Yeah, people can wait for quality. But one every 2-3 months does’t make you a musician.”Submitted by http://darthmedivh.tumblr.com/Alright I know this blog isn’t serious and is just supposed to parody the actual ones but this part is just outright wrong.
As a musician you’re making content for yourself and only yourself, if you take 2 to 3 months to create quality content so be it, you’re no less a musician for taking your time and trying to create the best product you possibly can. Think of how professionals work, they can take years to release a new album due to a wide variety of factors, the fact that you can pump out a new song every week doesn’t make you any more legitimate of a musician - if anything it shows you probably are rushing things, or you’re not paying as much attention to detail as you possibly can or even worse, you’re making creatively lacking works that you can pump out this content so often.
If you want to get popular yes, be the guy who pumps out a song like a song factory - really that’s one of the big ways most people get popular anywhere, it’s not quality it’s quantity - if you can create a product that people generally like and do it consistently, you will accumulate a following much a faster then someone who works carefully. But it’s shallow and it certainly won’t get you anywhere outside of your little “fame” group. Now I’m not accusing everyone of doing this but quite often youtube “celebrities” get their position by brute force.
If you’re whinning about not being popular and you’re not working to gain a following in the first place then yes, this is completely true - putting out a half ass song every few months gives you no room to complain. No one gets anywhere without hard work, but in the end what would you prefer most to be remembered for?
-A ton of “pony music” that loses all it’s relevance once you’re not buying onto the craze any longer
-Music you actually worked hard on and can show to people far beyond the pony craze and still look back on it proudIf there’s one thing I really feel is true it’s that to say something is “good” music you shouldn’t have to buy onto whatever the paradigm it’s a part of - you shouldn’t have to listen to a ton of dubstep to say a dubstep song is good, you shouldn’t have to play a ton of guitar to say someone’s a good guitarist and you shouldn’t have to watch a ton of FiM to say a “pony song” is a good song.
Derpy, this is all true.
But I see a lot of “musicians” in this fandom make 1-2 songs and call it quits. Or people that do nothing but troll everybody, and get away with being “musicians”. People like AlexS, that release great quality rarely, are fine. Because we know it’s coming, it’s great, and we can wait. But there are people that STILL get called “musicians” when they haven’t done anything in months. Hell, I barely consider YOU one. Yeah, I know you’re working with the Fighting is Magic team. Yeah, I know you can’t give much away from them. But would it hurt to give a teaser now and then? Maybe a preview? Sure some people don’t release often, or release only in albums - like Silva does, primarily. But he still gives us teasers and singles off of those before the album is released. So, we know he’s working on stuff, and we get to SEE that he’s working on it. It’s not a “I’m just going to hide inside my production system for a month or two, not release ANYTHING except to other people in this ONE Skype chat, and then randomly post this song on YouTube.” A lot of people want, at the least, a Preview of music - Hell, even AlexS has been posting WIP’s of his music around at times. But people like you are just hidden from the community at large, and for all we know you’re done with the FIM music and are just hoarding everything else.
I know it’s not all for the popularity - and that’s why I said ONE song every few months - It doesn’t take that long for even a professional to make ONE Song. They can probably do one a month to get it perfect. Us fan aren’t expecting perfection, we want your best in a decent time. I hate having to wait months for new music, I’d rather update my music library slowly over time, instead of dropping 30songs in at once.
And, I hate Country music for example. But I can still appreciate a good song. I won’t listen to it, I’ll get rid of it asap, but if it comes on while my mother is in charge, I can appreciate the fact that it’s good. I don’t want a spam of music, I just want to see a bit more coming out of the “big names” in the fandom. If you’re making an album of 5-10 songs, release a single or two to whet our appetite. If you finish a song, don’t just circle it around the MLR community, let us “normal” people hear it. I hate the “elitist” community that has pretty much sprung up - I know it’s not really “elitist”, but I see a lot of musicians that seem to mostly ignore fans - Tsyolin is one. I know he’s explained his reasoning, and I respect it. But, does he have to remove those he doesn’t talk to often? Those that NEVER bug him? Those that just want to be able to say hi every now and then, and then leave him alone? No, he doesn’t, but it’s happened to me and probably quite a few others.
I know we have our differences, and I know you probably still don’t exactly like me, but that doesn’t mean we have to fight over this. It’s an opinion, and it’s mine. You can’t say it’s wrong, I can’t prove it right. I can defend my reasoning, you can defend yours. But in the end, it’s how I feel and it’s how I’m going to keep thinking until I change my mind.
