Musicians and their content

[mayaclars]

Do you like watching your favorite musicians make music, like an actual process of it? Or hearing the stories behind music? Or do you prefer when they just share the music itself? I just started thinking about it...

[shaggy]

Do you like watching your favorite musicians make music, like an actual process of it?

Erm... no. I did some music writing in the past. Process is messy and really not pleasant for bystanders. There are a lot of repetitions, trying to find that sound, or that note. Even with band, there are constant stopping, pausing, resuming. It really is only fan for those involved, not bystanders.

Making of videos can be fun tho. But these are hours upon hours of work condensed in 30-60 minutes. It only contains the best and fun part. Distorting your idea of how process looks like.

Demos. Demos on the other hand are great. I love demos. Quite often they are different than studio album. And I really like those different versions. Sometimes they have other notes. Sometimes even whole different passage. They are great, but only for bands and songs I really know and like.

[mayaclars]

That's interesting! But yeah, there is a lot of time that goes into the creation, and for others it might feel boring. Demos are fun!!!

[alexwsmith]

I once considered doing a “process” type video to document making a track, but I realised the video would be 90% me staring blankly into the camera with the other 10% just being uncontrollable sobbing. Then once the track was 95% complete I’d get distracted by something else and never finish it.

That or I’d forget to press record and not notice for 6 hours.

[fablefound]

as someone currently in the promo mines (derogatory) for a single*, i've thought a lot about this question and what it means for me. really, it feels like i can think of more examples of stuff that DOESN'T work. there's also stuff that does work but i avoid doing it because i hate it (e.g. intentionally stirring up controversy/ragebaiting, relying on buzzwords/guilt tripping/spiritual manipulation**).

looking at my own socials over the years, apparently people have most enjoyed...
- videos about my omnichords, which i guess have been one of my main gimmicks? bonus if it's a teachable resource, like sharing omnichord sample packs or how to hold/play them in unique ways.
- engaging with bigger-but-still-kinda-small-artists. i did a cover of a rio romeo song in a somewhat unique way (pokemon soundfonts lmao) and folks really liked it--including rio romeo themself!
- relatable little snippets where it almost feels like it's not promo at all (e.g. your song is just playing in the background unaddressed)

people also enjoy "process" videos that aren't actually process at all, just like, a look at the project file for an end product. :p

* i am normally allergic to self-promo on melonland but if this has been interesting and/or you are curious about what kinda music i make. teehee here's my artist site

** yes, spiritual manipulation. people will say their song brings good luck to people who stream it and bad luck to people who don't. it's wild.