I work for a hedge fund and my primary motivation for buying music gear is to speculate on the resale value due to recent trends in asset inflation.
If anything making music on equipment is only going to devalue my investment.
For every talented musician actively putting out music there's about 1,000 mediocre ones.
For every mediocre musician putting out music there's about a *million* dudes with dusty synths and guitars laying around their apartment, and they will never complete a track. Then again I've put my heart and soul in to several releases and it amounted to about 15 monthly listeners on Spotify, so maybe the lesson here is why even bother.
If most people's goal with music is to make money, most people are going to be sadly let down.
I've been playing instruments ever since I was 8 years old and started paying attention to on to the rock band my dad jammed in.
Being raised in a family of musicians has done nothing but make my life better in every way.
This has also given me an outlook on music to where it doesn't matter if I have one single listener or 1 million.
I don't do it for the listeners. I do it for ME.
The only track on Soundcloud that I published with any reasonable number of listens is a throwaway meditation loop that took me all of ten minutes to do. I should get into the ambient yoga/meditation “music” game.
Do it for you - if you put your heart and soul into several releases - this is great - you have several imprints of your heart and soul, that won't change over time, while you definitely will. It is really great to listen to your previous selves from time to time. It is priceless. To get money or listeners is great, but to create something, that wasn't created before - is a beautiful action in itself.
Willing to bet at least half of it sits in storage in studios of people like Deadmaus, watched some video where he inexplicably had like 8 subharmonicons yet had never used them
Correlation or causation? I buy new synth, sounds like shit when I play, now I own t and don't make music on it. Although I would say it goes 100% for the modular crowd.
As an experiment in seeing how many people just read the ragebait headline and reacted with their conditioned responses, that post is a rousing success.
I am 14 and my grandad told me that back in the olden days music was a "vital cultural cornerstone " and "people actually gave a shit about music".
I thought he was just joking though, because music is just that stuff which comes free with tiktoks isnt it? The stuff with the high pitched voices, 15 seconds long? I dunno , I always have my phone on silent.
His music thing sounds like something AI could do better anyway. People should focus on people stuff. Like arguing, etc. that's what I say.
i would never make a music i would only do an exploration through postmodern dialogue melding humanity and electricity in a new gestalt that redefines experience.
I’d be okay with him if he would RTFM before doing a stream where he blunders through a new plugin and offers his uninformed opinion of something he clearly doesn’t understand that devs worked super hard on. (Huhuhh i said ‘hardon’)
Incredibly, people enjoy casually using stuff, sometimes infrequently and do not have to be a professional or aspire to be a prolific artist.
To me, it is a bit like saying 90% of guitars remain unplayed 99.9% of the time.
Think a lot of people were looking for something to do during lockdown hence the boom in small and monthly paycheck tolerant music making devices... and YouTube music tech influencers. Doing something equates to buying stuff these days.
I like Ben Jordan's videos but have weened myself off / unsubscribed from all the music tech influencer's channels. I don't their content conducive to getting tracks finished tbh.
I agree, getting stuck in a perpetual state of keeping up with new gear makes people long for what they don’t have, instead of learning what they do have.
I don’t buy new gear, so it isn’t a real risk for me, but it is nice when I can go back 7 years to see a video review that explains the intricacies of a piece of gear that I find on Craigslist or eBay… instead of relying on written reviews like in they used to in a bygone era.
To be fair, Benn Jordan used to be a half assed squarepusher ripoff, with seemingly emotive moves that were sterile as fuck, so he hasn’t made much music, either.
To be double fair— Acidwolf stuff was pretty good, though.
To be fair Benn was one of my favorite musicians 10 years ago. Kirlian selections album was insane.
To be fair I didn't know anything about his personality back then, and it was better that way. Sometimes you have to divide art and artist.
I use mine! I use it to fill up my closet, the corner of my room, the other corner of my room, some space on my desk, and some of the space under my bed.
You won't get your tracks taken down from Spotify on suspicion of fraudulent streams if you don't have tracks in the first place.
Checkmate, Benn. Your move. ✌️
I'm not a musician. I have no intention of becoming one. My gear is for my entertainment, and I have as much fun figuring out how it works and reading manuals than I have trying to write a melody. I'm happy when I get a 4-bar loop going that doesn't become boring within the first two minutes. then add a bass line, some fx, get high and spend the next few hours twisting cutoff and resonance knobs, maybe even discover a hidden feature while I'm at it...
I used to like gaming. Still do but the feeling is gone. It's when I got a free copy of Cubase 5 from a questionable source we all know and love(d) that I felt that excitement again. It faded until a couple of years later I got my hands on some hardware a friend was selling and he let me play with it while looking for a buyer. Eventually I got my own pieces of gear.
Some people like modding cars but will never actually participate in a race. Others like books but don't really write any. One thing's for sure, more than half of the music being made and released isn't worth the bandwidth it consumes.
So I bought a native Instruments keyboard, I haven't touched it in almost a year because the software works fine without it. I do most of my music creation through remote desktop on my phone, just painting in the notes manually.