So, release teasers, previews, the like. Don’t hoard your music. Share, now and then. Be friendly to your fans. You don’t have to be our best friend, but being a shy recluse and not sharing the music to the general community really doesn’t help you look any better.
And, for all I know, you won’t even see or read this. I wouldn’t be surprised. But I’ getting what I have to say out.
Rebloggin for whitetail/derpy hooves
I need to stop getting sucked into these stupid things.
I can’t legitimately speak for everyone, so as usual, I’ll speak only for myself.
Dude, “hoarding?” Come on, some of us have other hobbies that need attention too. I have a classic car that needs a shit ton of work, I’ve been working 50+ hours a week, and I’ve been house-hunting for almost a year. We’ve all got other stuff that takes up time, sorry.
Christ, and some times I just flat-out don’t feel like working on music.
Besides, as understanding as my girlfriend is, I don’t think she’d be too happy if I started skirting a bunch of obligations to lock myself away in my studio and not emerge until I had something to show for myself.
God knows I’ve been a Depeche Mode fan for years, and they take over 3 years to produce a new album. I also know for a fact they spend at least 2 years of that time working on other projects and/or working on nothing at all. No teasers, no previews, nothing. Then suddenly an announcement that they’re back in the studio.
Don’t even get me started on Kraftwerk — they’re the most reclusive band in the universe. They practically live off-grid.
Personally I don’t announce what I’m working on because then I have to set a completion date, and because I’m still a regular, clock-punching contributor to society I have to allow for life-changing delays. Admit it, you’d be much more upset if people were announcing completion dates for songs/albums/collabs etc. etc. and not following through.
As for communication with fans? I actually rather enjoy it — I’ve encouraged a lot of random people in my local Minnesota group, or on ponysquare or whereever I’ve been a part of to just go ahead and add me. I enjoy talking to these people quite a bit, I only ask for one simple thing from fans who want to open communication: have something better to talk about than “OMG YOU’RE SO AWESOME.” Being worshipped is really flattering the first couple of times, but after that it becomes old and feels disingenuous. Ask questions, invite us to play games, talk about other stuff; God knows ponies and music are just part of the surface here. The fans who keep my attention are the ones with whom I have things in common, and who treat me like an equal, and not like an idol.
I can understand entirely why some artists choose to be reclusive. A lot of fans just seem disinterested in carrying on a normal conversation, have nothing in common with me, and try really hard to force a friendship with me where one wouldn’t otherwise exist.
In summation:
- You don’t get to decide who’s a musician who’s not because of how prolific or reclusive that individual may or may not be.
- You are not entitled to free music at regular intervals.
- We are allowed to have lives, and spend our time how we choose, even if that means we are “depriving” you of new material for months at a time.
- We are also allowed to share new material with as many or as few people as we wish. (I have songs that nobody will ever get to hear and I will take with me to my grave)
Soo….
’Not sure why you think you’re so entitled to everything. I’m grateful to have followers, but I certainly don’t feel like I owe you/them new material on a consistent basis. I am well aware of the consequences of taking long breaks, or stopping entirely, and I suspect my compatriots all are as well, so stop patronizing us.
tldr: YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME.
I feel obligated to throw in my two cents because of the fact that my name was brought up. “I see a lot of musicians that seem to mostly ignore fans.” This is one of the things that I can say is completely false.
I see what you mean with the whole Skype situation where I tend to ignore random requests from people I don’t know or people that aren’t coming to me for help. The reasoning behind this is because I have too much to take care of in life. I still have school going on amongst so much other crap I need to do and I really cannot afford distractions.
Part of the reason I created a Tumblr was so I could get close to my fans, because I honestly enjoy interacting with them over Tumblr. If people send me a message on Youtube, I will respond 100% of the time unless it’s just pointless spam that has absolutely nothing to do with me or what I do.
The thought of me being somewhat of an elitist kind of gives me chills, cause that is honestly the exact opposite of what I want to be. I may be somewhat secluded but that is to make sure I don’t get involved in too much and don’t get too distracted to the point where I can’t maintain my actual life.
TL;DR: This really only applies to me on Skype and that is only lightly so. I love talking to people who appreciate my stuff because it proves to me that it isn’t just a complete waste of time.
As for the rest of the stuff mentioned… well Matt already covered that good.
Reblogged because Whitetail/D.Notive/Tsyolin
Reblogged because our musicians rock!
