Read this before you start sharing your next tune..

[innerstatejt]

The listener’s perspective:

Before you show off your new songs to your friends and acquaintances there are a few things you might want to consider. ..

There tend to be a few different ways of listening to something..

From the critiquing point of view.. This is where many many “would be” fans end up because of how you present your work. When you ask for somebodies opinion on your song, don’t expect them to get as excited as you are about your music. They are going to be listening for mistakes insteaed of for content.

From the student’s point of view.. This is similar to the critique point of view, but from a high level of respect. As opposed to listening to the music for the joy of it, they are more likely picking it apart and taking notes so they can apply it to their own work. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. This may be true but just remember, they are learning from you so they can be your competition in the future instead of your biggest fan. This is fine and healthy and shouldn’t be frowned upon, but just remember who you are dealing with when you are sharing your work.

From the fans point of view.. Obviously this is the optimal perspective. These are the people who are hooked and pretty much will like anything you do, go to ll your shows and buy your merchandise. You did something right to gain these people as fans. This is the pattern you want to study and repeat as often as possible. Just remember that these are not the people who will tell you when your art has gone to crap. Sometimes an honest critic isn’t a terrible thing.

I didn’t take into account the importance of perspective on the listener until I had a couple of experiences. From there my whole view changed….

Experience #1

Years back I was making music in more of a Big Beat style and I handed out cassette copies to a few of my friends at the time. Don’t recall much excitement in their initial reaction. It was more like “hey that’s pretty good but you make want to (fill in the blank). sound familiar? About a year later one of these friends found this cassette with no label on it and popped it in to his stereo. When the music popped on he thought it was some rare Chemical Brothers track and was really digging it. He was amazed at how gutsy of them it was to go for a bit of a low-fi sound and how punk rock it was that they didn’t over finesse the mix. Later I made him aware that it was a track I had done and gave to him a year before. That got us talking about our perception when listening to music. By simply shifting who he thought the artist was, his perception changed from the critic (Hey, you know if you REALLY want this song to be big, you should consider this) to the Student/Fan mentality (wow, once again they are pushing the boundries, I wonder what I can learn from this. Is THIS where the sound is going?)

Experience #2

Just recently I was passing along a cheeky mash-up I did of Nine Inch Nails - Closer with AC/DC - Back in Black to a friend. We were on an instant messenger and my buddy said “That’s already been done, I’ve got a great version right here”. I said, “no, I’m pretty sure you’ve got mine” and he didn’t believe me because he had downloaded the song on limewire. He had the track in his collection for a number of years (I did that mash-up in ‘99) and never had a clue it was mine. So finally I show him the video I posted on YouTube, and sure enough, he realized it was mine. For a moment I was treated like the most famous guy in the room just because he had always viewed that tune as professionally done (your friends will rarely think of YOU as a professional).

Another angle to look at is the:

“here’s my song, but it’s not yet finished. What do you think”?

When somebody says this with you, how do you listen to the track? I would tend to bet that you are thinking “what is wrong with this song and what advice can i offer about it”? instead of ” Man, I’m so pumped to hear this new tune, can’t wait until the new album is finished”! Make sure that you aren’t asking for advice form your biggest fans and friends. It’s better to ask someone who is not really connected to your fanbase and who can offer REAL advice instead of just opinions. If you want to know how the average listener will react, slip your song into a playlist or mix and don’t announce that it is you. Just let it play and observe. If the mood doesn’t take a downward turn, then you are in the status quo with the other familiar artists. If someone asks who did that great song, your golden!

If you have a song that you are proud of, don’t get over excited and start giving it away to everybody you know. It’s good to keep secrets sometimes.. build the mystery. Let them know that you just finished your biggest song yet. If you are a DJ, you may want to tell them that if they want to be the first to hear the song, that they better listen to your broadcast. If you are in a band, tell them you are giving away the song free to all the people who purchase a ticket to your next show. Put together a teaser video on youtube announcing an official release date (or just say that details will follow soon).

Do you see where I’m going with this? Now you are showing real confidence in your work and you are building excitement. Do you think they are going to listen you your new song from the same mindset that they would have before? Do you think they might share that excitement with friends? How much value do you think you built by just holding back a little?

The important thing to really consider when you are a smaller unsigned band is that your reputation during this stage is largely word of mouth form your closest friends and acquaintances. This means that if you aren’t getting THEM excited about everything you are doing, that lack of enthusiasm is going to be passed on from them to others. Pretty soon you will wonder why all your friends aren’t coming out to show shows.

Make sense?

Most people listen to music as some form of fantasy and escape. Are YOU that fantasy, or is it the other producer/DJ/Band that is getting all the attention?

What I suggest is that you build value in everything you do: music, performances, merchandise, etc. Never present yourself as an average Joe. Nobody buys or becomes a fan of something that doesn’t excite them or stir up alot of emotion. If you can create the magic, you are going to become a much bigger deal in alot less time.

So..

Stop selling yourself short, Stop desperately begging for fans on MySpace. How many of your 5000 friends are REALLY your fans? How many will show up to your gigs? 50? 10? 5 if you buy them beer all nite? Stop giving yourself away without any return. People tend to value things more if they have to pay for it. People generally see free stuff as dispensable. Free stuff as a promotional tool can be a pretty smart idea, but just make sure 1) That the free stuff is good 2) That it helps build a fanbase of people who would actually pay to see you.

Start with the people you know and get them excited. Don’t unload all your secrets and mystery at once. Make them wait and then deliver something great! They will thank you for it by coming to your shows, buying all your music and telling all their friends.

Happy music making!

