How Creators Killed the Music Business 

True, but doesn't that also make it more organic? Bands and performers build following and fanbases by actually _engaging_ with them. I don't think the music has to suffer for that.

musicians live for social engagement, drive it, what is more socially engaged than the people putting a soundtrack to your life?

I don't see any proper musicians doing all that desperate engagement stuff, think Big Thief for instance

That's a gross over-simplification. It is and will always be about the music, but how that music is made, promoted, and heard keeps changing.

Yep, there is a lot of algorithm feeding in that process. Just like the previous gate keepers, the algorithm demands certain criteria to be met and in turn does the promotion. This isn't necessarily a flaw of the algorithm. Instead the thing to be learned should be that gatekeepers acting by the numbers like algorithms can as well be replaced by one.

The algorithm is the audience

The algorithm is corrupt as hell. Videos that I have made that have left sided content in it get throttled and anything right gets buried.

@@chessmusictheory4644 I totally believe you and I had similar experiences with it.

I think you are in a minority, not many people bought random CDs or vinyl/tape before that, and hoped they would like it. People bought what they already heard on the radio, or on TV, and sometimes by word of mouth but that would rarely be anything other than what the other person had heard on the radio/TV etc. Things were no different, they were just controlled in a different way in the past. The only time they would buy what they hadn't heard, would be albums from the artists they knew already from hearing in those places. You would maybe get people also finding artists from festivals, or compilations albums and things like that. But they didn't shape the music world. In fact although still not good, it's much better today by a very, very long way including the algorithm.

Algorithm is a joke. I have an Instagram and one of the most average not interesting posts i ever posted has been growing for 3 months. 15,000 have liked it. My other higher-quality posts have 10-30 likes each. Garbage.

I’m one of the few who always laments the day the Telecommunications Act of ‘96 was ever passed. Big corp ruined radio and media. I was more of the Hip Hop and R&B listener in that era (though there was always some rock music I had enjoyed) and even in those genres I noticed the change. Big corp homogenized radio to where I could go to any region in the country and the stations sound the same based on their respective genres whereas prior to that era I could remember how radio stations in different regions sounded different from other regions. I’m still pissed at Bill Clinton for being the one to help push that bill through.

Possibly because the mp3s were all poor quality because, y'know, dial-up.

Me 2 👍👍 Exactly I also look at youtube sort of like my learning channel to meet like minds that like things and learning more like woodworking, hotrods, welding, machining , gardening music etc build your paradise at home but correspond all over the nation and world.

I think media has experienced a RU-vid revolution.

Thank you for saying just this!

But you can't always trust YT either. Commentary is not always honest or fact-based

Gerry TV is terrible. Glad to have found this channel on RU-vid premium too.

Yeah, right? Shocked me how high he jumped without stumbling after landing .

That was beyond impressive...

He had a track scholarship in college. So… And he was a longjumper, iirc.

right!!

Might as well JUMP!

Let’s not forget ‘Storyteller’ and ‘Potential Flannel Daddy’.

historian

Rick started a YT channel and accidentally became a cultural pillar.

musician, producer, nice guy

@@Aokitadamitsu a musicologist is a historian of music

Exactly. A three-album de4al was basically putting the band into school. They'd do the first album, with all the songs they wrote trying to get a deal. Then they'd do the second album, with all the songs they wrote while touring the first album, and hopefully growing as writers and performers. The third album wasn't automatically expected to go gold, but it should outsell the first two combined or come pretty close, and the band by that point should start having a good bit of top billing on their shows. Then, they'd get picked up for two more records, which was like having passed to the next grade in school. Now? If your first single isn't immediately "trending" and whatnot, there isn't a second single. *Never mind a whole album.* AND, the record company expects the musicians to spend every waking hour on social media, promoting their stuff - of which the record company still takes 90%+ of the money across all delivery systems (CD, downloads, streaming, etc.) - for no compensation. ALSO, bands now sign deals giving the parasite record companies a fat percentage of their _f---ing T-SHIRT SALES!_ There are a lot of reasons to hate the Clintons. (I've lived right next to Arkansas for 40+ years and have known lots of people from there; don't bother arguing.) But to me, they did no greater damage to the country - and the world - than when Bill signed that 95 Telecom Act. And before anyone accuses me of partisanship, Newt Gingrich was the GOP's Speaker of the House back then, and that clown let that law get to Clinton's desk for him to sign. But that law basically destroyed music as a widespread popular art form.

Great example would be The Beatles.. Vee Jay Records (Black Owned) released The Beatles first Album Please Please Me but, decided to drop them from the label because, of slow sales. Sir George Martin heard something Vee Jay didn't. He gave them time to evolve. They had a #1 single on their first Album with Parlaphone under George Martins gentle guidance......

