Any professional musicians here?

Any professional musicians here?
Not long ago there were some interesting discussions about worthwhile scenes, haven't seen that for some time.
>If you're a professional musician:
-where and with what do you work? what is the scene like?
>how was it for you to get into the market? were you a prodigy? did you begin playing as a teenager? did you go to music school? did you have to do a lot of networking? or did you just get out and play? or even still, did you just drop your music online? How has that been working out for you?
-do you think independent music is gaining steam? as in it's actually possible to make a living as, say, a sideman or songwriter without sucking label dick

I know these are a lot of points, but I want to get a thread going for professionals/aspiring professionals, since I think there's some potential in here from what I've seen in the past.

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youtube.com/watch?v=Uo0KjdDJr1c
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not a professional by any means but i run a little recording studio in my bedroom in my apartment for small diy bands in the scene to record with, the only thing i cant do is drums.

i don't charge anybody (i think it'd be enormously against the spirit of things if i started charging people) but at this point i've recorded EPs and singles for like 6 artists not counting projects i've been personally involved with

I'm a guitar player, aspiring professional, looking to begin working as a sideman and depending on what doors that opens me(and whether I'm skilled enough) want to play my own music. If my own thing doesn't work out I'll autistically focus on sideman work for a few years to save money and then will look to buy land in the countryside and raise a family. After that I'll do more sporadic sideman work(or who knows I might make a buck or two from my own stuff, worst case scenario as stock music).
I'm not american and my country has a shit market, so I'll audition for an american music school because of visa and meeting people. I wish I could go straight to the market, but that's not a possibility.

Do you plan on taking it more seriously in the future? Perhaps being a go to guy in your scene?
Where are you from?
I've considered going into production in the past, but it seems to me it's very overhyped these days due to the prevalence of producer-driven music. Truth is any path in music will take a lot of work, there are no shortcuts.

Using pics to bump btw

you're a neat dude
keep it up

The world needs more people like you, thanks user.

Gigging musician. Play bass, guitar, and piano/keyboard. Went to Berklee. Started very young but was not a prodigy (desu kind of don’t believe in the concept since talent is often hard work that other people see as talent because they don’t want to/can’t do the work). Live in New York, which is probably the best scene in the country and maybe the world for a working musician. Cost of living is rough, but I live with my girlfriend and it works. Networking is everything, but if you’re punctual and good at what you do you’ll meet people. I have some music online, but I’m primarily a musician who gets paid to play music rather than an artist who gets paid to create music. I get paid virtually nothing for original music. I got into the market by getting a degree in music, moving to New York, and honing my craft by playing the smallest gigs in the city because those were all I could get with no reputation. All my time is spent practicing, learning songs, performing, setting up gigs, and making videos to build my brand. Branding is very important. When I have time I compose and play with my own band, which is fun and fulfilling but ultimately not what keeps the lights on. I have a nice life and make enough money to buy new gear, pay the bills, go out to eat whenever I want, and have a decent savings. Which, for NYC, is a really nice life.

there is no scene, i live in the woods. i make music without a label and have put a down payment on this my dream house from streaming and film licensing deal last year. law of attraction, i don't do much except imagine and then i create and it falls in place because the ideas come and my timing is right. but i am still sheltered and come to mu and grab weird recs. i don't tell others about my music and post links ever. i just drop it online and people find it.

i will locate you user.
mark my words

>talent is hard work
Good fucking point. It's the same thing with any skill.
>Oh user, you're so smart I wish I was as smart
Bitch, study and practice like I did. It's the only way. Talent is earned, not born

Adam Neely?

well i work mostly in the punk, post-punk, hardcore, psyche, garage, and noise scene. i just have a bunch of recording equipment, i've talk myself how to record and mix over the last 2-3 years as a hobby and i have a bunch of guitars and basses and amps and a synth and keyboard that i originally used to record on my own as a hobby. one day i started playing in a band and we recorded there, then i was in another band and same story until finally people started asking and i started offering because hey why not, we're all in the same scene and it felt like a cool way to stay in touch when i wasn't in a band and make some friends on the side. people never give me money but i've had musicians crash at my flat and just buy me food or whatever while they're here.

i'm currently trying to teach myself how to mix and master better so i can offer the whole package and i've talked to this independent vinyl printing house so that maybe i can get discounts for my bros, since usually people want to also have a physical item to go with their projects.

