Hey guys so I love "EDM", that's a very unspecific term but it's true. I love everything from trance to dubstep to house to hardstyle, you name it. If the song is good, the subgenre doesn't matter. And that's a problem(?) I have been having lately. I've been producing for about 7 months and I love making pretty much everything, I've experimented with a lot of stuff and there are a few genres I prefer and try to merge aspects of them into each other often but I'm curious if you think it's smarter for one to just master a certain genre and once you feel comfortable making music in that genre, then experiment with other genres? I ask this because I see a lot of big name producers pretty much only make one genre or become popular in that genre and stick to it (obviously there's a lot of people that make exceptions to this too). Do you think it's harder to get a fanbase by making a lot of different shit, say dubstep > deep house > trance, because most dubstep fans won't be trance fans or vice versa?
Sorry if I made this sound confusing lol
Is it better to focus on one genre or just do whatever you feel?
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- addled muppet weed
- 111326 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
after 7 months i wouldnt be worrying about a fanbase, id suggest just doing what you enjoy and getting to a point you feel confident with the pieces you are making
good music will help build a fanbase when youre ready for that
dont worry about genre worry about doing the best you can with any idea you have
good music will help build a fanbase when youre ready for that
dont worry about genre worry about doing the best you can with any idea you have
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- KVRAF
- 37508 posts since 14 Sep, 2002 from In teh net
Ignore genres, they are irrelevant.
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- KVRAF
- 4589 posts since 7 Jun, 2012 from Warsaw
Getting stuck to one genre is limiting. Even if it's your favourite, go explore different sounds and styles. You always learn something.
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Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)
Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)
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- KVRian
- 1100 posts since 9 Jan, 2015 from NY, NY
This seems to come up all the time. I'm not sure why anyone would try to narrow their focus before they even start making music - it's more likely to make you end up with cliched results.
Sweet child in time...
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- KVRAF
- 4329 posts since 26 Jun, 2004
It is always better to do what you feel.
Also, no disrespect meant whatsoever, but after 7 months its not possible to really know where you want to go.
Also, for a beginner, other genres will teach you things that you might not as easily learn, or have as much fun learning, when sticking to one template.
Also, no disrespect meant whatsoever, but after 7 months its not possible to really know where you want to go.
Also, for a beginner, other genres will teach you things that you might not as easily learn, or have as much fun learning, when sticking to one template.
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- KVRian
- 1374 posts since 30 Mar, 2011
For every genre I produce I use a different alias. As a beginner (7 months) it's quite helpful to experiment with many different genres. Later you might find out that you're into a specific genre, or a genre where you might be best at.Meegulz wrote:Hey guys so I love "EDM", that's a very unspecific term but it's true. I love everything from trance to dubstep to house to hardstyle, you name it. If the song is good, the subgenre doesn't matter. And that's a problem(?) I have been having lately. I've been producing for about 7 months and I love making pretty much everything, I've experimented with a lot of stuff and there are a few genres I prefer and try to merge aspects of them into each other often but I'm curious if you think it's smarter for one to just master a certain genre and once you feel comfortable making music in that genre, then experiment with other genres? I ask this because I see a lot of big name producers pretty much only make one genre or become popular in that genre and stick to it (obviously there's a lot of people that make exceptions to this too). Do you think it's harder to get a fanbase by making a lot of different shit, say dubstep > deep house > trance, because most dubstep fans won't be trance fans or vice versa?
Sorry if I made this sound confusing lol
If you want to go after a fanbase my advice would be to concentrate not on a genre but on a sub genre, maybe on a sub genre of a sub genre.
Let's face it: you most likely won't become the next Deadmau5, Skrillex, Calvin Harris, Avicii or whomever - those people are absolute exceptions in a world where every 2nd guy is making beats.
But you may build a small but dedicated fanbase if you're good at your sub sub sub genre.
Good thing about the Internet is that it has the capability to connect the whole world, and there are people interested in the strangest of all things. 
Maybe you've heard about the "1,000 fans" paradigm. http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/87 ... -fan-base/
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- KVRAF
- 2989 posts since 5 Nov, 2014
Depends on your motives in first place, but I guess at some point you must overcome genre barriers in any genre to present something new in it, but to break "the rules", you need to learn the rules first.
