Rick is nice person but he's close minded , when he said that one time that while playing video games he couldn't focus to listen to the music... I have really bad ADHD and even i zone in on video game music.. video game music is some of the best music of the last decade. Rick is missing out bigtime on a lot of good listening... i'll bet he also never heard of bands like The Resonance Project, or Haken, or Arch Echo... Knower, Snarky Puppy.. Valeriy Stepanov.. honestly music has never been this good.. and same with orchestration music.. ppl like doing game music are the new John Williams' like ppl.
Dude, you missed the point Beato made entirely. You went from agreeing with his points to turning Beato's accurate statement that music today basically sucks and why into a sales pitch about you and how you used the internet to get your music out. You're too young to remember the radio DJ saying things like "Hey check out this new song from Lynyrd Skynyrd called Freebird" or "Hey check out this new band called Boston or Metallica" or "Hey this is the title track from AC/DC's new album Back in Black." Today we get what? WAP..... Or 'Lil Nas X??? Yeah, maybe you can find something interesting out there on the net, but none of this music packs the punch of music from 50 years ago. That uber professionalism of old is gone, buddy. I like your work, a lot, and wish you the absolute best of success. But you are way, way off base here. You're great, but you ain't Zeppelin, Skynyrd, the Stones or AC/DC, not by a long shot and you can't call up Ahmet, score a properly penned #1 hit, then go scoop Tom Dowd and run into the studio to create that magic. That level of depth of musical professionalism no longer exists. The money simply isn't there to attract those kinds of people. They work in other fields today. P.S. I've been crawling around on and offstage with a 4 string in my hands since the 80s, and I watched the whole thing unravel, sadly.
This is a prime example of how to have a real discussion that includes disagreement. It's positive, well thought out and articulated such that it's very clear where you stand but shows that you are listening to the other side of the argument and respectfully hearing the points being made. It's totally okay to agree with some and disagree with others while furthering the discussion. I seriously wish more conversations about divisive topics played out exactly like this. Great response Bernth! Like you, I too enjoy Rick's content and have my own set of experiences that can live in both worlds.
Absolutely!!! It's always great to hear from a different perspective. You can agree or disagree without being disrespectful. This is the kind of feedback and reaction that I love to see.
When Rick Beato said it, what I understood was "The Real Reason Why ***MAINSTREAM*** Music is Getting Worse". So I didn't think he was necessarily "wrong", his argument just didn't apply to anything I care about. I too think it's an exciting time to be a musician. Even a no-budget, no-name nobody like me 😁
"The more your musical experience, the easier it is to define for yourself what you like and what you don't like. American radio listeners, raised on a diet of _____ (fill in the blank), have experienced a musical universe so small they cannot begin to know what they like." -- Frank Zappa Mainstream music is a commodity, it's consumed. It's not engaged with as music but as a product.
@@whatilearnttoday5295 That's exactly how I felt as a teen back in the 90s - MTV and commercial radio were in cahoots, so you kept hearing the same 40 songs over and over again wherever you turned. It was like The Powers that Be were actively limiting your horizons. And the bands they were shoving down your throat felt like the enemy. So when the internet came along and gave you a choice, I never paid any attention to anything mainstream ever again. The only new music I pay much attention to anymore is stuff by fellow no-name artists I meet online.
@@ShiceSquad "when the internet came along and gave you a choice, I never paid any attention to anything mainstream ever again." That was how everyone dealt with music from then on out I think. MTV pretty much died the second Napster came out. All of a sudden it was just reality shows all day long.. The 90s and into the early 2000s was an extremely odd time. I still miss the MTV offshoot M2 in europe though, that channel was rad.
@@JimmyNuisance Indeed, I did notice than there was waaaay more variety in music videos on regular TV in Germany. Napster might have killed the regular record sales business, but to me the real death blow to the mainstream media came later when the internet really kicked into high gear: and suddenly you could find anything you wanted: any genre, underground of any level of obscurity from any era, any country, everything that had ever been created was suddenly at your fingertips and the only limit was knowing what to search for. No commercial entity could railroad us into listening to their shit anymore, and we became truly free.
I think Rick Beato's point was about mainstream music. That which is distributed by the major labels, and receives the most media attention, thanks to marketing teams. These "artists" are treated like consumer products. Pop music is getting poorer, that's a fact, but the music galaxy around it is getting richer.
I dont really buy the mainstream music thing. It's always been the case that mainstream pop has been treated as a product and there has always been trash in the charts. We dont remember a lot of it because time naturally filters it out, but if you look at the top selling songs and albums from decades past there was a lot of trash in there catering to the lowest common denominator. For example Sugar Sugar by The Archies was the top selling song in 69, the same year as Come Together by The Beatles, Fortunate Son by CCR, Whole Lotta Love by Zeppelin, Suspicious Minds by Presley etc.
this was the case for a long long time friend. when that tune 'sugar sugar' came out like damn near 70 years ago, the solo was so simplistic it was like a child played it. all the hot shit players made fun of it tl/dr: song is STILL being played. while most cannot name a coltrane tune. pop music is always shit.
Beato definitely limits his content to what is considered classic rock or metal in the guitar/musician community in America. There is a very large world of rock music. Beato will complain that no one does key changes any more but Japanese rock music is full of perfectly timed and impacting key changes. There is a girl drummer in Thailand who simply kills everything with a combination of chops and taste in her work. He's never mentioned Tina S. from France. Its a very big world and what remains of the American music industry is as flawed as ever but its an exciting time to put your own music out there.
@@ericpeterson9110 Let me contradict you (a little). It's not true that pop has always been a product. On the one hand, there were singers and groups who toured a lot and enjoyed a high popular rating (Elton John, Paul Jones, Sade, Kat Bush, Police, Duran Duran, etc.); on the other hand, there were singers and groups who were nothing more than laboratory experiments (I don't want to offend anyone, no names). These "products" began to multiply exponentially with the arrival of the Internet. The major labels have always been on the lookout for the "magic recipe" that will guarantee them stable and abundant revenues. It's pathetic. Goodbye feeling, hello robot.
@@ericgiova1663 It's true that there has always been pop artists that weren't products and legitimate artists, but that is still true today. You might not like those artists as much, which is totally valid, but there is still good music in the top 40 produced by people who enjoy the craft. If anything the more recent hostile attitude towards industry plants has in many ways gone in the opposite direction.
Reading album linear notes was definitely a thing for me. What brands of gear did the band use? What studios? Who was the producer? Studio musicians? Guest performers? This could have been minutiae but I was captivated by it…almost as much as the music itself.
Yes indeed. When finally picked a good LP, you usually got to see what the artists looked like, and learned their names, etc. Before that, you went on the music only. Needless to say, I was disappointed at the Album photo of the band on the RUSH 2112 LP! But that didn't stop me from loving it!
It was always great when there was an inner sleeve with Lyrics maybe some Artwork and all the production details. Growing up in the 80's was awesome !!
I definitely loved looking through the liner notes for the same reasons. Iron Maiden "Live After Death" had a count of how many picks, strings, drumheads, and pounds of tomatoes used on tour. I am still fascinated by shit like that.
Pretty much 100% in agreement with you here - I'm 64 and I've been paid to play off & on for over 50 years now, and I'm more than a little fed up with many of my contemporaries who say that music was better then / is worse now - I think that maybe there is an argument to be made that audiences aren't as good as they used to be... Though I'm not a huge fan of digital sound (it gets better as memory becomes cheaper), I totally agree with you with regard to the level playing field argument. The World Wide Web works best when it connects disparate groups of people who otherwise would not know of each other's existence - those connections collectively add up to more hits than any one artist, however well hyped, can achieve alone. Frankly, anyone who hasn't been blown away by the sheer variety of talent on offer really isn't looking hard enough. Music is a big place, and as far as I'm concerned is something that you should do rather than a commodity that you consume. Here's to open minds...
This is so true. I created 2 singles. Instrumental with 1 guitar. 1 recorded on iPad the other on iPhone. Cost $9.99 each to get streamed to 250+ services. They actually got play on Spotify, YT, and Apple Music. Will I make money? NO and that wasn’t the point. The point was to do it. To be published. A life marker. I’m 62 and did this! That was the point.
I think that's pretty cool for you and I don't think I'll ever get to that point as I'm not committed enough. So, kudos to you! But your story also highlights the problem with the industry. Why pay a professional if you can get 1000s of hobbyists do it for free? Even worse, you can get one AI producing a new track every second. And it's not like the streaming services are giving the product away for free. So while it's easier to make music as a hobby, it gets harder to do it for a living.
@@emulgatorxyes. That’s why I posted. I got the idea from a political hack that was putting her garbage speech to a uke so it wouldn’t get banned. I figured if she could. I could. But I do support people like Bernth I bought his CD and never opened. Same with Mary Spender. I think musicians and bands are wise to have exclusive content on Patreon. That’s the separation of people like me and them. I’ll also never have 1000 followers. But in this digital age I think Beto’s complaint isn’t relevant to today’s world though. Look at people like the Welsh Collier. She is a great producer, editor, master cut all in her Mac driven Alberton studio.
@@arnyarny77 I played Violin 5 decades. Guitar 4 years. It was a difficult transition. But I have a built in 105bpm metronome and already have Sight Reading skills.
Two things can be true and your views vs Rick’s are certainly not mutually exclusive. Rick has very clearly been speaking about the ills of mass-market music, while you are discussing independent artists. This type of scenario has already been described in a famous quote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” The music that is being heavily promoted via mass-market media is unquestionably getting worse in most cases. But yes, talented artists can independently produce incredible music and make it readily available to everyone. There’s another famous quote I feel is appropriate: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Without a label and their publicity/distribution power, a very limited number of dedicated enthusiasts CAN find your music, but WILL they?? Meanwhile the regurgitated AI, quantitized, autotuned songs that all use the same samples, presets, and 4 chords are flooding the airwaves, being featured in commercials, boosted by paid influencers, getting exposure at corporate music festivals, etc. Rick’s point is about the widely available and therefore mass-socially shareable music being degraded into a cheaply produced homogenized commodity. The quality and diversity of a 1974 or 1984 Billboard top-20 vs a 2024 Spotify or iTunes top-20 is striking, and not in a positive way.
Yeah, I also think this is his argument, but also, with how cheap and available music of all kinds is, even when you find that independently produced music (or when people find your independently produced music) it's much less valuable, and is maybe only listened to a few times as part of a much larger playlist, as opposed to listened to hundreds of times the way it would be when you saved up and bought that one album a month or whatever.
The charts in the 80s were still only what the major labels pushed. In fact there was a whole load of good music that received much more limited, if any, airplay and never made it into those charts.
@@MarcusWerner13 If that was the case it is only because the music labels created artificial scarcity. They basically starved out the majority of musicians so that a tiny minority they selected could get filthy rich. So music was never actually very valuable, the market was just manipulated to make it appear so. The natural state, which technology now allows, is for music to be ubiquitous. My experience is also that how many albums I could buy, which was far less than one a month, was irrelevant, because my friends and I, along with our extended network of friends and acquaintances, would all share and copy everything. That's back in the 70s and 80s. We still listened to what we loved repeatedly. As do my own children even though they've never known any physical media or bought anything.
@@steamboatwill3.367 music made by an algorithm (the human brain works on algorithms so all music is algorithm based really, but most people don't realise that)
Wow...it's been a while since I heard the name "Cannibal Corpse"! One of the members of the band was the younger brother of my girlfriend back then. Small world!
I am "old school", I was raised in the 80s and 90s, and I can assure you all that listening to music was a very, very different experience. I learned about what music was out there almost exclusively through MTV and whatever friends had discovered. I also started learning to play guitar and bass, and in Portugal where I grew up, guitar players were as ubiquitous as soccer players, so needless to say I was immersed in an environment where music was treasured and was a common topic for discussion. I can't hold it against anybody for the environment they grew up in, but in so many ways the "next generation" simply can't see how diluted their musical experience is, compared to having to buy music one album at a time. Its entirely true that music used to be not only important and valued but also DELIBERATE, if you wanted portable music you had a walkman or discman and you had to choose in advance what you were going to listen to. Its not only about music but about art and entertainment, the fact that you have endless choices now days means you can listen to something for 30 seconds and just move on to the next thing like it doesn't matter, there are thousands of fantastic artist out there, but you don't value any single one of them, if you look up "cool dragon art" you have an infinite supply of it, so each artist is just a drop in the bucket. Its the same with the dating pool, in fact, you don't value the person you're dating because if they have some minor flaw that annoys you then just keep looking, instead of being satisfied. And that's it, the more you have the less you are satisfied, the less you value any one thing. But it can't be helped. The internet is an ocean you can never fully explore, and it is past the point of no return.
That is just your personal experience. I'm even older having grown up in the 70s. We didn't need scarcity to treasure music, we just did. And that's why someone growing up today would still treasure it.
@@loganmedia1142 i disagree on that point, scarcity is a forcing function in almost any environment or context...part of the reason hip hop was a force of nature, and the first fan base was so passionate and rabid, was because it filled a void of scarcity...there was no voice or representation or cathartic release for the insanity of the lives of youth in extreme urbanity...hip hop was a voice for marginalized peoples, so those people were invested and cared...hip hop like life in the streets had a code of conduct...it was first person narrative...you couldn't sing someone else's song just because it was a great song...you couldn't express something musically that wasn't personal...passion and sincerity were mandatory...it lent authenticity and integrity to music in a way that hadn't been seen before since early blues and gospel...it brought that urgency back...that is what resonated with people and the only real reason such a rudimentary art form could blow up the way it did...hip hop is the reason black/inner city/urban culture became USA pop culture...hip hop is the reason USA pop culture became global pop culture as evidenced from everything from UK drill to J-POP and K-POP...you don't have even the remote possibility of the obama presidency without hip hop...hip hop was a global force of nature because the energy of that urgency was made from scarcity... fast forward 50 years, and life everywhere is easier...less violent, less dangerous, and less filled with trepidation and fear...generations have grown up with it never having to know life without it, and therefore take it for granted...it is valued less BY them, because it means less TO them...ubiquity and homogeneity turned it into disposable pop music...it has been said for thousands of years that necessity is the mother of invention,...therefore it is naive to believe invention will organically appear at high rates without it...one man's take
@@FrancoM7747 Miss album covers too! My favorite assignment in commercial art class was creating album cover art for my favorite band. I know an artist that also rented our basement that created Grateful Dead posters and Further posters that I think were sold at their concerts for a number of years. He got the job because he drew artwork on his ticket payment envelope for a Grateful Dead concert. They called and said hey can you do more like that? Of course, he had graduated from an Art school, so he jumped at it. As a true fan he basically died and went to heaven doing it. The posters are awesome. He gave us prints that we have on our wall. He never did the album covers. Music the way it once was gathered a lot of creatives together. Does it still? I think it is harder to create the “family” that a great band gathered around it. Or am I wrong?