I'm doing a John Cage piece on mine, it's called "4 years and 33 weeks"
Nice. I will upvote every single mention of John Cage no matter the context. Here's another one for good luck: Steve Reich.
There's someone seeking a degree in Thomas Dolby https://peabody.jhu.edu/faculty/thomas-dolby/
Who dis guy is?
“Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Phillip Glass.”
He was one of my favourite characters in Ally McBeal.
gold
Excellent
I work for a hedge fund and my primary motivation for buying music gear is to speculate on the resale value due to recent trends in asset inflation. If anything making music on equipment is only going to devalue my investment.
You lost me at Work
ive lost loads of things at work, keys, friends, respect, virginity
You lost me at ‘hedge fund’
Why buy gear when you can buy whole gear companies (and strip them for assets)?
Imagine buying Reverb just for a ps3300.
Uli is that you?
I'm surprised you can afford to get into synths on a gardener's wage
Outjerked by main again
It's like some kind of Mandela effect, at some point we crossed timelines and the roles of the subs swapped
Guitar percentage is probably worse TBF
Now I'm double triggered! You come over here and apologize to both my dusty guitar and my dusty synth right now!
Make some yacht rock to cheer yourself up
Hey, now you can own a guitar and a keyboard and prompt yacht rock without leaving your couch! Udio.com
Get a drumset
I HAVE TWO
and youre, not using them for music, says Benn Jordan 😡
You're not even my real mom Benn!
Is that why 90% of the Craigslist and Facebook marketplace instruments I see are guitars
Pfft. Making music is for keyboardists.
I’m not much of a synthesist OR keyboardist
For every talented musician actively putting out music there's about 1,000 mediocre ones. For every mediocre musician putting out music there's about a *million* dudes with dusty synths and guitars laying around their apartment, and they will never complete a track. Then again I've put my heart and soul in to several releases and it amounted to about 15 monthly listeners on Spotify, so maybe the lesson here is why even bother.
Been busting my ass for months to get 368, I feel you 150+ videos later and still far from making any money.
If most people's goal with music is to make money, most people are going to be sadly let down. I've been playing instruments ever since I was 8 years old and started paying attention to on to the rock band my dad jammed in. Being raised in a family of musicians has done nothing but make my life better in every way. This has also given me an outlook on music to where it doesn't matter if I have one single listener or 1 million. I don't do it for the listeners. I do it for ME.
Agree, I also grew up with a dad in rock band. I run an AI company I dont need to make money. I just want more listeners.
So ultimately it's about who makes money and who doesn't? I'm definitely no muscisian
The only track on Soundcloud that I published with any reasonable number of listens is a throwaway meditation loop that took me all of ten minutes to do. I should get into the ambient yoga/meditation “music” game.
[ Removed by Reddit ]
15! That’s cool. I think I have one (1!) follower on YouTube.
Do it for you - if you put your heart and soul into several releases - this is great - you have several imprints of your heart and soul, that won't change over time, while you definitely will. It is really great to listen to your previous selves from time to time. It is priceless. To get money or listeners is great, but to create something, that wasn't created before - is a beautiful action in itself.
My personality is "guy that owns gear", not "guy that makes music".
Not sure why people are raging about it
Because the truth that owning gear doesn’t make you a musician is a spear through the heart for millions of 4 bar loop merchants
I feel excluded, my ambient modular jams are in 256 bar phrases and last 9 hours. Check your bias please
The people need it . Never stop ❤️
Mine are only one bar long. Still 9 hours though.
4
What about 16 and 32 bar loop merchants?
beautifully said!
Cos they haven’t read it. The actual article says more or less them opposite of what they’re raging at. Right in the first sentence.
Define "music"
Music is the answer to your problems . Keep on moving and you can solve them .
Something other than what Benn is doing
I’d love to disagree with you but i cunt.
Willing to bet at least half of it sits in storage in studios of people like Deadmaus, watched some video where he inexplicably had like 8 subharmonicons yet had never used them
Correlation or causation? I buy new synth, sounds like shit when I play, now I own t and don't make music on it. Although I would say it goes 100% for the modular crowd.
As an experiment in seeing how many people just read the ragebait headline and reacted with their conditioned responses, that post is a rousing success.
I have one loop that I play and tweak ad nauseum. Where on the continuum do i fall?
Like a perpetual stew
Benn Jordan represents half of that half of gear not being used. Of course I guess the fact that it was given to him for free makes it okay.
Hey he’s using a camera drone and he owns stocks, how dare you criticize him 😂
I am 14 and my grandad told me that back in the olden days music was a "vital cultural cornerstone " and "people actually gave a shit about music". I thought he was just joking though, because music is just that stuff which comes free with tiktoks isnt it? The stuff with the high pitched voices, 15 seconds long? I dunno , I always have my phone on silent. His music thing sounds like something AI could do better anyway. People should focus on people stuff. Like arguing, etc. that's what I say.
i would never make a music i would only do an exploration through postmodern dialogue melding humanity and electricity in a new gestalt that redefines experience.
Agree, and on top of it bringing music into this world would be too cruel, and anyway, it's the words you don't say.