i'd love to be an option for a go-to guy, especially as i go developing my own "engineer" sound (as pretentious as it sounds, again -- it's just gear and a desk in my bedroom in my small apartment that i share with my very patient roommate.) but this is about as big as i would take it, i've had options to go record people at bigger professional studios (like they were like "we'll pay for the studio we just can't pay and engineer, can you do it?") but i've always said no because i'm simply not good enough to make professional and expensive equipment sound as good as it should. i'm just doing it as a hobby at the end of the day.
i live in paris, france and the scene is quite small here.

thanks guys :3

I mean obviously learning those skills is going to be easier for some people than others. And with certain things like athleticism talent is probably more important than hard work since no amount of work will turn an average person into an NBA player. But I firmly believe that 90% of people could become professional level musicians if they wanted it badly enough (and, you know, have the time and don’t live in Libya or something).

It's my dream to live innawoods while making a living from music desu. Gig a lot during my 20s and 30s, save as much money as possible, and by that point I'll hopefully be able to make some money from home from stuff like soundtracks. If I get to live innawoods I'd have a low cost of living anyways, so that would help. While I very much love music, I don't think it's worth giving up on having a family to gig into old age. For that and other reasons I can't see myself in cities like NY or LA, and I sure as hell hope I don't have to live on one of them at some point. I grew up in a small city and hated my short experience with a large city

Hey bros, what is your opinion on the current state of youtube for musicians? While I feel it will replace facebook in importance, it also seems incredibly saturated. The golden age for starting a channel was until 2013ish.

You got it backwards. Facebook is replacing YouTube. The main advantages of YouTube are linkability and monetization. Facebook will figure out linkability and YouTube is fucking up monetization.

stop saying 'hopefully' and creating artificial deadlines, start using the power of your imagination to create it. time is not a factor. talk less about what you don't want, like 'oh i don't want to have to do this or live here etc.' and only talk about what you specifically want, and put all your power there in your desire and it will begin to unfold before your eyes and you'll get everything. you are only talking about the aspects you don't want and will attract more of that. there is endless ways to get what you want, why focus any energy on things you don't wish to have

Idk man, it seems like you could've taken those opportunities in bigger studios(unless you really don't want to become a pro), a lot of big people learned through experience. You'll only learn by putting yourself out there. A lot of graduates fight to make coffee in big studios

Hi Ryan

what do you consider "professional" OP? i play shows (sometimes with bands and sometimes solo) and record/release music but have never made a dime, am poor as fuck, and have a day job of course. i have made more money through visual art (shirts and album designs, some band logos) than music and that's saying something because that hasn't added up to very much.

Don't you think facebook has too much of a "dad social media"? I see people in their early 20s leaving it a lot. Instagram is doing better, but that's a different format.
Facebook monetizes videos? I thought they didn't. Plus there's something to be said of a platform made exclusively for videos

Professional as in make a living from it

I'd say when music is your primary income.

Woods living is pretty cool. I lived in a cabin without running water a few years back. I got a lot of recording done, but then the rains came and the cabin flooded and took weeks to dry out. Then there was an entire wall of the cabin that was filled with yellow jackets that would make scratching sounds all day and night. One time, I went outside to piss and something growled at me from the woods. I was very depressed.

they weren't like BIG BIG studios but they were charging like 200-300 euros a day, and i know im a bit slow setting up so i said no because they wouldn't be getting the best bang for their buck for that amount of money (ie a an actual engineer could take them through 2-3 songs per day at that studio whereas i usually do 1 song per day on a good day).

i have, however, recorded in bigger studios to try out the stuff but i saw it more as a learning experience for me than as me doing a job for someone else. i'd feel bad about learning the ropes on someone else's dime. once i'm a bit better and more efficient and can better handle these more professional studios i'd definitely be up for it though (but again i wouldn't charge anybody)

Well a lot of my doubt stems from being a foreigner who doesn't know what to expect in the US. I'm not clueless, but all I know is from reading stuff online. Reality is different.
But on a more practical note, I've been looking at Austin for a while, it seems to have opportunities without the overwhelming atmosphere of NY or LA. Anyone got ground experience in there? When I heard you could make a living from gigs without sharing a micro apartment with 10 dudes it already sounded very appealing.