When it comes to knowledge and experience, then Rick Beato is the man to talk to. He is an accomplished musician, multi instrumentalist, former producer, sound engineer and he knows what's gping out in the music business.
I still remember when I got my first walkman and first scorpions cassette after saving for over a year. The novelty of taking the music wherever you wanted and having headphones to immerse yourself in was a big win.
I remember the sports Walkman. I was an engineer producer with a pool man day gig and I'd listen to mixes and rough mixes all day long getting ready for the night session. Good times
Yes! I agree and I am living proof of how the art form has become accessible for so many of us now. I loved the old times as well. I was in a band in the 90's and we had to practice until we just couldn't mess up when we got to the studio...which we all saved up to make happen. None of us wanted to blow it for the others. It made us better. But overall, I think that the decentralization of music has been a good thing. We don't need some music exec's creating "stars" out of people for us...who wants stars anyway? Thanks for the video.
I have been writing metal music since 1996.. but because of Rick's points, I ended up just focusing on my IT-related day job & my music kinda took the backseat for decades. THIS video is a wake up call for me. This is TRULY a good time to be an musician since everyone has a fair shot at the market. - and at a GLOBAL scale, at that. Thank you for inspiring music & words, Bernth. There may be hope for a lot of us old-school independent musicians, yet.
since you have been in the IT sector...I think you might have enough amount of frustration build up within that can bring out some good metal music ...all the best!
If you're already in IT, that'll only make a home studio even easier to set up. Trust me dude, with about $2000 you basically have all the equipment you need to make music with good production. Decent PC with a good CPU, decent monitors, a big monitor for your pc, interfaces for your sound equipment, maybe even leftover money for some digital stuff too! Now is literally the best time to let your creativity take the wheel and record some music.
Just make sure you listen to your heart and not genre rules. Your heart will never be wrong with the art you make. It's the brain that messes it up for us😂
I'm not a musician, but I see a lot of videos in which independent musicians claim that they can't live with the money they get from the streaming platforms. Basically, you need to become a star to start living from your music. This is the first Bernth video I saw. I guess that his music became popular because of his videos, and not vice versa. So, he can sell music, because he's marketing himself with YT videos. I'm pretty sure that another guy who lives in some Scandinavian or whatever obscure village has the same chance of making it as a musician as Bernth when he was young, unless he became popular in some other field - if he's a popular TH-camr, footballer, politician or something else. I guess you could do the same before - a famous TV presenter from the 70's would probably easily sell his music.
I completely feel that first point. I remember the slow struggle to grow a collection. My dad had a big vinyl collection of 70’s and 80’s. I also had to fight my parents to be able to keep my heavier albums they thought were a “bad influence”. With all my cd’s, and even my dad’s records, I loved combing through the insert. The art and the lyrics. Even the credits. We don’t get that anymore.
Thank you, I’m 69 and hear all kinds af good, current music. Not a huge metal fan, but your thesis is very well thought out and your delivery smooth. Great work. Greetings from White Salmon, Wa. 😎
Great video. Kudos to you on your great success!! 😊 Overall, as an old schooler myself... have to say, I'm leaning to Rick on this. And i'll admit to being just old enough to have experienced the Beatles in their hayday!!
I agree. When I started making music in my bedroom I always told myself that it was just for fun coz I didn't know of any studios in my hometown and I couldn't afford it either. Now I can record and master myself and this works for me because I don't have any bandmates but I can still use all this technology to create a complete song.
while it's awesome that you can still play and enjoy the hobby of playing, I'd say the fact that we have so many "bedroom solo musicians" is one of the biggest downsides of new tech. some people really live in places where they just do not have any other musicians near them. but getting your ass up and getting yourself out there, trying to find band mates and getting to know them and different people pushing each other while trying to become a band and all the happy little accidents along the way is what is SUCH a huge deal in doing music in my mind. don't get me wrong, I am very much into some competely obscure solo "bedroom warrior" acts. but that is mostly because those have something so unique and extreme about their artistic vision, that it totally subverts the single instruments. Most songs done by a single guitarist recorded straight into a DAW with plugins - to me - are just so formulaic and boring. (but the same went for huge parts of the broad mass of bands of yesteryear who didn't ever make it).
@@ithembayup, It’s not the same to write and deliver something that was felt good than having a specialist guiding you to improve your idea. Most of music fails happen on negotiation and communication, not on technology or availability. It’s a curse to think that you’ll be 100% good at writing, playing, recording, editing, producing and publishing content all by yourself. Even if you are good at all you’ll burnout really fast.
@@ithemba I've been looking for a vocalist for nearly 2 years, and now I can't be arsed because of time wasters. I have been in several bands since the 1980s, and now I find it easier just to create on my own, with occasional collabs. You have your view, and it's valid, but it's not necessarily the view of others. Most real musicians are not lazy!
If you're trying to "make it" as a pro musician, as in, do it for a living, then all of the solo bedroom musicians have no bearing on your success. If your music and charisma doesn't rise above the bedroom musicians, then they're not what's holding you back.
IOW, if you feel that your chances of success are threatened by amateurs playing for fun, then you need to up your game, rather than try to bring them down.
First time I've heard of you Bernth, and first video I've watched. Subscribed and SO GRATEFUL for your opinion on all of this. I've been grinding for 16 years as a producer/musician, and you really changed my perspective! Thankyou!
I think that the mainstream music, produced under labels has gotten exponentially worse, and the independent creators like you are the ones keeping it alive and improving it.
I agree with this take. But I also think we need that mainstream music as well to help others find what they actually like. Helps then maybe distinguish one thing they heard on a song on the radio and then go off and find bands/artists that do that one thing very very well. Good stepping stone and then you can compare back and notice how music they didn't like about it.
The big difference is that the good independent music, you have to go out and find, while the awful mainstream stuff will be constantly shoved down your throat. And not just the music, but the artists themselves, with more space being taken up by Taylor Swift's love life or who Jelly Roll and Kendrick Lamar think I should vote for, than entire genres of music.
@@AD1978leo Totally true! And you had to go to a concert to hear the songs that weren’t played on the radio, but were on the total package the album you loved.
@bernth Hey man, I just wanted to say that as a self taught guitar player I have been playing for about 15 years but I have never been able to play a single solo. I have been doing your 1 hour practice routine from your patreon and man, I got to hand it to you, my guitar playing has become something totally different. Yes I have the experience but my experience was all wrong. My picking techniques were trash, my left hand placement was trash everything I learned over the years was just wrong. Using your practice routine daily for about 3 months now I can officially say that I can play my very first guitar solo. I can play Symphony of destruction all the way through and I am just extremely proud of myself and I am thankful for you as well. I don't think you will see this but I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work on here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart because of your videos I can do what I've always wanted to do on the guitar! If anyone is skeptical of buying his stuff, take it from me its worth it. Yes its about the amount of time you put into it, if you're serious enough you can break those barriers.
Hello. I'm an old couch strummer and do some recording for fun. Now when if I wanted to learn all about recording and play an instrument when I was young, I would have had to probably had go to a music school and the equipment would have been out of reach. But now in the digital age and the great music community hear on TH-cam, me a 60-year-old can sit in the comfort of my home and reach out to the world for guitar and guitar related information. I've learned so much about music that I would have back then. Stay safe and in tune.
I 100% agree with this take. I do believe not everyone back in the day was as crazy about music as we like to think. Don't forget the background white noise type music used to be countless radio stations back then. The people who really love music now have more access than ever before. In a small town in India, I used to struggle to even get Billboard hot 100 records in the local record store. Now I can easily listen to Ado or Sam Cooke at the press of a button. The streaming has been truly magical for a large part of world who were not even the part of global music scene 15-20 years ago.
I think we are the same age. I remember the days of getting a CD and reading all the lyrics, remembering the entire album pretty much. It really was a ritual and it was awesome. Had a gigantic collection of music when I was like 15-20
It wasn't tho. That is just nostalgia. Would you pay 100 dollars for a CD right now? That is what it was like. Then half the time the CD was crap. That's why bands like Metallica and Nirvana were so loved. You didn't feel like you were getting robbed when you bought a tape or CD. It wasn't just the two songs that you heard on the radio that were good.
@@Jordan-Ramses 100 dollars?? are you serious?? at least where Im from Cds are relatively cheap, Its cheaper than buying a pizza. And i have cds that still play perfectly for 30 years
@@frankkkbard0n315 If CDs were the same price they were in 1990 in today's dollars that would be 50-100 dollars. Inflation. 15 dollars in 1990 was a lot of money. Gas was $1.30. Now it's $4.50. Houses were 100000 now they're a million. Minimum wage was 5 dollars now it's 20.
@@Jordan-Ramses well, i live in another place with another currency so its hard to tell, but the math doesnt seem right to me. I still buy cds and it is less expensive than buying a pizza or having a night out to drink a couple of beers...
Expand the size and reduce the playing time and imagine the 'vinyl experience.' I'm not a vinyl fetishist and I love the longer playing time of CDs and streaming... but the packaging of vinyl added lots of value - session notes, introduction or comments by the artists, performer roster, producer/studio/engineering credits. Great cover art for many albums, too.
You've articulated perfectly why this moment is simply the best time in human history to be a musician. Yes, there are drawbacks, but the benefits far outweigh them. I can especially relate as an indie artist living in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Austria. Servus aus Oberösterreich.
Such a great and positive message and I fully agree. I think it’s a great time for musicians since we all have a means to share our music and connect with fans and fellow musicians.
I love doing the whole album, ritual, cleaning my record, putting it on the turntable, grabbing the sleeve and reading the liner notes, but it is also awesome to have any song at your fingertips with digital mediums, thanks for your channel. It’s giving me great info and some guitar tips to boot.
Thank you for this! I watched Rick Beato’s video a while back, and yours just now, and find I agree with you both. Good, valid points all around. I’ve highly enjoyed your videos and your shining, positive personality, and your guitar playing just does not seem possible, and yet there you are doing it and blowing my mind. The music business is in a state of rapid change and development driven, as far as I can tell, by the amazing and continuous technological development we have witnessed in our lives. New opportunities and challenges everywhere, new ways of doing things, new attitudes as well, I suppose. Although the traditional record companies of course have done a lot to bring wonderful music to us listeners, they also have a lot to answer for. Streaming services are now the new version of record companies. It has become easier, or at least less expensive, to get your music before the public, but it doesn’t seem to me to be as easy to find something exciting to listen to as it was in the days of vinyl records where you could spend hours looking through bins of albums in record stores, maybe with friends, talk to the proprietors about the artists, get them to play a side to help with your buying decision. Back in the sixties we would take records with us to friends houses and we would often listen over and over again to the same disc, discuss the meaning of a lyric by Donovan or Dylan, that sort of thing. It’s a fond memory. Streaming media don’t prevent anyone from doing something similar today, but I think they foster it less. One of the things about old-school record companies was that they publicized their artists and supported them in ways that I don’t see streaming services doing today. And though the record companies often enough cheated their artists, the artists did tend to get paid something, at least, sometimes quite a lot, based on record sales. Have you investigated the difference in typical artist royalty payments for a 1960s vinyl album that sold a million copies compared to the royalties one might get for a million listens on Spotify or Apple Music? Or TH-cam? I think that would be an interesting topic for a video if you haven’t already covered it. Change is often uncomfortable, but through that discomfort many good things can happen. In my early years I spent hours in my bedroom listening to the 78 rpm albums in my parents’ collection. I’m talking about early 1950s here. It was pretty much all classical music and light opera. Our record player was a small motorized one with a speaker built into the playback head. It had a screw clamp for the steel needles that rode in the grooves and had to be replaced after a few listenings. We had a small tin with dozens and dozens of replacement needles. My older brother called me a longhair for listening to the classics. He discovered 45 rpm singles and prevailed upon my parents to get something to play them on. Thus my interest began to slide towards the pop music of the day. I was born in 1948, so I missed the recorded cylinder craze, but have gone from brittle shellac records through vinyl records, compact discs, mp3 files on computers (Have you experienced mp3s? Very lossy digital audio.) to the high quality digital audio that we can listen to today and record ourselves if we want to for a tiny fraction of what it took to produce a record in 1960. To partially quote Joni Mitchell, something’s been lost, and something’s been gained along the way. At this point in life, 76 years and counting, It seems to me that that’s the way it is with most things. Sometimes you have to be patient. Sometimes you have to try to step back and take a wider view of things. We humans tend to regard the situations we find ourselves in as if things have always been that way and always will be. It’s an attitude that leads one toward frustration and despair. I see this often, in myself as well of course, and I try to watch out for it for my own sake and remind myself that everything is in a state of flux I sometimes think of modernity as a cursor that you can move along the timeline of history, especially modern history from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Anywhere you choose to place the cursor would be modern to the young people living through that exciting time of change. You could certainly do that on a timeline for recorded music from the first Edison recordings on cylinders to the present. The cursor would trace a continual increase in the quality of recorded audio, the speed of that increasing gradually at first, but picking up speed, spurred on by technological development. Current digital audio quality is much higher than any of the standards that have gone before, and so it will be wherever you place the cursor on the timeline. Audio quality has never been better than it is today. It is a matter of science. Musical quality is a matter of taste, of skill, of inspiration. My sons turn me on to some of the wonderful music being produced today. I don’t see music as being any better or worse now than at any other time. Some musicians and listeners might prefer Aphex excited, quantized, pitch-corrected tracks while others might prefer the most natural sound they can get. In any event, I don’t miss the hiss, pops, crack, static and distortion of the older forms of audio. I wonder what the next step in refinement of audio will be. Maybe a chip that lets us hear music directly in our brains, bypassing our ears? What a boon that would be for deaf people! The one thing I think I might disagree with is the idea that music is too easy to make now. I understand such statements as referring in part to the fact that music software can enable a person who doesn’t play an instrument or sing well to create music. How the kcuf is that a bad thing? Is there too much music in the world? I rather think that the more humans that make music, the more harmony there will be in society and the fewer humans there will be harming each other for whatever reason. I am unfortunately unfamiliar with Charles Berthoud, but I plan to correct that situation, ‘cause I love listening to bass. It’s very cool that you are touring with Ola Englund. I will check the schedule. If you will be doing shows in Sweden, then I might be able to go to one of your concerts. Ought I to bring ear plugs with me?
