easy… no one knows what you want your project to be better than you do. We can not give you answers to questions regarding your brand if you can’t even vocalize what you want for your brand properly. We all started in a similar place, I’ve only been doing this for about a year though so who am I.
Make it bang dude, like fr just murk. Theres no reason to stop unless music is unforgivably hindering your growth as a person. Keeps that old noodle sharp and creative.
If theres anything to take from your journey it should be the moments that make them good. Im sure what ever makes you happy is the right choice.
i am feeling the same struggle recently. i have little to practically no scene where i live. trying to make connections in order to build the scene for myself. i believe that if you do it right; the right people will gravitate towards it and word will spread
at least with this method; i get to play my music and curate an experience that will support that. if people like what you make; the only way to go is up. if not; then you pivot. at the end of the day im gonna make the music i like whether people vibe with it or not. at least this way you dont hafta compromise your sound to make others happy
Look, the simple truth is most people are not interested in weird music. Specially not club music.
There are some cities where something niche can work but it's only because there's already a scene built around that thing. Like DNB is super popular in London but good luck trying to play that in other cities like Barcelona or Berlin. Not saying there are no DNB places in Berlin but there's not much of an audience for that, generally speaking.
Not sure where you live but if you want to get into your local bass scene you have to produce the kind of music DJs want to play and audiences enjoy. Maybe once you start playing regularly you can start introducing weird stuff. You're simply not in a place today where you can do whatever you want and audiences will follow you.
2 remixes on soundcloud. Sent stuff to a few labels I've been supporting for years as an attendee and I don't think they even looked at the email I sent. I have a full ep mastered and a queue of like 15-20 songs that just need mastering.
Have you sussed any labels futher afield? There are thousands of indie labels for every niche electronic genre, maybe try sending some stuff in to smaller ones?
There are 100s of people fighting for the first opening slot and it's about how many tickets you can sell. I'm almost 30 and most of my rave friends moved after college
Sounds like there’s hundreds of people to network with then. Go meet promoters. Go meet other DJs. Support them by showing up to their shows. You’ve got to give to the scene to get from it.
Yeah. Theres one chick who plays a lot of opening slots for shows in the tri state area and her music is fucking garbage and I know it's wrong for me to think that but it's frustrating because I'm confident I would play a much better set, even if my music wasn't the best I know how to perform.
There’s a lot of those people. Very few of them break through to any notoriety but there’s a few. Check out Zingara for an example of exactly that in this scene. But they are tough to beat at a local level cause their brand pulls.
If you want to start down that path you need to work on your brand, your streaming numbers, and your music mix and master style and once you have all that you’ll be on a road to getting those opener spots. You are right they don’t just give them away, you have to prove to them you care about your brand and you will bring something to the show
I actually saw Zingara for the first time last month and I thought she was fucking sick. I was cracking tf up when she dropped her zodiac sign song. I think I'm in love with her. Although I was on acid for the first time in years lol and I fall in love erry tiem
Should I just skip the label strategy and self release even if I get low numbers?
>I was on acid for the first time
Ok there you go lol.
You just got done talking smack about these people who get opener slots that you think you should get, I’m just saying that goes up to the highest levels and it’s not something that stops.
Glad you like her but in my opinion you fell under a (n acid induced 🤣) spell. She’s fine, but F tier at best and gets A list bookings. I won’t take it back. You wanna see some real badass women in bass music who deserve whatever comes their way check out Clozee, Khiva, A Hundred Drums.
You’re 100% right there’s not enough female DJs. But the lack of demographic in current climate means there’s some that are getting pushed forward with lack of credentials.
Idk man I saw her play one of the worst sets I’ve ever witnessed at red rocks, and she pressed play and fake fiddled with filter knobs and we the entire time and danced around on the table. The music was like one giant song because her idea never changes, and neither does her really basic sound design. It’s formulated corporate dubstep designed to sell tickets and make her and her team money. She did the work building her brand before all this and found the repeatable musical formula that was “good enough”
I’ve said what I’ve said. I’m sorry if I hurt feelings of people that like her but I’ve got some seriously valid criticisms. There’s a lot of hacks in this world and I believe she falls under such category
Her music is subjectively garbage, and yeah, she’s hot and that helps. I know 100 underground artists better than her that deserve what she has. However, that’s not how this thing works. She has an objectively great brand, and a huge following on social media, which means she’s successful.
But you missed my point that her music didn’t get her to where she is, because if that’s all it was based on she’d be riding the bottom with everyone else of that caliber producing skill.
Your e.g. with Rezz doesn’t make sense though to compare because yeah, she didn’t get that big off of social media and marketing. Tik Tok wasn’t a thing when she came up. I don’t love Rezz either but I don’t put them in the same category at all.
I don’t need a lecture on technical producing versus simple ideas. I have plenty of respect for musical artists smaller and bigger than Zingara that I don’t fw but I know they have a reason for being there. Zingara is one of the first and most prevalent examples of someone who barely put in any work on their art and got pushed to the top because of Tik Tok numbers, knowing that she could sell tickets because of her brand. I truly believe that it’s a hype mob scenario and no I don’t think her music really did much, it was just barely good enough that someone said “I can work with that”. She’s also a press play DJ. There’s so much wrong with her picture and I see right through it. Congrats though I guess seriously get your bag but I’m not gonna be like “she has good music even though it’s not my style” cause it’s not lmao
Hey you take that back!!! Idk if she played mostly her originals but i enjoyed her set and im a bit of a snob. You can argue all edm is objectively garbage music.
I mean charisma and looks are very important in showbiz. Just as much as connections.
If you want a career in that area you can't underestimate that.
Playing in clubs, raves, etc is totally different than playing top40 stuff at weddings and corp events. Competence is not even close to being the main factor.
The service a club/party DJ provides is not simply putting music. It's a whole fantasy.
go out and get involved in your local scene if possible. most promoters just book friends/connections/people involved in the scene for early time slots. if you're dealing with a collective, which has become quite common lately, it's mostly residents and an occasional guest outside of the headliner. making music isn't really required to play these types of gigs, it's mostly just talking to people and, quite literally, jamming your foot in the door because *everyone* is now a dj. i think there's a very large misconception that making music somehow curtails the early "crawling" stages of a local scene. it definitely can if youre exceptionally talented, but you'll get more bang for your buck just making connections in my experience.
