More musicians need to be back in clubs and venues building scenes in their cities and towns... Edit: *Key point being 'building.' Before commenting with another defeatist excuse, look up the meaning of the word 'build.' Ffs. Bands in the past that weren't big enough names for established clubs, or had no clubs, and didn't have established 'scenes' made it happen themselves. Sabbath started in a community center. John Lennon started on the back of a flatbed truck in a park. Some put in the effort, some make excuses.
Too bad here in Toronto Canada bars don't pay enough to even get anyone out of bed. Most local bars top their pay out at about $100 a night for a band. As a keyboard player I'm usually the 5th guy in the band after a lead singer, guitarist, bassist and drummer. So we each get paid $20 for the night? Hell no. Not gonna do it!
In my region/country, it’s also impossible to even get a response from venues to play. And indeed, the prices for the already popular bands/artists are so ridiculous that the aspiring bands get nothing.
Man thank you for using your platform to “Wi-Fi satellite” this message. Like I said in the original video I think there’s a lot of room for innovation in the space, it’s just going to require iteration and reiteration on a grand scale. Fun fact I had been looking for a 388 for years and when I finally found one and was looking for videos regarding operation and philosophy I found your video on your second channel and it was a good account of owning and operating one in the abstract. So thank you for the kind words about the channel and I’m looking forward to seeing those music making videos!
I have a short on my "channel" explaining why music is hated by youtube. Many of us have been there and suffered the consequences of their AI and algorithmic process.
Hey Jon! I'm a big fan of your channel too. I love using the Octatrack and I've learned a lot from watching your channel. If you, Rhett, or anyone else has any questions on the Tascam 388 I'd hit up Browner Sound. Omar is very knowledgeable. He's had many of those come through the shop. (I had to post this message again. I didn't know youtube removes comments with links on them)
Jon, been a fan of yours for years. I still have your "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" mix CD. Saw you and Dibiase perform with just an SP404 a few years back at one of the Eaglerock Music Festival. Do you still emcee? Your channel is awesome BTW.
Yes!! A couple years ago I realized most of my favorite TH-cam guitarist were just making commercials for guitar gear and it was really depressing. I found myself thinking... why am I even watching this crap?? I'll give you an example, Pete Thorn is an amazing guitarist and makes incredibly good gear demo videos because he writes, produces, and performs a really good piece of music at the start of each gear video. I found myself just watching those parts of his videos and scrapping the rest of it because I really don't care. I'm so sick of overdrive shootouts, or delay shootouts or another video of what a Start sounds like and so on. I got into playing guitar because I love music. The music should be the main focus, not the gear that's used to make the music. Of course, we'll always be interested in gear, but let's remember... the gear is nothing if we're not making music with it. Thanks, Rhett. I hope you start taking your channel in a more creative direction.
I'm the same! I really like the guys from "That Pedal Show" but I really can't watch most of their videos because they are largely along the lines of overdrive shootouts or delay comparisons etc. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be doing this - they should do whatever they want to do. I just don't enjoy or watch their gear reviews
@@ObjectiveDynamics - Yeah... how many Blues licks and noodling can one endure? I think That Pedal Show would be much better if they played over simple chord progressions and actually demo'd the pedals in musical contexts.
Drummer and composer here…let’s get as many musicians on YT for sure. Love watching other indie musicians doing their stuff. Fantastic feedback, truly this helps being new with my channel and learning. Keep it up people!!
I just started a channel. It's this one. I know it will be better and better as I go along. I'm having a blast and as a disabled veteran, this gives me something to focus on and goals to work toward. This video inspires me! Thank you for this video, man!
This is fantastic. This is the type of content I look forward to. As someone who is writing music with a couple of friends, you never know what little nugget will unlock the next dimension of creativity. Thanks for all you do for the community.
Metallica was literally just a bunch of dudes in high school that made a hit song that instantly took them to stardom. My dad uses that example as motivation for me to do it too
I couldn't believe it when I saw this video pop up in my recommended. I've been kicking around this idea for a little while and finally just started acquiring the gear to document my writing/recording process.
Good stuff, bud. I’m a middle aged dude that has all the equipment to be able to do this. Just haven’t been willing to put it all out there. It’s purely fear based. Thanks for the encouragement. Who knows if you’ll even see this comment, but this video helped.
I relate to this. I just turned 49. I have been writing and recording music, lately. I threw around the idea of releasing a song to streaming platforms and fear kept me from it for a while. Finally, I just went for it. If I'm just doing it for my enjoyment, what have I got to lose?
I recently started showing how I produce and mix on my channel and it's been a lot of fun. I've always appreciated Rhett's videos and it's cool to see more focus on music creation.
Thank you for doing this video Rhett. I started on TH-cam back in 2008, not long after I’d take up playing the piano, recording covers and eventually tutorials. The tutorials in particular proved popular, and I amassed a modest following. Things eventually dried up though and I haven’t uploaded in 7 years. It is however my ambition to return, and since January ‘24, I’ve been scoring arrangements of covers - trying to cater for everyone’s ability by ensuring each song is available in beginner, intermediate, and advanced difficulty. I’m aiming for a relaunch in the first quarter of 2025 - yet given how the TH-cam landscape has changed for musicians, I can’t help but worry I’m dedicating my time to producing a form of content the internet no longer lusts after. There are popular covers artists out there - although they garnered enormous followings back when such content was more in vogue. If more musicians showcased their talents on TH-cam, perhaps it would ensure they would be deservingly rewarded for producing the content they want, rather than the content that feeds the elusive entity that is the algorithm.
Started mine last year. Just got my first payment from TH-cam and it paid 2/3 of my mortgage this month. I’m also playing local shows, but this is the long term goal. I read a lot of comments about playing local shows.. It’s all important. A lot of my local venues are paying anywhere from exposure to $150 MAYBE $200 for 3 hours of covers they approve of. The modern playbook I’ve seen is you use social media to either get bigger gigs or build a business around the thing you actually love. I love the community I’m building on this platform and I love the guitar community. I’m just grateful for platforms like this so I may actually do what I love in life and call it a job.
I loved watching behind the scenes making of albums. It was fun to see them tracking a part and then listening to finished album and hearing that part you never really noticed before. I found it helpful in how a band writes songs, now days you don’t see that creative part anymore. Plus seeing a favorite player struggle with tracking a part they make look so easy live .
Super glad I came across this video today. I’m also a guitarist/songwriter and would love to share my original music more intimately moving forward. Always enjoy Rhett’s style too
This is refreshing to hear. That's why I started a TH-cam channel. For a creative outlet. I just put out music. I mean nobody listens to it really 😂, but to me it's not the whole point, for me it's just doing my music, it's that kid at Christmas joy of sitting in my man cave and just creating the music. TH-cam allows me to just put it out there, for free and I appreciate having that outlet so much. Some people do actually listen and to know that at least one person has heard my music makes all the difference. TH-cam helps provide to me one of the greatest hobbies I've ever enjoyed. 🤘🤘.
I should have been on TH-cam 12 years ago. I was working with broadcast video, and I was an A/V snob. I could have done Vlogs, but I quit touring nationally. I ended up living vicariously through you and RJs touring videos. Congratulations on your work.
I agree! I've been on TH-cam for about half a year, and the response has been wild. It's so much fun, I love it. People really want more music content, so it's a great time to get started in my opinion. I just try to highlight how fun music can be and share that with others. I haven't been making music on TH-cam but try to show how accessible music can be to others. If I can do it, so can you, and there's no harm firing up a channel and seeing if making videos is right for you. It's a great creative outlet.
Love to see this! I started streaming my creative process writing an EP on twitch in June. Trying to do every weekday morning before work for 1 to 2 hours. Sometimes theres no one and sometimes other creatives come in and hang/talk shop/work on their own stuff. Its been amazing and i hope to move over to youtube in the next month. I think there is a community of people out there that want this kind of content and im glad these videos (yours and john’s) are bringing attention to it!
The thing that drew me to this channel (apart from the 2019 Les Paul Standard video, of course) was always Backstage Journal. That kind of storytelling is so much more compelling to me than the gear reviews and I think it’s a terrible shame that there doesn’t seem to be much space for it on the platforms. I would be super excited to see you start making those kinds of videos again. In kind, I’ve been making short videos about what I get up to in my local scene and elsewhere on my instagram page - including a series on what it’s like to go on your first international tour - that Backstage Journal was a major inspiration for. This video certainly emboldens me to make more of those.