I understand both sides of this issue . The positive side & negative side . I as a recording musician love the environment we live in now , as far as getting our music out there to the world !! What I don't like is how "ARTIFICIAL" music is appearing to be in the beginning stages of taking over & replacing the humanity in music (getting rid of the REAL musicians) !! I think what Rick was trying to say is that nowadays you don't even really have to be a musician or have any talent at all to produce something that sounds "good enough" to most people . Which is (imo) watering down the music industry and making the consumer not really care about the talent & hard work that it truly takes to be a professional musician & put out "Human Made" music !!
Whats A.I music? Is that music where a HUMAN writes the prompt and tries to micromanage said prompt in a very specific way to get a more specific sound? If yes then how is that replacing humans if human is operating on it? Also i never understood why making music using computer is inferior to making music on instrument? Is it because you are not actually strumming or bowing? And also why stop there? Does playing piano make you inferior to someone playing Sitar for example? I never understood such arguments for me music is something auditory it doesnt matter who makes it and in what way as long as it stirs something in me on emotional level if someone uses instruments to do it its ok or samples or even AI tools. Also your argument about talent is also silly there was always a difference between talanted musicians and lets say technically proficient musicians... A talanted musician for me is someone who has his own style his own thing. Someone who is really good on mechanical level is a non factor. Oh wow you can play a solo someone else made really really fast thats so... impessive...not. daft punk for me are far more talantes then 70% of guitarists because all they do is play covers and thats it while daft punk hear songs and find 0.1 sec bits in them and already construct an actual song out of those bits... thats talent.
100% couldn't agree more, wish I could upvote this more than once. I love that I can listen to any kind of genre of music from anywhere in the world that I never would have had access to 20 years ago with just FM radio or MTV. But also I am old enough to remember Cds, I still have some from my younger years, but I have been purchasing more new ones. Or albums I had in mp3, but I wanted a physical copy because I loved the album so much. A few years ago I managed to find a plug in CD player at Best buy, and any time I'm angry of having a bad day. I put on a good hard rock or metal CD and just listen to it and close my eyes. Or if I just want to relax and enjoy some music I'll put on a less intense CD and zone out to that. The best thing about now is that we have access to tons of new interesting music, but we also still have access to the older "proper/ legit" music both via digital or physical media.
I agree with you! I’m 61 and think it is awesome that there is so much music available. There are so many bands I would have never heard of without streaming.
A very thoughtful video in which I agree. I think if a band wants to provide the album experience they can release album only on disc or vinyl without releasing on streaming platforms. Then after 6 months stream, just like feature films
I am greatful I found your channel along with specter sound, Rick Beato, and a few others. Yall got me back into music. A part of my soul I had long abandoned, because i always got beat down over it by others. So as I begin my road again, I thank you. Its because of you guys that my Stratocaster, Sophia of house Fender, (i know, her name is a lame joke, not as lame as not picking up music again) even exists today. Thank you. If Bernth likes or responds to this comment, I will ask the guy at my local shop, very nicely cause you dont rush the masters, to please hurry, the people are asking where Sophia is, they want to hear her sing. (Even if he doesnt, ima ask any ways, cause I miss playing on Sophia... that sounds dirtier then it actually is.)
I grew up in the 70s and 80s, so I'm sure I have a bias, probably nostalgia based, due to my age, but I think both of you have great points. I'm also just a fan rather than a musician myself, so all I know is the frustrations and joys of the fan side of things. On the one hand, I think I agree with you in that I like the fact that modern technology has made it possible for musicians with lots of talent and little or no money to get their music to an audience without the need for major labels (most of whom ripped off musicians for decades anyway). I've discovered some crazy talented musicians I would have otherwise never heard of because of TH-cam and Spotify. On the other hand, I sympathize with Beato because technology has also made it possible for non-musicians with lots of ambition and little or no talent to get their "music" to the people. The problem now, from my perspective, is that the music "market" is cluttered with so much worthless garbage. It's a trade off of problems. Back in the old day, you had to sift through a small wheelbarrow full of dirt to find the gold nuggets, but there were a lot of gold nuggets that weren't in the wheelbarrow and would never be found. Today you have to sift through 500 dump trucks of dirt AND fool's gold to find a few real gold nuggets. Most of the gold can find its way into the trucks, buts it's buried beneath tons of garbage. In the old days, not every real musician could get their music on the radio or into a record store (bad), but the record store was small enough that a fan could work through most of what was there (pretty good). Today, almost every real musician can get their music in the "record store" (good), but the record store is a warehouse the size of Alaska that is continually growing because they carry everything, and probably 90% of it is garbage (pretty bad). The main reason the 90% is not very good is because both talented musicians and untalented non-musicians are making "music" and getting it in the "record store." What I, as a fan, want, is a trustworthy filter. In the old days, the record label filter prevented too much real music from getting to the fans. Today, the lack of a filter lets everything get to the fans, which in a different way also prevents too much real music from getting to the fans because they don't have time to find it. Sorry for the length of this comment.
I might be a tad older than you (same age as Beato actually). I rarely listen to new artists, but something struck me in your comment - "it possible for non-musicians with lots of ambition and little or no talent to get their "music" to the people". I think what you're implying is inferior and not real music. As somewhat of a Luddite, I align with what I think you're saying. But to play devil's advocate, why does it matter if a non-musician who is talented in using the technology (samples, plugins, AI) to produce "music"? And why don't we simply consider it music?
@@cazgerald9471 "Inferior" is probably a better word. You asked "why does it matter"? In my opinion, and that's all it is, it takes a musician, someone who has musical skill and talent to make music. Anything else is just sounds. I'm not a musician. I learned some guitar chords when I was young, and I could play a few chords, but it would never be anything worth listening too. But in today's world, if I knew the technology, I could spruce it up and get it added to the music market, and all it would do is waste the time of people looking for good music. And it's not that the same kind of thing can't be found back in the day. There was mediocre and bad music back in the day. And there was non-music. I mean Yoko Ono managed to get her caterwauling produced because she had connections. But there was a filter back then. You had to have money or connections to get your stuff recorded. Like I said in the previous comment, I think that filter was too strong. It prevented too many musicians from being heard, but there's no filter today, and that's just as much a problem. Nowadays, I could set up a microphone, eat a lot of beans, position a harmonica in my intergluteal cleft, pass gas through the harmonica, run it through some music software, add a preprogrammed beat, and put it on the market. Given some of what shows up in the pop charts today, it might even become a hit. But it isn't music. The problem nowadays, is that without any filter at all, it's harder to find the talented musicians because so much flatulence makes its way into the same "record store."
There was always plenty of worthless garbage. People just don't remember it anymore. I'm inclined to suspect that the ratio of gold to trash hasn't really changed.
Absolutely. I loved buying an album. Taking out the booklet, reading the text along. Enjoying the artwork and pictures. It just had more meaning. Tunring the light off and listen to music.
Great video! For me, after forty years of sitting on my unfinished songs, not only was the technology improved to the point where I could properly get my music recorded, the ease and wealth of available session musicians and vocalists you could hire from anywhere in the world was just not possible before. It finally allowed for the completion of my debut album at the begining of this year!
Amp plugins make getting access to different sounds soooo much more accessible. I mean, I use a Soldano patch on helix which cost me a fraction of the cost of the actual amp. Not to mention the cost of the cab, mics, and pedals.
If you're into the SLOs, like me, then be sure to check out: The VST-plugin "Neurontube:debout" from audiosingularity. Think it still should be free, ( Couldn't believe it was, when I got it)
Having been a hobby musician since the early 90s as a kid, I have to say that the feeling of making music right now compared to back then is completely different. Back then it felt like we were a band trapped on the outside with no obvious path to becoming a musician other than the same narrow path that every band before us had walked.. We had to look for someone to let us in, to give us a chance. Today, music feels like what graphics design felt like in 2001. You could make art, instantly publish it, get responses from people.. 10 years prior to that you would have had to print your images and show them to people face to face.. With the internet I could show my stuff to immense amounts of people without leaving my home. Home studios and solo producers and stuff are ALL OVER THE PLACE these days, and it's great. There's a reason to keep playing after you hit 25 and become an adult now. You can KEEP doing music waaay into your old age, you won't have to be 22 and sexy to get a record deal.. You don't need the deal, you just keep getting better and better and releasing stuff. Maybe you'll find success at some point, maybe not, but there's still a reason to make things and we have the ability to put it into the world. We're self producing and self publishing music, and it's extremely cheap to do. Most exciting time for music ever.
Good talking points, I agree with both of you and I’m happy the music labels and radio don’t have a stronghold on musicians and music in general. It is exciting that everyone has a level playing field to distribute their music however the numbers of uploads are staggering so the value of original compositions is being diluted to thousandths of a penny per play so not so good for making a real income. Unfortunately, our life span is too short to listen to all of the music becoming available and falling in love with a song or an album is a thing of the past… keep making videos brotha, you’re awesome!
Ever since I was a kid I always felt like I wasn’t listening to enough music. There was always others who downloaded tons of songs and listened to them 24/7 meanwhile I felt like I was missing out while listening to the same soad records over and over on my way back from school lol. It was only recently when I realised how important this ritual aspect you mentioned was for me. Sticking to this bunch of favorite albums and letting them make an impact on you instead of constantly changing songs you would listen to all the day is just another approach and is not worse by any means. In my case it helped shaping my music taste and later on the style of music I create.
The first thing you said about the saving for and listening to an album is one of the things I miss so much. That time in life was so prime. I'd love to go back there. I still listen to music but it's not with the same type of focus and immersion as it used to be.
Do you still have records? tapes? CDs? Physical media makes such a difference. There's just something about reading the insert while listening to the music that's playing on record, tape or CD that creates that focus for me 😊
@@andrea585ny I completely agree. Sadly I don't have much of it anymore. I had a huge collection that got damaged when moving a few years back and so I've only got a few cd's left without booklets. Starting a new collection from scratch is a bit out of reach these days as I have other responsibilities that come first. Also hard to spend "excess" money on music that I can still listen to on Spotify.
@@loganmedia1142 Physical copies of music just make the experience better for me. I have a tendency to listen to a recording in it's entirety especially if it's on tape or vinyl
Completely agree, I think the new age of recording is great for musicians. Record labels still exist as do so many sound technicians. You can now reach a crazy amount of people with your songs and if you get popular enough you can go to a studio pay professionals and make a record. How much music was never made by a good artist simply because they couldn't afford it, what did we truly miss?
You are absolutely correct. My Great Uncle (Grandpa's brother) was a musician his ENTIRE life. He never really made it big, but he had the opportunity to play with some huge-ish bands in his time. Not a single song he personally produced ever made it to recording, and here I am with the ability to finally put his music out there. He's no longer with us, and can't re-record it, so it's going up as is, "live quality". When I was growing up we had CD's and record players too and it was so daunting to think of starting or ever becoming successful with a band that we just gave up before we even started. Now, I can professionally record my own music, Aside from vocals, I can play pretty much every instrument I need to even though I can only moderately play metal guitar. And if I so choose, I can distribute my own album basically for free to the entire friggin world. It's ludicrous how easy it is now, but as you said, it's not easy, it just means it's not impossible anymore and you really can reach for the stars. IF YOU SOUND AMAZING THEY WILL LISTEN, AND IF THEY CAN HEAR IT THEN THEY WILL WANT MORE. That's all music success is about. Put yourself out there, get exposure, and it's never more easy to do that than today.
I appreciate your input into this; I think what Rick was getting at, is the barrier being practically nonexistent today means that there’s a torrential downpour of new artists and music. What comes with being successful at modern distribution is being business minded, knowing how to engage your audience online, and knowing how to put together a successful YT channel and videos. Back 60 years ago, good musicians led to good music, where today good musicianship doesn’t matter. Being good at the internet matters moreso.
As a classical Violinist who peaked that one time they played in the musikverein a bit past 1 year ago now. I feel that there isn't enough focus on story telling within music composition. What I mean by that is that because it's really easy to create music these days, there's so much mass-produced spew that conveys the same feeling and sounds therefore inadvertently conveying the same story as eachother. Because of that we keep listening to the same things and we get tired of it. And start to think it's getting worse. I think the root cause of the issue is that people don't know how to convey the emotions they need in order to craft a story in their piece. And that's really hard to pull off. I can't do it myself yet and still have to learn more. But it feels like people don't really care about telling tales which is a shame because the resources to learn how to do it are out there they just need to go out and actively search for it. Hmm maybe the issue is that the information is too hard to find. Or it's simply that it's only something that can be learned through proper experience. I can't really speak much on the matter of composition because I am very much not experienced with it at all. But I think that it's important to tell tales through our music and I feel Bernth here has done a good job of doing that. Especially with pieces like Waterworks and Drown. Hoo boy this is a long comment anyways hope ya'll have a good day or night whenever ya see this. TL;DR: I think that it's important to tell more tales in our music and Bernth does a good job of that.
The internet, and especially smart phones, have dumbed down communication and removed a lot of the emotion and nuance that you have in face to face interactions - including of course live music performance.
You clearly havent heard my Songs, the squirrels gone, the angst of a dog trying to catch squirrels, but seriously, many of the songs I write in jester's heart have a lot of thought put into the lyrics, th-cam.com/video/6IBZkv4Glbg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=TRx8IlH2NcCIdQM2
It may be easier to make BAD music, but it's also easier to make GOOD music and get it out there. A perfect example would be REN, an independent artist with no label behind him, who released his album, Sick Boi, with nothing but TH-cam, Twitch, X, etc for advertising it. Hell, he wasn't even in the country when it was released, he was in Canada having treatment for Lymes disease. No radio play, no interviews on major tv networks, AND he released the same day as Rick Astley dropped his album, and who was on constantly pushing it every time we turned on the radio or tv. So what happened? Ren made number 1 in the uk charts! He Rick Rolled Rick Astley! It CAN be done now. 20 years ago? No way.