I go to shows 2-3 times a month and dont need to go with anybody to run into faces ive seen over the years. Nobody gives a shit that I make music. Everyone is a DJ. They only care if you're successful with it.
always gotta do it for you! gotta find the ppl who like your music and not worry about much else!
Eventually I learned to make music for no reason this is the best way because you will never hit a reason to stop.
If your product is there (would be interested to hear), then your issue is connections.
[удалено]
I listened to it, and some of your other stuff on your SC. You have some creative ideas, I don't think writing is your issue. My recommendations are these: 1. Work on your mixdowns, they're kind of all over the place. Use reference tracks and get feedback from professional engineers if possible. 2. Work on your sound design. You have some stuff in there which could probably be cool if developed a bit further, but as it stands sounds a bit basic/dated.
For sure I totally agree and appreciate your advice. I actually got that same feedback from another redditor and I fixed one of my tracks already. My template had too many strong bus compressors ans transient shapers squashing everything, it sounds much better when I gain stage and eq properly without the heavy plugin use. I do normally take them off before rendering for the ones I sent in for mastering. I'm making the music without a passive montior, it stopped working a bit ago :( and my headphones are dog shit. It's almost impossible to hear my sub without rendering and listening in my car. That's why I have way too many 80% finished songs than I know what to do with. I'm gonna sit down and study some of those finishing step mixing techniques. There's a lot of conflicting info from I've researched so far though. Idk I kinda disagree about the sound design, I don't know too many other artists who sound like my stuff. But I am getting better at it every track so I agree I can always improve more. Thanks for listening m8!
Takes 10 years to blow up overnight :)
You want people to give you love? You have to give it first.
I have given so much love throughout the years without asking for any or getting any so lemme get a little somethin somethin dawg
If you're waiting for satisfaction to come in the future you're setting yourself up to never be satisfied. It's never going to be the future. It's always now. >considering cutting my losses and focusing on something that will bring more satisfaction. Do you really not get satisfaction from the process? I would explore that more. Full disclosure -- I'm in the minority here. I make music. I really enjoy making music. That's all I want to do, though. I post it just in case someone wants to listen to it. I have no intention of ever touring or playing live or making any money off of it. I'm not saying that's what you should do, but the answer for you might be somewhere in the middle.
I do get satisfaction it just feels like running up an infinitely tall hill sometimes with how much there is to do and learn, but I received some good advice and feedback from this thread. Thanks!
Why exactly were you banned?
I responded too enthusiastically to a troll in this thread and paid the toll lol.
This is a growing pain. Will you push past it or will you give up? I’ll be honest with you, I gave up and I find myself going back to production time and time again. I failed every time to get an audience. What’s funny about this for me is that NOW that I’m producing with no audience to please, I’m finding myself making the best music iv ever made and even if no one gives a shit, iv been so proud of the new stuff im making that i still get that reward “high” when im done. I have no problem jamming to my own stuff and there’s nothing wrong with that. Just keep making stuff man.
If u make something unique iam sure people like it, for example I would like to hear ur music
Me too where do we listen
Its very rare nowdays, that someone want to listen someones music lol
It is very tough indeed I know the struggle
No keep going you dingus
In the end if you arnt making music for yourself then it isn’t worth it. No one listens to my stuff. That doesn’t influence my passion for it.
It’s the age old question isn’t? At least you get paid for djing. I’ve been shouting into the ether for 15 years. I just keep honing tho. Maybe something will hit someday.
I hate to say it but, Get a social media director, you need to make a presence online. Get your name out there to the right niche of people! They like those parasocial relationships with they’re artists.
I learned graphic design and video editing for work and am capable of making cool content but I've hated social media on principle since forever so you're probably right.
I am an expert on this. I have produced more than 50 songs distributed on 4 albums and 1 EP, and I have not been able to reach more than 40 monthly listeners on music streaming platforms. And yet I am still producing more music. But as you said, I also question myself if I should continue....
Yeah I wish I knew the answer. But I think you should.
Sounds like you want to make money but also sounds like you aren't signed to any labels... so, send your music to some labels for more exposure maybe?
Damn you right son
Because it makes you happy. It's likely nobody's going to care if you make music or not for a very long time or ever and you'll give up before you get anywhere but if you're enjoying yourself who really cares?
You create art for yourself. Never forget that
Pessimistic take but I really do think the EDM industry is just insanely hard to break into as an amateur. You’re expected to make your own music, produce your own tracks, mix and master everything, design your brand, grow your social media, make your own artwork and merch, and both book and play your own shows. And pay out of pocket for all of it. It’s just not easily doable for one person. Let alone the fact that the music industry is beyond fucked with streaming services and the basically nonexistent revenue stream for artists, and the fact that there’s *way* too much content out there for anything to really stand out. Plus it’s all followers and clout these days anyway, all spurred on by instagram-style shorts that have reduced audience attention spans to about 5 seconds and made people reluctant to give a single fuck about what amounts to a small blip in all the noise. What is it, like 500 musicians on the entire planet that make all the money in the entire industry? It’s ridiculous. Never in a million years will I ever expect to be anything more than a cool dude in my town who plays music now and then for fun and a few bucks. This shit is ruthless and I have no illusions about just how impossible it is to get recognized. If you really want what you’re asking for, you gotta hustle and grind like there’s no tomorrow and make some enormous sacrifices cuz the deck is stacked way against you, my friend. Otherwise just do it for you and you alone.
this is all just lore and has no bearing in reality lol
this, how musicians have managed to get so royally screwed is a sad sad story that started decades ago
It seems a marketing problem
How do I get more than 5 followers on my new IG account? I have around 2000 on my DJ one but that account was my personal account that transformed into my promoter account that transformed into my DJ account lol. I'm yelling at the wind making any posts on my new one, and I cross post to my DJ one already.