It's tricky, you have clear advantage for injecting fresh sound into any given thing, but you can as easily fail to deliver anything to anyone, depends, if you are here to please the crowd or yourself.
I sense you are crowd pleaser with all of this, so yeah, don't go overboard, see what is the signature of any given sub genre and what can be altered, you just can't make dubstep without wobble's, it's not dubstep, it's electro suddenly and so on, there's plenty of signature things that you must "obey" or you are in some "weird" zone.
So make aliases as mentioned, have a go on different things and there's your inspiration in any given other, you can try to squeeze something here and there, you can just easily nail every genre and inject fresh signature thing in all of them that way, who knows, maybe even pioneer some new sub genre by the end, try everything and see, but stick to your thing, if you don't like something, don't do it, if you really do like something, squeeze it in there, find a way, don't go over yourself trying to please others.
Worth pointing out, there's really distinction in sub genre signature thing and some other artist's signature thing, some people mix those two and render themselves as pure copycats, go to the roots of sub genre and start from there, don't start with most popular acts in it and their particular thing, that's their thing, but even they stick to signature stuff for that sub genre and have their own thing going on around it, so again, it's important to really see what signature thing for sub genre is, of course, if you want to make particular sub genre, but in any given sub genre, personal signature thing is on the price, something to separate you from the rest enough so you can shine, but not too much so you aren't with them in it.
It's tricky, you have clear advantage for injecting fresh sound into any given thing, but you can as easily fail to deliver anything to anyone, depends, if you are here to please the crowd or yourself.
I sense you are crowd pleaser with all of this, so yeah, don't go overboard, see what is the signature of any given sub genre and what can be altered, you just can't make dubstep without wobble's, it's not dubstep, it's electro suddenly and so on, there's plenty of signature things that you must "obey" or you are in some "weird" zone.
So make aliases as mentioned, have a go on different things and there's your inspiration in any given other, you can try to squeeze something here and there, you can just easily nail every genre and inject fresh signature thing in all of them that way, who knows, maybe even pioneer some new sub genre by the end, try everything and see, but stick to your thing, if you don't like something, don't do it, if you really do like something, squeeze it in there, find a way, don't go over yourself trying to please others.
Worth pointing out, there's really distinction in sub genre signature thing and some other artist's signature thing, some people mix those two and render themselves as pure copycats, go to the roots of sub genre and start from there, don't start with most popular acts in it and their particular thing, that's their thing, but even they stick to signature stuff for that sub genre and have their own thing going on around it, so again, it's important to really see what signature thing for sub genre is, of course, if you want to make particular sub genre, but in any given sub genre, personal signature thing is on the price, something to separate you from the rest enough so you can shine, but not too much so you aren't with them in it.
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el-bo (formerly ebow) el-bo (formerly ebow) https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=208007
- KVRAF
- 18176 posts since 24 May, 2009 from A galaxy, far far away
i'll defer to the hilarious hodgetwins
NSFW (or just turn the volume down)
NSFW (or just turn the volume down)
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- KVRAF
- 8083 posts since 9 Jan, 2003 from Saint Louis MO
At 7 months, you're still very new at this and should just keep exploring. Do what you love and maybe over time you'll find yourself naturally specializing, or maybe you won't.
I've been at this since the 80s and haven't settled on a genre and doubt I ever will. I have a set of likes and dislikes that mutates a bit over time, a set of skills I'm good at and others where I'm weak (and among those, some I don't care about and some I'd like to improve). And I love to experiment.
Genre is really for marketing convenience and commercial needs.
I've been at this since the 80s and haven't settled on a genre and doubt I ever will. I have a set of likes and dislikes that mutates a bit over time, a set of skills I'm good at and others where I'm weak (and among those, some I don't care about and some I'd like to improve). And I love to experiment.
Genre is really for marketing convenience and commercial needs.
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- KVRAF
- 5575 posts since 30 May, 2006 from Hollow Earth
Genre is just grooves where the rain fall into. Just make a good Rain.
ABEFLGMOPPRRST 