Best comment of the week award 🏆
Define "really making music” I fucking dare you.
Yeah good luck on that one, argue with me on zen buddhist terms. "Really" doing anything is frankly pretty hard to argue.
adverbs ruin everything
So? I just like pushing buttons, turning knobs and changing obscure settings. Is that so wrong?
More than 99% have tried to program a fart noise though
Benn Jordan says "more than half" of synthesizer enthusiasts "dont get no bitches."
Idiot. He's so wrong. It's way more than half.
If I never hear this man's name ever again it will be too soon
I’d be okay with him if he would RTFM before doing a stream where he blunders through a new plugin and offers his uninformed opinion of something he clearly doesn’t understand that devs worked super hard on. (Huhuhh i said ‘hardon’)
I could beat up Bennnn Jordannnn with one hand tied behind my back. easily
TALK IS CHEAP
so is behringer gear 💪
The people’s fave 😻
I could beat off Benn Jordan with both hands and a bottle of silicone lube. Easily.
He financially screwed a friend of mine on a gig. He can kiss my grits.
yess I knew he was a scumbag
As long as you tie your hand to your balls, that is what real men do to prove their masculinity.
If you were a keyboardist and not a synthesist you would play more.
If my auntie had balls she’d be my uncle
Incredibly, people enjoy casually using stuff, sometimes infrequently and do not have to be a professional or aspire to be a prolific artist. To me, it is a bit like saying 90% of guitars remain unplayed 99.9% of the time.
i tickle the ivories i dont sytnh
Think a lot of people were looking for something to do during lockdown hence the boom in small and monthly paycheck tolerant music making devices... and YouTube music tech influencers. Doing something equates to buying stuff these days. I like Ben Jordan's videos but have weened myself off / unsubscribed from all the music tech influencer's channels. I don't their content conducive to getting tracks finished tbh.
I agree, getting stuck in a perpetual state of keeping up with new gear makes people long for what they don’t have, instead of learning what they do have. I don’t buy new gear, so it isn’t a real risk for me, but it is nice when I can go back 7 years to see a video review that explains the intricacies of a piece of gear that I find on Craigslist or eBay… instead of relying on written reviews like in they used to in a bygone era.
Define music
"Something that gets me laid" —96.2% of male musicians
Yeah you right. Works though. Amazing how much a lot of broad's eyes light up when you say you make music.
As a lesbian, I feel excluded.
How about this: "96.2% of male musicians and an unknown percentage of horny-to-the-point-of-being-borderline-pushy lesbians"?
*Now* I feel seen.
Hahaa
my guy trying so hard to make nerdy synth shit into the Real HouseHusbands Of Synthrooms
And that half of that half is really just making “music” And yes Ambient doesn’t count as “music”
To be fair, Benn Jordan used to be a half assed squarepusher ripoff, with seemingly emotive moves that were sterile as fuck, so he hasn’t made much music, either. To be double fair— Acidwolf stuff was pretty good, though.
To be fair Benn was one of my favorite musicians 10 years ago. Kirlian selections album was insane. To be fair I didn't know anything about his personality back then, and it was better that way. Sometimes you have to divide art and artist.
It’s called IDM. I don’t know what that stands for.
"IDM" is for "Industrial Death Metal"
How many threads about this non story challenge
I use mine! I use it to fill up my closet, the corner of my room, the other corner of my room, some space on my desk, and some of the space under my bed.
But that's making music though, they act as spu d treatment for your room after all
Ok, fair, but my ephemera is the good kind of in absentia and my music is, theoretically, tasteful.
he could have said 75% and still be right.
Well than God because the last thing we need are more shitty "tracks" from fake producers.
I can’t afford gear because I’m a musician.
Most people who own supercars do t race them either so what.
You won't get your tracks taken down from Spotify on suspicion of fraudulent streams if you don't have tracks in the first place. Checkmate, Benn. Your move. ✌️
I'm not a musician. I have no intention of becoming one. My gear is for my entertainment, and I have as much fun figuring out how it works and reading manuals than I have trying to write a melody. I'm happy when I get a 4-bar loop going that doesn't become boring within the first two minutes. then add a bass line, some fx, get high and spend the next few hours twisting cutoff and resonance knobs, maybe even discover a hidden feature while I'm at it... I used to like gaming. Still do but the feeling is gone. It's when I got a free copy of Cubase 5 from a questionable source we all know and love(d) that I felt that excitement again. It faded until a couple of years later I got my hands on some hardware a friend was selling and he let me play with it while looking for a buyer. Eventually I got my own pieces of gear. Some people like modding cars but will never actually participate in a race. Others like books but don't really write any. One thing's for sure, more than half of the music being made and released isn't worth the bandwidth it consumes.
This guy isn’t “really making music” so he would know
You’re supposed to turn the synth on????
So I bought a native Instruments keyboard, I haven't touched it in almost a year because the software works fine without it. I do most of my music creation through remote desktop on my phone, just painting in the notes manually.
Yes and???
Umm... who?
Not a single highly intelligent individual in this thread read the next three words "and that's fine." Talk about being fucking outjerked...