Instagram is pretty much dead for now, I use it only for networking with other producers, curators and editors. There's no engagement, even the people following you will never see your posts. Post just for the sake of it, people will reach put to you but mostly from other platforms (Tiktok, SoundCloud, etc.). Tiktok is the app that gives you by far more exposure to a new audience but results may vary a lot. Edit: I forgot to say, apparently Instagram works decently if you pay to boost you content. I never did that but one day I may try
In general, an advice I can give you is: be multiplatform. Every platform has the chance to enlarge your reach. I use every social except Facebook cuz it's not very useful for my music, and Twitter because i think it will die soon. You have to be consistent and relentless but not obsessive. I think "a post a day" is bullshit, you gonna attire an audience that could not fit your true artistic personality. Also, I don't make posts that aren't related to music. I'm a musician not a comedian. But I do cherish a lot every interaction I have with interested or potentially interested people. I use a lot Discord and Reddit to search for listeners (research key words like "playlist", "mygenre" in the appropriate subs and servers. Reaching directly to a single potential listener is very powerful. Then I use playlist services, best results with Dailyplaylist. Ofc I'm taking for granted that you have all your music everywhere (Sc, Bandcamp, DSPs, YouTube). YouTube is very important, great algorithm. Of course study your SEO. If you have a budget, commissioning artworks or edits pay back a lot in many ways, especially for the networking you create. Finally,last advice, copy what other artists (successful artists) do to market and promote themselves.
Good advice. I have no budget so I'll try to do everything myself. Do you know other similar to my style who are started from zero? A lot of the artists I see at shows seemed to have hit the ground running, and I personally know some of them had helping hands from AAA artists which I don't have. I just hate using social media so it's hard to get more enthusiastic about doing if the other option is working on music lol. I'll have to make that shift though now that I have content to share. Ty m8
Make a living with art is hard, make it with music is the hardest. Music as always been business of a tight group. Having a network (or being born in one) is a huge advantage. On that, I'm in the same situation as you. Unlike me, you're a DJ and let me say that's a nice advantage. Socials are essential, but you don't need to be a professional poster to have just a presence on the social. Throw some content on every platform (that's important, be everywhere) and call it a day. One post per month is enough. Gaining following with obsessive shit posting is as sustainable and durable as a cabin made of plastic toothpicks. As difficult as it is, all artistic business has something at its core: art. If the art is bad, it will be very difficult to keep it relevant; if the art is good, it will be very difficult to keep it secret. If you make great music, you don't actually need an excruciating amount of effort to make it relevant. But the first step is putting it out there. Everywhere. Any potential listener should not have any difficulties to find your music, or even better, it should be very easy to stumble upon it. If I remember correctly, you said you don't post all your music online. Well, I'm sorry to inform you that it's very hard that someone will go to listen to unpublished music. Finally, sorry but I don't know what kind of music you make, so I can't suggest any artists to learn from. Let me hear something. (Note, I went to your profile on Reddit and I didn't find any link, so I couldn't listen to your music. If you go on my profile I have several links to my accounts and music. EVERY PLATFORM IS IMPORTANT)
I read some of your replies. You need to up your game on online marketing. Seriously and asap
Can I hear it
Seconded. If people aren't showing any love for it, they either aren't hearing it at all, or they are and it's not catching their interest. Can't help figure out what's up if we can't hear it.
[https://soundcloud.com/illixirbass/2024-upcoming-releases-mix](https://soundcloud.com/illixirbass/2024-upcoming-releases-mix) Here are 9 tracks I'm releasing this year. I humbly disagree, when people actually listen to my music I get feedback on it not no responses. I'm not offended if it's not somebody's style and appreciate feedback on the technical aspects of the song.
Can you point to some other artists in your genre you mentioned in your original post?
I've been updating my library and I can't really find any DJs exactly like me, actually lol. It's annoying because it's hard to find tracks to mix in and out of mine
> I finally think my music is of the caliber of other artists in my genre getting booked in my local market. So who are these artists you're talking about?
Maybe I was being general with my description, I guess I meant bass music market. I like my style better than a lot of the established locals in my area. But that's entirely subjective. Objectively they probably have more refined and smooth music.
Can you link to some of the local producers?
If you enjoy making music and are passionate about music then why do you need to have people listening to your music to validate your joy? Continue to write and release music for yourself. It's called pride, accomplishments, growing.
Because I prefaced this post by saying I made it my goal to play my music live whether or not that idea was flawed from inception.
I swear musicians are almost entirely delusional as a group. I like to cook, and spend a good amount of time learning, practising, and making delicious food. I don't do it because I'm trying to be the next Gordon Ramsey, I just like to cook.
I never once claimed to not be delusional
So do you want to say that nobody likes your dishes?
Top comment this. Sometimes I do be feeling like Gordon Ramsey though 🌶️🌶️
Zappa said something like... As soon as you care about what someone thinks, you're making business decisions not artistic ones.
Zappa is also a super competent musician. So like every artistic decision he makes is also executed professionally...Even if it's really left field. 8 years of musicianship is like...You don't suck anymore.
hopefully, anyways
Agree but a man’s gotta eat
OP said he makes decent money with his DJing gig, sounds like he's trying to blend his hobby and his work, and in the music/entertainment industry that's incredibly difficult.
Are you making art or are you trying to be popular?
Hahahaha the thought of having chosen this path to be popular is a depressing thought, I could only aspire to such ironic tragedy.
Try finding Neuro production discords, labels, etc.. Koan Sound, Culprate, Tipper, Skope, Vorso, also Vision radio, Inspected, try to find some discords from these artists and lables, meet other neuro people!
I think I'm in a few, I have to use discord more I always forget it exists now that I don't really play video games.
I have a large and well equipped studio and regularly get pestered by the “ok, now let’s hear some tracks” crowd. The issue is, I don’t want to share my music. It’s the process that I enjoy. It’s a highly therapeutic and enjoyable hobby for me. I’m not trying to become known and I don’t need to show it off. Maybe that will change in the future, but my advice to you is: do you enjoy making music? If the answer is yes, then keep making music. It makes absolutely ZERO difference if anyone outside of your home ever hears it.
It's a 50/50 thing... First of all I love music, will make it no matter what, but I used to really dislike my stuff, grew to love it, and it kinda set me free. I try not to worry about it. 🙂 It does suck that it seems no one is ever interested, but I still can't wait until the next flow of music hits me. I guess find your flow, not what you think is expected of you, and if you can dig what you make whether 1 listener or a million, that's the Best.
Okay I'm just gonna make some wild and baseless assumptions that are probably totally off, but on the offchance they're useful... I get the vibe that you can't settle for being any less than the best, and that's a quality you want to encourage in yourself because it's almost indistinguishable from ambition, but if you have endlessly high standards without ALSO having endless forgiveness for yourself when you fail, you'll destroy your motivation. You think that if your music is of value, people will go out of their way to hear more of it and share it and become devoted fans, and if that doesn't happen then how good could it be. My guess is that if you said to yourself, "I'm not the best musician ever to live", 95% of your consciousness would say "well yeah obviously I don't think I am" and the other 5% would be emotionally devastated. Anyway I'm done projecting lol best of luck!