Rhett thank you for bringing out this topic, and the same goes for Jon’s call to action! As a musician, I find it completely outside the nature of the craft to resort to various antics or attention-seeking behaviors just to have a presence on TH-cam, apart from simply making music I enjoy (partly because of the music style itself). Unfortunately, for musicians like me, getting our music out there on TH-cam often means taking on various roles. Since I can’t bring myself to compromise in that way, I started a series called "Record With Me" on TH-cam to capture my creative process on video and hopefully draw the attention of people who are genuinely interested. I film stuff like how I record backing tracks for solos, how I program software instruments - basically a "making of" series. Ironically, these videos end up being the least viewed ones. But, funny enough, they’ve become the ones I enjoy filming the most, and I persist in making even more of them. Since it seems we can no longer keep up with the algorithm and the demands of the era, I’m now entirely focused on sharing content that I want to make and that motivates me. I think the compromises we’d make for social media strategies to gain an audience could end up shaping our character in a way that, tomorrow, causes us to lose those very people we gained. Despite all these thoughts, I’d been feeling unmotivated lately to make "Record With Me" videos and similar content. But thank you for this call to action now I have one more reason to keep going. Thanks!
Real talk. I’ve always needed a little mentoring on this. I’ve got a real cool thing on my channel sharing my late father repertoire he wrote and recorded in the 80s using analog gear. He sounds like the Beatles. I wanna come back and recreate these tunes as well. Tips always welcome! Organizing and staying on schedule hasn’t been on point unfortunately.
I'm here my brother. 13.5k and growing. The thing I love most is helping others fall in love with music. I love sharing my experience in the business and helping people become creators. Tim Pierce was a great help in my early stages too. I shall keep grinding and maybe our paths will cross. I am open to some awesome collaborations at any time. Thanks for all you do. You are appreciated. Keep going! I do want to add...I made a random video in mid July on triads. My mom was asking me about YT. I told her I was taking her Guild acoustic onto her patio. I took my iPad, no planning, no editing, just straight through. I even let YT auto-pick the thumbnail. I have no idea why, but that video has over 185K in views and still gets views every hour. YT makes no sense sometimes. The only thing that does make sense is to keep going. So....in my mind YT is....authenticity+value=loyalty. :) I am going to start a band called. "Ghost of Dave" that will be launching through my channel. I think documenting that will be an awesome playlist for my channel too. Keep on being creative to all.
You hit the nail on the head with "authenticity+value=loyalty." the best videos regardless of platform are nearly raw and straight from the heart but with just enough expertise thrown in, this is still true even from an intermediate or novice just entering in on their journey as well.
Philip Conrad's channel is one of my favorites, precisely because he highlights his creative process. And his Tiny Songs Live livestreams were maybe the most fun experiences I've ever had engaging with TH-cam. When I first got into electric guitar, I mainly watched gear videos. Now I'm happy with my gear, and I just want to get better at playing guitar (and bass) and being creative with the gear I already own. So now I rarely watch gear videos--I just want to learn about how to become a better guitar player and musician.
God bless you Rhett! You got the audience so do it! Keep kickin’ ass to The Glory of God:) SOLI DEO GLORIA (To The Glory Of God Alone) Father, Son & Holy Spirit -Ronnie
Crazy timing, starting up this channel has been a bit slow but I know I'm going to enjoy it very much and this vid really spoke to me. Wishing all you dudes on the same journey the best.
Touring/gigging musician. I miss playing for people. I had to slow down to be home with new kiddos. Meant getting a cybersecurity job. Which I love, but it’s not making music. This gives me hope.
I agree with the spirit of your message: if you build it, they will come. I am HAPPY to be creating, even with 1-2 views during LIVE Streams. The process of sharing music and being REAL (not trying to be perfect), is going to be fun to look back on down the road once an audience does arrive. Keep it up man!
Great vid n talk. For me starting TH-cam (2018) was a way to battle my performance anxiety and let go of things, and just to show my creative process. Been making beats since 1996…
I've been contemplating making videos like you're suggesting for a while!! I see a lot of people have trouble making songs and asking for help, and I always thought it seemed easy. I'm not sure anyone will watch, but I'll document in simplistic terms, my creative process!! Loved this video!!
Really great to hear that making music is something that everybody should do more. I totally agree! I’m also try to be consistent in posting music on my channel for a year now, and it makes me want to play more! 🎉
TH-cam has always been a means to learn and get information. 100% would love to see more artist document the process, I’m still a beginner and have learned so much by following content like yours
It’s amazing to me to watch content creators like you broadcast content into the abyss with no idea if it’s going to make a difference or even be appreciated. I just want you to know that to me it does.
I so feel this. I got into creating on TH-cam similarly, although with a bit more intention to educate. I want to take part in this effort and, while I'm not nearly as big with 40kish subs, I hope that I can make a blip on the radar. Your video here gave me the idea to reach out to my viewers and see who wants me to feature what they are doing on my channel. I think a lot of people get discouraged when they make a song vid and get 60 views. Maybe "larger" channels giving them a spotlight will help inspire people to create more. Now I have to get busy creating the call-to-action vid. Thanks for the inspiration!
I dabble with a bit of media composing using orchestral samples and there are a ton of videos from a ton of creators demonstrating the creative process of composing, recording and mixing tracks. I believe a big part of that interest is that composers are generally not virtuoso musicians, nor do they particularly want or need to be. But they do need to learn how the individual sections of an orchestra work together and how to mimic that with their compositions.The creative process is more important than ‘tone’ or a very specific technique on an instrument. There are some guitar based creators doing the same but they do appear very genre specific (how to create a Shoegaze track for instance). And I think that is part of the problem. Guitarists tend to gravitate towards a particular style or genre and someone creating say, a blues/ rock based song may not be of interest to a player who does not play in that style. And it is a very different experience watching an interview with a great player or learning some techniques that you might be able to use, even if it is not a genre you play within yourself, than a video demonstrating the creation of a song. Most guitarists want to learn about improving their tone or their technique/ music theory, irrespective of whether they want to create something new or play covers and there is therefore a bigger audience for those aspects. So, I totally agree that there should be more ‘creative process’ videos, but I think they will always be more niche than a video reviewing a new overdrive pedal. I don’t see a way around that reality.
Sh*t man, I really needed to hear this. I have been feeling pulled towards doing exactly this here on TH-cam with my music. Music has been my heart and soul, I was born deaf in my right ear and perceive sound and tone structuring different then most people and have been finding succcees on my tik tok channel and really feel like I can crack into a career on this platform with music. I needed this it lit the fire for me in a time when I was feeling down and uninspired. Appreciate you brotha. 🤘🏼🎸🖤
thank you for this video. I started a youtube channel mostly for myself and for therapy and also to help me start to play my guitar again after having a rather severe stroke. I started but then stopped. because of this video I have a new motivation to restart my youtube adventures which is all around ambient music because that is all I can play these days and it also a way to be creative and to help me to focus and meditate!
Rhett, I'm watching this while doing morning stretches that are a part of being retired & 64 years old. I've been playing music on & off since the 4th grade as time allows. I never considered myself talented enough to make/record music, just nodding & since 2000 or so playing in church. But now I find myself with a bunch of instruments(guitars, basses, drums etc), a wife that also plays and some basic recording gear(iMac & MacBook pro) but lacking tech literacy. I have garageband & ableton live lite, a focus rite interface, but just don't know where to start. So yeah, I like the idea you're talking about. And I appreciate you sharing what you do on TH-cam.
Great, very thoughtful video Rhett. I've had a TH-cam channel for a number of years, primarily focused on my own music. I'm revamping it to focus on sharing my playing style with other guitarists and am having better results than in the past. It's an interesting and fun process, for sure.
I’ve just started this process for myself, couple videos in and it’s a learning process. But I’m excited to keep trying and growing! It’s already inspired a lot of stuff for me
Totally agree brother! Love to see how you and your channel have evolved- happy to say I have also been moving in that direction!! Hope to rock with you someday- FUN JAMS! 🤘🏾🤘🏾🔥🔥🎸
TH-cam hates your music unless you're on a major label. Thisis why so many musicians have turned to other forms of "content" - instructional/tutorials, history lessons, and reviews. They even use the algorithm to limit your reach.
Hey Rhett, inspiring video. It is interesting how little making music we all consume versus what to use or buy... Maybe what you're calling for is harder. Not sure but I'm going to explore it myself.
Jon's channel is great. I'm glad you've found it. Everything you talked about here and he talked about there is real. It's a strange world us modern musicians now live in, and financially it's more stacked against us than it's ever been. I wish I could speak to you or him, or anyone else that does this more directly than a YT comment, but here I am. There's just so much to say and so little attention that can be paid to it. The EP is dope, by the way. I rather like the way you mixed guitar player style guitar with sample based musician samples. It's been in heavy rotation for me lately.
I have 2 minds about the idea of presenting the creation process to an audience. On one hand, it can inspire and demystify aspects of collaboration or idea generation -- on the other hand that demystification can be detrimental in how people perceive the finished product. Some of my favorite sources of inspiration are from artists that I love releasing documentary clips that only act as a peek through the keyhole of that project. But, if I'm watching a producer create the song on a live stream, there's less for me to insert my own interpretation because I watched the creation.
