Lonely Composer.........

[KoolKool]

i used to think i'm a strong-minded man who can live positive everyday,but until i realized......

music is art,the art i'm chasing for, passion and hobby, i have so much inspirations from many seniors i admire

my desire to make good quality music with good melodies, i want to contribute something to the scene, dream being shiny gem deep underground, i make music with no cost,for free, i love to be indie

but everytime after i finished a track, it's sound so good,i put so much efforts into it, i love it, i public it soundcloud,share on facebook,twitter....but then i feel quite desperate that no one have attention on my track, so what the point of having hundred,thousand followers?
luckily, there are some mutual friends still be with me anytime, and even ...spam bots feel sympathy for me... (i hate spam bots but ...thanks )

i have a artist friend who drawing jap manga/anime stuffs,seeing he receives so many fan and praising for every of his drawing, his progress, he become more and more popular....he is just like me,we are all start from zero, but different art form...he draws, i compose music

So should i think that drawing art is much more superior and respectable than music art?

i feel lonely, but just for a while, i will go to bar drink some beers, or playing with my lovely dog!
i'm still young, i have to move forward

[BertKoor]

You have the ability to create something nice. Your friend does that as well, but also found a public that admires what he does. As I read it the difference between you and your friend is plainly PR. If you don't care about that, then there's no problem. But since you post about it, there is sort of an issue... So maybe you need to search collaboration with someone that can help you with PR. This definitely is one of the most difficult things if you are not a natural at PR, or if you don't accidentally find an audience.

[andrew71]

Visual art is an immediate medium. You can post a picture on a social site, people see the whole of it straight away and can like/favourite/whatever it with a quick click of a mouse, creating the illusion of engagement. Music requires someone to actually start it playing and then have the patience to listen through to the end. It can't be appreciated as immediately and takes extra time and effort on the listener's part.

[Aryaroman]

Sometimes less is more. As a listener, I find that I enjoy music that nobody knows, a lot more. Maybe contact your few listeners and form strong bonds to them.

[thecontrolcentre]

Music / art is not a popularity contest, as much as it is treated like one by the media. Make the art that you like, and don't worry about what others think of it. Its nice to popular and successful, but that shouldn't be the goal.

Have you tried posting your music in the music cafe?

[Jace-BeOS]

Not a popularity contest without interest in money, no. But it can still be an "attention contest" to get an audience.

The comment above by Andrew is a very good one. Music requires more investment of attention effort than imagery.

It's also much easier to "fake" being a musician with the glut of tools available to everyone for cheap and free, while original visual art isn't as easily faked (it's easier to point out clip art assembly than to point out purely derivative music made by throwing together processed loops). The audience doesn't have to spend as much time slogging through bulk content (including the aforementioned derivative garbage from people that think throwing a few beats and dance/techno synth stabs together is music). It's easier to find something they enjoy when it comes to images, because you can look through bulk content faster (wasting little time compared to listening to music).

The investment of time in visual arts is in reading comics. Comic storylines and characters can create a desire to see what comes next, like tv show episodes. Music doesn't really work that way. Concept albums are not in fashion these days (I love 'em still). Is your artist friend doing comics or just individual pieces?

Anyway, I empathize with your loneliness complaint, original poster. I'm in the same place, but I'm not working on my music as much as I should. So part of the problem is on me not doing the work. Also, posting stuff on soundcloud isn't exactly marketing. Then there's the question of whether our output is something that compels a listener to listen a second time (and look for more from us). Do we emotionally touch them in some way? Do we impress them with sound?

My only suggestion is to try to find your personal audience members among the audiences of other artists you feel your work is similar to in style (artists you're inspired by might have fans that like your stuff). Don't spam them. Just ask for a listen based on similar interests. This is how I find new (to me) music I like, so I imagine it's a good way to find an audience too.

I hate marketing and PR. I'll never be an entrepreneur nor earn money from my crafts. I'd be happy to have a hundred fans that might send me $5 now and then. I won't get that either because I'm not into self-promotion (and the aforementioned problem of not making enough music to present full bodies of work). The arts are really not a place for me to do anything but play (and since I'm not having fun anyway... ).

[KoolKool]

thanks for your warm comments

whatever, if no one listen for the worst (maybe...ha ha), i still keep up making music and improve my composing, and try to learn other things to enrich my spiritual life

my friend he just draws individual pieces,but i sure he will draw something bigger in near future!

i think, together with my friend, both 2 can make good pair!