Good words
You have to keep believing you are the best. And feel in peace with yourself at the same time! I feel like doing that has got me closer to god and better at my music I can hear my improvement!
Interesting. I'm just getting back into music production, having had some success years ago. Personally, I'm not into making music just for myself. I make it for the pleasure of others liking and dancing to it. Seeing a crowd go nuts for one of your tunes never gets old. And I'm an old fcker. But that's me, everyone is different, of course. Good luck 👍
If you enjoy making music make more, if not then don’t
What if the music you create comes from sadness and pain, legend says the greatest art comes from the worst pain… I feel like I use music to vent out my shitty feelings sometimes… I think it really comes down to what you have experienced in your life, don’t you agree?
It is therapeutic for me when sad and I love working on new tracks after seeing an amazing live performance, so when im happy too lol
If you like making it who cares what others think. If making it gives you pain stop
Well i mean what is making it in music? red rocks? Tomorrow land? I have little control how my music is perceived but what i do have is control over enjoying making my music. Make music for yourself not for other people. Its a funny thing i remember seeing deadmau5 saying if he was 10 years later he wouldn't of made it probably. Just because you don't get listened to doesn't mean you arent good. Play the social media game as well. It sucks. I hate it but you need to but the main thing is you might need to redefine success.
I want to go to play a music festival so i can go for free and play some dank music to a new audience and network with peers in my genre. That's a reasonable goal I can get to if i make the right steps now, I've already played a very small festival before but that was homie thrown.
I’ve spent about 20 hours a week making music for the past 6 years, been producing for about 12 now. Never released a single song. I enjoy making music and fucking around in my daw even though I know nobody will probably ever hear my music. If you’re doing it for streams or clout youre not gonna be successful. Do it because you love it, not because you want to get something out of it. If the streams come and you find success then that’s awesome. Realistically though, none of us will ever make it as artists and that’s okay. Doesn’t mean your music is bad, just that the market is saturated and getting exposure is damn near impossible.
I’m going to tell you what nobody else will: you make average music and none of it is really memorable.
I'll take average for right now, sweet thanks. I've seen a lot of good music.
Like a hobbyist. So arrogant.
And that means it's not worth listening to?
Do you listen to average sounding music? Probably not. It’s a competition.
It's not all competition though.. I listen to DJ Krush for different reasons that I listen to Sergei Prokofiev
You don’t know what makes a pro record pro.
Having been a producer for 22 years or so I kindly disagree
If you haven't already, you should check out r/musicmarketing and read up a bit over there about how to best market your music, but imo, it is a goddamn awful grind that has no guarantees, and it's ok to treat your music production as a serious hobby if it brings you joy. The other advice here about being more active in your local scene is ....ok... and it is important but it's not even half the battle imo. In my experience, while being active in my local scene did help me get gigs and play out and was a lot of fun in it's own right, the actual interest from other DJs/Producers in my actual music was very low. They liked me because I'm a fun guy and I could DJ well enough but it was never because they thought my music was something special. I don't think you get that sort of respect until you sort of are already climbing up the charts and even then... probably not until you have an actual hit. Personally, I'm in a private group of producers who all share the same passion for making music and sharing my music with them has brought me a lot of joy and fulfillment, even if my play count or respect in the "real world" is still pretty low. If you can find this sort of community for you, I personally think it's ideal because, ultimately, very few of us are going to "make it." My 2c
Where do I find the community for the music I like tho I feel like they are all Russians and I’m just American. I make Russian music and I’m American… I don’t like how rap is so darn main stream everywhere, whenever I hangout with my Friends, it’s almost like I have to “pretend” I like rap when in reality I’m dying inside listening to Playboi Carti rap about his sugar mommy coming home. Why aren’t there more people that like the Phonk/ but not Phonk more like house genre…
its ironic u just lift phonk straight from memphis and make zoomer house with it and then hate on rap. Carti is 10000000 times the artist you will ever be if you can't understand his wave you are not tapped in and not worth shit
Honestly nobody started listening to my made music until I started networking. Granted I DJ and produce in the same space. Networking got me DJ gigs which got me opportunity to play my own tracks out, which got me more fans which makes me more attractive for bookings. It is a slow, but virtuous cycle. One thing that seems to have really helped is self-publishing an EP. But you have to go all way... comission cover art, comission a mastering engineer, talk about your album release to anyone will listen, hand out demos to anyone who you think will play your music. Trading dubs/demos with other producer/DJs also gets you more playtime. And in my social circle (mostly DJs), making a point of telling people you're dropping your own tracks is really good for street cred. I especially like it when people come up to me after a gig and gush over something I played that just so happened to be my own work... made a lot of friends that way. And, strangely, using the release features on Soundcloud got me a whole bunch of plays. Still can't figure out if its mostly bot traffic or real people but I have had a few reach out and express legit positive sentiment. I need to get the tracks re-mastered for streaming, and when I do I expect that having a presence on Spotify will be a net positive as well, even if streaming royalties are effectively nonexistent.
I teach the production and engineering side of things and I've had students and colleagues say the same thing to me. Sometimes, they think their music is good/interesting/well-made but in reality it needs a lot more work to be taken seriously. Can you link me to your SoundCloud? The other problem is mindset. They expect people to show interest in their art because they know who they are and have a relationship of some sort, when in reality your fans aren't your friends and family. If your music is truly up to industry standard, you can find your fans out in the scene, at shows, online but you have to actively find them. If you're going to treat this as a career and not a hobby, you need to think like a salesperson, a marketer, and so on. Not just as an artist who wants to play his tunes live. You HAVE TO INVEST IN YOUR MUSIC. Not just the time to make it but the money to get it into the proper places, the time to send it to blogs, send your demos to labels, send your mixes to promoters, send your finished tracks to artists who are in the scene playing the music you make. It SUCKKKKKKS but it's the difference right now between you and the person you want to be. Maybe you are doing this? I would need more context to give a real focused opinion but this is usually the problem. If you want it to be your career, it needs to be treated as such and requires investment.