Jason

http://www.musicsoftwaretraining/blog
http://twitter.com/AbletonVids

[liveISlife]

Interesting. Yeah I like how you talked about someone listening to your track knowing that it is yours and with the intention of critiquing it opposed to if they are just chilling bumping some tunes. It's really amazing how the difference in these two perspective can create such a different listening experience.

human consciousness= beautiful

[funknotik]

Interesting. Yeah I like how you talked about someone listening to your track knowing that it is yours and with the intention of critiquing it opposed to if they are just chilling bumping some tunes. It's really amazing how the difference in these two perspective can create such a different listening experience.

human consciousness= beautiful

I always tell people it's some one else, just so I can get an honest reaction. Alot of people have unknowingly told me I suck and should give it up. LOL! Most of the time I don't even tell them it's me.

[OvertoneZero]

Good post innerstatejt, I will have to think on this...

[gjm]

I don't get the connection between the examples of listening perspectives and the idea of selling yourself short.

[innerstatejt]

The connection is that you tend to rush to share your music, usually for free and to the first person who will listen, instead of standing proud and confident and creating the right moment and atmosphere for the best listening experience. To not take the opportunity to present your art in the right light is a form of selling yourself short and crippling your results.

[TRS80]

ok now my head just hurts

[gjm]

The connection is that you tend to rush to share your music, usually for free and to the first person who will listen, instead of standing proud and confident and creating the right moment and atmosphere for the best listening experience. To not take the opportunity to present your art in the right light is a form of selling yourself short and crippling your results.

Cool. Thanks.

Perhaps another thing to consider is... "is this the RIGHT audience..." for my music. Sometimes in haste the people you give your music to will simply never like it. Period.

I wrote a song once about the positive role model relationship between a father and son. Its called "Daddies are Hero's". I made the mistake of giving it to my mother, who played it to her work mates. They were all social workers dealing with dysfunctional families in horrible circumstances. The unanimous opinion about my song was...."daddies are not hero's, they are bastards!" My song was shit to them. Wrong Audience.

[ARDJ]

if i could add to this i'd say don't send your friends multiple copies of the same song with 'updates'... they don't care if you used a diff hi-hat or put more verb on the vocals. We all have our 5-10 friends we like to show our tracks to for critiques but make sure its as good as you think you can get it, take some advice then and send a finished version as part 2.

[pulsoc]

Dude, I listened to your NIN remix the last time you posted your advice column, and I really can't believe you insist on thinking you have something to offer. I mean, I can get with being supportive of folks trying to learn how to make music and all, but jesus - have something worth listening to before you start acting like you have a deep understanding of making music.

[ThrowAway]

Its chair throwing time!!

[abort]

Dude, I listened to your NIN remix the last time you posted your advice column, and I really can't believe you insist on thinking you have something to offer. I mean, I can get with being supportive of folks trying to learn how to make music and all, but jesus - have something worth listening to before you start acting like you have a deep understanding of making music I'M A PUSSY CAT MEEEOOOOWWWW

Life is too short for the bitching ..try to keep your dog on that leash, piano strings work good too.

YEah though I'm thinking just not to explain tracks before listener listens!/?

[nq]

[quote="innerstatejt"]From the fans point of view.. Obviously this is the optimal perspective. These are the people who are hooked and pretty much will like anything you do, go to ll your shows and buy your merchandise. You did something right to gain these people as fans. This is the pattern you want to study and repeat as often as possible. Just remember that these are not the people who will tell you when your art has gone to crap. Sometimes an honest critic isn’t a terrible thing.[/quote]



i'd say the total opposite. This pattern you describe, is the same pattern, we see in pop-music for the last 15 years:
Come up with something people like
milk it dry until even the dumbest and deafest can't listen to it anymore
realize that your art gone crap
rinse and repeat
this leads to the most unspectecular, uninnovative, undaring music.

[innerstatejt]

Polsoc,

Perhaps you don't understand the meaning of "cheeky" mashup. That song was done 10 years ago almost as a joke. You think I am trying to impress people with something I did in a couple of hours?

I used this song as an example of how even halfassed efforts like that can be perceived as something much more professional depending on the circumstances in which they were introduced to it. I will say however that the track works pretty well for a room full of drunk people

I have a number of more "professional" (and more cheeky fun stuff as well) on my youtube page if you look a bit. Have a gander if you want. A few are "Progressive DJ super star" approved. I can lead you directly to those songs so you don't have to expose your precious ears to anything below your standards..haha


I'm completely ok if you hate everything I ever produce or write. It certainly won't stop me writing music or blogs. It's much better to be both loved and hated than to just be considered average.

I tend to have the attitude that Morrissey had in the lyrics from "the queen is dead"

she said(played by polsoc): "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
I said(played by me): "that's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

I don't take insults too seriously, actually I don't take compliments too seriously either.

It's all relative isn't it? lighten up friend,

Now lets get back to the converation at hand....

[innerstatejt]

NQ

I think you misunderstood my point. We are both on the same side man.

I am not saying you should make crap music and then try to get yourself surrounded by tone deaf idiots to adore you. not at all. I can't tell you how often I have conversations with friends about "how the eff did that terrible song get approved by the label, the engineers and all the bands friends?" This is especially sad when it's a band that used to be good. This just means they are surrounded by too many "yes" men, and that is a terrible thing.

That is why I said in my blog "Just remember that these are not the people who will tell you when your art has gone to crap. Sometimes an honest critic isn’t a terrible thing" I am suggesting that you engage with critics when you want a real perspective on where you are at. I also said it was a good idea to play your music anonymously and observe.

The point I was making is that you have to know what "mode" to be in when sharing your music. All 3 perspectives are important. Once you are confident you've got something worth sharing, then you set the tone for fan creating.

tough crowd... oh yeah, we are in the Ableton forum.

now can we get back to the program?