Austin is just Seattle with heat waves and Mexicans.

That sounds very comfy user. Did you need to go out to the city to buy supplies or did you plant stuff? Spending your days recording in a cabin seems very idyllic

my woods are in the mountains moreso so never flood. but of course there are weird things her like massive black bears that won't go away even if you throw firecrackers at them. i can walk ten miles and i'm by a highway with a supermarket and then access to bus or train.

don't tell the story of why and where it comes from, tell the story of your fantastic new life. let the universe guide you to where you need to go and don't move faster than you're ready. ok i am sounding like a dick telling you what to do but this is how i got what i want, precisely down to the detail and i am building more to add things as i imagine them and the good feelings and meditation and quieting my mind allows me to hear and receive the correct ideas and impulses and then i can act and it's easy and fun, and the dollars flow in to suit the new ideas for a library or pool or what-have-you. why think small and say 'ah jeez i can only afford a small apartment and will have to resort to gigs to survive' unless that is in fact exactly what you want. talk only about what you do in fact want. then the universe defies logic and bends to give you what you want. it says 'well less effort produces more results because your imagination is the best effort you can ever have' and it finds a house that is bigger but costs less and it goes out of its way to perform for you and provide. and the music magically goes where it needs to and defies the bounds of reality.

Well that's disappointing, I heard very good things of it from anons a while ago. About how many live gigs there were, rent not that high, not unforgiving to newcomers, etc. Any other alternatives to NY and LA?

>If you're a professional musician:
>where and with what do you work? what is the scene like?
I am currently a solo musician. I mostly play rock and experimental stuff. Piano, guitar, bass, drums, electronics, and vocals. I can also play clarinet, oboe, trumpet, and trombone. I record and mix my own works.
>how was it for you to get into the market?
I used to have a band with friends years ago
>were you a prodigy?
If I am, I was not recognized at a young age and my parents didnt support it
>did you begin playing as a teenager?
11 years old
>did you go to music school?
grade school band, some guitar and piano lessons
>did you have to do a lot of networking?
Some back in the myspace age
>or did you just get out and play?
Yes
>or even still, did you just drop your music online?
years ago
>How has that been working out for you?
Not my intention to use it as a source of income
>do you think independent music is gaining steam?
No
>as in it's actually possible to make a living as, say, a sideman or songwriter without sucking label dick
It's not

Rent not that high? Not compared to LA or NY but make no mistake it is an expensive place to live and unless you want to make hipster ass crust punk that nobody will listen to you’re better off going somewhere else.

no, those are the only 3 cities. it's over, you can't live anywhere might as well give up

I'd sure like to believe all it takes is going in the direction you desire user, but I'm somewhat jaded by this point. Turns out, as opposed to what I previously thought, I haven't become immune to people telling me I'll be homeless if I want to be a musician. Doesn't mean I'll give up, because that's simply not an option for me, but it surely makes a person jaded

you’re a neet dude
keep it up

Well the anons I talked to did mention the whole hipster shit, but they said it wasn't hard to get sideman gigs, and that after a while you might call the attention of some national acts that regularly go through Austin. They also said there were quick bucks in country gigs that roamed through Texas.

You'll not manage to make me more jaded than I already am user, that's not possible. But I appreciate any suggestions or further talks about anywhere promising(or at least not very inhumane)

those are beliefs of others. put more focus on your own beliefs. if those are the people you are hearing, they are matching a vibration or emotion within you, as you said you feel jaded: the universe will bring you more to be jaded about. but part of you is hearing the other part or you'd altogether ignore my replies. put more emphasis on believing in yourself, and those people's words will fade and the universe won't bring you people like that. then you'll meet the person who can give you the information you need and say 'oh i have a place for you to stay for free' or 'hey i have a ticket' etc. you must do more than like to believe, you have to fully believe in your worthiness to receive everything you want. then it comes so fast
and such amazing ways that feel right and are so fun and you meet the dream woman and buy the dream house and you know you can have more just as easily, because the nature of the universe is knocks your socks off. if you are jaded, it will knock your socks off with reasons to be jaded. if you choose well-being and get your emotions high it will deliver everything on that wavelength. you set the signal. then it responds and snowballs more of that.

