Are Rules REALLY Meant To Be Broken?

[wagtunes]

FTR, ever since I started listening to music in 1964, I was always looking for something different. My journey took me from the British Invasion, to bubble gum to prog rock and beyond. I'm still searching for the "new" but I'm finding it harder and harder as I get older. Today especially, when there is more money involved than ever before. It seems that we don't take the risks today that we did years ago. At least not commercially.

[_al_]

i think they are not rules, they are guidelines for optimal quality.

i mean, when you see someone famous doing outragous things on youtube, like going +5db into the red or whatever, that doesn't actually mean his music is good BECAUSE he went 5db into the red. if he had started out doing everything in a sensible manner, would his music suddenly be worse? i don't think so.

that said, if you're doing it for creative reasons (rather than quality reasons), then yeah, by all means go crazy.

[dark_virus]

As an artist you should never fullfill the expectations of your audience, you should open their ears...
Only something new and surprising can do that...

Even if you're trying to make a living from music?

Sure, as a hobbist, one have more freedom to break the rules, but even that, good are the chances he will want to produce something in a style he identifies himself with, and the rules will be there.

Quoting the OP:

I mean if you want to produce a basic EDM track that is going to be generally accepted by the public, can you really break the rules or are you just looking for trouble?

If the artist wants to earn money producing music for a certain niche, it's unlikely he'll have the freedom to do that, specially if he's new to the game. Of course you are totally entitled to not follow any rules and make music as you wish, but you'll need some time/luck to find your audience.

[wagtunes]

As an artist you should never fullfill the expectations of your audience, you should open their ears...
Only something new and surprising can do that...

Even if you're trying to make a living from music?

Sure, as a hobbist, one have more freedom to break the rules, but even that, good are the chances he will want to produce something in a style he identifies himself with, and the rules will be there.

Quoting the OP:

I mean if you want to produce a basic EDM track that is going to be generally accepted by the public, can you really break the rules or are you just looking for trouble?

If the artist wants to earn money producing music for a certain niche, it's unlikely he'll have the freedom to do that, specially if he's new to the game. Of course you are totally entitled to not follow any rules and make music as you wish, but you'll need some time/luck to find your audience.

And ultimately, coming full circle, this is how I personally feel and how I think industry pros go about things based on what I hear day in and day out from those actually making money doing this.

Quite simply, there is just nothing out there so totally off the wall in its genre that you could say industry pros break rules. The evidence just isn't there.

[Tj Shredder]

As an artist you should never fullfill the expectations of your audience, you should open their ears...
Only something new and surprising can do that...

Even if you're trying to make a living from music?

Even more so! You underestimate the audience and your own creativity if you hold back in fear of being rejected.

The opposite is true!
Unconciously the audience is longing for excitement. Only the new can give that. You don't need to shock them, you will give them enough of the known to feed them, but put some spice in. Breaking a rule, even if only done subtly is the spice they want and need.
Nobody wants to be bored...
Most audiences accept anything which is within the rules of their preffered genre, but they won't be enthusiastic if it doesn't contain something more interesting. As artist serving an audience you would surely prefer them going wild about what you do...

[vurt]

FTR, ever since I started listening to music in 1964, I was always looking for something different. My journey took me from the British Invasion, to bubble gum to prog rock and beyond. I'm still searching for the "new" but I'm finding it harder and harder as I get older. Today especially, when there is more money involved than ever before. It seems that we don't take the risks today that we did years ago. At least not commercially.

why search for "the new"?
why not just search for "quality", which of course varies from one to another.
and don't look for the new in commercial, that is where music goes to die.

[wagtunes]

FTR, ever since I started listening to music in 1964, I was always looking for something different. My journey took me from the British Invasion, to bubble gum to prog rock and beyond. I'm still searching for the "new" but I'm finding it harder and harder as I get older. Today especially, when there is more money involved than ever before. It seems that we don't take the risks today that we did years ago. At least not commercially.

why search for "the new"?
why not just search for "quality", which of course varies from one to another.
and don't look for the new in commercial, that is where music goes to die.

If I believed that I would have never listened to commercial music.

[dnekm]

It is actually quite simple. Music comes from you. YOU.

Why is that so important? This topic illustrates it quite clearly.

You either have a need to make music/sounds or you want something from it. A Muse cannot be both a goal and a means to an end.

You have to choose what matters - to you.

[wagtunes]

It is actually quite simple. Music comes from you. YOU.

Why is that so important? This topic illustrates it quite clearly.

You either have a need to make music/sounds or you want something from it. A Muse cannot be both a goal and a means to an end.

You have to choose what matters - to you.

Some people have been lucky enough to have both.

[dnekm]

Yes, some have. Ans they are not the ones asking the questions.

Sorry, but you opened yourself up to that.

[wagtunes]

Yes, some have. Ans they are not the ones asking the questions.

Sorry, but you opened yourself up to that.

I'm not exactly sure what I opened myself up to. That I don't have it all? (Meaning creative freedom AND success). I wonder how many people here do? Plus, I could give a rat's ass about whether or not I'm successful in the music business. I've been making music for over 40 years. If I didn't enjoy what I was doing just for music's sake, I wouldn't still be doing it.

As for the question itself, I think it's a valid question. I sense a double standard so I was looking for verification. Do pros say one thing and do another? From what I've seen so far, I'd say yes.

Not that it surprises me at all.

[dnekm]

Your choice....

[Unaspected]

I think it's just another way of encouraging people to experiment. It's just that, "Discover new rules," doesn't sound as attractive as, "Rules are for breaking".

[experimental.crow]

FTR, ever since I started listening to music in 1964, I was always looking for something different. My journey took me from the British Invasion, to bubble gum to prog rock and beyond. I'm still searching for the "new" but I'm finding it harder and harder as I get older. Today especially, when there is more money involved than ever before. It seems that we don't take the risks today that we did years ago. At least not commercially.

you see yourself as a risk taker ?..

[wagtunes]

FTR, ever since I started listening to music in 1964, I was always looking for something different. My journey took me from the British Invasion, to bubble gum to prog rock and beyond. I'm still searching for the "new" but I'm finding it harder and harder as I get older. Today especially, when there is more money involved than ever before. It seems that we don't take the risks today that we did years ago. At least not commercially.

you see yourself as a risk taker ?..

I've never tried to sound like the radio, that's for sure. I mean for crying out loud, I make songs using Vocaloid instead of a real singer. I've covered just about every genre there is and in my own style.

I don't consider myself a risk taker to the point of "This is my business and thus doing what I do is risky" because it's not my business. I do this for fun. I always have. So by "definition" you can't say I'm taking risks if my livelihood isn't at stake. But in terms of what I actually record, if I were to care about people liking it, yeah, I take a lot of risks. Nobody has EVER accused me of sounding commercial. Of course few people have ever accused me of sounding good. Most people say my music is crap and that I have zero talent. So take that for whatever it means to you.

If I had to answer your question with a simple yes or no answer, I'd say yes. I take risks.

Your opinion may vary from mine.