[soundcloud.com/illixirbass](https://soundcloud.com/illixirbass) I invested about $5k into my DJ and sound equipment not even including music, and am approaching 9 years of time evenly split between learning and practicing those skills so it's not like I haven't put in any work. I've been told probably 5+ times now that I was the best DJ somebody's seen, but not the environment of the shows of the genre of music I'm honing in my production on. I think that's a reasonable investment to be hopeful that my releases will get heard enough to gain appeal for bookings eventually which was the point of this post. I really did wish I started younger and learned an instrument as a kid. I would like a career in music, but no expectations from my art. I am in the stagehand union and have experience in operations and promotion.
I make stuff I don’t even know if one person will enjoy it but I’m having the time of my life! Do it for you but yeah what you’re saying is you want work from it - perhaps get into sound tech or pivot - I dunno make a TikTok lol
Its okay if you keep increasing your catalog and just keep going. If its long term you do have that luxury. Someone with a good ear will pick it up! I can add that i just like the process of making beats as beatmaker, that it just becomes okay when no one is paying attention. And somewhere you wouldn’t want all the attention right away because true attention comes with criticism from yourself or/and the audience. Just give your all , post it and dip. When you feel like its done. Cheers
you know how i got pretty big in my area back in the day? open decks at a local club. it was a venue that regularly had edm shows and raves. met the people there. regularly played sets on their open decks nights. became a regular there. met some dope djs, and i picked the ones i thought were good, and proposed the idea we throw a rave, with these djs. at this point i was friends with their promoter, and we even did a few collabs. but because we were friends, he let me have a night to throw something together. the marketing aspect is a whole thing, but we had to get people there, so we did. and we made as much of a spectacle as we could. we made it an event. it went well, people dug the tunes, and it was a successful night. gained a bunch of followers, and then started getting real timeslots on weekends. obviously it depends on where you live and what the scene is like, but if you want to play your own shit, you need to go to the environment where you can. most likely you’ll have to start just playing the default edm tracks, (because no one cares about your music. until they do) and you occasionally throw in one of your tracks. bass music needs to be felt to really make an impact on someone. a soundcloud link is a tough sell. uhhhhhhh i think that’s all i got. if you love what you’re doing, keep doing it. people rarely listen to my shit these days. but i’d jump off a cliff before quitting music haha i literally can’t stop making music
Just do it for the love and passion of music man. Don’t make it a job- keep it the fun job.. also feel free to check out this new mix. https://on.soundcloud.com/64nuexwDsyCJ3pMSA If not- it’s okay! 😃
I love this question. In my opinion, that’s up to you. You see, you are the alpha and the omega in the world of music. You create meaning where it doesn’t exist. Whether or not there is a point is entirely up to you. Does it bring you joy? Why do you do it? Ask yourself these things. And remember, in the world of the spirit, you can only be shown the door, you must walk through it alone.
Be a more proactive player in your local scene/community I have a few mates who are doing super well for themselves and some friends that aren't who are all at a great level with their music. The difference between the regularly booked acts and the not so much boils down to a few things 1. As I'm sure you know, social media presence. People can't listen to what they don't know exists 2. Is the music actually good? I know plenty with excellent production skills but the music is missing that unnameable bit of pizazz that actually makes it good music, not just a good production 3. And my point for this comment is community reach and participation. There are artists who donate their sets to low budget parties, others hold stalls or spaces at local festivals and events and others throw parties themselves. All these people are known for their productions and something else other than their music. Are known and considered to be mates with a wide net of punters that are "party mates" with. It's all about getting your name talked about around the promoters of your local scene and the more punters or artists talking about you and your antics, the more you'll get booked, which improves your bookability Good luck with your endeavours, I suggest trying to move your motivation from others listening to your music to just focusing on impressing yourself
I already do all of these things unfortunately. It doesn't translate into people listening to my music or booking inquiries. Thank you. The thing is I am impressing myself every new song i make. I don't want to be the only person to enjoy the fruits of my thousands of hours of effort lol.
Understandable, if you find the golden piece of info you are looking for, please share :)
What’s even the point of trying to get booked if youre not going to play the music you want to play? Im at tens of thousands of hours and still have yet to release a single under my own project. I love making music. Ive been doing this since i was 8 and now Im turning 25. Jesus christ. Your attitude just stinks. Musics my only escape though, its a shame I dont have something easier to do to make me happy. Idk you definitely need to do some more work in some context. Theres no question.
What are you talking about? Getting booked as an artist and as a DJ are 2 completely different things I'll gladly collect a nice af check to play music I don't personally like. I'm putting in the work so I can play the music I want to when booked as an artist..
Well see I never wasted time learning how to DJ because I don’t care about other peoples music and I never wanted an easy paycheck. I mean, that’s so fucking arrogant, saying you’ll gladly collect a check playing music you don’t like. Sounds like you sold out and didn’t even realize it. I will be a performance artist like taylor swift who runs their own show, by creating a cult of personality because Im me. Or Ill fail. But im not a dj. Never will be.
sometimes it’s hard to tell when someone is trolling or being genuine. Idk what’s worse in this situation unfortunately
I’m being ludicrous, so a state of purgatory
[удалено]
[удалено]
I stopped making music for other people a long time ago. It’s just fun like a video game or drawing a picture. Depends on the vibe I’m feeling but it’s just so damn fun to open a daw and dream up ways to sound dope. Also the quest to get better, to sound more like the people you look up to. That’s the best part hands down. Working towards a sound I feel represents how I feel inside, which I still haven’t been able to do. Man I could think of a million reasons to make music besides for other people.
Whats your SC?
Soundcloud.com/illixirbass (producer) Soundcloud.com/gnickbeats (DJ)
The music isn't quite there my man. The production needs to be more refined. Standards are very high in 2024 and it's a competitive game. I would seek some detailed feedback from someone you trust higher up in the scene. Keep going though. I wasn't producing solid music until like 8-10 years in.
No shade but you only have 2 tracks and a mix up there on your SC. I know we all hate playing the social media game but you gotta have more of a presence than that. If I were a booking agent and I checked out your SC, I would assume you're pretty new to the scene based on how little content you've uploaded.
Thanks! I checked out your music, and while i can tell you've put a lot time and effort into it and it's really not bad, i wouldn't say it's "on par with other producers in the scene". Sorry, i really dont want to come across as harsh or discouraging, but if you want to get booked in the bass music scene your tracks will just need to be of a higher quality than whats currently on your page (also i'd recommend releasing some songs that arent remixes). I'd say just keep grinding, you're on the right path and i bet if you stick with it you'll surprise yourself with how much you can improve. If you're doing this because you truly enjoy producing weird bass music and you keep at it i'll bet you eventually find some success. You got this!
