Validating yourself as a musician in the land of likes and streams
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 31 posts since 20 Apr, 2011
Given that earning money from streaming is for nearly ALL musicians/(bedroom) producers a race to the bottom not helped by the fact that the relentless supply side of things has vastly oversaturated the (last remains) of the 'market' and keeps doing this with every new musician joining a distributor and cranking out tracks, I was wondering if there are new criteria for validating yourself as a musician.
For most bedroom producers a certain number of streams (YT views included) is likely to be way more important than the actual revenue, but in another discussion on KVR people jokily divulge their recent monthly distro earnings of £0.03p, £0.001 (suggesting a very low number of streams) and I don't think this changes much about how they perceive themselves as musicians.
It seems being a musician is neither dependent on actual revenue or the number of streams (or any other mode of public acknowledgment ) and is ultimately an act of self-identification. Is it controversial that I kind of like the number of streams as a criterion to separate the chaff from the wheat? In my defense, I certainly belong to the "chaff" but would consider an x number of streams delightfuly "wheatifying". In other words I would need this extrinsic benchmark before validating myself as a musician and I would use these modern benchmarks to assess your claim to this lofty title... Perhaps you yourself take into consideration the n streams/likes/sales when sizing up your fellow musicians (even on a platform like KVR)?
PS: I know this subject is a bit more complicated when we focus on performing artists, some of them have virtually zero streams and are not the worse for it. Another benchmark could be the number of actual sales but this seems too limited a measure since almost nobody makes money from that (erm, which could mean it is the best criterion after all?).
For most bedroom producers a certain number of streams (YT views included) is likely to be way more important than the actual revenue, but in another discussion on KVR people jokily divulge their recent monthly distro earnings of £0.03p, £0.001 (suggesting a very low number of streams) and I don't think this changes much about how they perceive themselves as musicians.
It seems being a musician is neither dependent on actual revenue or the number of streams (or any other mode of public acknowledgment ) and is ultimately an act of self-identification. Is it controversial that I kind of like the number of streams as a criterion to separate the chaff from the wheat? In my defense, I certainly belong to the "chaff" but would consider an x number of streams delightfuly "wheatifying". In other words I would need this extrinsic benchmark before validating myself as a musician and I would use these modern benchmarks to assess your claim to this lofty title... Perhaps you yourself take into consideration the n streams/likes/sales when sizing up your fellow musicians (even on a platform like KVR)?
PS: I know this subject is a bit more complicated when we focus on performing artists, some of them have virtually zero streams and are not the worse for it. Another benchmark could be the number of actual sales but this seems too limited a measure since almost nobody makes money from that (erm, which could mean it is the best criterion after all?).
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- addled muppet weed
- 105895 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 31 posts since 20 Apr, 2011
I was hinting at a method or process of validation that goes beyond mere self-ascription, you could think of yourself as a poet, a stud or a witty person on a public forum when in fact you are (most definitely) not! Interesting to see you would automatically call yourself an "officer" of anything!
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experimental.crow experimental.crow https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=6258
- KVRAF
- 6895 posts since 9 Mar, 2003 from the bridge of sighs
interesting to you perhaps ...deltadio wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 6:04 pmI was hinting at a method or process of validation that goes beyond mere self-ascription, you could think of yourself as a poet, a stud or a witty person on a public forum when in fact you are (most definitely) not! Interesting to see you would automatically call yourself an "officer" of anything!
to those of us he has beaten about the ears w/ his sonic ' billyclub ' , and
told to move along , move along , not so much ...
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- addled muppet weed
- 105895 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
i didnt call myself anything, i was talking about musiciansdeltadio wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 6:04 pmI was hinting at a method or process of validation that goes beyond mere self-ascription, you could think of yourself as a poet, a stud or a witty person on a public forum when in fact you are (most definitely) not! Interesting to see you would automatically call yourself an "officer" of anything!
- KVRAF
- 25053 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
my criteria are my own. Other people as validation is a profoundly bad idea for an artist. Learn craft, get yer shit together and develop a way to compare yourself honestly to the rest of the world, don't be that Dunning-Kruger Effect poster child, get to grok the test questions per se rather than assume you have it. And don't be the other side of that coin where you never develop confidence, grasp that it's a process and most of us sucked at it for a bit.
- KVRAF
- 8184 posts since 22 Sep, 2008 from Windsor. UK
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- KVRAF
- 4584 posts since 21 Sep, 2005
- KVRAF
- 25053 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
interesting (not really) you take yourself seriously to the extent you don't recognize a joke.
You're pagro insulting people with confidence in their own valuation quite broadly, isn't it.
Some of us worked a good while developing before we went around calling ourselves anything, and subjected ourselves to a critical environment where no one is coddled or allowed to kid ourselves particularly. FO.
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- KVRAF
- 3089 posts since 4 May, 2012
If you can competently perform with your instrument of choice, you are a musician - doesn't matter whether N number of people know about this skill or not. Equally the size of N in social media followers does not reflect on your skills as a musician so much as your ability to market yourself and subjectivity in the listener.
- KVRAF
- 15279 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
I describe my profession as computer programmer.
There were some years my employer described it as Development Officer.
That was in the times the cleaning lady was an Interior Care Manager.
I think this fashion is what vurt referred to.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
- KVRAF
- 10261 posts since 7 Sep, 2006 from Roseville, CA
Why do you need to feel validated?
Logic Pro | PolyBrute | MatrixBrute | MiniFreak | Prophet 6 | Trigon 6 | OB-6 | Rev2 | Pro 3 | SE-1X | Polar TI2 | Blofeld | RYTMmk2 | Digitone | Syntakt | Digitakt | Integra-7
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- addled muppet weed
- 105895 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
indeed.
but, i am the official boobs and wallet inspector
- KVRAF
- 2540 posts since 18 May, 2002 from up on Cripple Creek (CO)
Indeed.
I do understand (and have struggled with) the other side of the coin... like, if nobody's hearing my stuff, what's the point? However, I feel like music (or whatever you do) should be about self-expression, and for me, it's also therapy. I may not be getting much in the way of monetary compensation or adoration from the public, but it makes me feel good. Not doing it makes me feel bad.
As for "criterion to separate the chaff from the wheat," popularity has never been a great measure of such things.
- KVRAF
- 25053 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
exactly.
I've done performances I knew were not great, but...
groupies exist even in classical music and the interest may exceed the music by a_lot
I've done performances I knew were not great, but...
groupies exist even in classical music and the interest may exceed the music by a_lot