I was a Radio DJ for 23 years and personally when it comes to chart music, Top 40 music.. all the best..most incredible hits have already been written. Listening to chart music now I shake my head how lots of these forgettable songs get 1 billion streams (personal tast, don't argue it) But there are lots of fantastic music from the last 5 to 10 years that never charted or receive radio play which I never would have discovered had it not been for Spotify and their recommendations. We can absolutely still do it old skool..and visiting a music store like Tower Records in Tokyo is an amazing feeling and experience
A great counterpoint to Rick’s statement. I too had little money when I was young and didn’t have many albums so my exposure to different artists was really limited. Now, with new music services (Apple Music is the one I use) there isn’t enough time in a lifetime to hear everyone’s recordings. And TH-cam offers so much in education and intelligent (and sometimes not so intelligent) commentary. Love your channel Bernth.
Bernth may not have been destined to be in an Extreme/Death Metal band but he sure as heck made it as a metal/fusion guitarist. Maybe releasing that CD years ago - it was not his time yet.
Great vid, Bernth! Covers Ricks bits, with your personal take & experience. As a child of the 70’s/80’s, I would agree that the efforts needed were much more to just get the music made, let alone out to the masses. I do agree with you that this is an excellent time to be a composer and consumer of music today, as the ease in which to create & produce is way more attainable & available to more for less. Great stuff here, sir!
Bernth, I largely agree with your assessment, here...and your success IS encouraging! I personally have completely eschewed the "quid-pro-quo" approach--all of my recorded efforts being "non-monetized" to this point. TIP: I have found that a really good E-Drum Kit is an important ingredient in self-produced "One-Room Studio" efforts. "Click-Rick" typically DOES reference things from the "Mainstream Music Industry" perspective, however...not ours.🙂
Rick addresses the mass market. Those with more directed or specific tastes and styles are now more able to be found by an audience, and for that, the "numbers are UP!" When an act can go from selling 200 CDs a year at their bar gigs to 200,000 streams a quarter, it's a really big deal to them and their genre. Compared to most of the Spotify top XX, it's a fraction of a percentage and its those top brackets that Beato seems to be examining. "Extreme Unicorn Metal" will be free of his critique. ;-)
@@raygunsforronnie847 ...if he knows what's good for him. He's not been all that good on more mainstream "Metal" material. Did you ever see the "Top 10 Rage Against The Machine Riffs" he posted (a coupla years back)? "Freedom" didn't even get an "HONORABLE MENTION"!! He caught so much flak for that, he just had to "take it down"!! 😱 God bless him, anyway... 🙏
I agree with you completely. Rick is a bit out of touch here because he is American - opportunities for a musician for a smaller country pretty much anywhere else apart from USA or UK (and maybe Japan) are small and far in between. USA is not the whole world and that is something Americans tend to forget. I like Rick too, but it would be good for him to see things from a different perspective. Being a European myself, I completely understand how much of a financial issue was for you to make that first record. Here, in Croatia, it would be even harder :)
@@VagueSpaces I was actually referring to music that is not very popular in a particular space it occurs. I make electronic music and the whole story is still pretty much the same.
you and fantano have both done great jobs of talking about the issue while still being kind and fair to rick and presenting the issues in a way where everyone can maybe learn something about the state of both modern and classic music, as a big music nerd i appreciate disagreement and the ability to talk with friends and acquaintances about our perceptions about art, and being able to help educate one another and fill in the gaps in our vision on different topics when it comes to art as a whole great video!
Man, I do remember discmans! I even remember the walkmans ! Do you remember how you wind back a cassette? The hexagonal pencil ✏️? It was such an emotional thing to listen to music back then 😂 Wish you all the best and thanks for the great videos!
what you're sayin' is 1000% true. Lots of older people will always nag about things going not the way they used to be. Thankfully only people who dedicated their lives to approach which doesn't work anymore. We're thankful for their contribution and legacy but... Music is thriving. Old music business model not necessarily. Cheers to all new wave of home made musicians!
I love the juxtaposition between these two perspectives. These kinds of twists on our shared reality really give me hope for the future, not just in music.
Great points! I also make my living with music, and even as a small-time artist, we have the tools and opportunities that didn’t exist in the early days to build an audience. I encourage folks that want to go this route to learn marketing. That’s half of it and there are so many resources available.
Dear Bernth. I'm 69 and I was a musician in the early 1970's. I appreciate your contributions as a musician and guitar teacher. While I respect the perspectives of others like Rick Beato, I believe your arguments and insights are also valuable. As a member of the younger generation, you and your peers are the ones shaping the music of today and the future. I wish you all the best in your musical endeavors and life.
I approach it from a slightly different perspective of engineering/mixing. I was very active in the large-budget/world class studio projects of the 80's and 90's. It was amazing on every level, and it generated what you might call the music "middle class", which was a collection of engineers, studio techs, drum techs, cartage companies, rental companies, piano tuners, production coordinators, studio musicians, photographers, etc. (Not to mention tour support, but I'll keep that separate.) On a large record project lasting 1-2 years you would literally encounter scores of people working towards the same goal for the most part. Much like wagon wheel factories those jobs are mostly gone, as are many of the incredible studios. (Record Plant LA now seems to be on it's deathbed.) Your insights were very positive and well-presented. The music middle class is likely gone forever, but I appreciate your position of offering a much more level playing field for those with enough drive and talent to produce a great product. Nice work... but I do miss the sushi platters that many sessions provided.
@@inthestudiowithmj This is sad the loss of all those people collaborating behind the scenes to help create the albums and concerts we all adored going too. Music touched a lot of lives creating all those jobs, so sad they have gone away.
It has nothing to do with gatekeeping. Every artist loves what he's doing, and this is perfectly fine, but sometimes it makes it difficult for artist to perceive their song unbiased. I'm sorry to say this, but music like everything in life needs to have some standards of quality. And with this "easier entrypoint" a lot of music made by new artists are not even close to standards that used to be.
outstanding contribution to the debate, i've seen many responses to ricks video and most attack him personally. so it is very refreshing to hear a constructive, respectful and well reasoned response.
Yeah... and so while it's never been easier to record music - you now can't make a living playing music - unless you become a TH-cam-star. Enjoy old age, poor musicians.
That was a great video. I love Rick and 😂watched that video and I agreed with him, but you presenting your side of the story was heartening. Thanks man. 9:14
Rick Beats is nuts. I’m 58. I play multiple instruments and sing. Although my real job is as a physician I take music fairly seriously. Music is so much better now. Just the mainstream stuff sucks. Internet musicians are fantastic in many cases. Better guitar playing than ever in history. Gimme a break Rick. You’re making us boomers sound like boomers. Just stop. 😂
Love what you do and what Rick does. I’m a 31 year music industry veteran and I agree with everything you are saying. There is no question that aspiring musicians have way more opportunities today to be heard than they ever did when I got in this business. That’s even when you factor in how much more music is being released today as a result of their being a lower barrier to entry. The one thing Rick does have a point about how is that overall across-the-board, musicianship at least in the historically defined sense, is not as high and revered today as it was in years past. But what Rick seems to forget is that is something that has been happening for decades now. If you look back to say bebop in the 50s and 60s and then look at what became popular music after that, by decade, we started leaning towards music being more of a producers world and less of a musician’s. Pop music today is firmly dictated now by songwriters and producers.
So interesting to hear your unique perspective, growing up in a place where it wasn't exactly easy to get noticed. I didn't grow up in a place with a huge metal scene, the biggest metal band from my hometown is probably Job For a Cowboy. But it was still possible here in the US. Technology has definitely made it easier for people to get noticed, for people to share their music with each other and record in different places by sharing files on the Internet. Electronic instruments, MIDI, there are lots of great things happening in music currently. The 2020s is far from my favorite decade for music, but there is still lots of talent and great music
Totally aggree with your points, dude. I'm a small remix artist and it's a blessing to have a small audience of friends and followers who like my music. It wouldn't be possible for me to make or share my music without the technology we have today. Of course there are drawbacks, but I'm more appreciative of the smaller bands and artists our there who make music that fits my taste.
@bernth, I was listening music since very young age. My parents used to have a lot of vinyl LPs, after that when I started research for my taste I was buying tape cassettes. CD were really way beyond of my pocket as primary school or high school student. Even during my uni times (1998-2003) I was buying mostly cassettes as CDs were too expensive still. I used through my life standard cassette player, walkman, disc- man, some small hi-fi equipment and until now I use it. I used to have ritual of buying new cassette, CD later, coming home, unpacking from the foil cover, putting the source of music to the device and going through the booklet, pictures and lyrics during listening to the stuff. It was really sacred time and almost nobody could pull me out from this trance time... except my mum who was not asking but giving the order "bring the rubbish out NOW" or "go to the grocery store and buy potatoes for the dinner NOW" :). Of course with the time I started to use converters of CDs into mp3 files to listen to them on digital devices but I've never abandoned CDs. I don't have to many of them but still my collection is growing. Is music better or worse now? Well, it depends. Almost everybody can record and release own music even through bandcamp, youtube, or soundcloud totally for free. Of course thans to that there is a lot of low quality music but we can find a lot of great songs as well. I don't use any streaming platforms like spotify, it's just my choice. I have to mention in this moment that I cannot agree in 100% with you, as a lot of old, underground bands will never appear on those platforms so... I listen to them from CDs or cassettes :). In present times as I see how difficult has playing gigs become I don't buy to many CDs online or in stores (especially many stores have gone) and I buy CDs directly from the bands at merch stands so bands, especially undeground ones, get money straight away to the pocket and they have some straight forward appreciation for their hard work. Sometimes I expect maybe somebody would buy some CD from me during my gig and sometimes it was happening :)
that was priceless- so many of us have gone trough the CD making process, studio, and blah de blah- so glad it worked out for you guys, you did not mention how much energy you put into it happen...cheers- Rick is a classic (like me) glad to see your gen reacting- have a good tour
Love both of you guys. And, you both make excellent points. I think, as others have pointed out, you guys are talking about a little bit of different topics. Music today is amazing for the performers and listeners. Great video and awesome perspective. Thanks!
People who say music sucks nowadays aren’t digging hard enough. If one is just looking at mainstream music throughout the years, yeah, I can agree there, but with a bit of searching, there’s a veritable gold mine of good music to be discovered.
Great argument dude! I love your positivity, glass is half full, I also grew up with one CD every 6-12 months and this is something my brother and I have been discussing recently too. It wasn’t just about the consuming of music, it was waiting for a record, to get it, fight with the plastic wrap and nearly snap the front cover, open it up, always look at the CD in some fantasised way, how did they print it? Art work on the cd? How cool does light look refracting off the audio side!!!? 😂 Jam it in and examine the booklet, discuss the artwork, each page a song, more art, more words! The new album and its booklet became a part of you until you memorised it. I think it also made a more intimate relationship with the album or band, you had this until the next one came along, you would rarely listen to a three songs and change CD for one song then change to another. We would absorb the musical content and it truely became a part of us!
I like Rick and I think you have made some excellent points. The digital space has truly allowed music lovers like me to access to a much wider variety of musicians. From listening to Rick, his concern is the quality of music being released by the major record labels and I agree with him.
I agree on your arguments. I'm 64 years old and played in a band in the 80s so I know how it was then and now. I restarted playing guitar and making music just for myself 4 years ago and put what I did on Spotify mostly to have it somewhere without expecting anyone to listen to an old guys instrumental stuff. But... to my surprise I atm have 20-25000 monthly listeners there! That was never a goal but it's satisfying that people around the world like what I do. It would never have been possible back in the days but with a Mac and Logic Pro X I can record my guitars, bass, keyboard and other stuff and put it out there. Amazingly fun!
Get your ticket for my upcoming tour with Charles Berthoud and Ola Englund here ▶ bit.ly/3WBqCLE
You're in Vienna and don't have a Rattlesnake Hoody & Beanie for the winter?
Rick is nice person but he's close minded , when he said that one time that while playing video games he couldn't focus to listen to the music... I have really bad ADHD and even i zone in on video game music.. video game music is some of the best music of the last decade. Rick is missing out bigtime on a lot of good listening... i'll bet he also never heard of bands like The Resonance Project, or Haken, or Arch Echo... Knower, Snarky Puppy.. Valeriy Stepanov.. honestly music has never been this good.. and same with orchestration music.. ppl like doing game music are the new John Williams' like ppl.
Will you be touring in the USA?
Dude, you missed the point Beato made entirely. You went from agreeing with his points to turning Beato's accurate statement that music today basically sucks and why into a sales pitch about you and how you used the internet to get your music out.
You're too young to remember the radio DJ saying things like "Hey check out this new song from Lynyrd Skynyrd called Freebird" or "Hey check out this new band called Boston or Metallica" or "Hey this is the title track from AC/DC's new album Back in Black."
Today we get what? WAP.....
Or 'Lil Nas X???
Yeah, maybe you can find something interesting out there on the net, but none of this music packs the punch of music from 50 years ago.
That uber professionalism of old is gone, buddy.
I like your work, a lot, and wish you the absolute best of success.
But you are way, way off base here. You're great, but you ain't Zeppelin, Skynyrd, the Stones or AC/DC, not by a long shot and you can't call up Ahmet, score a properly penned #1 hit, then go scoop Tom Dowd and run into the studio to create that magic. That level of depth of musical professionalism no longer exists. The money simply isn't there to attract those kinds of people. They work in other fields today.
P.S. I've been crawling around on and offstage with a 4 string in my hands since the 80s, and I watched the whole thing unravel, sadly.
@@joeciarlette2296yes
This is a prime example of how to have a real discussion that includes disagreement. It's positive, well thought out and articulated such that it's very clear where you stand but shows that you are listening to the other side of the argument and respectfully hearing the points being made. It's totally okay to agree with some and disagree with others while furthering the discussion. I seriously wish more conversations about divisive topics played out exactly like this. Great response Bernth! Like you, I too enjoy Rick's content and have my own set of experiences that can live in both worlds.
Absolutely!!! It's always great to hear from a different perspective. You can agree or disagree without being disrespectful. This is the kind of feedback and reaction that I love to see.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Well done. 👍
Great comment. Disagreement should be respectful, not trash-talking rage.
Nicely stated by all parties! Points duly taken and considered. This IS how meaningful conversations can happen.