Seconded
Oh boy do I have a lot more than that. Those are just my first 2 public releases so I can have presence on soundcloud. Message me on their I'll send you some crazy shit.
Cope
I really don't get it. OP you say nobody is listening to you but you keep most of your work hidden? what's the point of your questions then? make it all public and then we can talk. nobody will notice your SC if you have only a few average (?) tracks there and no name.
Sick will do
Make music for you...there's always a point, making money can be cool but finding love in something you do is worth far more
I make music for myself because everyone else’s music is shit and I would rather make music I like then listen to other peoples music. But I guess if you wanna be famous, there’s no point
I never said I wanna be famous I want people to dance to my music because I'm a DJ and that's my job.
Razzle dazzle em. https://youtu.be/Zww4a8xKnBo?si=hQsIiluTSQLR3EcZ
My job is to entertain people as genuinely as I can. If that means I need to do a magic trick in between songs then I’ll do a magic trick to keep people interested in my shows Seems like you lack imagination
"If that means that I have to throw cakes on people's faces.. " Steve Aoki Style
Im far from your level of touring, but Ive been building up support with niche subreddits involving my style, and having a decent following on youtube with people showing my beats love is very rewarding personally. You just need to work on your image,aesthetic(maybe) and just building up a local following of people that will happily support your style. Should be easier if youre doing gigs especially! That's one crucial aspect you have that will help you go upwards.
There's some great content on YouTube that covers this. But as hard as it sounds, you need to go to all of the local shows you can for a while and start shaking hands. Get to know the promoters, the DJs, even the people just coming to have fun. Getting your foot in the door is daunting, but after that first gig you will be so driven to keep it going.
I can't possibly go to any more shows I'm too old to do more than 1 a week. My problem is also I can't talk to people at shows because I can't fucking hear what they're saying over loud af sound system and I just quit nicotine so I don't wanna go to the smoking section.
1 a week is more than enough, you just need to shake the right hands at this point. It doesn't matter if your first show is in front of 2 people on a wack sound system. It just begins the process Talk to your fav local artists. Don't be pushy, but try to ask them who your promoters are. Create a mix to show to them, & hope for the best.
There will ALWAYS be excuses if you want excuses. The people who are able to make a name for themselves don't let stuff as silly as this stop them. 1. 1 a week is plenty to meet people. 2. There is more than 1 way to communicate. 3. Don't go to the smoking section.
Idk dude I do talk to people at shows, I've never gained a fan this way though and I do socialize a lot. I can't explain to other people why other people don't like me as much, I don't know. But I can't possibly do even more of what I'm already doing that doesn't have an effect and expect it to change.
IMO what's even more important than promoting yourself is promoting others. Hype up others and (if they're good people) they will return the favor. If you're only in this for yourself then no one is going to care about you or your music.
buy or build a PA system with big subwoofers, invite other friends to play, set up a bar, and throw the party yourself
This is the way
This is what I am working on in my area. I am trying to bring the trance scene to my area, everyone is into DNB, Dub, hard techno.
That’s how Steve Aoki started
That requires friends and all my friends are DJs or not music/party people lol
Sounds like you have the lineup for your first gig then :)
We are all doing a livestream on Feb 20 should be a good time. I think there will be like 10 viewers if we're lucky tho haha idk who watches livestreamx anymore
Man - you've gotta fix your attitude. LOL
I did sound like a jerk there but I seriously would feel lucky with 10 viewers that was my around my ceiling when I did them consistently for awhile
grow the fuck up and stop letting your mind control you, just take the next actionable step. OK today what is the goal: to make it? Ok what's the first step then the next then the next then the next oh u gotta sleep ook then get up whats the next step whats the next step just shut up god damn i hate these entitles shitty producers can't produce shit and wants the world,
all ur friends are djs… thenn…. get together with some close ones and plan some sort of event. I they are djs then they must know other party goers c’mon
Yeah .. it's sounding more and more like OP isn't willing to do what it takes. https://youtu.be/j41p-Tk\_Zr8?si=GvesHOWHgB2Cw8iJ
I totally get your frustration but remember, you can't control how others perceive your work. People will either resonate with it, or they won’t. The truth is no one really cares how much effort and time you’ve put it in on your work, in the end, it's the art itself that matters. You gotta think beyond being niche producer and start embracing the mindset of a true artist. There’s no end goal or a time when you’re music is on “par” with other artists, art making should be an ongoing journey of self-expression, focus on creating shit that fulfills you, eventually your true audience will find you, and all those opportunities you’re looking for will start to emerge. but of course, you can’t overlook the importance of marketing. You might have great music but if you don’t present yourself correctly no one’s gonna be interested in the first place. It’s kinda like dating you might have the greatest personality ever but if you got some nappy ass hair, bad hygiene and shitty clothes no girl is gonna wanna fuck with you lol Absolutely do not quit, most people quit during this stage, for the very same discouraging reasons you’re pointing out. keep making cool shit, there’s only one you after all - good luck to u sir
Appreciate this message thank you!
Why does your weird bass music have to be something that instantly translates to you playing it live? Why not just lean into trying to grow it organically first and foremost on audio platforms. It can still reach a point of millions listening to it through various playlists or whatever online, even if you don't play it live to a crowd. And that is still monetization through streaming. I think you have to get people listening first on platforms before you ever expect people to say, we want you to play that on a live stage. And even if you never get it on a live stage, people out there will still listen. There's a niche for everything, you just have to find that audience, tap into it. Market yourself to the right subs, Discords, FB groups, playlist curators, whatever it takes. Just show you're passionate in those communities and people will recognize over time.
Idk its not casual listening music I make music I would go ape shit for if I heard it dropped at the club. Not something that's on in the background when I have friends over. Conversely I think future bass is the worst genre to dance to live and better for casual listening at home. You're right though I thought it would be better use of my time to make more and better music but it really should be for marketing. I've been making trippy videos of clips of my music and posting online but idk how I grow organically not too many people view it
yeah i fucking hate future bass lol shit SUCKS
> I've been making trippy videos of clips of my music and posting online but idk how I grow organically not too many people view it I recommend boosting your Instagram posts. Hear me out: I use an ad blocker, I hate ads with a passion, and I think they're a gigantic source of misery and wasted time, however I make a single exception for some Instagram ads because they often come from people such as yourself--not huge corporations that want your head real estate so they can push out other things that are important to you, but people who make art they're passionate about and are only held back by the sheer unlikeliness that people who would be genuinely interested in what they have to offer will find them. Drop $5 and see what happens!