I’ve been learning guitar for the past year, I primarily play bluegrass and I love it. I would love to have a TH-cam channel one day but I’m still nowhere close to being good enough and I fear nobody wants to watch bluegrass anyway.
don't worry about being good enough. that's what editing is for. seriously though, I think we need more novice and intermediate musicians going through the trials and tribulations to become better musicians on this platform, or any social media platform. Your true fans, the ones that are there from the beginning, will still tune in and watch because they want to see your progress and encourage you. Also I grew up listening to bluegrass and jazz, so has my son, so yea I would be down to watch your content. hit me up when you decide to start recording.
Making music now is one of my retirement hobbies. After obsessing on music as a teenage and becoming adequate (primarily on guitar) I stopped playing for about 10 or 12 years. Started again. That wasn't easy and I'm not close to all the way back. However, age, experience and retirement have taught me something real simple: I like to do what I like to do. For me, that means: 1) Performing can be OK but the opportunities are thin and you'll be forever haunted by, "Can you play..." 2) I like writing strumming riffs and patterns 3) I like doing lead as a part of story 4) I like writing lyrics that have some depth of meaning but that is REALLY difficult and takes time...I like it though. I use TH-cam (and Rumble) to distribute and I don't care how many views I get. I'm making music for myself and a few people who listen. This lets me do what I like and ignore what I don't...oh...and stay off my lawn.
The Music Business should really look more like "music-BUSINESS" because THAT is where the focus is for the bigger Business players in this field. I am 47 and I dove into music at 16 with the intent of: writing songs, playing guitar, collecting gear, recording music, and touring. Now... I have done MOST of these except for touring and writing songs. I have NEVER been satisfied with anything I have written and finding a stable enough band to get to the point of touring proved to be too tall an order. Before he passed away, I was able to talk with Justin Townes Earle and he said that you have to write, write, and write. That a notebook FULL of his lyrics might have half or one song. That it is important to remember that YOUR SONG is based on your perspective. Even covers are based on YOUR PERSPECTIVE. I thought I would pass that along to everyone else. Right now I am in a very strange and deep rut in life. As far as music goes I am not sure what is TRUELY impossible to me. That's just me being honest. I found that for me buying gear and modifying guitars has been my main focus of the last five years. I am not so bent on recording, writing, or touring anymore. I am not sure if that ship has sailed or still a possibility. I also wanted to become a Luthier but right now, I am not sure how much I want to do that anymore. Music is more of a younger person's game in many respects and to my ear, the best music has a hunger to it. You can hear an artist wanting to prove themselves in really good music. Right now I would be happy enough just being in a silly Garage Rock/Punk band that played a few times a month. So knowing WHY you started tour musical journey and HOW its going so far... that's two different things. Never be afraid to change your mind on a direction, especially if the opportunities you thought you wanted are not coming to you. You also have to GO TO WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE! If you want to BE SUCCESSFUL in Music, I would suggest that you pivot to that goal, live frugally, do nothing else but music and make that your SOLE GOAL. Those seem to be the people who I have met who are jot sidetracked by other things in life.
Great point about being willing to pivot. People change. Passions change. For sure: We have to either a) figure out what things we are passionate about and that passion/enjoyment will motivate you to do it every day. or b) be disciplined enough to do the thing (write, practice, whatever) every day. OR ideally both. Some days you (do the thing) even though you don't feel like it. Some days, you're in love with it.🙂 It's not easy...
@tapeexperiments Thank you. Well when you start something you want to do all that you can. Once you have exposure you can really focus in on what's important. For me I started playing for clout (yup, it was hard to admit it but that was a driving factor) and I wanted to be known by people I like and respected. Not so much anymore. I play and sing better than where I wanted to end up but song writing fell by the wayside because I want to collaborate and when I look around I don't see anyone who wants to do that too much. But yeah, as I get older priorities shift and I am at a crossroads of sorts. Not saying no to anything but saying yes might be more than I want to give. 😉👍✨
I spent my entire 20s going to uni and studying and doing what I hated with my entire guts. Wanted to learn music professionally but could not make the switch being and Asian and having a typical Asian parents with Asian expectations and demands. But now that I've actually lost interest in music, I had been offered a full scholarship to attend a music school. Not anything like MI in LA or the renown music college in Boston that does not need any mentioning, but the instructors are good and my personal guitar instructor is really someone that gets called to play with major musicians and even KPop artists whenever they tour in the U.S. The issue is that I just can't bring myself to listen to music at all, as I grew to hate the mood swings going from one song to another, and so on. I guess the opportunities have to present themselves at the right moment and time. I did take the offer cuz why not when it's free, and currently in finals in my first semester at the school but certainly not enjoying it as much as I would've had I attended the school in my 20s. Not hard cuz I'm actually pretty knowledgeable in terms of music theory and I'm able to hit all the chord tones in jazz improvisation and sound pretty decent, but am I enjoying it and putting my 100% into it is a big no. More concerned about money, job, bills, health, health of my old cat, the health and the hospital bills of my parents, and so on than playing and learning music at the moment.
@Eric-dd8bk I feel you. Sometimes I feel that the Universe is dicking with us from time to time. I understand about desires and realities pulling in opposite directions. I have two things to say. First would be that typically people at the end of their lives regret the things they DID NOT DO more than what they did do. The other one taps into my days of being an Academic Advisor at Universities that I worked at. It would really be to drill down at that point where your love of music switched from something you enjoyed to something you despised. I know you mentioned a few things about that but really what I would say is to concentrate on that moment and that one thing (or things) that made you pivot. If you are honest with yourself you might be able to mentally go back and change it again back to a path where you can enjoy music. Or maybe it was "that time and that place" and you no longer feel that way. Since you are on polar opposites of love and hate with that aspect in music perhaps you could psychologically anchor to a point more in-between those two. Most of what you are dealing with is internal and a state of mind. As for obligations outside of you such as parents and an aging cat, that's up to you. My GF and I have had to put down several of her cats and it's an inevitability. We also have three more cats so I understand where you are coming from. The best thing I can tell you is to enjoy their company while you can because one day they will be gone. As for parents, that's a bit trickier. Seeing that you are on the other side of the Pond I know that there are competing expectations between having a UK upbringing as well as being Asian. So, I don't know your specifics but taking care of aging parents could be split amongst all the kids and not land squarely on your shoulders if you have siblings. I am also a parent and I will tell you that in my old age I do not want to be a burden to my kid. So I have zero expectations from them to do anything for me. I would tell them to "go live their life and enjoy it while they can." I would rather hear of the good things they are doing then have to resent me by spending time with me that they would rather be doing something else. Enjoy music while you like it. If you don't enjoy it then walk away. There is no loss of face to saying "my journey with this has ended." Same goes with just about anything in life. Enjoy it while you can because one day it just won't do it for you anymore. 😉👍✨
watching people make music is one of my favourite things ever i have watch countless hours of streams they are so good and i feel like i always make more music
I agree 1000%. So many musicians are butthurt that their music doesn’t automatically make them money, but the people who make money with music do more than just make music. They either tour or do online content marketing. The idea that you deserve money for simply making good music is outdated. Everyone has good music nowadays, so now it’s about adding value beyond that. That’s bad news for those who are lazy but great news for those who actually want to take music seriously as a career. There are always ways to monetize as an artist!
It's crazy that this call to arms has just come to my attention. I've always been a part time musician, but since having a young family and full time career in teaching I wanted to look at other ways to be creative as gigging and touring are off the table for the foreseeable future. I've spent the last six months hacking together a live streaming set up with my band that will do just this - basically just document our rehearsals and song writing processes. I expect no one will be interested in it but I'm pretty excited to give it a go. ❤
As an avid watcher of a whole lot of music related content from beatmaking / production to guitar channels, you are right on the money here. The good news is there are up and coming channels that are starting to fill that gap (including my own). And given the way that there is a whole lot of production genre bending going on now on unprecedented levels (Falling In Reverse / Electric Callboy / SpiritBox and so on), I think there's a huge opportunity for the cross genre producer / artist / content creator to really carve out their own audience. Particularly given that doing basically everything in the box makes the process accessible to almost anyone now.
I was just talking about this with my wife. I think I might just do it. I need more creativity in my life and have been learning how to produce music start to finish in my spare time for the past several years. Thanks for this!
much appreciated. been cooking on a new project for over a year that i'm rolling out in january- it's got a "youtube" angle involved, and it's super encouraging to hear this call to action. i feel the same way as y'all, it's an intimidating space though, so the vote of confidence is very rad and, in my case, super well timed. cheers mate.
I’ve been a professional musician/drummer now for 20+ years and the last 3-4 years worth of my time I’ve been busting my butt working on a lot of video game music covers, some for my “game night!” band and some solo covers. I feel like I’m finally doing something that I believe in, but man it’s still really tricky to navigate through all of this. Making videos ain’t no joke that’s for sure 😂 I agree though, more musicians should be putting themselves out there, but also we need to feed into the in-person scene as much as we do on the internet, cause it’s very easy to fall behind when we’re trying to keep so much a float.