youtube.com/watch?v=Uo0KjdDJr1c

The younger generation hardly use facebook. The novelty that came with it is gone for a generation that grew up with the plataform. In a similar form died the irc and forums. There are a few forums out there, but it they are nowhere as active as they were in 2008

was just joking about those being the only 3 cities. music can come from anywhere m8. seattle, detroit, chicago, atlanta or some fucking colorado utah whatever phoenix san diego go to canada go to tokyo who cares

I appreciate the kind words very much user, but I'm not sure to what extent I'll see those changes since the people I brought up are mostly family.
But again, I appreciate your intent, I'm just moody today. Every once in a while I feel like that, maybe I'll listen to some Cure or Type O to get it out of the system.
I'll try to keep positive, thanks user

family can change the way you see you if you change your vibrational output. do or do not, there is not try.

You don't seem like a professional.

my uncle is a session musician and can play any instrument almost

he doesn't make enough for a living off of it he makes some money that he spends on gear

YouTube has become much more professional looking recently, and it seems it will continue now they have implemented the feed feature. But that leads me to thinking at some point there'll be some platform with an amateur flavor like youtube once was.

If you're a composer or are in a band yes. If you're starting your own band or looking for hired gigs it's still very much location dependent unfortunately. Even Pat Metheny who was a fucking genius from a young age needed a scene, Kansas City had a lot of gigs when he was a kid. What about people who have nothing of the sort near them? All they have is songwriting/composition and then throw it online in hopes it will reach someone

WRONG

Elaborate

you can live anywhere, this is proven again and again, lorde lives in new zealand

In a big city in NZ a first world country with affluent parents, not the Brazillian jungle or some shit.

nobody on Sup Forums can actually play any instruments

stop arguing for your limitations

>implying brazil isn't brimming with exciting new artists
plen

>Brasil
>not first world
xaxa

Do you honestly think an artist like Lorde happens organically? She became famous at 17, you really think there aren't mountains of money involved? Wake the fuck up user, do you think radios play your songs because they think your band is cool?
>muh defeatist
There is a BIG difference between defeatist and realistic.

And he is right. He is not, unless of course his taste is 6ft tall trannies and faveladas shoving their ass in your face. Anitta is another good example by they way. She likes to market herself as "self made", but who honestly believes a girl from the favela will get weekly spots on the largest brazilian channel at 17? You get your occasional funk carioca sensations who get aired on tv once or twice because they're in their prime so they show a lot of bunda, but after a month everyone forgets about them. It's very different from how Anitta is being pushed.

all you do is fucking complain about what others were given, boo fucking hoo. i am living in the middle of nowhere and never have to work and put 400k into next year's construction of my house. there are virtually unlimited ways to come about and make a living with music. i was broke two years ago and eating from church donations.

I'd be jealous if you weren't lying

i'm not lying. you're goofy. money is everywhere and there are so many musicians thriving.

...

that attitude of disbelief is why you don't have miracles happen like i do

Then elaborate on what you work with and why it is a "miracle". So far all you've said is
>boo hoo
>i have a big dick
No proof given

it's a miracle because i imagined it my desire and focused all of my energy and attention on it and stopped telling the story of lack and limitation because i had become destitute enough to surrender. i meditated a lot and finally received an impulse to upload some music that i had previously had no confidence in and it was immediately picked up. some of it was sold to other artists as their tracks, some was on streaming sites featured and getting millions of plays, some went to a film licensing deal which exploded into tv licensing and nationals and then it started getting me offers to work with people i love. and like i said in previous posts here, i'm just a pretty sheltered dude living in the mountains but my entire life changed very rapidly. i would call it a miracle. because my beliefs about how things could happened changed, i started believing anything could happen and despite having nothing and nearly starving i was joyful and it changed my outlook on my music. i realized my own worth and stepped out confidently and the universe responded and it blew up in my face. i also met a wonderful companion in the process and we are writing a book. and i'm still just a dude who sometimes posts on mu. everyone should have what they want.

you sound like a very wise person

Do you have any advice on meditation in general? I've tried it but I haven't been able to stick with much

hello adam, love your cat

always learning
just make it a simple thing of taking 15 minutes a day before you start going into the action of the day. deep breaths and maybe some ambient music that is peaceful. that's it. quiet the mind and breathe. if i do that, i get the best idea of what to do and feel energized and everything i do is lighter. it's as simple as brushing teeth. just mind health maintenance.