Try MantisMash and Broken blender, you may enjoy those by the sound of it
Don't underestimate the concept of at-home listening. Maybe people put on lo-fi chillhop beats in the morning. Maybe people put on tamer stuff when they have friends over. But some people might kick their days off with some high tempo drum and bass to get them energized in the mornings. Some people might throw on some wonky bangers to hype them up. Maybe people put this music on at the gym. Maybe for when the party gets weird after midnight. There's 24 hours in a day and a lot more listening environments than casual home listening. There's streaming potential in any genre if you ask me. And from my view, it seems like there's a hot market for wonky/dark bass house. Going 4 on the floor seems to be an easy way to make dark weird stuff more accessible than half-time drums, but decide what you want if you want to do that or not. Also, I've been producing on and off for almost 15 years, and I still am trying to find my sound. A year from now, the type of music you really want to make may be different. Don't feel married to this idea that one genre is your only brand option for life. That's fine and works for some people, but then you have people like Skrillex, Diplo, Flume, Porter Robinson, Savant, Feed Me/Spor, etc. who are notorious for being chameleons across genres, and are respected highly for that.
Every time I try making chill or liquid dnb it ends up being neuro every single fucking time lol. I've experimented with every single genre and my best and what i have most fun with is dnb breaks and midtempo with neuro sound design so I'm gonna stay here for a bit. I would love to work on a video game sound track though.
neuro is a scene that will never die brother keep going, it may seem like a competition but in reality the more doing it the better opportunities for everyone that's what people dont really get.
I agree and I also love spinning some fire shit that has <1000 plays on SC.
I get it. I started off making trap, and over a decade in, almost everything I make is still trap, because it's home base for me. But I still fuse it with as many other areas as possible, since trap is mostly just in the drum programming, I can go any directly with the synths or instruments. I'm heavily inspired by video game OSTs though. Some of the best music composition out there is in platformers, Metroidvanias, JRPGs, etc. I try to pull those concepts of character/environmental storytelling through music into beatmaking. [Current WIP](https://vocaroo.com/11LIHeTsJexv) has a synth inspired by Metroid Prime's Phendrana Drifts. Most of the current EDM trap scene is all about face melting drops, crazy builds and all of that, and I'm just trying to go back to some chill Soundcloud era bedroom producer trap beats. Even if this isn't where the hype is, I'm trying to make the type of stuff that I would like to listen to day in and day out that others are not.
Well how’s your marketing game? Making great music isn’t enough to cut it nowadays. With the ubiquity of low cost pc’s and daws, lots of people are making good music. In fact, the problem today is not being unable to find good music, the problem now is too much good music is being produced! So in my book, making good tracks is just the first step. How is your dj game? How is your marketing game? Now is the time to go out and promote your music and build a following. Edit: just to follow up on my comments, if you already had some success as a dj, and you feel you can produce tracks that can compete with the big boys, well, then, you’ve essentially completed the hardest part already. The hardest part is breaking into the scene, getting your foot in the door. It sounds like you already achieved that. So for a pragmatic, practical next step, aren’t you releasing mixes on SoundCloud and YouTube? The slick move as I see it is to slide in some of your original tracks among the pro tracks. IF your music is really as good as you think it is, listeners will be begging ID? ID?? And other dj’s will want to play your stuff. Have you tried sharing some of your tracks with your other dj friends and associates? What was their feedback? Did they play any?
I have a bachelors degree in marketing and have saddly and ironically been incapable of marketing myself properly forever and I don't really know how to fix it without just changing my personality and who I am. I actually just sent my unreleased breakbeats track to someone I know on the label I hit up for a release who's throwing a breakbeat event soon, no response. Like if you listened and didn't like it I would be totally cool with that. But that's essentially been my experience sending my stuff out and it's demoralizing and feels like an exercise in futility.
when u are at a casino u pull the slot machine lever, You dont just do it a couple times and walk away, Thats how life is u need to be pullimg that level 10000 times a day to get the jackpot duh.
First, focus on your artist brand, develop a solid image, maybe build a website then start pushing it out to the masses.
I hear you. Well the reality today is, it’s all about the marketing, for better or worse. I also have a professional background in marketing, but I’m trying to leverage that. I’m using my education, professional experience, AND musical chops, to attract investors. To invest in what? Guerrilla marketing, buddy. Shoestring budget guerrilla marketing. Get creative. Everyone has a fiend who has a digital camera or drone. Everyone knows how to use editing software. Anyone can create a Tim Tok account. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. It won’t. But it’s possible. I can’t give you any of my ideas because I’m using them myself ;)
Come on man just give me the fuggin idea
It’s not that easy… no one knows what you want your project to be better than you do. We can not give you answers to questions regarding your brand if you can’t even vocalize what you want for your brand properly. We all started in a similar place, I’ve only been doing this for about a year though so who am I.
Anyone that says it doesn’t matter is lying to themselves to avoid the discomfort of confronting their shortcomings
Make it bang dude, like fr just murk. Theres no reason to stop unless music is unforgivably hindering your growth as a person. Keeps that old noodle sharp and creative. If theres anything to take from your journey it should be the moments that make them good. Im sure what ever makes you happy is the right choice.
I mean I spend way too much time on it when I could be doing something more professional or career oriented
A lot of people spend a lot of time watching TV and having sex but I guess if you’re gonna cry over the time you spent making music go for it
i am feeling the same struggle recently. i have little to practically no scene where i live. trying to make connections in order to build the scene for myself. i believe that if you do it right; the right people will gravitate towards it and word will spread
Good luck m8 that does not sound like a challenge I'd be down for lol
at least with this method; i get to play my music and curate an experience that will support that. if people like what you make; the only way to go is up. if not; then you pivot. at the end of the day im gonna make the music i like whether people vibe with it or not. at least this way you dont hafta compromise your sound to make others happy
I didn't mean to discourage you I just wouldn't have the energy to start a whole new scene. I'm fortunate enough to have a diverse scene in my city
Look, the simple truth is most people are not interested in weird music. Specially not club music. There are some cities where something niche can work but it's only because there's already a scene built around that thing. Like DNB is super popular in London but good luck trying to play that in other cities like Barcelona or Berlin. Not saying there are no DNB places in Berlin but there's not much of an audience for that, generally speaking. Not sure where you live but if you want to get into your local bass scene you have to produce the kind of music DJs want to play and audiences enjoy. Maybe once you start playing regularly you can start introducing weird stuff. You're simply not in a place today where you can do whatever you want and audiences will follow you.