Rhett, long time watcher, first time commenting... my channel seems like a gear channel on the surface but I'm really exploring limitations in order to facilitate creativity. I feel like once people get it, they get it. But like you're saying, I often feel like I'm reviewing gear to get the algorithm to show it to folks...
I lost the drive to continue my channel because of a lot of the things you are talking about. It sucks to spend weeks putting together a long form video only to have it buried because the thumbnail isn't perfect. Also, the pressure to 'review' products to get views is strong in both the guitar and synth communities. That just isn't my strength. I'm an educator, not a salesman.
Same here…I still occasionally put out videos but I’m not great at being consistent because I lose motivation and feel like I gravitate more towards actually making music than talking about it.
@@BillLauI hear you. There is a phenomenon in the comedy world which I thought was a good idea for the musician world where one channel masters the production part and brings in guests that have a sub channel where they are free to worry about the content. Comedy bang bang from L.A.’s Scott Aukerman talked about it on his podcast
You are right! You are an incredible guitarist and musician and you are honest guy! TH-cam needs more musicians! But do not forget please publish your own music out and play in live out of thumbnails, titles… jamming with other musicians and searching for sounds, making your own way…
Instead of watching passively I'll comment, step one taking action. I'm on board with this, however I'm stumped because if fallen out of love with creating music, however I've never documented the creative process, maybe that'll spark something 🤔!
Man, i don't speak English, unfortunately. I speak here of Brazil, in Portuguese, traslate for you my message: Even so, I knew there was something valuable for me in this video of yours. I started a channel to echo something that I had contained within me, the creative force locked away for decades. I've been living for over 30 years, playing covers and nonsense, but I've never started an original music project. So, after some traumatic experiences, I reflected a lot on the lifetime of existence we have on this planet, and I realized that I was wasting time by not launching into self-production of my songs. Well, I chose TH-cam for this task of creating and documenting my musical ideas, which should become my first EP. My channel is just over 1 and a half months old, I only have 30 valuable followers, it's a huge challenge to find my audience, but your video inspired me to continue on this journey. Thanks!
I agree there needs to be more musicians on TH-cam and I've often thought about starting a TH-cam music channel. However, I'm at loss as to what I would do with it, I'm a guitar player that dabbles in a couple other instruments and I have idea (lyrics and melodies) to write. Unfortunately, that takes a lot of time and I also have a full time job, so it's a matter of: "What should I focus on?" and "How can I differentiate myself from others?" I sometimes feel like it might not be worth the effort, but like everything else, you don't know until you try.
Watching Jon's video made me think about how to I could add more music making back into my videos too :) As you say, it's a struggle trying to find that balance when people don't watch to watch music making videos as much as gear/review ones! My channel is still only small but I've been finding that a combination of talking about gear/setups and then properly making music with them is working best for me! 🙌🎶
I take your point, Rhett, and if I ever started a channel this is exactly what I would do. But I know exactly fuck all about video production and editing, so creating a video about my creative process would take four times longer than the songwriting process itself. I don't have that kind of time, and this isn't one of those "treat it like a full time job before you can make it a full time income" situations. I have a family and three bands. Other people have demands on my time, and that won't change.
We are. But we're at the mercy of the algorithm. Those of us that keep it real by not over-producing, taking endorsements, deceptive titling, or saying "Please, Like, Favorite, Subscribe and make sure to hit that bell icon so you don't miss a single video" every video will never be seen or heard. Which I'm fine with. I'd rather keep my audience of 20 on Discord and Twitch and do it without getting paid. I make more money in my day job than I'll ever make as a musician or content creator anyway. Rhett could inspire a million people to create, but it'll just take up TH-cam server storage space unless they pimp themselves out to the algorithm. What would actually help is if the big fish expose their audience to small fish that keep it real. Buuuuuut big fish won't get the engagement numbers by doing that.
This should be right up your street because you are a pretty darned good technical communicator. You should be after all the YT you have posted, which I have really appreciated these last few years. Good luck.
Thanks for making this! I'm actually doing a live stream on November 14th at 6:30 PM EST sharing the songwriting arrangement that went into my latest release "Plastic Cup". I'm hoping people enjoy seeing what goes into a song idea becoming a finished product!
A natural progression from here would be an episode on gear needed at startup (cameras, mics, lighting. The basics of video production). Then go through gear to add as a channel grows. Finally, wrap up with your current recording for TH-cam setup.
Great video Rhett. I’m in the lucky position of not needing to make a living at music and still having plenty of time (and the facility, gear, etc.) to make music. Even so it’s hard to not care about number of views, subscribers, et al. But I think that’s what we need to do. I’m a big Rick Reuben fan. He has said more than once that we’re not smart enough to know what people will like. So far I’ve almost exclusively put songs up on TH-cam, no demos or documentary type stuff on the creative process. This video has me thinking about it though. So I’ll check out the guy you mentioned. Keep putting stuff like this up. I’ll be very interested to see what you come up with. It sounds way more interesting than another pedal demo or a “here’s how to shred like Yngwie” video. I listened to your EP. Great stuff!
When I started making videos back in the early days of the UK music TH-cam scene 15 years ago, the community was made up of singer songwriters sharing their original music on its own terms, without it being dressed up in too much “content” styling. The closest to that side were early Jack Conte and Pomplamoose VideoSongs which I still find super inspiring. Gear reviews and guitar topic videos have value, but damn do I miss just following a bunch of grassroots DIY songwriting peers. I’ve been trying to figure out how to come back to making YT videos in a way I enjoy for years and this video has come along at the exact right time for me as I’m closing in on creating a load of new art. I love aspects of where TH-cam musicians have ended up, but it’s a shame that it’s moved so hard to talking points, teaching, and reviews rather than just the music itself. I’d be very much in favour of helping rebuild a more “classic” style of community. Thanks for sharing the thoughts Rhett! I believe that music for music’s sake still has a viable place in modern content creation here on TH-cam.
I would love to see more youtubers such as yourself make music. I love watching the process, I know sometimes one has to make it a bit abbreviated because a 4 hour video of noodling can appear boring to some, but even just the highlights and epiphany moments with a few frustrations tossed in can be very educational and very entertaining. I have been watching JMB for years now and I started watching when Andrew Huang was still pushing that envelope of making weird stuff and showing us how he did it. he still does it but the GearTube has seriously taken the wind out of the sails for staying on this platform. I'm drowning in gear and I would rather watch the process. I miss seeing RMR just make stuff, and now he's struggling with mental health to sling gear and it's so sad. So I guess this is a call to action to the non-musicians and watchers too support your favorite youtube musicians and watch their most esoteric stuff, It's awesome stuff, even if the thumbnail doesn't suggest it.
This is something I've thought about a lot. I mainly do pieces of music / sketches / jams alreadt but I've always thought what if I documented the process a bit and added some sort of narration to it. I know I like to watch that sort of things so why not. You dudes have inspired me and hopefully many others! I need to look into how I could implement this. I like the idea.
More musicians need to be back in clubs and venues building scenes in their cities and towns... Edit: *Key point being 'building.' Before commenting with another defeatist excuse, look up the meaning of the word 'build.' Ffs. Bands in the past that weren't big enough names for established clubs, or had no clubs, and didn't have established 'scenes' made it happen themselves. Sabbath started in a community center. John Lennon started on the back of a flatbed truck in a park. Some put in the effort, some make excuses.
Too bad here in Toronto Canada bars don't pay enough to even get anyone out of bed. Most local bars top their pay out at about $100 a night for a band. As a keyboard player I'm usually the 5th guy in the band after a lead singer, guitarist, bassist and drummer. So we each get paid $20 for the night? Hell no. Not gonna do it!
I agree, everyone is on TH-cam, playing live local and abroad is still the way forward
Tough when ticketmaster has their hands in everything nowadays, including small clubs
In my region/country, it’s also impossible to even get a response from venues to play. And indeed, the prices for the already popular bands/artists are so ridiculous that the aspiring bands get nothing.
we are still playing....it's the clubs that are closing down since not a lot of the younger generation enjoy shows
Man thank you for using your platform to “Wi-Fi satellite” this message. Like I said in the original video I think there’s a lot of room for innovation in the space, it’s just going to require iteration and reiteration on a grand scale.
Fun fact I had been looking for a 388 for years and when I finally found one and was looking for videos regarding operation and philosophy I found your video on your second channel and it was a good account of owning and operating one in the abstract. So thank you for the kind words about the channel and I’m looking forward to seeing those music making videos!
I have a short on my "channel" explaining why music is hated by youtube. Many of us have been there and suffered the consequences of their AI and algorithmic process.
Hey Jon! I'm a big fan of your channel too. I love using the Octatrack and I've learned a lot from watching your channel.
If you, Rhett, or anyone else has any questions on the Tascam 388 I'd hit up Browner Sound. Omar is very knowledgeable. He's had many of those come through the shop.
(I had to post this message again. I didn't know youtube removes comments with links on them)
Jon, I am learning how to use my MPC because of you. Thanks man.