It's not a proper disagreement without some ad hominems. 😂
When Rick Beato said it, what I understood was "The Real Reason Why ***MAINSTREAM*** Music is Getting Worse". So I didn't think he was necessarily "wrong", his argument just didn't apply to anything I care about. I too think it's an exciting time to be a musician. Even a no-budget, no-name nobody like me 😁
"The more your musical experience, the easier it is to define for yourself what you like and what you don't like. American radio listeners, raised on a diet of _____ (fill in the blank), have experienced a musical universe so small they cannot begin to know what they like." -- Frank Zappa
Mainstream music is a commodity, it's consumed. It's not engaged with as music but as a product.
@@whatilearnttoday5295 That's exactly how I felt as a teen back in the 90s - MTV and commercial radio were in cahoots, so you kept hearing the same 40 songs over and over again wherever you turned. It was like The Powers that Be were actively limiting your horizons. And the bands they were shoving down your throat felt like the enemy. So when the internet came along and gave you a choice, I never paid any attention to anything mainstream ever again. The only new music I pay much attention to anymore is stuff by fellow no-name artists I meet online.
@@ShiceSquad "when the internet came along and gave you a choice, I never paid any attention to anything mainstream ever again."
That was how everyone dealt with music from then on out I think. MTV pretty much died the second Napster came out. All of a sudden it was just reality shows all day long..
The 90s and into the early 2000s was an extremely odd time. I still miss the MTV offshoot M2 in europe though, that channel was rad.
@@JimmyNuisance Indeed, I did notice than there was waaaay more variety in music videos on regular TV in Germany. Napster might have killed the regular record sales business, but to me the real death blow to the mainstream media came later when the internet really kicked into high gear: and suddenly you could find anything you wanted: any genre, underground of any level of obscurity from any era, any country, everything that had ever been created was suddenly at your fingertips and the only limit was knowing what to search for. No commercial entity could railroad us into listening to their shit anymore, and we became truly free.
You are not a nobody my brother,Keep Grinding and working ❤️🙏🏼
I think Rick Beato's point was about mainstream music. That which is distributed by the major labels, and receives the most media attention, thanks to marketing teams. These "artists" are treated like consumer products. Pop music is getting poorer, that's a fact, but the music galaxy around it is getting richer.
I dont really buy the mainstream music thing. It's always been the case that mainstream pop has been treated as a product and there has always been trash in the charts. We dont remember a lot of it because time naturally filters it out, but if you look at the top selling songs and albums from decades past there was a lot of trash in there catering to the lowest common denominator.
For example Sugar Sugar by The Archies was the top selling song in 69, the same year as Come Together by The Beatles, Fortunate Son by CCR, Whole Lotta Love by Zeppelin, Suspicious Minds by Presley etc.
this was the case for a long long time friend. when that tune 'sugar sugar' came out like damn near 70 years ago, the solo was so simplistic it was like a child played it. all the hot shit players made fun of it
tl/dr: song is STILL being played. while most cannot name a coltrane tune.
pop music is always shit.
Beato definitely limits his content to what is considered classic rock or metal in the guitar/musician community in America. There is a very large world of rock music. Beato will complain that no one does key changes any more but Japanese rock music is full of perfectly timed and impacting key changes. There is a girl drummer in Thailand who simply kills everything with a combination of chops and taste in her work. He's never mentioned Tina S. from France. Its a very big world and what remains of the American music industry is as flawed as ever but its an exciting time to put your own music out there.
@@ericpeterson9110 Let me contradict you (a little). It's not true that pop has always been a product. On the one hand, there were singers and groups who toured a lot and enjoyed a high popular rating (Elton John, Paul Jones, Sade, Kat Bush, Police, Duran Duran, etc.); on the other hand, there were singers and groups who were nothing more than laboratory experiments (I don't want to offend anyone, no names). These "products" began to multiply exponentially with the arrival of the Internet.
The major labels have always been on the lookout for the "magic recipe" that will guarantee them stable and abundant revenues. It's pathetic. Goodbye feeling, hello robot.
@@ericgiova1663 It's true that there has always been pop artists that weren't products and legitimate artists, but that is still true today. You might not like those artists as much, which is totally valid, but there is still good music in the top 40 produced by people who enjoy the craft. If anything the more recent hostile attitude towards industry plants has in many ways gone in the opposite direction.
And here's I'm sitting thinking "What?! You had digital camera when you were a teenager? Not film? Ouch. I'm getting old."
Reading album linear notes was definitely a thing for me. What brands of gear did the band use? What studios? Who was the producer? Studio musicians? Guest performers?
This could have been minutiae but I was captivated by it…almost as much as the music itself.
Yes indeed. When finally picked a good LP, you usually got to see what the artists looked like, and learned their names, etc. Before that, you went on the music only. Needless to say, I was disappointed at the Album photo of the band on the RUSH 2112 LP! But that didn't stop me from loving it!
These days it's TokTok. Fans have a direct line to the bands they love, where we had the liner notes and magazine interviews.
@@mbrown5494
It was always great when there was an inner sleeve with Lyrics maybe some Artwork and all the production details. Growing up in the 80's was awesome !!
I definitely loved looking through the liner notes for the same reasons. Iron Maiden "Live After Death" had a count of how many picks, strings, drumheads, and pounds of tomatoes used on tour. I am still fascinated by shit like that.
Pretty much 100% in agreement with you here - I'm 64 and I've been paid to play off & on for over 50 years now, and I'm more than a little fed up with many of my contemporaries who say that music was better then / is worse now - I think that maybe there is an argument to be made that audiences aren't as good as they used to be...
Though I'm not a huge fan of digital sound (it gets better as memory becomes cheaper), I totally agree with you with regard to the level playing field argument. The World Wide Web works best when it connects disparate groups of people who otherwise would not know of each other's existence - those connections collectively add up to more hits than any one artist, however well hyped, can achieve alone.
Frankly, anyone who hasn't been blown away by the sheer variety of talent on offer really isn't looking hard enough. Music is a big place, and as far as I'm concerned is something that you should do rather than a commodity that you consume. Here's to open minds...
This is so true. I created 2 singles. Instrumental with 1 guitar. 1 recorded on iPad the other on iPhone. Cost $9.99 each to get streamed to 250+ services. They actually got play on Spotify, YT, and Apple Music. Will I make money? NO and that wasn’t the point.
The point was to do it. To be published. A life marker. I’m 62 and did this! That was the point.
That's bad ass I've been playing since 84 but just for fun
I think that's pretty cool for you and I don't think I'll ever get to that point as I'm not committed enough. So, kudos to you!
But your story also highlights the problem with the industry. Why pay a professional if you can get 1000s of hobbyists do it for free? Even worse, you can get one AI producing a new track every second. And it's not like the streaming services are giving the product away for free.
So while it's easier to make music as a hobby, it gets harder to do it for a living.
@@emulgatorxyes. That’s why I posted. I got the idea from a political hack that was putting her garbage speech to a uke so it wouldn’t get banned.
I figured if she could. I could.
But I do support people like Bernth I bought his CD and never opened. Same with Mary Spender.
I think musicians and bands are wise to have exclusive content on Patreon. That’s the separation of people like me and them. I’ll also never have 1000 followers.
But in this digital age I think Beto’s complaint isn’t relevant to today’s world though. Look at people like the Welsh Collier. She is a great producer, editor, master cut all in her Mac driven Alberton studio.
@@arnyarny77 I played Violin 5 decades. Guitar 4 years. It was a difficult transition. But I have a built in 105bpm metronome and already have Sight Reading skills.
I'm listening atm :)
Two things can be true and your views vs Rick’s are certainly not mutually exclusive. Rick has very clearly been speaking about the ills of mass-market music, while you are discussing independent artists. This type of scenario has already been described in a famous quote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” The music that is being heavily promoted via mass-market media is unquestionably getting worse in most cases. But yes, talented artists can independently produce incredible music and make it readily available to everyone. There’s another famous quote I feel is appropriate: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Without a label and their publicity/distribution power, a very limited number of dedicated enthusiasts CAN find your music, but WILL they?? Meanwhile the regurgitated AI, quantitized, autotuned songs that all use the same samples, presets, and 4 chords are flooding the airwaves, being featured in commercials, boosted by paid influencers, getting exposure at corporate music festivals, etc. Rick’s point is about the widely available and therefore mass-socially shareable music being degraded into a cheaply produced homogenized commodity. The quality and diversity of a 1974 or 1984 Billboard top-20 vs a 2024 Spotify or iTunes top-20 is striking, and not in a positive way.
what "a.i" music?
Yeah, I also think this is his argument, but also, with how cheap and available music of all kinds is, even when you find that independently produced music (or when people find your independently produced music) it's much less valuable, and is maybe only listened to a few times as part of a much larger playlist, as opposed to listened to hundreds of times the way it would be when you saved up and bought that one album a month or whatever.
The charts in the 80s were still only what the major labels pushed. In fact there was a whole load of good music that received much more limited, if any, airplay and never made it into those charts.
@@MarcusWerner13 If that was the case it is only because the music labels created artificial scarcity. They basically starved out the majority of musicians so that a tiny minority they selected could get filthy rich. So music was never actually very valuable, the market was just manipulated to make it appear so. The natural state, which technology now allows, is for music to be ubiquitous.
My experience is also that how many albums I could buy, which was far less than one a month, was irrelevant, because my friends and I, along with our extended network of friends and acquaintances, would all share and copy everything. That's back in the 70s and 80s. We still listened to what we loved repeatedly. As do my own children even though they've never known any physical media or bought anything.
@@steamboatwill3.367 music made by an algorithm (the human brain works on algorithms so all music is algorithm based really, but most people don't realise that)
"Cannibal Corpse listening party" is basically how we like to spend our Saturdays.
Hammer smashed face........, its a love song.
Wow...it's been a while since I heard the name "Cannibal Corpse"! One of the members of the band was the younger brother of my girlfriend back then. Small world!
+ A*C* by Seth Putnam. Loved some of the track titles "Your Kid Committed S****** Because You Suck"
On the "depressive black funeral doom" side there are some amazing one man bands.
Denmark. Nortt
Fuck yeah
I am "old school", I was raised in the 80s and 90s, and I can assure you all that listening to music was a very, very different experience. I learned about what music was out there almost exclusively through MTV and whatever friends had discovered. I also started learning to play guitar and bass, and in Portugal where I grew up, guitar players were as ubiquitous as soccer players, so needless to say I was immersed in an environment where music was treasured and was a common topic for discussion. I can't hold it against anybody for the environment they grew up in, but in so many ways the "next generation" simply can't see how diluted their musical experience is, compared to having to buy music one album at a time. Its entirely true that music used to be not only important and valued but also DELIBERATE, if you wanted portable music you had a walkman or discman and you had to choose in advance what you were going to listen to. Its not only about music but about art and entertainment, the fact that you have endless choices now days means you can listen to something for 30 seconds and just move on to the next thing like it doesn't matter, there are thousands of fantastic artist out there, but you don't value any single one of them, if you look up "cool dragon art" you have an infinite supply of it, so each artist is just a drop in the bucket. Its the same with the dating pool, in fact, you don't value the person you're dating because if they have some minor flaw that annoys you then just keep looking, instead of being satisfied. And that's it, the more you have the less you are satisfied, the less you value any one thing. But it can't be helped. The internet is an ocean you can never fully explore, and it is past the point of no return.
All true! Don't forget batteries (for your portable music player) 🔋🔋
✨👍✨
That is just your personal experience. I'm even older having grown up in the 70s. We didn't need scarcity to treasure music, we just did. And that's why someone growing up today would still treasure it.
@@loganmedia1142 i disagree on that point, scarcity is a forcing function in almost any environment or context...part of the reason hip hop was a force of nature, and the first fan base was so passionate and rabid, was because it filled a void of scarcity...there was no voice or representation or cathartic release for the insanity of the lives of youth in extreme urbanity...hip hop was a voice for marginalized peoples, so those people were invested and cared...hip hop like life in the streets had a code of conduct...it was first person narrative...you couldn't sing someone else's song just because it was a great song...you couldn't express something musically that wasn't personal...passion and sincerity were mandatory...it lent authenticity and integrity to music in a way that hadn't been seen before since early blues and gospel...it brought that urgency back...that is what resonated with people and the only real reason such a rudimentary art form could blow up the way it did...hip hop is the reason black/inner city/urban culture became USA pop culture...hip hop is the reason USA pop culture became global pop culture as evidenced from everything from UK drill to J-POP and K-POP...you don't have even the remote possibility of the obama presidency without hip hop...hip hop was a global force of nature because the energy of that urgency was made from scarcity... fast forward 50 years, and life everywhere is easier...less violent, less dangerous, and less filled with trepidation and fear...generations have grown up with it never having to know life without it, and therefore take it for granted...it is valued less BY them, because it means less TO them...ubiquity and homogeneity turned it into disposable pop music...it has been said for thousands of years that necessity is the mother of invention,...therefore it is naive to believe invention will organically appear at high rates without it...one man's take
Album cover art is what I miss.
Same!!
@@FrancoM7747 Miss album covers too! My favorite assignment in commercial art class was creating album cover art for my favorite band. I know an artist that also rented our basement that created Grateful Dead posters and Further posters that I think were sold at their concerts for a number of years. He got the job because he drew artwork on his ticket payment envelope for a Grateful Dead concert. They called and said hey can you do more like that? Of course, he had graduated from an Art school, so he jumped at it. As a true fan he basically died and went to heaven doing it. The posters are awesome. He gave us prints that we have on our wall. He never did the album covers. Music the way it once was gathered a lot of creatives together. Does it still? I think it is harder to create the “family” that a great band gathered around it. Or am I wrong?
Also, liner notes.
Album covers are still a thing what are you guys talking about? Spotify for sure hast it.
what? album covers are still here
When it comes to knowledge and experience, then Rick Beato is the man to talk to. He is an accomplished musician, multi instrumentalist, former producer, sound engineer and he knows what's gping out in the music business.
I still remember when I got my first walkman and first scorpions cassette after saving for over a year. The novelty of taking the music wherever you wanted and having headphones to immerse yourself in was a big win.