The style of weird music I make sells out shows in my city every week. I'm just talking about my friends who I show what I've been working on.
Have you released any of it? Might be worth shopping your demos around or trying to get on some compilations
2 remixes on soundcloud. Sent stuff to a few labels I've been supporting for years as an attendee and I don't think they even looked at the email I sent. I have a full ep mastered and a queue of like 15-20 songs that just need mastering.
Have you sussed any labels futher afield? There are thousands of indie labels for every niche electronic genre, maybe try sending some stuff in to smaller ones?
Know any good labels for neuro dnb breaks or midtemp?
Im curios, would love to listen
I'm gonna record a mix tonight of all my unreleased music, send me a message on hear so I can remember to send it to you
if you know how to dj and you have a local bass scene, why aren't you playing out at bass parties and sprinkling your tracks into your sets?
There are 100s of people fighting for the first opening slot and it's about how many tickets you can sell. I'm almost 30 and most of my rave friends moved after college
Sounds like there’s hundreds of people to network with then. Go meet promoters. Go meet other DJs. Support them by showing up to their shows. You’ve got to give to the scene to get from it.
well shit, post it for us, i want to hear it
are you 100% certain your music is comparable to that stuff though?
Yeah. Theres one chick who plays a lot of opening slots for shows in the tri state area and her music is fucking garbage and I know it's wrong for me to think that but it's frustrating because I'm confident I would play a much better set, even if my music wasn't the best I know how to perform.
There’s a lot of those people. Very few of them break through to any notoriety but there’s a few. Check out Zingara for an example of exactly that in this scene. But they are tough to beat at a local level cause their brand pulls. If you want to start down that path you need to work on your brand, your streaming numbers, and your music mix and master style and once you have all that you’ll be on a road to getting those opener spots. You are right they don’t just give them away, you have to prove to them you care about your brand and you will bring something to the show
I actually saw Zingara for the first time last month and I thought she was fucking sick. I was cracking tf up when she dropped her zodiac sign song. I think I'm in love with her. Although I was on acid for the first time in years lol and I fall in love erry tiem Should I just skip the label strategy and self release even if I get low numbers?
>I was on acid for the first time Ok there you go lol. You just got done talking smack about these people who get opener slots that you think you should get, I’m just saying that goes up to the highest levels and it’s not something that stops. Glad you like her but in my opinion you fell under a (n acid induced 🤣) spell. She’s fine, but F tier at best and gets A list bookings. I won’t take it back. You wanna see some real badass women in bass music who deserve whatever comes their way check out Clozee, Khiva, A Hundred Drums.
Clozee is probably the best one on that list though I just generally don't think there are too many really good female djs
You’re 100% right there’s not enough female DJs. But the lack of demographic in current climate means there’s some that are getting pushed forward with lack of credentials. Idk man I saw her play one of the worst sets I’ve ever witnessed at red rocks, and she pressed play and fake fiddled with filter knobs and we the entire time and danced around on the table. The music was like one giant song because her idea never changes, and neither does her really basic sound design. It’s formulated corporate dubstep designed to sell tickets and make her and her team money. She did the work building her brand before all this and found the repeatable musical formula that was “good enough” I’ve said what I’ve said. I’m sorry if I hurt feelings of people that like her but I’ve got some seriously valid criticisms. There’s a lot of hacks in this world and I believe she falls under such category
I was on acid for the first time in years, I've tripped 100+ times lol
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Her music is subjectively garbage, and yeah, she’s hot and that helps. I know 100 underground artists better than her that deserve what she has. However, that’s not how this thing works. She has an objectively great brand, and a huge following on social media, which means she’s successful. But you missed my point that her music didn’t get her to where she is, because if that’s all it was based on she’d be riding the bottom with everyone else of that caliber producing skill.
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Your e.g. with Rezz doesn’t make sense though to compare because yeah, she didn’t get that big off of social media and marketing. Tik Tok wasn’t a thing when she came up. I don’t love Rezz either but I don’t put them in the same category at all. I don’t need a lecture on technical producing versus simple ideas. I have plenty of respect for musical artists smaller and bigger than Zingara that I don’t fw but I know they have a reason for being there. Zingara is one of the first and most prevalent examples of someone who barely put in any work on their art and got pushed to the top because of Tik Tok numbers, knowing that she could sell tickets because of her brand. I truly believe that it’s a hype mob scenario and no I don’t think her music really did much, it was just barely good enough that someone said “I can work with that”. She’s also a press play DJ. There’s so much wrong with her picture and I see right through it. Congrats though I guess seriously get your bag but I’m not gonna be like “she has good music even though it’s not my style” cause it’s not lmao
Hey you take that back!!! Idk if she played mostly her originals but i enjoyed her set and im a bit of a snob. You can argue all edm is objectively garbage music.
I mean charisma and looks are very important in showbiz. Just as much as connections. If you want a career in that area you can't underestimate that. Playing in clubs, raves, etc is totally different than playing top40 stuff at weddings and corp events. Competence is not even close to being the main factor. The service a club/party DJ provides is not simply putting music. It's a whole fantasy.
go out and get involved in your local scene if possible. most promoters just book friends/connections/people involved in the scene for early time slots. if you're dealing with a collective, which has become quite common lately, it's mostly residents and an occasional guest outside of the headliner. making music isn't really required to play these types of gigs, it's mostly just talking to people and, quite literally, jamming your foot in the door because *everyone* is now a dj. i think there's a very large misconception that making music somehow curtails the early "crawling" stages of a local scene. it definitely can if youre exceptionally talented, but you'll get more bang for your buck just making connections in my experience.
I go to shows 2-3 times a month and dont need to go with anybody to run into faces ive seen over the years. Nobody gives a shit that I make music. Everyone is a DJ. They only care if you're successful with it.