Jon, been a fan of yours for years. I still have your "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" mix CD. Saw you and Dibiase perform with just an SP404 a few years back at one of the Eaglerock Music Festival. Do you still emcee? Your channel is awesome BTW.
Yes!! A couple years ago I realized most of my favorite TH-cam guitarist were just making commercials for guitar gear and it was really depressing. I found myself thinking... why am I even watching this crap?? I'll give you an example, Pete Thorn is an amazing guitarist and makes incredibly good gear demo videos because he writes, produces, and performs a really good piece of music at the start of each gear video. I found myself just watching those parts of his videos and scrapping the rest of it because I really don't care. I'm so sick of overdrive shootouts, or delay shootouts or another video of what a Start sounds like and so on. I got into playing guitar because I love music. The music should be the main focus, not the gear that's used to make the music. Of course, we'll always be interested in gear, but let's remember... the gear is nothing if we're not making music with it. Thanks, Rhett. I hope you start taking your channel in a more creative direction.
I'm the same! I really like the guys from "That Pedal Show" but I really can't watch most of their videos because they are largely along the lines of overdrive shootouts or delay comparisons etc. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be doing this - they should do whatever they want to do. I just don't enjoy or watch their gear reviews
@@ObjectiveDynamics - Yeah... how many Blues licks and noodling can one endure? I think That Pedal Show would be much better if they played over simple chord progressions and actually demo'd the pedals in musical contexts.
If you’re interested in that kind of content, my channel is exclusively songwriting, production and creative process.
What about this channel for you?
Drummer and composer here…let’s get as many musicians on YT for sure. Love watching other indie musicians doing their stuff. Fantastic feedback, truly this helps being new with my channel and learning. Keep it up people!!
I just started a channel. It's this one. I know it will be better and better as I go along. I'm having a blast and as a disabled veteran, this gives me something to focus on and goals to work toward. This video inspires me! Thank you for this video, man!
As a vet married to a disabled vet, You've earned a subscriber
@@xzaviertariq5692 Thanks! You're both in my thoughts and prayers.
This is fantastic. This is the type of content I look forward to. As someone who is writing music with a couple of friends, you never know what little nugget will unlock the next dimension of creativity. Thanks for all you do for the community.
If you’re interested in that kind of content, my channel is exclusively songwriting, production and creative process.
Metallica was literally just a bunch of dudes in high school that made a hit song that instantly took them to stardom. My dad uses that example as motivation for me to do it too
I couldn't believe it when I saw this video pop up in my recommended. I've been kicking around this idea for a little while and finally just started acquiring the gear to document my writing/recording process.
Good stuff, bud. I’m a middle aged dude that has all the equipment to be able to do this. Just haven’t been willing to put it all out there. It’s purely fear based. Thanks for the encouragement.
Who knows if you’ll even see this comment, but this video helped.
I relate to this. I just turned 49. I have been writing and recording music, lately. I threw around the idea of releasing a song to streaming platforms and fear kept me from it for a while. Finally, I just went for it. If I'm just doing it for my enjoyment, what have I got to lose?
I recently started showing how I produce and mix on my channel and it's been a lot of fun. I've always appreciated Rhett's videos and it's cool to see more focus on music creation.
Thank you for doing this video Rhett. I started on TH-cam back in 2008, not long after I’d take up playing the piano, recording covers and eventually tutorials. The tutorials in particular proved popular, and I amassed a modest following. Things eventually dried up though and I haven’t uploaded in 7 years.
It is however my ambition to return, and since January ‘24, I’ve been scoring arrangements of covers - trying to cater for everyone’s ability by ensuring each song is available in beginner, intermediate, and advanced difficulty. I’m aiming for a relaunch in the first quarter of 2025 - yet given how the TH-cam landscape has changed for musicians, I can’t help but worry I’m dedicating my time to producing a form of content the internet no longer lusts after.
There are popular covers artists out there - although they garnered enormous followings back when such content was more in vogue. If more musicians showcased their talents on TH-cam, perhaps it would ensure they would be deservingly rewarded for producing the content they want, rather than the content that feeds the elusive entity that is the algorithm.
Started mine last year. Just got my first payment from TH-cam and it paid 2/3 of my mortgage this month. I’m also playing local shows, but this is the long term goal. I read a lot of comments about playing local shows.. It’s all important. A lot of my local venues are paying anywhere from exposure to $150 MAYBE $200 for 3 hours of covers they approve of. The modern playbook I’ve seen is you use social media to either get bigger gigs or build a business around the thing you actually love. I love the community I’m building on this platform and I love the guitar community. I’m just grateful for platforms like this so I may actually do what I love in life and call it a job.
All the best to your goals brother!
Damn, congrats!
@@rickraydubs thanks homie
@@soutrik27 thank you homie
This was my sign. Gonna start uploading everything from random riffs in my phone to fully produced songs. Loved the video!
I loved watching behind the scenes making of albums. It was fun to see them tracking a part and then listening to finished album and hearing that part you never really noticed before. I found it helpful in how a band writes songs, now days you don’t see that creative part anymore. Plus seeing a favorite player struggle with tracking a part they make look so easy live .
Thanks for all the encouragement. You've made a huge difference in me realizing how important TH-cam is as a platform for us.
Super glad I came across this video today. I’m also a guitarist/songwriter and would love to share my original music more intimately moving forward. Always enjoy Rhett’s style too
Love hearing this Brother!!! i’ll be changing up my channel around “The Process” vs “The Product” 🙏🏽 Thanks for keeping me honest…
This is refreshing to hear. That's why I started a TH-cam channel. For a creative outlet. I just put out music. I mean nobody listens to it really 😂, but to me it's not the whole point, for me it's just doing my music, it's that kid at Christmas joy of sitting in my man cave and just creating the music. TH-cam allows me to just put it out there, for free and I appreciate having that outlet so much. Some people do actually listen and to know that at least one person has heard my music makes all the difference. TH-cam helps provide to me one of the greatest hobbies I've ever enjoyed. 🤘🤘.
I should have been on TH-cam 12 years ago. I was working with broadcast video, and I was an A/V snob. I could have done Vlogs, but I quit touring nationally. I ended up living vicariously through you and RJs touring videos. Congratulations on your work.
I agree! I've been on TH-cam for about half a year, and the response has been wild. It's so much fun, I love it. People really want more music content, so it's a great time to get started in my opinion. I just try to highlight how fun music can be and share that with others. I haven't been making music on TH-cam but try to show how accessible music can be to others.
If I can do it, so can you, and there's no harm firing up a channel and seeing if making videos is right for you. It's a great creative outlet.
we really started diving more into this process this past year and it’s been an amazing experience letting people in to our world.
Love to see this! I started streaming my creative process writing an EP on twitch in June. Trying to do every weekday morning before work for 1 to 2 hours.
Sometimes theres no one and sometimes other creatives come in and hang/talk shop/work on their own stuff. Its been amazing and i hope to move over to youtube in the next month.
I think there is a community of people out there that want this kind of content and im glad these videos (yours and john’s) are bringing attention to it!
I would definitely love to see videos on the creative process and music theory behind your EP
The thing that drew me to this channel (apart from the 2019 Les Paul Standard video, of course) was always Backstage Journal. That kind of storytelling is so much more compelling to me than the gear reviews and I think it’s a terrible shame that there doesn’t seem to be much space for it on the platforms. I would be super excited to see you start making those kinds of videos again.
In kind, I’ve been making short videos about what I get up to in my local scene and elsewhere on my instagram page - including a series on what it’s like to go on your first international tour - that Backstage Journal was a major inspiration for. This video certainly emboldens me to make more of those.
Rhett thank you for bringing out this topic, and the same goes for Jon’s call to action!
As a musician, I find it completely outside the nature of the craft to resort to various antics or attention-seeking behaviors just to have a presence on TH-cam, apart from simply making music I enjoy (partly because of the music style itself). Unfortunately, for musicians like me, getting our music out there on TH-cam often means taking on various roles.
Since I can’t bring myself to compromise in that way, I started a series called "Record With Me" on TH-cam to capture my creative process on video and hopefully draw the attention of people who are genuinely interested. I film stuff like how I record backing tracks for solos, how I program software instruments - basically a "making of" series. Ironically, these videos end up being the least viewed ones. But, funny enough, they’ve become the ones I enjoy filming the most, and I persist in making even more of them. Since it seems we can no longer keep up with the algorithm and the demands of the era, I’m now entirely focused on sharing content that I want to make and that motivates me.
I think the compromises we’d make for social media strategies to gain an audience could end up shaping our character in a way that, tomorrow, causes us to lose those very people we gained.
Despite all these thoughts, I’d been feeling unmotivated lately to make "Record With Me" videos and similar content. But thank you for this call to action now I have one more reason to keep going. Thanks!