Same. Though you’d drain those 2 AA batteries in about a hour…😂😂😂 good times
I remember the sports Walkman. I was an engineer producer with a pool man day gig and I'd listen to mixes and rough mixes all day long getting ready for the night session. Good times
Yes! I agree and I am living proof of how the art form has become accessible for so many of us now. I loved the old times as well. I was in a band in the 90's and we had to practice until we just couldn't mess up when we got to the studio...which we all saved up to make happen. None of us wanted to blow it for the others. It made us better. But overall, I think that the decentralization of music has been a good thing. We don't need some music exec's creating "stars" out of people for us...who wants stars anyway? Thanks for the video.
I have been writing metal music since 1996.. but because of Rick's points, I ended up just focusing on my IT-related day job & my music kinda took the backseat for decades. THIS video is a wake up call for me. This is TRULY a good time to be an musician since everyone has a fair shot at the market. - and at a GLOBAL scale, at that. Thank you for inspiring music & words, Bernth. There may be hope for a lot of us old-school independent musicians, yet.
My comment was going to be very similar to yours. Really cool to hear you had the same response. Rock on! And have fun!
since you have been in the IT sector...I think you might have enough amount of frustration build up within that can bring out some good metal music ...all the best!
If you're already in IT, that'll only make a home studio even easier to set up. Trust me dude, with about $2000 you basically have all the equipment you need to make music with good production. Decent PC with a good CPU, decent monitors, a big monitor for your pc, interfaces for your sound equipment, maybe even leftover money for some digital stuff too! Now is literally the best time to let your creativity take the wheel and record some music.
Just make sure you listen to your heart and not genre rules. Your heart will never be wrong with the art you make. It's the brain that messes it up for us😂
I'm not a musician, but I see a lot of videos in which independent musicians claim that they can't live with the money they get from the streaming platforms. Basically, you need to become a star to start living from your music. This is the first Bernth video I saw. I guess that his music became popular because of his videos, and not vice versa. So, he can sell music, because he's marketing himself with YT videos. I'm pretty sure that another guy who lives in some Scandinavian or whatever obscure village has the same chance of making it as a musician as Bernth when he was young, unless he became popular in some other field - if he's a popular TH-camr, footballer, politician or something else. I guess you could do the same before - a famous TV presenter from the 70's would probably easily sell his music.
I completely feel that first point. I remember the slow struggle to grow a collection. My dad had a big vinyl collection of 70’s and 80’s. I also had to fight my parents to be able to keep my heavier albums they thought were a “bad influence”. With all my cd’s, and even my dad’s records, I loved combing through the insert. The art and the lyrics. Even the credits. We don’t get that anymore.
Thank you, I’m 69 and hear all kinds af good, current music. Not a huge metal fan, but your thesis is very well thought out and your delivery smooth. Great work. Greetings from White Salmon, Wa. 😎
Great video. Kudos to you on your great success!! 😊
Overall, as an old schooler myself... have to say, I'm leaning to Rick on this. And i'll admit to being just old enough to have experienced the Beatles in their hayday!!
I agree. When I started making music in my bedroom I always told myself that it was just for fun coz I didn't know of any studios in my hometown and I couldn't afford it either. Now I can record and master myself and this works for me because I don't have any bandmates but I can still use all this technology to create a complete song.
while it's awesome that you can still play and enjoy the hobby of playing, I'd say the fact that we have so many "bedroom solo musicians" is one of the biggest downsides of new tech. some people really live in places where they just do not have any other musicians near them. but getting your ass up and getting yourself out there, trying to find band mates and getting to know them and different people pushing each other while trying to become a band and all the happy little accidents along the way is what is SUCH a huge deal in doing music in my mind.
don't get me wrong, I am very much into some competely obscure solo "bedroom warrior" acts. but that is mostly because those have something so unique and extreme about their artistic vision, that it totally subverts the single instruments. Most songs done by a single guitarist recorded straight into a DAW with plugins - to me - are just so formulaic and boring. (but the same went for huge parts of the broad mass of bands of yesteryear who didn't ever make it).
@@ithembayup, It’s not the same to write and deliver something that was felt good than having a specialist guiding you to improve your idea. Most of music fails happen on negotiation and communication, not on technology or availability. It’s a curse to think that you’ll be 100% good at writing, playing, recording, editing, producing and publishing content all by yourself. Even if you are good at all you’ll burnout really fast.
@@ithemba I've been looking for a vocalist for nearly 2 years, and now I can't be arsed because of time wasters. I have been in several bands since the 1980s, and now I find it easier just to create on my own, with occasional collabs. You have your view, and it's valid, but it's not necessarily the view of others. Most real musicians are not lazy!
If you're trying to "make it" as a pro musician, as in, do it for a living, then all of the solo bedroom musicians have no bearing on your success. If your music and charisma doesn't rise above the bedroom musicians, then they're not what's holding you back.
IOW, if you feel that your chances of success are threatened by amateurs playing for fun, then you need to up your game, rather than try to bring them down.
First time I've heard of you Bernth, and first video I've watched. Subscribed and SO GRATEFUL for your opinion on all of this. I've been grinding for 16 years as a producer/musician, and you really changed my perspective! Thankyou!
I think that the mainstream music, produced under labels has gotten exponentially worse, and the independent creators like you are the ones keeping it alive and improving it.
Eggzactly
I agree with this take. But I also think we need that mainstream music as well to help others find what they actually like. Helps then maybe distinguish one thing they heard on a song on the radio and then go off and find bands/artists that do that one thing very very well. Good stepping stone and then you can compare back and notice how music they didn't like about it.
You put it way more succinctly than I did!
The big difference is that the good independent music, you have to go out and find, while the awful mainstream stuff will be constantly shoved down your throat. And not just the music, but the artists themselves, with more space being taken up by Taylor Swift's love life or who Jelly Roll and Kendrick Lamar think I should vote for, than entire genres of music.
I agree, but there are still great mainstream artists in some countries.
@Bernth: Your positive outlook is really refreshing, keep the good work!!
A lot of my favorite songs were never played on the radio they were on albums I bought because of the songs that were on the radio.
SAME! I always enjoyed the deep cuts more than the singles.
@@AD1978leo Totally true! And you had to go to a concert to hear the songs that weren’t played on the radio, but were on the total package the album you loved.
@bernth Hey man, I just wanted to say that as a self taught guitar player I have been playing for about 15 years but I have never been able to play a single solo. I have been doing your 1 hour practice routine from your patreon and man, I got to hand it to you, my guitar playing has become something totally different. Yes I have the experience but my experience was all wrong. My picking techniques were trash, my left hand placement was trash everything I learned over the years was just wrong. Using your practice routine daily for about 3 months now I can officially say that I can play my very first guitar solo. I can play Symphony of destruction all the way through and I am just extremely proud of myself and I am thankful for you as well. I don't think you will see this but I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work on here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart because of your videos I can do what I've always wanted to do on the guitar! If anyone is skeptical of buying his stuff, take it from me its worth it. Yes its about the amount of time you put into it, if you're serious enough you can break those barriers.
Hello. I'm an old couch strummer and do some recording for fun. Now when if I wanted to learn all about recording and play an instrument when I was young, I would have had to probably had go to a music school and the equipment would have been out of reach. But now in the digital age and the great music community hear on TH-cam, me a 60-year-old can sit in the comfort of my home and reach out to the world for guitar and guitar related information. I've learned so much about music that I would have back then. Stay safe and in tune.
I 100% agree with this take. I do believe not everyone back in the day was as crazy about music as we like to think. Don't forget the background white noise type music used to be countless radio stations back then. The people who really love music now have more access than ever before. In a small town in India, I used to struggle to even get Billboard hot 100 records in the local record store. Now I can easily listen to Ado or Sam Cooke at the press of a button. The streaming has been truly magical for a large part of world who were not even the part of global music scene 15-20 years ago.
Rick B ain’t wrong my friends
Dude... mainstream music is made for audiences under 25. You, sir, play an EVH Wolfgang. It's not worse, it's just passed you by.
You gave really valid points in this video Bernth, well done! Now come to south Florida please!
I think we are the same age. I remember the days of getting a CD and reading all the lyrics, remembering the entire album pretty much. It really was a ritual and it was awesome. Had a gigantic collection of music when I was like 15-20
It wasn't tho. That is just nostalgia. Would you pay 100 dollars for a CD right now? That is what it was like. Then half the time the CD was crap.
That's why bands like Metallica and Nirvana were so loved. You didn't feel like you were getting robbed when you bought a tape or CD. It wasn't just the two songs that you heard on the radio that were good.
@@Jordan-Ramses 100 dollars?? are you serious?? at least where Im from Cds are relatively cheap, Its cheaper than buying a pizza. And i have cds that still play perfectly for 30 years
@@frankkkbard0n315 If CDs were the same price they were in 1990 in today's dollars that would be 50-100 dollars. Inflation. 15 dollars in 1990 was a lot of money. Gas was $1.30. Now it's $4.50. Houses were 100000 now they're a million. Minimum wage was 5 dollars now it's 20.
@@Jordan-Ramses well, i live in another place with another currency so its hard to tell, but the math doesnt seem right to me. I still buy cds and it is less expensive than buying a pizza or having a night out to drink a couple of beers...
Expand the size and reduce the playing time and imagine the 'vinyl experience.' I'm not a vinyl fetishist and I love the longer playing time of CDs and streaming... but the packaging of vinyl added lots of value - session notes, introduction or comments by the artists, performer roster, producer/studio/engineering credits. Great cover art for many albums, too.
Thanks for being always honest, and giving all musicians hope
It's MIND BOGGLING how sincere you sound. Very inspiring. You're great thank you.
You've articulated perfectly why this moment is simply the best time in human history to be a musician. Yes, there are drawbacks, but the benefits far outweigh them. I can especially relate as an indie artist living in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Austria. Servus aus Oberösterreich.
Such a great and positive message and I fully agree. I think it’s a great time for musicians since we all have a means to share our music and connect with fans and fellow musicians.
I love doing the whole album, ritual, cleaning my record, putting it on the turntable, grabbing the sleeve and reading the liner notes, but it is also awesome to have any song at your fingertips with digital mediums, thanks for your channel. It’s giving me great info and some guitar tips to boot.
There's absolutely no way I've would have discovered my favorite bands/albums if I didn't have internet.
Amazing how we did this in the 60's and 70's with no internet.
@@BoringTaff the fact that it was possible back then doesn't mean we should go back to it
@@BoringTaff How you did what?
There is actually a way to do it, without internet. 1) have friends, 2),have parents 3) go out and listen
@@Patriot-x8y And this contradicts me how?
Thank you for this! I watched Rick Beato’s video a while back, and yours just now, and find I agree with you both. Good, valid points all around. I’ve highly enjoyed your videos and your shining, positive personality, and your guitar playing just does not seem possible, and yet there you are doing it and blowing my mind.
The music business is in a state of rapid change and development driven, as far as I can tell, by the amazing and continuous technological development we have witnessed in our lives. New opportunities and challenges everywhere, new ways of doing things, new attitudes as well, I suppose.
Although the traditional record companies of course have done a lot to bring wonderful music to us listeners, they also have a lot to answer for. Streaming services are now the new version of record companies. It has become easier, or at least less expensive, to get your music before the public, but it doesn’t seem to me to be as easy to find something exciting to listen to as it was in the days of vinyl records where you could spend hours looking through bins of albums in record stores, maybe with friends, talk to the proprietors about the artists, get them to play a side to help with your buying decision. Back in the sixties we would take records with us to friends houses and we would often listen over and over again to the same disc, discuss the meaning of a lyric by Donovan or Dylan, that sort of thing. It’s a fond memory. Streaming media don’t prevent anyone from doing something similar today, but I think they foster it less.
One of the things about old-school record companies was that they publicized their artists and supported them in ways that I don’t see streaming services doing today. And though the record companies often enough cheated their artists, the artists did tend to get paid something, at least, sometimes quite a lot, based on record sales.
Have you investigated the difference in typical artist royalty payments for a 1960s vinyl album that sold a million copies compared to the royalties one might get for a million listens on Spotify or Apple Music? Or TH-cam? I think that would be an interesting topic for a video if you haven’t already covered it.
Change is often uncomfortable, but through that discomfort many good things can happen. In my early years I spent hours in my bedroom listening to the 78 rpm albums in my parents’ collection. I’m talking about early 1950s here. It was pretty much all classical music and light opera. Our record player was a small motorized one with a speaker built into the playback head. It had a screw clamp for the steel needles that rode in the grooves and had to be replaced after a few listenings. We had a small tin with dozens and dozens of replacement needles.
My older brother called me a longhair for listening to the classics. He discovered 45 rpm singles and prevailed upon my parents to get something to play them on. Thus my interest began to slide towards the pop music of the day. I was born in 1948, so I missed the recorded cylinder craze, but have gone from brittle shellac records through vinyl records, compact discs, mp3 files on computers (Have you experienced mp3s? Very lossy digital audio.) to the high quality digital audio that we can listen to today and record ourselves if we want to for a tiny fraction of what it took to produce a record in 1960. To partially quote Joni Mitchell, something’s been lost, and something’s been gained along the way. At this point in life, 76 years and counting, It seems to me that that’s the way it is with most things. Sometimes you have to be patient. Sometimes you have to try to step back and take a wider view of things.
We humans tend to regard the situations we find ourselves in as if things have always been that way and always will be. It’s an attitude that leads one toward frustration and despair. I see this often, in myself as well of course, and I try to watch out for it for my own sake and remind myself that everything is in a state of flux
I sometimes think of modernity as a cursor that you can move along the timeline of history, especially modern history from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Anywhere you choose to place the cursor would be modern to the young people living through that exciting time of change. You could certainly do that on a timeline for recorded music from the first Edison recordings on cylinders to the present. The cursor would trace a continual increase in the quality of recorded audio, the speed of that increasing gradually at first, but picking up speed, spurred on by technological development. Current digital audio quality is much higher than any of the standards that have gone before, and so it will be wherever you place the cursor on the timeline.
Audio quality has never been better than it is today. It is a matter of science. Musical quality is a matter of taste, of skill, of inspiration. My sons turn me on to some of the wonderful music being produced today. I don’t see music as being any better or worse now than at any other time. Some musicians and listeners might prefer Aphex excited, quantized, pitch-corrected tracks while others might prefer the most natural sound they can get. In any event, I don’t miss the hiss, pops, crack, static and distortion of the older forms of audio.