I wish I would've done this when I lost everything. But I just got drunk forever and lived on a couch for two years. I got to go on tours and that was fun, but that's about it.

>he believes that everything will be ok if he's positive
>it ended up being ok
>it must be because I was positive
>surely, anyone who's positive will certainly get similar results

You've never met a very positive, hopeful, and optimistic person, that happened to be a total disaster?

I agree that bing positive is better than being negative, but it's far from being enough to make your dreams come true.

Please read up on the survivorship bias.

Wow, cool story bro(unironically). So you're basically doing licensing? What kind of music do you do?

i did not say just 'be positive' i am talking about an emotional shift that the universe responds to and then law of attraction snowballs that vibration, it is not simply 'hey i have a good outlook'

i come from abuse, homelessness, living in really bad conditions through my entire childhood and adult life. i could have focused on it forever probably, i could be in jail or dead. i'm talking about faith and trust in the universe or god. you're making it seem as if i am being airy and silly about it waving a new age oprah book. i am not. read the thread. but if you insist on having a pessimistic vibration, then what you believe will hold steady and what i am saying will sound lame. perfectly understandable.

all kinds of instrumental music. but that will change soon. please understand i just wanted to discuss in this thread, i am not better than anyone. i just thought i'd offer some advice. it was probably rude, but i think it may resonate with some. i feel good and it was good to share. i do not mean to suggest others can be me, i am saying all people should believe in themselves. i was on the verge of blowing my brains out for years and the only way out was to change my beliefs. i am not talking about a simple 'happy attitude' that won't last. i mean an entire shift that took years but everything i imagined receiving and living has come about. i know i have universal forces at my back. and i believe all people do. we are creating our own reality. i don't want to say more because i don't want to piss anyone off or seem arrogant.

>an emotional shift that the universe responds to
>law of attraction snowballs that vibration
what's so interesting about new-age woo that it attracts so many fuckups and evolutionary rejects?
i

Post your music

i don't do that, i already said. i let whoever finds it find it. the universe is based on attraction not assertion. i might come here and blab about shit on a thread like this, but i won't shill or spam my music, that's not vibrationally accurate to what i believe is the way things go. i don't even send it to friends. that way they can find it if they want when something new comes and discover it in their own time, their own setting. if i post it here now with all i've said, it would fuck up your perception of it. never play music for friends or family. they don't know how to react.

I did read the thread, and all this "the universe will respond to you" looks exactly like new age oprah shit like "The Secret".

Maybe you're not being literal, and are using this universe stuff as a metaphore. In which case please explain in practical terms how being positive and visualizing your goals will make them happen.

>i come from abuse, homelessness, living in really bad conditions through my entire childhood and adult life
Funny you say that, because my family has lived like that my entire life, and a decade ago we went homeless for a year until the government gave us a house in the worst part of the city, where we proceeded to fall into the worst time or our life.
I'm not going to bore you with the details but I'll jjst say that I haven't ever seen anybody live like this in a western country.
That said, my father is the most positive person in the universe, and is seriously convinced that everything will be ok within days, every day. It's like he can't comprehend the possibilitybeing successful.
Turns out it's not enough, and he's not made a single cent in 10 years despite working 24/7 with no days off.

Your positivity helped, no doubt about that, but don't act like everyone who follows the law of attraction will be successful and avoid failure, because that's bullshit.

1/2

Reaching success is like accumulating points.
These points come from anything that helps you get ahead and reach your goal.
Let's say that to make a living of music you need 100 points, and you have one point for talent, one point for image, one point for luck, etc.
Then the different factors in your life multiply those points, helping you getting closer to 100.
For example, if you have extreme talent, you're going to 60x your talent point, getting you closer but not close enough, so you need a good image that is liked by your target audience (20x your image point), and good connections (50x your luck point).
Now you have enough to be successful, not because of one factor, but because everything helped a bit and it added up.
Some people only have good connections and nothing else, but those connections are so good that they can multiply their luck points by 500 (and talent and image are provided by the label), or some people are so extremely talented that they get enough points from that alone.
Some people don't want to be famous and only want to work for other people, so they don't need image but need talent and luck (to make it in the sea of equally talented competition).