Real talk. I’ve always needed a little mentoring on this. I’ve got a real cool thing on my channel sharing my late father repertoire he wrote and recorded in the 80s using analog gear. He sounds like the Beatles. I wanna come back and recreate these tunes as well. Tips always welcome! Organizing and staying on schedule hasn’t been on point unfortunately.
I'm here my brother. 13.5k and growing. The thing I love most is helping others fall in love with music. I love sharing my experience in the business and helping people become creators. Tim Pierce was a great help in my early stages too. I shall keep grinding and maybe our paths will cross. I am open to some awesome collaborations at any time. Thanks for all you do. You are appreciated. Keep going!
I do want to add...I made a random video in mid July on triads. My mom was asking me about YT. I told her I was taking her Guild acoustic onto her patio. I took my iPad, no planning, no editing, just straight through. I even let YT auto-pick the thumbnail. I have no idea why, but that video has over 185K in views and still gets views every hour. YT makes no sense sometimes. The only thing that does make sense is to keep going. So....in my mind YT is....authenticity+value=loyalty. :)
I am going to start a band called. "Ghost of Dave" that will be launching through my channel. I think documenting that will be an awesome playlist for my channel too. Keep on being creative to all.
You hit the nail on the head with "authenticity+value=loyalty." the best videos regardless of platform are nearly raw and straight from the heart but with just enough expertise thrown in, this is still true even from an intermediate or novice just entering in on their journey as well.
Philip Conrad's channel is one of my favorites, precisely because he highlights his creative process. And his Tiny Songs Live livestreams were maybe the most fun experiences I've ever had engaging with TH-cam. When I first got into electric guitar, I mainly watched gear videos. Now I'm happy with my gear, and I just want to get better at playing guitar (and bass) and being creative with the gear I already own. So now I rarely watch gear videos--I just want to learn about how to become a better guitar player and musician.
God bless you Rhett!
You got the audience so do it!
Keep kickin’ ass to The Glory of God:)
SOLI DEO GLORIA
(To The Glory Of God Alone)
Father, Son & Holy Spirit
-Ronnie
Crazy timing, starting up this channel has been a bit slow but I know I'm going to enjoy it very much and this vid really spoke to me. Wishing all you dudes on the same journey the best.
Touring/gigging musician. I miss playing for people. I had to slow down to be home with new kiddos. Meant getting a cybersecurity job. Which I love, but it’s not making music. This gives me hope.
I agree with the spirit of your message: if you build it, they will come. I am HAPPY to be creating, even with 1-2 views during LIVE Streams. The process of sharing music and being REAL (not trying to be perfect), is going to be fun to look back on down the road once an audience does arrive. Keep it up man!
Great vid n talk. For me starting TH-cam (2018) was a way to battle my performance anxiety and let go of things, and just to show my creative process. Been making beats since 1996…
I've been contemplating making videos like you're suggesting for a while!! I see a lot of people have trouble making songs and asking for help, and I always thought it seemed easy. I'm not sure anyone will watch, but I'll document in simplistic terms, my creative process!! Loved this video!!
I'm here! Originals, lessons and tutorials, and beats as well... Great video thanks!
Really great to hear that making music is something that everybody should do more. I totally agree! I’m also try to be consistent in posting music on my channel for a year now, and it makes me want to play more! 🎉
Jon is also an amazing rapper that goes by Jonwayne. Awesome to see him mentioned on this channel!
TH-cam has always been a means to learn and get information. 100% would love to see more artist document the process, I’m still a beginner and have learned so much by following content like yours
Totally agree Rhett! I have been watching you for years, thanks for all the videos!
Yes, yes, yes, please! We want to hear your art here! This makes me want to see a show and hear your insights. Looking forward to more
It’s amazing to me to watch content creators like you broadcast content into the abyss with no idea if it’s going to make a difference or even be appreciated. I just want you to know that to me it does.
I so feel this. I got into creating on TH-cam similarly, although with a bit more intention to educate. I want to take part in this effort and, while I'm not nearly as big with 40kish subs, I hope that I can make a blip on the radar. Your video here gave me the idea to reach out to my viewers and see who wants me to feature what they are doing on my channel. I think a lot of people get discouraged when they make a song vid and get 60 views. Maybe "larger" channels giving them a spotlight will help inspire people to create more.
Now I have to get busy creating the call-to-action vid. Thanks for the inspiration!
TH-cam needs more major competitors.
Same as spotify, uber, air b&b, etc... it's crazy how explotative all these technocratic platforms become because of the lack of competition.
@@juankplaysmusic SCAMS!
Yep. I hate the censorship. I hate the corporate power. I hate the control. I wish Rumble were more popular.
I dabble with a bit of media composing using orchestral samples and there are a ton of videos from a ton of creators demonstrating the creative process of composing, recording and mixing tracks. I believe a big part of that interest is that composers are generally not virtuoso musicians, nor do they particularly want or need to be. But they do need to learn how the individual sections of an orchestra work together and how to mimic that with their compositions.The creative process is more important than ‘tone’ or a very specific technique on an instrument.
There are some guitar based creators doing the same but they do appear very genre specific (how to create a Shoegaze track for instance). And I think that is part of the problem. Guitarists tend to gravitate towards a particular style or genre and someone creating say, a blues/ rock based song may not be of interest to a player who does not play in that style. And it is a very different experience watching an interview with a great player or learning some techniques that you might be able to use, even if it is not a genre you play within yourself, than a video demonstrating the creation of a song.
Most guitarists want to learn about improving their tone or their technique/ music theory, irrespective of whether they want to create something new or play covers and there is therefore a bigger audience for those aspects.
So, I totally agree that there should be more ‘creative process’ videos, but I think they will always be more niche than a video reviewing a new overdrive pedal. I don’t see a way around that reality.
@@freesk8 Odysee is pretty based. Bitchute got pozzed. They made it so you can't view videos without logging in. Absolutely cucked and ridiculous.
Sh*t man, I really needed to hear this. I have been feeling pulled towards doing exactly this here on TH-cam with my music. Music has been my heart and soul, I was born deaf in my right ear and perceive sound and tone structuring different then most people and have been finding succcees on my tik tok channel and really feel like I can crack into a career on this platform with music. I needed this it lit the fire for me in a time when I was feeling down and uninspired. Appreciate you brotha. 🤘🏼🎸🖤
I needed to hear this. Thank you.
thank you for this video. I started a youtube channel mostly for myself and for therapy and also to help me start to play my guitar again after having a rather severe stroke. I started but then stopped. because of this video I have a new motivation to restart my youtube adventures which is all around ambient music because that is all I can play these days and it also a way to be creative and to help me to focus and meditate!
Rhett, I'm watching this while doing morning stretches that are a part of being retired & 64 years old. I've been playing music on & off since the 4th grade as time allows. I never considered myself talented enough to make/record music, just nodding & since 2000 or so playing in church. But now I find myself with a bunch of instruments(guitars, basses, drums etc), a wife that also plays and some basic recording gear(iMac & MacBook pro) but lacking tech literacy. I have garageband & ableton live lite, a focus rite interface, but just don't know where to start. So yeah, I like the idea you're talking about. And I appreciate you sharing what you do on TH-cam.
Great, very thoughtful video Rhett. I've had a TH-cam channel for a number of years, primarily focused on my own music. I'm revamping it to focus on sharing my playing style with other guitarists and am having better results than in the past. It's an interesting and fun process, for sure.
I’ve just started this process for myself, couple videos in and it’s a learning process. But I’m excited to keep trying and growing! It’s already inspired a lot of stuff for me
Totally agree brother! Love to see how you and your channel have evolved- happy to say I have also been moving in that direction!!
Hope to rock with you someday- FUN JAMS! 🤘🏾🤘🏾🔥🔥🎸
TH-cam hates your music unless you're on a major label. Thisis why so many musicians have turned to other forms of "content" - instructional/tutorials, history lessons, and reviews. They even use the algorithm to limit your reach.
Indy = NO $!
Hey Rhett, inspiring video. It is interesting how little making music we all consume versus what to use or buy... Maybe what you're calling for is harder. Not sure but I'm going to explore it myself.
Well, I will start documenting all my writing now. Worst case I'm in the same place I was before xD wish me luck!!
Jon's channel is great. I'm glad you've found it. Everything you talked about here and he talked about there is real. It's a strange world us modern musicians now live in, and financially it's more stacked against us than it's ever been. I wish I could speak to you or him, or anyone else that does this more directly than a YT comment, but here I am. There's just so much to say and so little attention that can be paid to it.
The EP is dope, by the way. I rather like the way you mixed guitar player style guitar with sample based musician samples. It's been in heavy rotation for me lately.
I have 2 minds about the idea of presenting the creation process to an audience. On one hand, it can inspire and demystify aspects of collaboration or idea generation -- on the other hand that demystification can be detrimental in how people perceive the finished product. Some of my favorite sources of inspiration are from artists that I love releasing documentary clips that only act as a peek through the keyhole of that project. But, if I'm watching a producer create the song on a live stream, there's less for me to insert my own interpretation because I watched the creation.