I wonder what the next step in refinement of audio will be. Maybe a chip that lets us hear music directly in our brains, bypassing our ears? What a boon that would be for deaf people!
The one thing I think I might disagree with is the idea that music is too easy to make now. I understand such statements as referring in part to the fact that music software can enable a person who doesn’t play an instrument or sing well to create music. How the kcuf is that a bad thing? Is there too much music in the world? I rather think that the more humans that make music, the more harmony there will be in society and the fewer humans there will be harming each other for whatever reason.
I am unfortunately unfamiliar with Charles Berthoud, but I plan to correct that situation, ‘cause I love listening to bass. It’s very cool that you are touring with Ola Englund. I will check the schedule. If you will be doing shows in Sweden, then I might be able to go to one of your concerts. Ought I to bring ear plugs with me?
I understand both sides of this issue . The positive side & negative side . I as a recording musician love the environment we live in now , as far as getting our music out there to the world !! What I don't like is how "ARTIFICIAL" music is appearing to be in the beginning stages of taking over & replacing the humanity in music (getting rid of the REAL musicians) !! I think what Rick was trying to say is that nowadays you don't even really have to be a musician or have any talent at all to produce something that sounds "good enough" to most people . Which is (imo) watering down the music industry and making the consumer not really care about the talent & hard work that it truly takes to be a professional musician & put out "Human Made" music !!
Aren't record companies gathering up to sue the A.I song generators though? Let's see what becomes of it.
Whats A.I music? Is that music where a HUMAN writes the prompt and tries to micromanage said prompt in a very specific way to get a more specific sound? If yes then how is that replacing humans if human is operating on it? Also i never understood why making music using computer is inferior to making music on instrument? Is it because you are not actually strumming or bowing? And also why stop there? Does playing piano make you inferior to someone playing Sitar for example? I never understood such arguments for me music is something auditory it doesnt matter who makes it and in what way as long as it stirs something in me on emotional level if someone uses instruments to do it its ok or samples or even AI tools. Also your argument about talent is also silly there was always a difference between talanted musicians and lets say technically proficient musicians... A talanted musician for me is someone who has his own style his own thing. Someone who is really good on mechanical level is a non factor. Oh wow you can play a solo someone else made really really fast thats so... impessive...not. daft punk for me are far more talantes then 70% of guitarists because all they do is play covers and thats it while daft punk hear songs and find 0.1 sec bits in them and already construct an actual song out of those bits... thats talent.
100% couldn't agree more, wish I could upvote this more than once. I love that I can listen to any kind of genre of music from anywhere in the world that I never would have had access to 20 years ago with just FM radio or MTV.
But also I am old enough to remember Cds, I still have some from my younger years, but I have been purchasing more new ones. Or albums I had in mp3, but I wanted a physical copy because I loved the album so much. A few years ago I managed to find a plug in CD player at Best buy, and any time I'm angry of having a bad day. I put on a good hard rock or metal CD and just listen to it and close my eyes. Or if I just want to relax and enjoy some music I'll put on a less intense CD and zone out to that. The best thing about now is that we have access to tons of new interesting music, but we also still have access to the older "proper/ legit" music both via digital or physical media.
I agree with you! I’m 61 and think it is awesome that there is so much music available. There are so many bands I would have never heard of without streaming.
As a guitar player myself, music is my life.
NEVER HEARD OF YOU, BUT YOU ROCK. Keep it coming. That tour you are going to do soon, is going to be EPIC.
Looking forward to Rick's comment on this. And an interview with Rick & Bernth would be fantastic. I'm sure it will happen.
A very thoughtful video in which I agree. I think if a band wants to provide the album experience they can release album only on disc or vinyl without releasing on streaming platforms. Then after 6 months stream, just like feature films
I am greatful I found your channel along with specter sound, Rick Beato, and a few others. Yall got me back into music. A part of my soul I had long abandoned, because i always got beat down over it by others. So as I begin my road again, I thank you. Its because of you guys that my Stratocaster, Sophia of house Fender, (i know, her name is a lame joke, not as lame as not picking up music again) even exists today. Thank you. If Bernth likes or responds to this comment, I will ask the guy at my local shop, very nicely cause you dont rush the masters, to please hurry, the people are asking where Sophia is, they want to hear her sing. (Even if he doesnt, ima ask any ways, cause I miss playing on Sophia... that sounds dirtier then it actually is.)
my guy you are an inspiration. thank you for sharing your story! best of luck to you!!
I grew up in the 70s and 80s, so I'm sure I have a bias, probably nostalgia based, due to my age, but I think both of you have great points. I'm also just a fan rather than a musician myself, so all I know is the frustrations and joys of the fan side of things. On the one hand, I think I agree with you in that I like the fact that modern technology has made it possible for musicians with lots of talent and little or no money to get their music to an audience without the need for major labels (most of whom ripped off musicians for decades anyway). I've discovered some crazy talented musicians I would have otherwise never heard of because of TH-cam and Spotify. On the other hand, I sympathize with Beato because technology has also made it possible for non-musicians with lots of ambition and little or no talent to get their "music" to the people. The problem now, from my perspective, is that the music "market" is cluttered with so much worthless garbage. It's a trade off of problems. Back in the old day, you had to sift through a small wheelbarrow full of dirt to find the gold nuggets, but there were a lot of gold nuggets that weren't in the wheelbarrow and would never be found. Today you have to sift through 500 dump trucks of dirt AND fool's gold to find a few real gold nuggets. Most of the gold can find its way into the trucks, buts it's buried beneath tons of garbage. In the old days, not every real musician could get their music on the radio or into a record store (bad), but the record store was small enough that a fan could work through most of what was there (pretty good). Today, almost every real musician can get their music in the "record store" (good), but the record store is a warehouse the size of Alaska that is continually growing because they carry everything, and probably 90% of it is garbage (pretty bad). The main reason the 90% is not very good is because both talented musicians and untalented non-musicians are making "music" and getting it in the "record store." What I, as a fan, want, is a trustworthy filter. In the old days, the record label filter prevented too much real music from getting to the fans. Today, the lack of a filter lets everything get to the fans, which in a different way also prevents too much real music from getting to the fans because they don't have time to find it. Sorry for the length of this comment.
I agree 100%
Best comment on this topic. Totally agree.
I might be a tad older than you (same age as Beato actually). I rarely listen to new artists, but something struck me in your comment - "it possible for non-musicians with lots of ambition and little or no talent to get their "music" to the people". I think what you're implying is inferior and not real music. As somewhat of a Luddite, I align with what I think you're saying. But to play devil's advocate, why does it matter if a non-musician who is talented in using the technology (samples, plugins, AI) to produce "music"? And why don't we simply consider it music?
@@cazgerald9471 "Inferior" is probably a better word. You asked "why does it matter"? In my opinion, and that's all it is, it takes a musician, someone who has musical skill and talent to make music. Anything else is just sounds. I'm not a musician. I learned some guitar chords when I was young, and I could play a few chords, but it would never be anything worth listening too. But in today's world, if I knew the technology, I could spruce it up and get it added to the music market, and all it would do is waste the time of people looking for good music. And it's not that the same kind of thing can't be found back in the day. There was mediocre and bad music back in the day. And there was non-music. I mean Yoko Ono managed to get her caterwauling produced because she had connections. But there was a filter back then. You had to have money or connections to get your stuff recorded. Like I said in the previous comment, I think that filter was too strong. It prevented too many musicians from being heard, but there's no filter today, and that's just as much a problem. Nowadays, I could set up a microphone, eat a lot of beans, position a harmonica in my intergluteal cleft, pass gas through the harmonica, run it through some music software, add a preprogrammed beat, and put it on the market. Given some of what shows up in the pop charts today, it might even become a hit. But it isn't music. The problem nowadays, is that without any filter at all, it's harder to find the talented musicians because so much flatulence makes its way into the same "record store."
There was always plenty of worthless garbage. People just don't remember it anymore. I'm inclined to suspect that the ratio of gold to trash hasn't really changed.
Absolutely. I loved buying an album. Taking out the booklet, reading the text along. Enjoying the artwork and pictures. It just had more meaning. Tunring the light off and listen to music.
good point. I agree with you that it is not 100%positive or negative.
Great video! For me, after forty years of sitting on my unfinished songs, not only was the technology improved to the point where I could properly get my music recorded, the ease and wealth of available session musicians and vocalists you could hire from anywhere in the world was just not possible before. It finally allowed for the completion of my debut album at the begining of this year!
Amp plugins make getting access to different sounds soooo much more accessible. I mean, I use a Soldano patch on helix which cost me a fraction of the cost of the actual amp. Not to mention the cost of the cab, mics, and pedals.
If you're into the SLOs, like me, then be sure to check out: The VST-plugin "Neurontube:debout" from audiosingularity. Think it still should be free, ( Couldn't believe it was, when I got it)
That was really cool! Good luck on your tour!
Having been a hobby musician since the early 90s as a kid, I have to say that the feeling of making music right now compared to back then is completely different. Back then it felt like we were a band trapped on the outside with no obvious path to becoming a musician other than the same narrow path that every band before us had walked.. We had to look for someone to let us in, to give us a chance.
Today, music feels like what graphics design felt like in 2001. You could make art, instantly publish it, get responses from people.. 10 years prior to that you would have had to print your images and show them to people face to face.. With the internet I could show my stuff to immense amounts of people without leaving my home.
Home studios and solo producers and stuff are ALL OVER THE PLACE these days, and it's great. There's a reason to keep playing after you hit 25 and become an adult now. You can KEEP doing music waaay into your old age, you won't have to be 22 and sexy to get a record deal.. You don't need the deal, you just keep getting better and better and releasing stuff. Maybe you'll find success at some point, maybe not, but there's still a reason to make things and we have the ability to put it into the world. We're self producing and self publishing music, and it's extremely cheap to do.
Most exciting time for music ever.
I really admired this guy so down ti earth and so humble, despite to his height of fame..🎉
Wow. You gave a fair response without being a condescending egotist? Fantano should take note.
Condescending egotists never 'take note'.
I just don't See, how fantano was a "condescending egotist". To me, he appeared very reasonable
@@maxwelltv112 The arguments he made were valid, but his ways of expression might be off-putting to some. To each their own.
Good talking points, I agree with both of you and I’m happy the music labels and radio don’t have a stronghold on musicians and music in general. It is exciting that everyone has a level playing field to distribute their music however the numbers of uploads are staggering so the value of original compositions is being diluted to thousandths of a penny per play so not so good for making a real income. Unfortunately, our life span is too short to listen to all of the music becoming available and falling in love with a song or an album is a thing of the past… keep making videos brotha, you’re awesome!
Hi Bernth I follow all your social media platforms and I listen to all your music I want you to come to Australia 🇦🇺 where I live
Australian tour! oie oie oie!
Ever since I was a kid I always felt like I wasn’t listening to enough music. There was always others who downloaded tons of songs and listened to them 24/7 meanwhile I felt like I was missing out while listening to the same soad records over and over on my way back from school lol. It was only recently when I realised how important this ritual aspect you mentioned was for me. Sticking to this bunch of favorite albums and letting them make an impact on you instead of constantly changing songs you would listen to all the day is just another approach and is not worse by any means. In my case it helped shaping my music taste and later on the style of music I create.
The first thing you said about the saving for and listening to an album is one of the things I miss so much. That time in life was so prime. I'd love to go back there. I still listen to music but it's not with the same type of focus and immersion as it used to be.
Do you still have records? tapes? CDs? Physical media makes such a difference. There's just something about reading the insert while listening to the music that's playing on record, tape or CD that creates that focus for me 😊
@@andrea585ny I completely agree. Sadly I don't have much of it anymore. I had a huge collection that got damaged when moving a few years back and so I've only got a few cd's left without booklets. Starting a new collection from scratch is a bit out of reach these days as I have other responsibilities that come first. Also hard to spend "excess" money on music that I can still listen to on Spotify.
@@andrea585ny Never really did that. Look it over the first time maybe, but not likely after that.
@@loganmedia1142 Physical copies of music just make the experience better for me. I have a tendency to listen to a recording in it's entirety especially if it's on tape or vinyl
Completely agree, I think the new age of recording is great for musicians. Record labels still exist as do so many sound technicians. You can now reach a crazy amount of people with your songs and if you get popular enough you can go to a studio pay professionals and make a record. How much music was never made by a good artist simply because they couldn't afford it, what did we truly miss?
You are absolutely correct. My Great Uncle (Grandpa's brother) was a musician his ENTIRE life. He never really made it big, but he had the opportunity to play with some huge-ish bands in his time. Not a single song he personally produced ever made it to recording, and here I am with the ability to finally put his music out there. He's no longer with us, and can't re-record it, so it's going up as is, "live quality".
When I was growing up we had CD's and record players too and it was so daunting to think of starting or ever becoming successful with a band that we just gave up before we even started. Now, I can professionally record my own music, Aside from vocals, I can play pretty much every instrument I need to even though I can only moderately play metal guitar. And if I so choose, I can distribute my own album basically for free to the entire friggin world. It's ludicrous how easy it is now, but as you said, it's not easy, it just means it's not impossible anymore and you really can reach for the stars. IF YOU SOUND AMAZING THEY WILL LISTEN, AND IF THEY CAN HEAR IT THEN THEY WILL WANT MORE. That's all music success is about. Put yourself out there, get exposure, and it's never more easy to do that than today.
I appreciate your input into this; I think what Rick was getting at, is the barrier being practically nonexistent today means that there’s a torrential downpour of new artists and music. What comes with being successful at modern distribution is being business minded, knowing how to engage your audience online, and knowing how to put together a successful YT channel and videos.
Back 60 years ago, good musicians led to good music, where today good musicianship doesn’t matter. Being good at the internet matters moreso.
As a classical Violinist who peaked that one time they played in the musikverein a bit past 1 year ago now.
I feel that there isn't enough focus on story telling within music composition.
What I mean by that is that because it's really easy to create music these days, there's so much mass-produced spew that conveys the same feeling and sounds therefore inadvertently conveying the same story as eachother.
Because of that we keep listening to the same things and we get tired of it.
And start to think it's getting worse.
I think the root cause of the issue is that people don't know how to convey the emotions they need in order to craft a story in their piece.
And that's really hard to pull off. I can't do it myself yet and still have to learn more.
But it feels like people don't really care about telling tales which is a shame because the resources to learn how to do it are out there they just need to go out and actively search for it.