Your law of attraction stuff is basically "make your own luck", which I agree works to a certain extent (and certainly being negative makes it much harder), but it doesn't give you 100 points on its own.
I'm sure you also had a lot of talent and someone had to stumble upon your work online (which could very well not have happened).
Some people have a lot of talent and do exactly the same things you did, but nobody important finds their work.
Some people get the biggest executives on their SC but they don't have enough talent, so they get ignored.

It's never a matter of "you need X to succeed".
You either have a colossal push from one thing (very unlikely), or you need a bit of help from all angles.

2/2

i make a living selling beats, ask me anything. i will not give my identy or personal information though.

I'm an electronic music producer and I've been thinking about gettting into rap production and beatmaking, so I'm really interested in your insights.

Would you consider yourself good compared to, say, what's on the radio?
What style do you make?
How did you get started (in terms of finding your clients)?
And how did you grow to the point where you could make a living?
How muh money are we talking here?
And most importantly, where are you from?

Thank you so much in advance if you answer them.

What in your opinion are the main differences between a successful beatmaker and an unsuccessful one?
Or in other words, what are the biggest factors that go into making a successful career?

still really arguing for limitations, it's like a person rejecting love as childish but when you're in love it's great. get in love with life and things work out. some people act positive but their emotional state is not in love and joy and freedom, they are just trying to reach for hope. you have to understand the emotional scale. i'm talking about a predominant vibration or emotion, a condition. not just an attitude or way of looking at things. there is no 'following the law of attraction' it is like the law of gravity, it just is. there are terms i am using that aren't making sense perhaps, you might be perceiving what i am saying as much more flippant. i don't want you to prove to me how wrong i am. i understand exactly where you're coming from, i used to listen to words like i am now saying and think it was hocus pocus. but my entire life changed when my emotional state shifted completely, and everything i wanted only came as if it was held in jail by me and i could not access it. so arguing about injustice will serve no one. focus on what is working. let energy add unto that.

Which DAW(s)? Do you just lease “Metro Boomin 21 Savage Gucci Mane Travis Scott type trap instrumental beats by YoungKeyboardGoddddd” to SoundCloud rappers or do you work with major label artists?

if you believe something is very unlikely then it is for you. those are your beliefs and your own limitations.all i'm saying is put aside all this 'i'll never succeed unless...' or it's likely not gonna happen etc. and allow the universe to do the heavy lifting by raising your vibration or emotional state, and then universe will match you or meet you there rather than meeting you in a place of doubt. f you have doubt, then that's what you get more of by way of law of the universe. so fix your vibration and watch what happens. and i don't mean wear a fake smile and think happy thoughts, i mean moving into total appreciation and love of everything, no more complaining and telling stories of lack and injustice and get back to the natural state of being like a child wide-eyed in love with everything, and stay there even without instant results and then it starts to happen, everything comes to you that you're wanting.

>Would you consider yourself good compared to, say, what's on the radio?
I think my beats don't sound like they could be on the radio. Maybe a very small amount would fit into the radio.
>What style do you make?
Piano, Jazz, Soul, Trap (styles, not genre)
>How did you get started (in terms of finding your clients)?
Having a very good website that looks very trustworthy, a good logo, watermarked beats and having good SEO keywords and titles on Youtube and SoundCloud. Also you need good quality standards on your beats, they all have to be complete (intro, verses, hooks, bridges etc.) - i don't upload any unfinished stuff - I also mix down all audio tracks after making the beat, then I go into mixing. After that I start up Ozone an do master them. It's like a checklist/workflow in my head.
>And how did you grow to the point where you could make a living?
Putting in effort until I reached an amount of income that was needed to make a living. Practially this means, having enough beats in your catalog which generate enough income monthly.
>How muh money are we talking here?
~800-1000€/month (my highest month was 1800€)
>And most importantly, where are you from?
Europe (as i said, i don't want to get more personal)

>What in your opinion are the main differences between a successful beatmaker and an unsuccessful one?
A good beatmaker has good beats, a very good Youtube channel with aesthetic graphics, a brand, high quality standards for mixing, good chord progressions, melodies, drum rhythms, song form. All has to sound "in place". It's ok to sound different, it's not ok if something sounds wrong.
>Or in other words, what are the biggest factors that go into making a successful career?
Making beats with a framework that has to be fullfilled (intro, verse, hook etc. = song form, good instrumentation, chord progressions, melodies etc., drum rhythms have to be on point and good, no boring or lame shit). Simply, the beats HAVE TO be good.