I’ve been learning guitar for the past year, I primarily play bluegrass and I love it. I would love to have a TH-cam channel one day but I’m still nowhere close to being good enough and I fear nobody wants to watch bluegrass anyway.
don't worry about being good enough. that's what editing is for. seriously though, I think we need more novice and intermediate musicians going through the trials and tribulations to become better musicians on this platform, or any social media platform. Your true fans, the ones that are there from the beginning, will still tune in and watch because they want to see your progress and encourage you. Also I grew up listening to bluegrass and jazz, so has my son, so yea I would be down to watch your content. hit me up when you decide to start recording.
Making music now is one of my retirement hobbies. After obsessing on music as a teenage and becoming adequate (primarily on guitar) I stopped playing for about 10 or 12 years. Started again. That wasn't easy and I'm not close to all the way back. However, age, experience and retirement have taught me something real simple: I like to do what I like to do. For me, that means: 1) Performing can be OK but the opportunities are thin and you'll be forever haunted by, "Can you play..." 2) I like writing strumming riffs and patterns 3) I like doing lead as a part of story 4) I like writing lyrics that have some depth of meaning but that is REALLY difficult and takes time...I like it though. I use TH-cam (and Rumble) to distribute and I don't care how many views I get. I'm making music for myself and a few people who listen. This lets me do what I like and ignore what I don't...oh...and stay off my lawn.
The Music Business should really look more like "music-BUSINESS" because THAT is where the focus is for the bigger Business players in this field.
I am 47 and I dove into music at 16 with the intent of: writing songs, playing guitar, collecting gear, recording music, and touring. Now... I have done MOST of these except for touring and writing songs. I have NEVER been satisfied with anything I have written and finding a stable enough band to get to the point of touring proved to be too tall an order.
Before he passed away, I was able to talk with Justin Townes Earle and he said that you have to write, write, and write. That a notebook FULL of his lyrics might have half or one song. That it is important to remember that YOUR SONG is based on your perspective. Even covers are based on YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
I thought I would pass that along to everyone else.
Right now I am in a very strange and deep rut in life. As far as music goes I am not sure what is TRUELY impossible to me. That's just me being honest.
I found that for me buying gear and modifying guitars has been my main focus of the last five years. I am not so bent on recording, writing, or touring anymore. I am not sure if that ship has sailed or still a possibility. I also wanted to become a Luthier but right now, I am not sure how much I want to do that anymore.
Music is more of a younger person's game in many respects and to my ear, the best music has a hunger to it. You can hear an artist wanting to prove themselves in really good music.
Right now I would be happy enough just being in a silly Garage Rock/Punk band that played a few times a month.
So knowing WHY you started tour musical journey and HOW its going so far... that's two different things. Never be afraid to change your mind on a direction, especially if the opportunities you thought you wanted are not coming to you. You also have to GO TO WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE!
If you want to BE SUCCESSFUL in Music, I would suggest that you pivot to that goal, live frugally, do nothing else but music and make that your SOLE GOAL. Those seem to be the people who I have met who are jot sidetracked by other things in life.
Great point about being willing to pivot. People change. Passions change. For sure: We have to either a) figure out what things we are passionate about and that passion/enjoyment will motivate you to do it every day. or b) be disciplined enough to do the thing (write, practice, whatever) every day. OR ideally both. Some days you (do the thing) even though you don't feel like it. Some days, you're in love with it.🙂 It's not easy...
@tapeexperiments
Thank you. Well when you start something you want to do all that you can. Once you have exposure you can really focus in on what's important.
For me I started playing for clout (yup, it was hard to admit it but that was a driving factor) and I wanted to be known by people I like and respected. Not so much anymore. I play and sing better than where I wanted to end up but song writing fell by the wayside because I want to collaborate and when I look around I don't see anyone who wants to do that too much. But yeah, as I get older priorities shift and I am at a crossroads of sorts.
Not saying no to anything but saying yes might be more than I want to give. 😉👍✨
I spent my entire 20s going to uni and studying and doing what I hated with my entire guts.
Wanted to learn music professionally but could not make the switch being and Asian and having a typical Asian parents with Asian expectations and demands.
But now that I've actually lost interest in music, I had been offered a full scholarship to attend a music school.
Not anything like MI in LA or the renown music college in Boston that does not need any mentioning, but the instructors are good and my personal guitar instructor is really someone that gets called to play with major musicians and even KPop artists whenever they tour in the U.S.
The issue is that I just can't bring myself to listen to music at all, as I grew to hate the mood swings going from one song to another, and so on.
I guess the opportunities have to present themselves at the right moment and time.
I did take the offer cuz why not when it's free, and currently in finals in my first semester at the school but certainly not enjoying it as much as I would've had I attended the school in my 20s.
Not hard cuz I'm actually pretty knowledgeable in terms of music theory and I'm able to hit all the chord tones in jazz improvisation and sound pretty decent, but am I enjoying it and putting my 100% into it is a big no.
More concerned about money, job, bills, health, health of my old cat, the health and the hospital bills of my parents, and so on than playing and learning music at the moment.
@Eric-dd8bk
I feel you. Sometimes I feel that the Universe is dicking with us from time to time. I understand about desires and realities pulling in opposite directions. I have two things to say. First would be that typically people at the end of their lives regret the things they DID NOT DO more than what they did do.
The other one taps into my days of being an Academic Advisor at Universities that I worked at. It would really be to drill down at that point where your love of music switched from something you enjoyed to something you despised. I know you mentioned a few things about that but really what I would say is to concentrate on that moment and that one thing (or things) that made you pivot. If you are honest with yourself you might be able to mentally go back and change it again back to a path where you can enjoy music. Or maybe it was "that time and that place" and you no longer feel that way.
Since you are on polar opposites of love and hate with that aspect in music perhaps you could psychologically anchor to a point more in-between those two. Most of what you are dealing with is internal and a state of mind. As for obligations outside of you such as parents and an aging cat, that's up to you. My GF and I have had to put down several of her cats and it's an inevitability. We also have three more cats so I understand where you are coming from. The best thing I can tell you is to enjoy their company while you can because one day they will be gone.
As for parents, that's a bit trickier. Seeing that you are on the other side of the Pond I know that there are competing expectations between having a UK upbringing as well as being Asian. So, I don't know your specifics but taking care of aging parents could be split amongst all the kids and not land squarely on your shoulders if you have siblings. I am also a parent and I will tell you that in my old age I do not want to be a burden to my kid. So I have zero expectations from them to do anything for me. I would tell them to "go live their life and enjoy it while they can." I would rather hear of the good things they are doing then have to resent me by spending time with me that they would rather be doing something else.
Enjoy music while you like it. If you don't enjoy it then walk away. There is no loss of face to saying "my journey with this has ended." Same goes with just about anything in life. Enjoy it while you can because one day it just won't do it for you anymore. 😉👍✨
watching people make music is one of my favourite things ever i have watch countless hours of streams they are so good and i feel like i always make more music
Consistency is key...time is limited. This is one of my goals for 2025 as well.
I agree 1000%. So many musicians are butthurt that their music doesn’t automatically make them money, but the people who make money with music do more than just make music. They either tour or do online content marketing. The idea that you deserve money for simply making good music is outdated. Everyone has good music nowadays, so now it’s about adding value beyond that. That’s bad news for those who are lazy but great news for those who actually want to take music seriously as a career. There are always ways to monetize as an artist!
John Wayn is dope af. IVE been listening to his music for atleast 10 years
You are correct Rhett ... I have been thinking exactly that ... Thanks 🤘
It's crazy that this call to arms has just come to my attention. I've always been a part time musician, but since having a young family and full time career in teaching I wanted to look at other ways to be creative as gigging and touring are off the table for the foreseeable future. I've spent the last six months hacking together a live streaming set up with my band that will do just this - basically just document our rehearsals and song writing processes. I expect no one will be interested in it but I'm pretty excited to give it a go. ❤
As an avid watcher of a whole lot of music related content from beatmaking / production to guitar channels, you are right on the money here. The good news is there are up and coming channels that are starting to fill that gap (including my own). And given the way that there is a whole lot of production genre bending going on now on unprecedented levels (Falling In Reverse / Electric Callboy / SpiritBox and so on), I think there's a huge opportunity for the cross genre producer / artist / content creator to really carve out their own audience. Particularly given that doing basically everything in the box makes the process accessible to almost anyone now.
I was just talking about this with my wife. I think I might just do it. I need more creativity in my life and have been learning how to produce music start to finish in my spare time for the past several years. Thanks for this!
much appreciated. been cooking on a new project for over a year that i'm rolling out in january- it's got a "youtube" angle involved, and it's super encouraging to hear this call to action. i feel the same way as y'all, it's an intimidating space though, so the vote of confidence is very rad and, in my case, super well timed. cheers mate.