Hmm maybe the issue is that the information is too hard to find. Or it's simply that it's only something that can be learned through proper experience.
I can't really speak much on the matter of composition because I am very much not experienced with it at all.
But I think that it's important to tell tales through our music and I feel Bernth here has done a good job of doing that.
Especially with pieces like Waterworks and Drown.
Hoo boy this is a long comment anyways hope ya'll have a good day or night whenever ya see this.
TL;DR: I think that it's important to tell more tales in our music and Bernth does a good job of that.
The internet, and especially smart phones, have dumbed down communication and removed a lot of the emotion and nuance that you have in face to face interactions - including of course live music performance.
You clearly havent heard my Songs, the squirrels gone, the angst of a dog trying to catch squirrels, but seriously, many of the songs I write in jester's heart have a lot of thought put into the lyrics, th-cam.com/video/6IBZkv4Glbg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=TRx8IlH2NcCIdQM2
A thoughtful response. TH-cam is a blessing for new music.
It may be easier to make BAD music, but it's also easier to make GOOD music and get it out there. A perfect example would be REN, an independent artist with no label behind him, who released his album, Sick Boi, with nothing but TH-cam, Twitch, X, etc for advertising it. Hell, he wasn't even in the country when it was released, he was in Canada having treatment for Lymes disease. No radio play, no interviews on major tv networks, AND he released the same day as Rick Astley dropped his album, and who was on constantly pushing it every time we turned on the radio or tv. So what happened? Ren made number 1 in the uk charts! He Rick Rolled Rick Astley! It CAN be done now. 20 years ago? No way.
I was a Radio DJ for 23 years and personally when it comes to chart music, Top 40 music.. all the best..most incredible hits have already been written. Listening to chart music now I shake my head how lots of these forgettable songs get 1 billion streams (personal tast, don't argue it)
But there are lots of fantastic music from the last 5 to 10 years that never charted or receive radio play which I never would have discovered had it not been for Spotify and their recommendations.
We can absolutely still do it old skool..and visiting a music store like Tower Records in Tokyo is an amazing feeling and experience
A great counterpoint to Rick’s statement. I too had little money when I was young and didn’t have many albums so my exposure to different artists was really limited. Now, with new music services (Apple Music is the one I use) there isn’t enough time in a lifetime to hear everyone’s recordings. And TH-cam offers so much in education and intelligent (and sometimes not so intelligent) commentary. Love your channel Bernth.
Love your positive approach to the current state of the music industry. I wish you nothing but continued success :)
Rick Beato should interview you and maybe Charles Berthoud. You are both amazing talents.
Agreed
Rick just want to feel god … never interviewed a normal human …. Just the o es from 70s or dead people
Rick Beato should be ignored by all.
Like you should be.
keep it up brother! you give me hope for the future of metal! you're a huge inspiration to me and many more.
Bernth may not have been destined to be in an Extreme/Death Metal band but he sure as heck made it as a metal/fusion guitarist. Maybe releasing that CD years ago - it was not his time yet.
Great vid, Bernth! Covers Ricks bits, with your personal take & experience. As a child of the 70’s/80’s, I would agree that the efforts needed were much more to just get the music made, let alone out to the masses. I do agree with you that this is an excellent time to be a composer and consumer of music today, as the ease in which to create & produce is way more attainable & available to more for less. Great stuff here, sir!
Bernth, I largely agree with your assessment, here...and your success IS encouraging! I personally have completely eschewed the "quid-pro-quo" approach--all of my recorded efforts being "non-monetized" to this point. TIP: I have found that a really good E-Drum Kit is an important ingredient in self-produced "One-Room Studio" efforts. "Click-Rick" typically DOES reference things from the "Mainstream Music Industry" perspective, however...not ours.🙂
Rick addresses the mass market. Those with more directed or specific tastes and styles are now more able to be found by an audience, and for that, the "numbers are UP!" When an act can go from selling 200 CDs a year at their bar gigs to 200,000 streams a quarter, it's a really big deal to them and their genre. Compared to most of the Spotify top XX, it's a fraction of a percentage and its those top brackets that Beato seems to be examining. "Extreme Unicorn Metal" will be free of his critique. ;-)
@@raygunsforronnie847 ...if he knows what's good for him. He's not been all that good on more mainstream "Metal" material. Did you ever see the "Top 10 Rage Against The Machine Riffs" he posted (a coupla years back)? "Freedom" didn't even get an "HONORABLE MENTION"!! He caught so much flak for that, he just had to "take it down"!! 😱 God bless him, anyway... 🙏
I so wish you guys were doing a U.S. Tour. I'm not a Musician, but I love music. You rock!
I agree with you completely. Rick is a bit out of touch here because he is American - opportunities for a musician for a smaller country pretty much anywhere else apart from USA or UK (and maybe Japan) are small and far in between. USA is not the whole world and that is something Americans tend to forget. I like Rick too, but it would be good for him to see things from a different perspective. Being a European myself, I completely understand how much of a financial issue was for you to make that first record. Here, in Croatia, it would be even harder :)
@@VagueSpaces I was actually referring to music that is not very popular in a particular space it occurs. I make electronic music and the whole story is still pretty much the same.
Beato loves to ignore the world of great music unless they collaborated with a English speaking musician.
@@penguindrum264 *mic drop*
you and fantano have both done great jobs of talking about the issue while still being kind and fair to rick and presenting the issues in a way where everyone can maybe learn something about the state of both modern and classic music, as a big music nerd i appreciate disagreement and the ability to talk with friends and acquaintances about our perceptions about art, and being able to help educate one another and fill in the gaps in our vision on different topics when it comes to art as a whole
great video!
I am Rick's age, and I totally agree with you. Nice work. Rock on!
Man, I do remember discmans! I even remember the walkmans ! Do you remember how you wind back a cassette? The hexagonal pencil ✏️? It was such an emotional thing to listen to music back then 😂 Wish you all the best and thanks for the great videos!
what you're sayin' is 1000% true. Lots of older people will always nag about things going not the way they used to be. Thankfully only people who dedicated their lives to approach which doesn't work anymore. We're thankful for their contribution and legacy but... Music is thriving. Old music business model not necessarily. Cheers to all new wave of home made musicians!
I love the juxtaposition between these two perspectives. These kinds of twists on our shared reality really give me hope for the future, not just in music.
When all of these streaming platforms go under/vanish, the joke will be on them.
And on us, unless we own copies.
@@user-oy7gz5bf2h Speak for yourself. I prefer physical media and leave streaming to the minimalists.
Great points! I also make my living with music, and even as a small-time artist, we have the tools and opportunities that didn’t exist in the early days to build an audience. I encourage folks that want to go this route to learn marketing. That’s half of it and there are so many resources available.
Dear Bernth. I'm 69 and I was a musician in the early 1970's.
I appreciate your contributions as a musician and guitar teacher. While I respect the perspectives of others like Rick Beato, I believe your arguments and insights are also valuable.
As a member of the younger generation, you and your peers are the ones shaping the music of today and the future. I wish you all the best in your musical endeavors and life.
I approach it from a slightly different perspective of engineering/mixing. I was very active in the large-budget/world class studio projects of the 80's and 90's. It was amazing on every level, and it generated what you might call the music "middle class", which was a collection of engineers, studio techs, drum techs, cartage companies, rental companies, piano tuners, production coordinators, studio musicians, photographers, etc. (Not to mention tour support, but I'll keep that separate.) On a large record project lasting 1-2 years you would literally encounter scores of people working towards the same goal for the most part. Much like wagon wheel factories those jobs are mostly gone, as are many of the incredible studios. (Record Plant LA now seems to be on it's deathbed.) Your insights were very positive and well-presented. The music middle class is likely gone forever, but I appreciate your position of offering a much more level playing field for those with enough drive and talent to produce a great product. Nice work... but I do miss the sushi platters that many sessions provided.
@@inthestudiowithmj This is sad the loss of all those people collaborating behind the scenes to help create the albums and concerts we all adored going too. Music touched a lot of lives creating all those jobs, so sad they have gone away.
"Easier entrypoint" as criticism is such a stupid gatekeeping mindset, good god.
It has nothing to do with gatekeeping. Every artist loves what he's doing, and this is perfectly fine, but sometimes it makes it difficult for artist to perceive their song unbiased. I'm sorry to say this, but music like everything in life needs to have some standards of quality. And with this "easier entrypoint" a lot of music made by new artists are not even close to standards that used to be.
It's not a bad thing per se, but it does come with some ill corollaries.
outstanding contribution to the debate, i've seen many responses to ricks video and most attack him personally. so it is very refreshing to hear a constructive, respectful and well reasoned response.
Yeah... and so while it's never been easier to record music - you now can't make a living playing music - unless you become a TH-cam-star. Enjoy old age, poor musicians.
That was a great video. I love Rick and 😂watched that video and I agreed with him, but you presenting your side of the story was heartening. Thanks man. 9:14
Rick Beats is nuts. I’m 58. I play multiple instruments and sing. Although my real job is as a physician I take music fairly seriously. Music is so much better now. Just the mainstream stuff sucks. Internet musicians are fantastic in many cases. Better guitar playing than ever in history. Gimme a break Rick. You’re making us boomers sound like boomers. Just stop. 😂
Love what you do and what Rick does. I’m a 31 year music industry veteran and I agree with everything you are saying. There is no question that aspiring musicians have way more opportunities today to be heard than they ever did when I got in this business. That’s even when you factor in how much more music is being released today as a result of their being a lower barrier to entry. The one thing Rick does have a point about how is that overall across-the-board, musicianship at least in the historically defined sense, is not as high and revered today as it was in years past. But what Rick seems to forget is that is something that has been happening for decades now. If you look back to say bebop in the 50s and 60s and then look at what became popular music after that, by decade, we started leaning towards music being more of a producers world and less of a musician’s. Pop music today is firmly dictated now by songwriters and producers.
Those who never study music and learn music are doomed to repeat it.
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So interesting to hear your unique perspective, growing up in a place where it wasn't exactly easy to get noticed. I didn't grow up in a place with a huge metal scene, the biggest metal band from my hometown is probably Job For a Cowboy. But it was still possible here in the US. Technology has definitely made it easier for people to get noticed, for people to share their music with each other and record in different places by sharing files on the Internet. Electronic instruments, MIDI, there are lots of great things happening in music currently. The 2020s is far from my favorite decade for music, but there is still lots of talent and great music
Totally aggree with your points, dude. I'm a small remix artist and it's a blessing to have a small audience of friends and followers who like my music. It wouldn't be possible for me to make or share my music without the technology we have today.
Of course there are drawbacks, but I'm more appreciative of the smaller bands and artists our there who make music that fits my taste.
@bernth, I was listening music since very young age. My parents used to have a lot of vinyl LPs, after that when I started research for my taste I was buying tape cassettes. CD were really way beyond of my pocket as primary school or high school student. Even during my uni times (1998-2003) I was buying mostly cassettes as CDs were too expensive still. I used through my life standard cassette player, walkman, disc- man, some small hi-fi equipment and until now I use it. I used to have ritual of buying new cassette, CD later, coming home, unpacking from the foil cover, putting the source of music to the device and going through the booklet, pictures and lyrics during listening to the stuff. It was really sacred time and almost nobody could pull me out from this trance time... except my mum who was not asking but giving the order "bring the rubbish out NOW" or "go to the grocery store and buy potatoes for the dinner NOW" :).
Of course with the time I started to use converters of CDs into mp3 files to listen to them on digital devices but I've never abandoned CDs. I don't have to many of them but still my collection is growing.
Is music better or worse now? Well, it depends. Almost everybody can record and release own music even through bandcamp, youtube, or soundcloud totally for free. Of course thans to that there is a lot of low quality music but we can find a lot of great songs as well. I don't use any streaming platforms like spotify, it's just my choice. I have to mention in this moment that I cannot agree in 100% with you, as a lot of old, underground bands will never appear on those platforms so... I listen to them from CDs or cassettes :).
In present times as I see how difficult has playing gigs become I don't buy to many CDs online or in stores (especially many stores have gone) and I buy CDs directly from the bands at merch stands so bands, especially undeground ones, get money straight away to the pocket and they have some straight forward appreciation for their hard work. Sometimes I expect maybe somebody would buy some CD from me during my gig and sometimes it was happening :)
that was priceless- so many of us have gone trough the CD making process, studio, and blah de blah- so glad it worked out for you guys, you did not mention how much energy you put into it happen...cheers- Rick is a classic (like me) glad to see your gen reacting- have a good tour
Love both of you guys. And, you both make excellent points. I think, as others have pointed out, you guys are talking about a little bit of different topics. Music today is amazing for the performers and listeners. Great video and awesome perspective. Thanks!
People who say music sucks nowadays aren’t digging hard enough. If one is just looking at mainstream music throughout the years, yeah, I can agree there, but with a bit of searching, there’s a veritable gold mine of good music to be discovered.
Great argument dude! I love your positivity, glass is half full, I also grew up with one CD every 6-12 months and this is something my brother and I have been discussing recently too.
It wasn’t just about the consuming of music, it was waiting for a record, to get it, fight with the plastic wrap and nearly snap the front cover, open it up, always look at the CD in some fantasised way, how did they print it? Art work on the cd? How cool does light look refracting off the audio side!!!? 😂
Jam it in and examine the booklet, discuss the artwork, each page a song, more art, more words! The new album and its booklet became a part of you until you memorised it.
I think it also made a more intimate relationship with the album or band, you had this until the next one came along, you would rarely listen to a three songs and change CD for one song then change to another. We would absorb the musical content and it truely became a part of us!
I like Rick and I think you have made some excellent points.
The digital space has truly allowed music lovers like me to access to a much wider variety of musicians.
From listening to Rick, his concern is the quality of music being released by the major record labels and I agree with him.
I agree on your arguments. I'm 64 years old and played in a band in the 80s so I know how it was then and now. I restarted playing guitar and making music just for myself 4 years ago and put what I did on Spotify mostly to have it somewhere without expecting anyone to listen to an old guys instrumental stuff. But... to my surprise I atm have 20-25000 monthly listeners there! That was never a goal but it's satisfying that people around the world like what I do. It would never have been possible back in the days but with a Mac and Logic Pro X I can record my guitars, bass, keyboard and other stuff and put it out there. Amazingly fun!