I use Ableton Live because it's easy to loop midi's, easy and fast to arrange a song, racks (god damn, i love racks), everything is simple, keyboard as midi-input. I just love Ableton Live.

>do you work with major label artists?
no, i don't aim for that. the only major label artists i would love to get a placement with are dean, jay park, zico etc. but i'm not good enough for them yet

btw, i never use samples in my beats. i learned music theory, watched a lot of videos and read books about it. my clients get 100% selfmade beats.

You keep saying that changing your emotional state will bring tangible improvements on your life, but I don't understand how that's supposed to happen, so to me it does look like hocus pocus.
Feel free to explain the process though. I'd love to be proven wrong on this.

>i don't mean wear a fake smile and think happy thoughts, i mean moving into total appreciation and love of everything, no more complaining and telling stories of lack and injustice and get back to the natural state of being like a child wide-eyed in love with everything
Out of everyone I've ever seen that has this attitude, 1% is successful, 10% are normal, and the rest are total failures thinking "yeah man, life is good, I have a whole van and I'm about to get my break", and being like hippy stoners even without drugs.

The stories of successful artists, businessmen, etc that preach about positivity are extremely rare, and you just don't realize it because you don't hear about all those that did the same stuff but failed (literally the great majority).

>if you believe something is very unlikely then it is for you. those are your beliefs and your own limitations.
The majority of businesses fail and almost all musicians don't make a healthy living with music. This is a fact.
The sooner one realizes these things (along with the mechanics of what makes people successful, the sooner they'll start working smart and reach their goals in a practical way.
"Just be positive and it will work out" (I know I'm simplifying) is not a smart way of working on your future.
Just because yku did something and you found success kt doesn't mean everyone who does it will see the same results.
Especially if you can't explain how the correlation works other than "have this mindset and the universe will do the heavy lifting".

Also I'm not saying it's all impossible or unlikely. I'm saying that there are specific factors that go into success that one should consider working on, such as being more marketable, getting better connections, improving in areas that have direct results (like becoming better in the core elements of yojr genre instead of something unrelated, etc).
The more you work on the realistic factors, the closer you get to success.
Having a good mindset is key, but if you only have that you'll inevitably fail.

>I don't understand how that's supposed to happen
until you're in that emotional state, everything i say sounds like bullshit and wishful thinking, i know.

why are you obsessed with arguing for failure as if i am not aware of all that. i am aware, i spent years focusing on that and said everything you're saying. it doesn't produce anything.

you do seem to have a belief that you came into this physical body and are somehow not in control of anything and just have to except that life sucks. most people do this, yes. you don't have to, that's all i'm saying.

That's not at all what I'm saying.
I agree that it's very possible. I disagree with HOW ro make it possible.
I say you should work in a problem solving way and reach the top by finding the path and following it. You're essentially saying that you'll c?imb the mountain by using wishful thinking, so a helicopter comes and gives you a ride or something like that.

I'm not focusing on the negativity. I'm focusing on the realistic world.

"realistic" is only what you believe. your version of reality is more limited than what i'm talking about because you're essentially making life harder for yourself with your own beliefs. i am not saying wishful thinking, i am saying much more than that. but again, i believe i will only annoy you with this because it goes against your beliefs. and i don't want to change you. i was just discussing where i was coming from.

Thank you so much.
Very helpful.
I asked you where you come from, just so I could get an idea of the scene/environment you're in (if it's a rich or poor country, if hiphop is popular, etc), which can completely change the meaning of your answers.
If you feel that it's too much info, I understand. Thank you very much anyway.

I live in a rural city. I have ZERO scene or community around me. I only have internet and I never socialize or network with other producers.
I'm fully going the SEO route and selling non-exclusive leases (sometimes exclusive rights).
I get payments mostly from the USA. But also from UK, Germany, Mexico, China, South Korea, Japan, Poland, Russia, Thailand, Australia and many more.

How did you grow your fanbase/client list?
Did you just use "passive" ways like SEO amd such, or you actively promoted yourself, went networking with rappers and producers (IRL or online), did strategic collaborations, and such?

I'm not trying to convince you of anything, and certainly don't enjoy arguing.
I'm just trying to get.you to explain how the mindset you've described results in reaching your goals.
Until now your only explanation was "the universe make it happen", which isn't an explanation as much as a statement I'd have to believe at face value.
If you make me understand how it really works, then you might indeed change my idea of what's realistic.