@A 2nd Opynyn The point of creator music is to bypass such draconian greed. Of course this usually concludes that most acts are reduced to either EDM mixbots or basic guitar flailing folksters, with everything else requiring an actual budget and melodic craft to achieve. All the more reason for those who can achieve the latter to remain todays standout hopefuls, as long as they don’t fall for the evergreen studio trap. Taylor Swift’s naïveté in this regard (as if that was ever a first for any act) should be the last of that for anyone paying attention.

I always felt the opposite. Once the record labels got ahold of the bands, and molded them into what they thought people wanted, the rawness, purity and integrity of the music went away. There are so many bands that I prefer their earlier works compared to their newer music that was honed for the masses. I think that's why I have always loved Rush. They were able to experiment yet maintain their integrity because they never conformed to what the record labels required of them.

@@ronfrosig7354 Huh? Capitol Records passed on The Beatles in 1963 and VeeJay picked them up cheap. Capitol soon realized it had made a huge mistake and sued VJ a number of times. VJ sold at least a million copies of Introducing the Beatles (maybe even more) between injunctions but made some legal mistakes and didn't have the money to promote the Beatles and fight Capitol and had to agree to stop sales in late 1964. VJ certainly didn't "drop them." They had a 5-album deal and would have been happy to be their American record label. Parlophone was owned by EMI which also owned Capitol Records so it was ridiculous it didn't pay attention to its parent company. Your story is a little mixed up.

He's a raconteur.

Always interesting when someone comments for everyone else. 🤔

@@SuperTruetunes Maybe for you. Do you speak for all? 🤔

@@SuperTruetunes I don't propose a premise. An observation of reading the comment at the top - then asking the question. I'm guessing 1+1=3. 🙄

@@SuperTruetunes You think with those degrees you would have been retired 20+ years ago. Always interesting. 🤔

I guess when they could take 90% of the money made from a song/album then they could afford to have many failures for the few that might work out. I guess now that everyone listens to songs on streaming services that pay the artists (and so I guess the record label, if there is one, as well) very little then this model of developing new artists, giving them a chance, talent spotting and taking a chance has gone, and rescue labels want more of a sure thing based on social media views and likes.

How does that work, I thought the artist was responsible for recording costs ultimately.

​​@@lavenderbee3611 the label advances the artist the money. That money has to be paid back. You don't actually get paid "for real" until the advance has been paid back and the label turns a profit on you.

@@lavenderbee3611 "The act" is responsible for the recording costs, the people who make up "the act" aren't personally responsible. Your band can make a million dollar record that sells nothing and bill collectors will never show up at your door, you just won't be able to make any more music with a label because your "act" will still owe the money from the first album. It's not like defaulting on a mortgage or skipping paying credit card bills.

I think how it worked was the band was "advanced" say, 500k and they were responsible for all costs including their own pay and the recording studio and producers, engineers, etc. But an advance would be taken back by the record company if the band was successful and if they weren't they had to dissolve because the debt would strangle the average poor musician. Rick made a smart move to go into production because the producers got paid $.

I'm always telling people that my favorite artists (and probably theirs too), would not make it today. No one would ever have heard of Leonard Cohen if he came up in this time. First of all, he got into music because there was money in it, when there was not enough in poetry and fiction. And most, if not all, of my favorite artists have no stomach for self promotion- rightly so, it's unbecoming and ineffective.

@@bloodsugar6005 So true... that last part is why I have no prayer at all of making it in music. As a creative, social anxiety, self consciousness, imposter syndrome, and all the other issues that are so common amongst us creatives will NEVER let me succeed. It's OK, though... I love making music in spite of not being able to make a living at it, and NOT having commercial interests frees me up to just do my own thing, which certainly has its advantages.

@@deathybrs Amen to that. If it makes you feel any better, my band and i don't really have those problems and we're still getting nowhere, lol. I remember hearing a story about how bad Kurt Cobain was at selling t-shirts when he was coming up- said he couldn't sell one to save his life- and thinking that's about how most artists are. We're just proceeding as if there was something going on- making an EP, writing poems etc... I really like your stuff; reminds me of things i couldn't name, and gives me a good feeling.

Do you have any songs on RU-vid?

@@mattrobinson7750 I do, though most of what's on the page linked to my profile is remixes - most of my original stuff is older, as I had been focusing on remixes for a number of years just because I was having fun.

It’s hard to find new artists who are doing anything new.

There's a business opportunity there. Link something) like Spotify with independent YT content. The idea is an algorithm that filters junk. Maybe it already exists?

Too right. It's the hardest thing for independent artist like myself to be noticed. I sometimes despair....

Right, nowadays it would be hard to imagine something like Bohemian Rhapsody getting put out. It cost an ungodly amount to produce at the time.