I’ve been a professional musician/drummer now for 20+ years and the last 3-4 years worth of my time I’ve been busting my butt working on a lot of video game music covers, some for my “game night!” band and some solo covers.
I feel like I’m finally doing something that I believe in, but man it’s still really tricky to navigate through all of this. Making videos ain’t no joke that’s for sure 😂
I agree though, more musicians should be putting themselves out there, but also we need to feed into the in-person scene as much as we do on the internet, cause it’s very easy to fall behind when we’re trying to keep so much a float.
Rhett, long time watcher, first time commenting... my channel seems like a gear channel on the surface but I'm really exploring limitations in order to facilitate creativity. I feel like once people get it, they get it. But like you're saying, I often feel like I'm reviewing gear to get the algorithm to show it to folks...
This is exactly the content I want to create. Thank you for the words of affirmation, I'm coming to the table!
I lost the drive to continue my channel because of a lot of the things you are talking about. It sucks to spend weeks putting together a long form video only to have it buried because the thumbnail isn't perfect. Also, the pressure to 'review' products to get views is strong in both the guitar and synth communities. That just isn't my strength. I'm an educator, not a salesman.
Same here…I still occasionally put out videos but I’m not great at being consistent because I lose motivation and feel like I gravitate more towards actually making music than talking about it.
@@BillLauI hear you. There is a phenomenon in the comedy world which I thought was a good idea for the musician world where one channel masters the production part and brings in guests that have a sub channel where they are free to worry about the content. Comedy bang bang from L.A.’s Scott Aukerman talked about it on his podcast
You are right! You are an incredible guitarist and musician and you are honest guy! TH-cam needs more musicians! But do not forget please publish your own music out and play in live out of thumbnails, titles… jamming with other musicians and searching for sounds, making your own way…
Instead of watching passively I'll comment, step one taking action. I'm on board with this, however I'm stumped because if fallen out of love with creating music, however I've never documented the creative process, maybe that'll spark something 🤔!
Surely, John's video and yours is about to inspire a whole new generation of creators!
Man, i don't speak English, unfortunately. I speak here of Brazil, in Portuguese, traslate for you my message: Even so, I knew there was something valuable for me in this video of yours. I started a channel to echo something that I had contained within me, the creative force locked away for decades. I've been living for over 30 years, playing covers and nonsense, but I've never started an original music project. So, after some traumatic experiences, I reflected a lot on the lifetime of existence we have on this planet, and I realized that I was wasting time by not launching into self-production of my songs. Well, I chose TH-cam for this task of creating and documenting my musical ideas, which should become my first EP. My channel is just over 1 and a half months old, I only have 30 valuable followers, it's a huge challenge to find my audience, but your video inspired me to continue on this journey. Thanks!
❤sounds positive...doing my best to be creative...keep doing what you love
I love the creative process you guys showed in the Beach Boys tribute video. Definitely more of that stuff!! I'm all for it!
I agree there needs to be more musicians on TH-cam and I've often thought about starting a TH-cam music channel. However, I'm at loss as to what I would do with it, I'm a guitar player that dabbles in a couple other instruments and I have idea (lyrics and melodies) to write. Unfortunately, that takes a lot of time and I also have a full time job, so it's a matter of: "What should I focus on?" and "How can I differentiate myself from others?" I sometimes feel like it might not be worth the effort, but like everything else, you don't know until you try.
I feel this heavy bro.. very timely video!
Watching Jon's video made me think about how to I could add more music making back into my videos too :) As you say, it's a struggle trying to find that balance when people don't watch to watch music making videos as much as gear/review ones! My channel is still only small but I've been finding that a combination of talking about gear/setups and then properly making music with them is working best for me! 🙌🎶
Ive been playing guitar/making music for nearly two years now and it would be really cool to see more artists creative side and there musical journey
I take your point, Rhett, and if I ever started a channel this is exactly what I would do. But I know exactly fuck all about video production and editing, so creating a video about my creative process would take four times longer than the songwriting process itself. I don't have that kind of time, and this isn't one of those "treat it like a full time job before you can make it a full time income" situations. I have a family and three bands. Other people have demands on my time, and that won't change.
We are. But we're at the mercy of the algorithm. Those of us that keep it real by not over-producing, taking endorsements, deceptive titling, or saying "Please, Like, Favorite, Subscribe and make sure to hit that bell icon so you don't miss a single video" every video will never be seen or heard. Which I'm fine with. I'd rather keep my audience of 20 on Discord and Twitch and do it without getting paid. I make more money in my day job than I'll ever make as a musician or content creator anyway. Rhett could inspire a million people to create, but it'll just take up TH-cam server storage space unless they pimp themselves out to the algorithm. What would actually help is if the big fish expose their audience to small fish that keep it real. Buuuuuut big fish won't get the engagement numbers by doing that.
This should be right up your street because you are a pretty darned good technical communicator. You should be after all the YT you have posted, which I have really appreciated these last few years. Good luck.
interesting... good points. Thank you for the food for thought, to both you and John. Cheers!
Jon is amazing. Nice to see you are getting into sampling. I’ve had a similar journey lately myself
Thanks for making this! I'm actually doing a live stream on November 14th at 6:30 PM EST sharing the songwriting arrangement that went into my latest release "Plastic Cup". I'm hoping people enjoy seeing what goes into a song idea becoming a finished product!
If you build it, they will strum. 🎸🎶
(Hum, drum, double-thumb)
A natural progression from here would be an episode on gear needed at startup (cameras, mics, lighting. The basics of video production). Then go through gear to add as a channel grows. Finally, wrap up with your current recording for TH-cam setup.
Great video Rhett. I’m in the lucky position of not needing to make a living at music and still having plenty of time (and the facility, gear, etc.) to make music. Even so it’s hard to not care about number of views, subscribers, et al. But I think that’s what we need to do. I’m a big Rick Reuben fan. He has said more than once that we’re not smart enough to know what people will like. So far I’ve almost exclusively put songs up on TH-cam, no demos or documentary type stuff on the creative process. This video has me thinking about it though. So I’ll check out the guy you mentioned. Keep putting stuff like this up. I’ll be very interested to see what you come up with. It sounds way more interesting than another pedal demo or a “here’s how to shred like Yngwie” video. I listened to your EP. Great stuff!
When I started making videos back in the early days of the UK music TH-cam scene 15 years ago, the community was made up of singer songwriters sharing their original music on its own terms, without it being dressed up in too much “content” styling. The closest to that side were early Jack Conte and Pomplamoose VideoSongs which I still find super inspiring. Gear reviews and guitar topic videos have value, but damn do I miss just following a bunch of grassroots DIY songwriting peers. I’ve been trying to figure out how to come back to making YT videos in a way I enjoy for years and this video has come along at the exact right time for me as I’m closing in on creating a load of new art. I love aspects of where TH-cam musicians have ended up, but it’s a shame that it’s moved so hard to talking points, teaching, and reviews rather than just the music itself. I’d be very much in favour of helping rebuild a more “classic” style of community.
Thanks for sharing the thoughts Rhett! I believe that music for music’s sake still has a viable place in modern content creation here on TH-cam.
Pomplamoose is great! I love them since 2009
I love the idea of watching the creative process behind a song. John Mayer's video about creating the song In Repair is a great example of that.
As I’m growing more confident with my singing I’m starting to make covers of some of my favourite songs. Maybe I’ll upload them to TH-cam someday.
Thanks man! My channel is growing slowly but surely but it has been fun and its really cool the reach that is possible through TH-cam.
I have been contemplating for the past month what my first video on youtube should be and after watching this video something clicked, so thank you!
A good call to arms. ⚔️
Hey hey. There’s the COMPLETELY underrated TH-cam channel right here!
@@lowercase3635 yo, thanks for flagging this. Instant sub!
I would love to see more youtubers such as yourself make music. I love watching the process, I know sometimes one has to make it a bit abbreviated because a 4 hour video of noodling can appear boring to some, but even just the highlights and epiphany moments with a few frustrations tossed in can be very educational and very entertaining. I have been watching JMB for years now and I started watching when Andrew Huang was still pushing that envelope of making weird stuff and showing us how he did it. he still does it but the GearTube has seriously taken the wind out of the sails for staying on this platform. I'm drowning in gear and I would rather watch the process. I miss seeing RMR just make stuff, and now he's struggling with mental health to sling gear and it's so sad. So I guess this is a call to action to the non-musicians and watchers too support your favorite youtube musicians and watch their most esoteric stuff, It's awesome stuff, even if the thumbnail doesn't suggest it.
Downloaded your Ep today. I'm enjoying it.
Sup man, I’m a musician working on the TH-cam thing and I really needed to hear this. Couldn’t agree with you more.
This is something I've thought about a lot. I mainly do pieces of music / sketches / jams alreadt but I've always thought what if I documented the process a bit and added some sort of narration to it. I know I like to watch that sort of things so why not. You dudes have inspired me and hopefully many others! I need to look into how I could implement this. I like the idea.
I love the process to making art. That's where the magic happens.