>How did you grow your fanbase/client list?
Youtube, SoundCloud - Having good SEO titles, tags, descriptions - And patience. Just do your work and wait (don't wait with working, wait for success). I have a very simple concept about business = work, publish, keep working. When you make a living it's because you worked long enough on it.

>Did you just use "passive" ways like SEO amd such, or you actively promoted yourself, went networking with rappers and producers (IRL or online), did strategic collaborations, and such?
Only passive. I never text or contact anybody. Publish and let people come to you. I also never use Ads or anything, because I'm very scared of losing money for no profit. I just don't want to go into advertising. I'd rather learn to make better beats because that's what I want to do at the end of the day. I'd rather make twice as much beats as having to get into Adsense and all that stuff.

Oh, by the way. Most Youtube beatmakers buy views and likes. I never did that and will never do. Fuck them. Make sure the producer didn't fake his views and likes before you believe he is successful.

This is good news to me, as I'd be going fully online as well.

So people just find you through search engines and related videos/songs?

>selling non-exclusive leases (sometimes exclusive rights).
How does that work?
Is there a platform that does this for you or you have to deal with contracts by email?

Yes, only that. Nothing else. You basically collect subscribers over time. But subs aren't worth very much anymore. Basically 80% of my subs don't even watch new videos. I think the only way to he listeners to come back is to be insanely productive like CashmoneyAP or BeatPlug. Then people won't even have to sub, they will just search your channel again and look if you have new beats very often by themselves. (or they'll sub but especially check if YOU have something new)

Every beat is an SEO asset. Somebody finds your beat, he might click on your channel and listen to more beats or even subscribe. I get around ~10-20 new subs every day.

btw. i'm not very active. i only have phases 1-2 times a year when i make ~10 beats.

i think you should use beatstars.com if you can't program your own online store. it's all automated. but it costs money. i only have to pay 10€/month, because i programmed my own beat selling store with laravel.

beliefs craft what you perceive as realistic. so i don't want to try to alter your beliefs, because i can't, only you can and life experience speaks louder than words. so whatever i say will likely come off as unrealistic if that is not how you perceive reality. i can't really jump over that hurdle and change what you perceive as realistic merely with offering words. if it resonates, it does. if it doesn't, it doesn't. it's a strange discussion for someone who believes in very physical and realistic action and development to hear another come along talking with more emphasis on the power of thought which comes partly informed by beliefs and then creates expectation. expecting something to happen and being ready for it and desiring is so much until you visualize or imagine it as a received thought and get impulses of what to do rather than just hammering away and putting in the effort is what i mean along with what you're saying is just wishful thinking - i mean inspired action, or thoughts and ideas coming from the source or the universe or the higher self (the soul, with broader perspective from non-physical reality offering guidance to the physical) and then allowing that guidance to work for me, not pushing against it and arguing for limitation and saying i didn't earn it but actually being okay with guidance and taking the help and life being easier, and things working better because source has broader perspective and can put me with people that move things along faster. and that comes with being in a free, loving, joyful state because if i were moody and limited in my thinking i would not match those who are successful as i want to be. and when you interact with people on this level, everyone is so free and making music is easy and fun. it sounds insane and silly to say to someone ho wants it to be hard work and very rough because if they heard all their life and believed it, it seems real. i'm saying that was my reality until i changed my frequency

I guess you could say I'm famous within a certain sphere, but only metaphorically it's more like a cube. Ha ha ha ha ha

My number #1 advice for aspiring hip hop beatmakers: Don't copy trap producers. It's an extremely oversaturated market and you might fuck yourself up, because you don't realize how many people want to buy other styles of beats (jazz, piano, pop, soul, rnb, experimental, dark/sad, abstract, acoustic, gospel and many more)
I believe (can't prove) that only the top trap producers make a good amount of money with it.
But this doesn't mean that trap doesn't sell. If a beat is good, it will sell. I'm just saying that you can really get brainwashed in this community into believing that everybody ONLY wants trap beats right now. It's not true at all.

i'm taking a music course in gymnasium and my bass teacher ONLY works as a bass teacher at my gymnasium and a bassist in a pretty big band in norway. idk how the hell he managed to achieve the dream life