@@leonardticsay8046 it is even harder; if they have something new, then they would be stupid to drop it somewhere. Because it gets copied for sure and it can literally take a lifetime to get the copyrights back, if the case won't be settled with money (the usual).

Nice channel. Cool. That is encouraging.

I enjoy your content Antoine. Keep providing excellent content.

That’s awesome. I’m wondering - when that becomes your main income, do you do things like the below? Really curious how this works in practice for someone who’s figured it out. - save for retirement? - pay for health insurance? - pay taxes?

nice... your comment was like my life until the part where you mentioned the 100k subs...haha wish you lots of success! I guess some of us we should just try it too...

Aantone. Funny to see you comment I was just watching Whirlwind again. You guys (Mystery) just blow me away and I cant understand why that beautiful progressive rock cant get a foothold in the USA. I am also a subscriber of yours, watch many vids as an old fella taking up guitar for the first time. You are making fantastic music with Michel. Keep it up.

Rick if you see this, me and Justin Hawkins gonna get u back in the studio one day just wait and see :) Kidding around, youre truly an exceptional youtuber. Its clear that your great ear and 'perfect pitch' translate also to being able to say things and tell stories and use titles and captions in a very subtle and intelligent and wise way that us younger gen youtube consumers really benefit from

Not sure it's possible to overstate that point. Rick has brought a level of music education previously unavailable to the masses, to fans and musicians alike.

Fact. I’ve played guitar for 40 years and my playing ability and fretboard logic is double what it was just by investing into Rick’s education. I bought all four of Rick’s courses and if you’re a guitar player at ANY level or ability, do yourself a favor and invest in Rick.

GREEDY EXECUTIVES AND SELF PROCLAIMED ELITES ARE KILLING POP CULTURE.

Agreed, Rick might be one of the most consequential people in music ever, it remains to be seen how long lasting his impact will be

.... in MUSIC today??? WHAT?! LOL SuperLOL !!!

Yes they sound very polished (in a good way) and like a smoother Alice In Chains

@@duckmyass a lot of mixes sounded like that in the 90's, especially where video was concerned.

@@duckmyass That's how rock in 1998 sounded for all but the biggest bands.

They sounded like a Jane’s Addiction ripoff.

Yes. But the power-shift from 3rd parties like recording studios, dubbing services, record labels, shipping, etc.... to some guy with an old laptop with an internet connection that has more power in it than an entire room full of gear in 1990... with total recall. I think we're trending back towards there being fewer big names in music and less touring. But that'll change in some form. Technology will have music moving in a different direction, again, soon enough.

I don't miss recording in studios (in the 90's) where our budget and their gear essentially limited us to doing live takes with the whole band playing together and having to have everyone get it fucking perfect or else do it again. That was so frustrating and stressful, I hated recording. Now, with the ability to edit digitally, no tape, and the ability to record it by yourself if you want to for free if you know what you're doing ... Now it's actually fun.

I did that with a group with the old 4 track recorder 😂❤👍👍

@@nedkelly8553 Yup.. Recording a drum track perfectly from beginning to end was almost always very difficult to do. At least for me.

@@nedkelly8553 I don't understand...isn't that what you have to do when you play live? And isn't playing live the best part of being a rock musician? I'm not a musician, but that's what the bands that I listen to say. Hell, my gf used to be in a folk band that played bars and got paid in beer, and she said the same thing.

Irony is rick doesn't realize that RU-vid is basically doing exactly what labels started doing in the late 90s. They're consolidating like crazy. The RU-vid algorithm is pretty much snuffing out anything that isn't semi professional. If you've tried searching for content you'll notice they're not even giving you complete searches anymore. Videos I've seen a hundred times can't be found, despite the fact I know that they are there. You now search for something and after 10 entries you get "people also watched". It's absurd how readily the search function refuses to allow you to look for actual things.

And now it's completely homogenized pap.

Well produced records are gone. People want free music. The music industry is dead, they will make $ on all the recordings by artists have died.

@@brucesmith3740 there is something to this, the production of music is a difference science than its creation. But common music consumers aren't really interested in what goes into that at this time. And people have always wanted free music, nothings changed there, ever since tape recorders became available.

This side of the thing is true, but the flip side, which isn't so great, is that the proportion of good stuff to bad is dropping, because of the glut of the production of mediocre material you have to filter through to find the gems. In toto there's more good stuff out there, but it can be harder to find, because the industry seems geared to promote mostly the type of stuff that the masses are already listening to. The democratization of the music business is a good thing, but over-democratization inevitably lowers the bar.

The double edge sword is the music market is now grossly oversaturated with so much bad computer generated sound files, Short soundbyte clips for the ADHD TikTokers, not music created by artists. It's nearly impossible now to be heard as a single voice in a sea of noise.

Finally got it so the "algorithms" send mostly music and content that is worth seeing or listening to.. But as mentioned.. It is a blessing and a curse.. because there is more than can be seen or heard.. The fact that there is just literally SO much access to content.. it makes really good music "less special" (as it were)...

Saw some great bands at San Diego Street Scene!

@@fishtailfred8686 oh yes !!

From time to time, I still sing some of those songs, "...and your back in, Chula Vista, Chula Vista, ba dom ba dom..." or, "We're Gypsies from Bonsall, there's no stopping at all, We're Gypsies from Bonsall..."

San Diego in the mid eighties had a great jazz scene. Art Good and Lites out Jazz. Humphries. Pacific Beach Cafe. B Street Cafe. I used to go see Fattburger all the time. And Hollis Gentry.

We had the same thing on Long Island NY. Local station WBAB had a Homegrown show and it was awesome. Shame how the industry just imploded.

2nd only to Michael Noland

Yep.I learned THAT when I moved to,and lived in Nashville.Songwriting was where it was at!Unfortunately,That never appealed to me,the performance did/does.

Hardly. What the Internet provides is a lot more knowledgeable people at a lot more counters who can suggest good work in a lot more sections of the store. The skill you need to develop is figuring out which of those knowledgeable people you would trust for recommendations. Once you do that, the possibility for finding the gems increases dramatically. I've seen the same thing in fiction, written or visual: I've picked up books to read or things to watch that I never would have given a second glance at before because of recommendations of people online that I've learned to trust. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't, sometimes I'm indifferent, but I've found a lot more that I've liked than not.

@@keith6706 not people though. Algorithm

I don't understand. Isn't that what the algorithm is for? The YT algorithm is really good at predicting music that I will like. And there's also the whole reaction video scene...

they made sure we got used to being connect to our personal mobile 📲 device sO' we wouldn't produce big carbon footprint 👣 shipping printing manufacturing buying selling in big air conditioned buildings or be driving around doing anything like that.

exactly 💯 no vinyl, cassette , cd in your hand hopefully that cell phone 🤳 battery 🔋 staying charged to see and listen to your content you found

Towson Mass Comm alumn here! You guys have it all now!

Love TMD. ALSO RNR!!

TMD is great, RNR is now gone.

@ghost mall I cringe at some of the music I listened to because radio had decided it was popular. I'm glad my brother had good taste in music because thats what I listen to, and compare new music to it.

New releases were on Tuesdays ♫

We all have our part to play. Never heard of Emmett Cohen until reading your comment, just checked him out - wow! Thank you Jef! And of course Rick for bringing us all together.

@@NickGates100 please give us a link for his music you mostly adore

I would have never listened to Jazz in days gone by. It wasn't on the radio and I didn't understand it. RU-vid led me to Rick Beato -> Adam Neely -> Martina Da Zilva -> Emmet Cohen and on and on. It's awesome. Same goes for punk.

Thank you. Did not know about him.

You may as well complain about the Jones Act from 1920, which my HS Geography teacher did back in the early 1970s (it is really quite that stupid). It is entirely too “Inside Baseball” to get anyone interested.

Liked "Happy to have some of today's greats to be touring again, too."

Exactly. My favorite band is a Japanese band called BAND-MAID and if not for RU-vid not only would I never had found them, but they probably wouldn't have made it past 2 albums before the label dropped them because it was their song Thrill from their second album that got millions of views and kicked them off.

At some point, I couldn't listen to the radio anymore. The mainstream rock format first killed my taste in classic rock, but then I needed a long break from more modern songs.

Great thing about the radio is you can move the dial y'know

@@lucasoheyze4597 I wish this was true. On the mainstream radio lineup, they mix modern rock with classic rock. Okay, let's go to the classic rock station because maybe they would have something different. So much overlap Okay, let's go to the competitor radio brand. Almost the exact same lineup. That song you were trying to get a break from 15 minutes ago? Yeah, they are now playing it

@@JoeStuffzAlt Now all the recorded music in history is there to listen to at the click of a button, so why would anyone listen to the radio really?

@@TheMattmatic Mostly forgot your USB Thumb Drive and your smartphone is out battery. If the radio was a good way to discover new music without me turning it off due to a song I heard too many times, I'd listen to it.

Yeah, can't be a coincedence..

I was absolutely thinking of him while thinking about music exposure now compared to when I was growing up (80s & 90s). I don't think an art piece like "Hi Ren" would be on the radio or MTV. For that, I'm grateful for platforms like RU-vid making artists like Ren accessible, though I'm aware of the other side of the coin. I have to give a shout out to Rick because he has such a deep knowledge and appreciation of music, that through him I've discovered so much many more artists, old & new. Thank you Rick!

@@user-sr2nc9ge1d Who is Ren?